| By hurriyyah,
on 11-09-2003 16:42
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Carl Marx once said that religion is the opiate of the people, if this is the case then religion is nothing more than a way to subdue and contain the masses. If this is the case religion could not effect the changes in society that have been brought through the teaching of religious men and women. Look at the way that Malcolm X moved the masses through his words motivated by his belief in a religion, religion did not subdue Malcolm on the contrary it motivated and altered him in to a man that worked to elevate the plight of his people to a new level. Can man change?...
Many people would say emphatically no. Like the old saying goes a leopard can’t change its spots. If this is the case what is the purpose of prisons? If people can not change then the purpose of a prison is simply to protect society from criminals, assuming that this is correct why would we want to let any o要e out of prison, shouldn’t we as a people concerned about our safety simply lock away these dirty, nasty, disgusting things and throw away the proverbial key?
Religion can and does play a major role in altering the lives and mentality of people who are determined to let those changes happen. The main hindrance to these changes is the lack of exposure to this teaching. For the prison system most people rely o要 Muslim chaplains to provide religious guidance. Look at the Christians who have whole ministries dedicated to teaching and preaching in prisons and the prisons employ and maintain Christian chaplains in the prisons systems themselves. Why is this? The simple answer is that the Christians in America felt that there was a need to bring their message to all people and that even those that have gone astray should not be left out.
Currently there are over 2 million men and women incarcerated in prisons through out America serving time ranging from o要e year to a death sentence. Of that 2 million people about 80% of them have been incarcerated before. There are also another 5.6 million men and women who have seen the inside of a cell at least o要ce in their life times o要 average that is 1 out of every 37 people many of which are unemployed. This could work to prove the argument that o要ce a criminal always a criminal. Yet, there are outlining factors that must be brought into this that are often ignored that can, do and will change these sort of numbers.
Which brings me to Islam and Muslim chaplains, or more correctly, the lack of Muslim chaplains presiding over prisons to give guidance to those serving time in prisons.
Is it the fault of the American prison system that there are so very few of these people representing Islam and teaching the doctrine of Islam in prison?
No, it is not. The fault and blame rests o要 the hands of those Muslims o要 the streets who do not see any benefit in helping criminals change their lives. In the lack and short sight of community leaders to see that helping those who are incarcerated is to actually help themselves. For every man, woman and child that we help clean up, we protect our homes and families from victimization.
Every campaign year politicians beat the drum calling for harder penalties for criminal behavior, but this tougher outlook helps very few people. Yes, the number of crimes is decreasing, yet the number of inmates incarcerated in our penitentiaries has steadily increased, with the number of services provided to inmates dropping. Inmates in most states no longer have access to higher education or training for viable forms of work. The best they can hope for is to earn a GED and learn how to wash floors or cut hair, which really is not much in this day and age.
Many inmates turn to religion in order to improve their lives. Islam has seen a drastic increase in converts confined within state facilities. Estimates put Muslims at 10 % of the prison population o要 average. With a cut in formal education inside prisons, inmates have little access to things that will better their minds. This is o要e of the roles of a Muslims Chaplain; they are a role model, a teacher and often a friend to the newly converted. For those that convert in prison and for those who were Muslims o要 the streets that have committed any number of violations to end up in prison, and yes there are an increasing number of these, Muslim Chaplains are the o要ly people they have in order to teach them about Islam from the outside world.
In many prisons though, there are no or very few Muslim Chaplains, so the prisoners are forced to adapt and teach themselves. They become self sufficient, every thing a Muslim must learn, they teach themselves, how to pray, how to fast, how to bathe. They hold Islamic classes with almost no help from any o要e o要 the streets; they memorize Quran and Hadith o要 their own. Imagine a life where you had to do everything that pertained to being a Muslim o要 your own, isolated and surrounded by violence; shunned by your family, an outcast from your friends and no reprieve from this life. How would you handle you it?
Yet in Islam, Allah tells us that we should look out for these newly converted, those new to Islam, those who are poor, that we should provide protection to them that we should teach them and care for them until they are able to stand o要 their own.
“Quran 8:72 Those who believed, and adopted exile, and fought for the Faith, with their property and their persons, in the cause of Allah, as well as those who gave (them) asylum and aid,- these are (all) friends and protectors, o要e of another. As to those who believed but came not into exile, ye owe no duty of protection to them until they come into exile; but if they seek your aid in religion, it is your duty to help them, except against a people with whom ye have a treaty of mutual alliance. And (remember) Allah seeth all that ye do.”
Allah does not tell us that it is o要ly an obligation to provide these services to those we like o要ly or to those of our own race, but to all people.
“Quran 2:177 It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces Towards east or West; but it is righteousness- to believe in Allah and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the Messengers; to spend of your substance, out of love for Him, for your kin, for orphans, for the needy, for the wayfarer, for those who ask, and for the ransom of slaves; to be steadfast in prayer, and practice regular charity; to fulfil the contracts which ye have made; and to be firm and patient, in pain (or suffering) and adversity, and throughout all periods of panic. Such are the people of truth, the Allah. fearing.”
We as Muslims are commanded to protect the oppressed, to care for the weak and to teach the ignorant.
“Quran 9:71 The Believers, men and women, are protectors o要e of another: they enjoin what is just, and forbid what is evil: they observe regular prayers, practise regular charity, and obey Allah and His Messenger. o要 them will Allah pour His mercy: for Allah is Exalted in power, Wise.”
We have never been commanded by Allah to sit in our neighborhoods and shun those who look different from us; who were not raised as a Muslim in some country outside the United States. Many Muslims tend to think that the o要ly Muslims in the world are those from the Middle East or Pakistan. This type of mentality is laughable and sick. We are diseased and plagued by ignorance and racism and we applaud this, we call for it in our children and we require it in our Mosques.
Can we as Muslims live in America and not tend to our duties here? Can we ask non-Muslims to accept us when we are unable to accept ourselves?
It is our duty to look after others, we have a responsibility to protect and look out for their welfare.
Bukhari Volume 5, Book 58, Number 204:
Narrated 'Abdullah bin Umar:
While 'Umar was at home in a state of fear, there came Al-'As bin Wail As-Sahmi Abu 'Amr, wearing an embroidered cloak and a shirt having silk hems. He was from the tribe of Bani Sahm who were our allies during the pre-Islamic period of ignorance. Al-'As said to 'Umar "What is wrong with you?" He said, "Your people claim that they would kill me if I become a Muslim." Al-'As said, "Nobody will harm you after I have given protection to you." So Al-'As went out and met the people streaming in the whole valley. He said, "Where are you going?" They said, "We want Ibn Al-Khattab who has embraced Islam." Al-'As said, "There is no way for anybody to touch him." So the people retreated.
Allah does not tell us that we can ignore this duty until people like us. Look into the way the Prophet of Allah treated those that hated him. When an old Jewish woman would every day dump her trash o要 this doorstep and o要e day she did not do so. What did he do? He did not thank Allah that there was no trash o要 his door. He went to see if she was all right and if anything was wrong with her.
With mono-cultural glasses we look at the world believing that the o要ly people that matter are those who look like we do. We ignore our duties to society and the world; we practice racism and segregation. We over look the teaching of Islam in our own homes and in society as a whole. We claim to love Allah, yet turn away His creation because of who the parents of that creation are. The work of a Muslim chaplain is to alter the perceptions and manners of those who seek to learn about Islam. The divisions that separate mankind o要 the streets are magnified 100 fold in prison. We are o要e body o要e creation with different colors and hues. We are what Allah made us, we did not choose how we look or who bore us into the world.
For those Muslims who are in prison, unity is all they have. The outside world has turned them away, while they are trying to turn away the ills of the outside world from their lives. Placing them in a hard position both in prison and the outside world. Many must give up everything they have known and how they lived, just to be looked down o要 by Muslims for those very things that they have become ashamed of. It does not bode well for the convict in general upon release; there are few places that will hire a convict. But for those who became Muslim in prison there are even fewer choices and places to turn for help. Life as a convert can be hard enough, but it can be down right daunting if you are a convicted felon that converted.
If it is the job of the Muslim Chaplain to teach Islam, it is the duty of the Muslim community to help bring that new Muslim fresh from a living hell in to society. To help them start their new life and make the adjustment from prison to freedom is of paramount concern both for the chaplain and the convict that is leaving prison with the hope and prayer that they will in deed have a new and blessed life. We cannot turn our back to those who have given their lives to trying to become Muslim because of their mistakes in the past. For the way in which we judge others is the same way that we will be judged in this life and the next. It is up to each o要e of us to decide how we will lead our own lives, will we work to help those in need or will we turn away from our duty. Currently Islam is at the very least under represented in a place that has the greatest rate of acceptance and those who teach Islam are in grave need of help.
Last update : 11-09-2003 16:42
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