I am for me okay and you’re in the stream today why do prison inmates in the United States convert to Islam I’m Malika Bilal we discussed the documentary film the honest struggle which tells the story of an ex offenders mission to help Muslim converts as they leave jail leave your comments and
Questions for us in the YouTube chat or on Twitter reentry sometimes is a misnomer because it implies a second chance and the reality for a lot of our brothers is that they never really had a first chance I’ll begin to think that the best place for
Me to be was back in one in themselves because it’s the only thing that is that I know you have no idea what it’s like in every step for me has been very challenging Darrell Davis was just 18 when he was first sent to prison serving a total of 25 years behind bars Davis converted to Islam while in jail taking on the name Sadiq or truthful as part of an attempt to leave his previous lifestyle behind but living his truth
And rebuilding a life outside the prison walls presented its own difficulties in the honest struggle Davis shares his story returning to the Chicago streets that once led him to prison and his story one of faith in overcoming hardship is not unique hundreds of thousands of inmates in the United
States have found a sense of community and solace in Islam with some studies estimating at Muslims comprise about 10 to 15 percent of all American prisoners so what are some of the challenges at former and current inmates encounter as they navigate their faith we’re pleased to welcome Sadiq Davis to the stream to
Help us explore that question also with us Justin Mushaf is the LOS angeles-based filmmaker and the director of the honest struggle and in the u.s. state of Connecticut Imams a tracker is an Islamic scholar and senior faculty member at Zaytuna College in Berkeley California welcome to the stream
Everyone get to have you here so much City hello Sadiq there there was a moment when you decided you were going to convert to Islam tell us about that moment how did you get there well I began there a real laugh that no matter what it is that I was doing is
This what working out for you know no matter how it is that tried to do it just wasn’t working out for them so I thought maybe if I do a little bit low steady in and get off in the Islam maybe I were getting to find some answers to
Why I was being subjected things I was being subjected to so I just put it on top of some old brothers inside prison and they begin to help me understand the Quran and the alphabet and things of that nature so you know kind of it set
Me free you know it gave me a sense of peace that I’d never experienced before him on life so there was something about the Quran that attracted you that drew you in or was it the brothers in prison that drew you in well it was Aslam they’re free the brother kept give me
Some arrested you know the brothers told me why I was so important to maintain where I was so importantly keep studying why I was so important that look at how it is that I used to live but I recognized the fact that it was inhumane and that’s the
Reason why I was going through so many internal changes because I didn’t recognize my own condition you know the Quran teaches you you know when to either be gonna change the condition of a people until they change what is within themselves so having read that I realized that I had the lesson
Things go in order to find out the truth about who it is that I wore than how I was supposed to be living as a human being so we got this tweet from man or a club here and she kind of picks up on what you’re saying there about why she
Sees people converting to this religion in prisons minora says Islam is a religion which will forgive when perhaps the rest of the world aren’t willing to it offers you peace and answers for everything going on which makes it easier to be patient during hard times and have help for the future so with
That in mind Justin the idea for this documentary in the first place I know it came to you in the form of an email or a letter from a chaplain way back in 2008 yeah so in 2008 I had received an email from a Christian chaplain who was
Actually in charge of the Muslim inmates and he was looking for Muslims on the outside be you know pen pals and it was just such a stretch that he found my email on the internet and I as a documentary filmmakers that immediately you know started researching the subject
I just took on so many other brothers that were locked up through his network through some of my own network and I was in touch with you know about a half dozen and then finally in 2010 I discovered Iman’s program and I just said it was it was second to none and it
Was such a unique thing that I just really wanted to tell that story so Justin just for the people who are tuned in today for the first time we have covered the program you’re talking about with the inner city Muslim Action Network it’s called the green green tree
Program but in a line there can you describe what that program is yeah sure so the the green reentry program essentially identifies positive role models it would the prison that our prisoners that are coming out to give them a safe space to live and then also in addition give them
Green rehabilitation skills and construction so they are rehabilitating dilapidated homes on in the southside of Chicago that are been foreclosed on and they do solar paneling they do you know recycled flooring and materials and kind of giving the idea is to give kind of cutting edge job skills so that way
People can kind of get on their feet and become self-sufficient a mom’s aide I wouldn’t something that is really relevant to what you do it’s from the Pew Research Center it’s quite an old piece of research religion in prisons a 50-state survey of prison chaplains and then here which groups are growing
And shrinking top of the list Muslims growing or staying the same in prison why do you think that is what do you think it is about Islam that actually attracts people in prison to think that there’s something there that might help their journey right I think
There are a number of issues first of all or a lot of people this is a universal before a lot of people Islam is a protest religion it’s a protest against oppression it’s a protest against conditions that are sometimes cruel and unforgiving and for many people the the reigning religious
Reality is part of what’s being protested and so Islam becomes sort of an alternative for everyone I think is that’s where many people I think as Universal that Islam gives a person dignity by empowering that person empowering the person through literacy I know many Muslims who were incarcerated
The first book that they read cover to cover and their life was the Koran and so that’s very empowering so there are there are a lot of good there are many many reasons also Islam because it demands that you study it’s a it’s a it’s a religion that’s based on
Knowledge it’s a knowledge based tradition and religion and that record of study minions that says slows a lot of brothers down for the first time as those who’ve seen the documentary can remember said deke talking about just in the street you’re going you’re going you’re moving you’re hustling and at
Breakneck speed sometimes and once you are incarcerated and you have a Quran that’s that slows you down and once you slow down you can begin to get in touch with your true self and so there are many other reasons we convention about I’ll turn the mic over to my colleagues
Well the Sadiq he’d might follow up on that sitting there are some beautiful moments in the film with their moments when we’re laughing with you and their moments when were crying with you one of the moments that I laughed out loud was a sense of self realization you said it
Took you 40 years to realize that you as dumb as a box of rocks then you convert it’s anything you became smart so why are you in prison as a convert how did it help so it’s a deep put it as dumb as a box of rocks then he became a convert
And then how did that help you actually get through the rest of your prison sentence well you know about me a sense of peace you know I mean I realized that I wasn’t smart about all the world you know like I said it it took me 40 years
I’m dumb as a box of rocks everything else begin to unfold to me by way of the Deen everything became very clear so I learned that I couldn’t get that knowledge before because I wasn’t willing to take my hands and put them behind my back you know I wouldn’t
Realize it recognized the fact that I wasn’t as smart as I thought I was but then I kept looking at the fact that I couldn’t have been too smart cause I kept getting all that trouble spending all that time in themselves so it don-don’t what something is not right here so I
Began to only four truly let that part of my life go and it was replaced with something much more fantastic much more rewarding much more peaceful it is then that I realized and accepted the fact that okay now I’m beginning to understand you know I’m not I’m beginning to see that
How it is that I’ve been living was contrary to what it is that I was created to do and took us a harder to to rectify that you know I’ve wanted to straighten that out and show other gang members and inmates what that looked like when you practice it at all from
Fall so it’s set me free and she had of course being declaration of faith go ahead erupted at the age of 40 the revolution came through the Prophet Muhammad it’s a very good year keeping that in mind Mickey here on Twitter says that the conversion often is because of
A sense of community feelings of belonging and it’s important to than one’s well-being and that is well in prison but then what happens when you get out and oftentimes that is for many people a struggle in itself which takes us to this suite we just got from TJ who
Says I would like to know how the director how you Justin came out with the idea the honest struggle is the title of this documentary what is behind that honest struggle first of all full credit to being creative about that title was my wife I had multiple titles
Of the film as I was working on it and my wife came up with it sadik’s name essentially you know comes from the idea of truthfulness and and honesty and the film is completely about his struggle so it just like popped in so you know so
Well and it worked perfectly to be the honest struggle being Sadiq struggle Sadiq there’s a moment where we weren’t on you but I could hear you and we were wondering what happens when you get out you have this community of brothers in prison and then you have to look for
Your community now that your convert outside there was a moment where you met up with an old friend called Rochelle an old childhood friend and you were chit-chatting and telling her about your conversion and I just want to share with our audience as well seen from that
Moment have a look coming back over here in a neighborhood while called mobizen on the block well we did shootings in the playground coming back on the block and being reminded aware that I come from it’s my way of trying to share with the block that I contributed to the problem
My name is Sadiq Sadiq means truthful so one thing is I’m not gonna do is the sound of my own name like I’ve done my life I buried the rail a very Danny Boy I know who it is that I am when I hit a word Sadiq I think it’s good you become
The person that you are now you know it’s a lot yeah you know you turned out good it just took so long you know I think that is deep dark shade Rochelle is preying on you our friends yeah but the reality of finding a new community that you’ve
Never experienced tell us about that well you know to embrace Islam in prison gave me accessible longan it gave me the true identity of what brother who was all about remember that’s the reason why I joined the game late sixties and seventies because I was in such a brotherhood but having discovered Islam
Also recognized the fact that that was the other who that wouldn’t bother who so you know it gave me it gave me something is that I’ve never experienced before he gave me a sense of family it gave me a sense of commitment and coming out to the street and not feeling the
Same thing and certain errors was devastating to me you know I mean we had a very strong sense of community in prison and you know to come out to the street not experience that was very devastating to me or not I think that was one of the hardest things it is I’ve
Ever encountered before in my life because I’ve had so much great expectation and so much belief in my it’s not the community in the Brotherhood so I had to talk with just enough about that or more than one occasion about I was so dipping out in the street and I
Thought it would be a whole lot better on the street in the world in prison however you know along with gesturing and a few other brothers that I’ve talked to I was able to maintain but it was very difficult but I wouldn’t trade this position for all the tea in China
Because now I recognize that it is truly part of what I called another struggle I think what’s mentioned is very important and that’s why the green reentry program that similar programs is so important in addition to the job training there’s the support peer support which sometimes the prison life as anyone everyone knows
It’s very structured and Islam is a very structured religion five prayers Jumma friday congregation Quran reading Quran study group conversation fasting Ramadan together so you put the structure of the slam and you combine that with the structure and structure of incarceration that’s a whole lot of structure and and everyone’s together
Almost 24/7 you come out into the street and this is from my experience working inside of the prisons and also in an inner-city community ma’am in an inner-city community where we had people reintegrating back into the community that structure in many instances completely gone you might find it at the
Morning prayer the pageant prayer where a decent number might come together then everyone’s going to work this is going to work this is going to take the kids to school this one’s going to do this that and the other and you might not get together until jumar of the Friday
Prayer and so having programs where there’s a sense of continuity in terms of that structure in terms of a support group in terms of job training to assist the process of reintegrating fully reintegrating back and to society is absolutely important I’m so happy for Sadiq that he was able to find that
Opportunity in the context of the green reentry program so mmm what you’re saying that I just wanted I want to try here because people watching this are weighing in this is manner and she says what returning citizens often need is a little bit of extra help when leaving
Prison keep themselves out of trouble she says businesses should perhaps accept a quota of former prisoners when employing and give them a chance without that routine distraction it’s easier to fall back into old ways so someone else who’s weighing in on that idea of what happens when people come home return to
Society is someone who works at a ban the company is the the organization that you’ve heard our our guests talk about inner city Muslim Action Network and they’re the ones that have the green reentry program that Siddiqui were a part of one of the founding members of
That this is Tanisha Coleman and she talks to us about what some of these returning citizens often face I believe the main difficulties of being a returning citizen is the stigma that comes with the title of being a returning citizen people tend to judge you on your past as opposed to trying to
Help you really cultivate and figure out what your future is going to look like you walk around with this dark cloud and it it comes with not forgiving yourself for whatever mistake you may may or may not have made but I think it’s really important as a returning citizen to
Really see your future self to forgive yourself for your past and to look at how you can be a better person in the future so Justin as the filmmaker behind this were you surprised that difficulty or is that the reason you decided to tackle this yeah I mean it was
Definitely one of the reasons I decided to tackle it if you look at the statistics on reentry it’s just absolutely you know disappointing and depressing frankly and I see you know organizations like Iman their contribution is so crucial they you know counter are following up on the legacy
Of people like Malcolm X who you know when coming out of prison said you know what the first thing I want to do is is try to help pull my brothers out of this situation so I think you know that was definitely a big motivator for me and to you know inspire
People to take this as a serious priority and there’s a lot that we can do in order to help people that are that are really simple things one of the one of the first people that I spoke to when I was making this film was a brother
Named Elijah and he was he was from Iowa and when I went out and visited him just the community he had just kind of thrown him to the side and he just said you know everybody’s gonna salami at the mosque but I just want somebody to play
Xbox with you know so it was it was really kind of difficult to see that and that that type of stigmatization that happens to people that are coming home is disappointing and I feel like Muslim communities can do a lot to improve that Siddiq I’m just looking at some
Photographs here from the screenings from the honest struggle looking at screenings in Indiana prisons I’m just gonna scroll through some of the publicity that you in Justin been doing this is your beautiful wife you’ll have to watch the room to find out her plotline very interesting there you look
So comfortable being a representative of what it means to convert to Islam coming out of prison and then going on that journey what are you able to share with people what is your message for people at the end of this film it’s more than just
Your story well to begin with if I could go in every prison in Eleonora I would tell him to try to get in touch with him on you know because Iman was responsible for me having a place to come to it was responsible for me being in a
Muslim setting to continue to practice the Deen Novalis long and I didn’t really begin to struggle until I left Iman if I had any kind of control over the situation either an back but I couldn’t do that because I knew that space was also a belt for other brothers
Coming out so the message it is that I would like to give to people concerning Islam is this at some point you got to recognize the fact that you didn’t manifest that you got to recognize the fact that you needed to be doing something different I tell our brothers
All the time don’t wait tell you you got 40 years of 50 years before you realize that Islam is available to you don’t wait and tell your life is over you don’t have no control of you got the ass of everything and as you’ve done before you realize
That it’s mom it’s been given to you they help you straighten your life out so more than anything I want to continue to a strong brothers in prison that when you come out as long as you maintain the Deen is known you continue to make your
Slots there’s no one you continue to do it dude I know Ramadan and do everything it is necessary for you to do it’s a Muslim no matter what it is you go through you’re gonna be alright Wow because the last month I either said I never put on you’re much more than
What is here just you come back which is why on YouTube right now someone is watching what you’re saying and writing in if this works for inmates or former inmates then why ostracize them a spiritual awakening is tantamount to rehabilitation of course you can see that on the live YouTube feed of this
Show but I actually want to play a video comment we just got on Instagram from someone who talks to us about what he can do was asking a question have a listen to him in this comet ison alaikum my name is Hakeem Muhammad I’m from the South Side Chicago and I was really
Inspired by the film the on the struggle and my question is nothing we better reach our brothers in the streets with the message of us Imam is a and I’ll give that one to you yeah well what we used to do in New Haven Connecticut
Amongst other things is we had a van we called it the Dawa mobile and we’ve put some speakers on the roof of the band and we put a PA system that was powered by the cigarette lighters and we will go through the streets and pull up wherever
There was a crew of brothers and we get out and we just talked to the brothers and embrace them and encourage them and many times there will be people who want Muslims sometimes there were people or Muslims who who would stop coming to the the Masjid I think we have to open the
Doors of the Masjid I think I’m a very important thing in terms of what we can do is we have to be living with presentative of that truth of that true regardless of the external situation regardless whether we’re asked your size or embraced rather were marginalized or celebrated no matter what the external
Condition and dig said something that spoke to this we have to rise above and be an example in that example that inspiration will help others who might be dealing with the difficulties the poor through imagination beautiful brothers that are like saints who came through that prison system and know
Thank you so much in this whole room the outside was going to stop them okay a mom saying no no no apologies needed speaking true fright here on the stream it mounts a sturdy it’s just in thank you very much for being on the stream we cannot talk about this film without
Telling you where to see it and you can see it wherever you are in the world justin is in full promo mode right here so you can see it on itunes and also if you go to the website of the honest struggle you will see it on Amazon
Instant Video and also on iTunes and also a pivot shirt around the world and coming soon to Google Play thank you very much gentlemen it’s such a pleasure having you on the stream today now this show is not just thrown together we put it together with an incredible crew one
Of our incredible crew one of our family is Madeleine Finkel Maddie Finkel who is leaving today so Malika how do we see her let’s cut to the control room I would like that all right so let’s cut to the control room so we can give Maddie a big thank you turn around yours
Even I guess so applauding – Maddie think oh we will miss you we love you very much thank you for helping us make the stream see you next time without Maddie
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