Prison Outreach
“After being in the prison system for about two years, continually having altercations with peace officers and still being part of gang activities, a light got turned on and I said, “Enough is enough.” I was in solitary confinement where I read many books and felt kind of like Malcolm X. As soon as I was released from solitary confinement, I sought out the Muslims on the prison yard and declared my shahada in 1993.
I had many teachers, mostly other inmates, who taught me Arabic and other general knowledge of Islam. I thought that if I bought enough books, I could learn all that I needed to know to stay on the path of knowledge. Over the years, my studies were aided by having access to texts produced by the Sankore Institute and the Zaytuna Institute. It wasn’t until 1998 that I realized I needed a shaykh, or teacher, to give me the correct interpretation of Islam. In 2002, I began studying the sciences of Islam under the direction of ustadh Rami Nsour. These lessons consisted of a detailed study of various classical texts on the subjects of ‘aqidah, fiqh, Arabic grammar, adab and tazkiyya.
My efforts with non-Muslims include developing self-help programs such as the Chivalry Workshop, S.A.F.E, S.E.R.I.O.U.S program, and the TIMELESS GROUP. These programs are geared towards helping people get onto the path of rehabilitation from crime, drugs, and all sorts of destructive behavior. I have helped many people, both Muslims and non-Muslim alike, reform their lives and become productive members of society. I have also earned a diploma in Small Business Management and become a certified Paralegal.
The benefit of TAYBA FOUNDATION is that it offers traditional knowledge to inmates regardless of what brought them to prison. Most of us were non-Muslims when we entered prison and now we have been transformed by the richness of knowledge offered by TAYBA FOUNDATION. The instructors see us as their brothers in Islam, when society has treated us as merely second-class citizens at the bottom of the barrel. Now, because of the impact of Sacred Knowledge, we walk with dignity and the desire to make the world beautiful. I couldn’t have imagined being able to study with someone by phone. The cost of collect calls were just too much for me to think that a person who never met me would actually do this out of love for Allah and servitude. This indeed is a grand thing and now hundreds of inmates are being transformed. I continue to study under the tutelage of ustadh Rami Nsour through TAYBA FOUNDATION.”