with only 5% of the world's population
the US has 25% of the world's prison
population which makes the USA the
world's largest jailer since 1970 the US
prison population has risen 700 percent
many groups have labeled this torture
that's messed up
but it could never happen to me yes it
could it could happen to you just like
that we see on most TV shows I was so
frightened Salam alaykum greetings of
peace welcome to the Deen show now we
often hear Islam is the fastest growing
way of life in the world and it is
according to the Guinness Book of World
Records but a lot of times people
because of all the distractions out
there they don't get a chance to sit
focus and reflect that's why it's sad to
say but true many people when they do
get in a situation where they're forced
behind bars in jail now all the
entertainment everything all the disco
lights are off now it's time to reflect
and think because you're forced into it
not only is Islam the fastest growing
way of life outside of the prisons but
inside the prisons and we have our next
guest who accepted Islam in jail he's
here to give us the inside scoop on why
he accepted it and how life was in the
prisons for Muslims when we come back
here in Adi show don't go anywhere
this is
how are you my brother Tom doodle-oo
nice to meet you nice to meet you
so often we hear about Islam being the
fastest-growing way of life in the world
and this is true according to the
Guinness Book of World Records but now
we we want to know inside the prisons is
it true also that Islam is rapidly
growing in the prison so very much so
very much so why would you say this is
because I witnessed it I've been
incarcerated now for 17 years and I've
been to nine different prisons and I can
honestly say that brothers are taking a
Shahada in larger numbers now well so
you were incarcerated 17 years I won't
say years and and now you fight you got
out and how long at what point in your
prison term were you exposed to Islam
and how long did it actually take you to
figure out that this was a way of life
that you wanted to live okay it may be
2001 I was in the Shu a special housing
unit the hole where they put em a saying
for different infraction that he
committed in the prison system and every
morning I should hear a brother calling
they're done at that time I didn't know
what it was and I stayed in a hole for
six months and that brother called their
dime faithfully and that called the
prayer where made me take my Shahada
hearing that heard on every morning and
it had got so much ingrained in my heart
that I memorized the dime and the shoot
way down the hallway so when I got out
of the hole onto the shoe they call it
the whole ghetto of the shoe the first
thing I cry about was you know what was
their brother doing in the hole because
it touched my heart
and they sent me to the chapel on the
gym on Friday and I took martial art of
that day what were you in jail for I was
in jail for a conspiracy for drugs
mm-hmm so now you did your time and did
you feel like while you were in prison
they're a rehabilitation do people go in
prison and because the idea is I would
think that okay someone we all make
mistakes right
right we all makes mistakes and some of
them the the worst people will make
mistakes are the people who don't get
caught a lot of times and they get away
with millions and there's no justice
unless you got money that's life
but now did it make do people we often
hear that people go to prison and they
become worse right it is true it's very
true and you only gonna get two things
about a prison you're gonna find
yourself or you're going to lose
yourself to the system Oh she'll find
yourself or lose yourself and the system
or the prison system or that industrial
complex is set up to trap and enslave
you and for those of us like myself who
had a determination that do better and I
want to change I'm thankful to Allah
cependant want Allah for granting me to
be a Muslim first and foremost but then
you've got a lot of brothers in prison
who get lost in the system and they
never find their way never and they
don't understand the totality of what's
really going on and it's unfortunately
like how when you say they get lost in
the system what do you mean well they
you know they go to prison they want to
criminally master what the next man
criminally mastered so they go in prison
doing credit cards and all they talk
about when they get out I'm just going
to say a weed because we don't get that
much time where they go selling coke and
they want to come out saying heroin and
they never get a chance to really think
about their actions never and it takes a
lot of determination to want to change
you know change is a process and I'm
just thankful that a lot of got in my
heart
because I'll be lost - now you're in
isolation no people don't understand
that we often hear torture well
humanitarian and many groups have
labeled this torture well for people to
be isolated in a cage can you talk a
little bit about what's that like this
that's another tool that the prison
used to degrade you and they basically
put you in a room by yourself or a sale
and you have no contact for 24 hours a
day you get your meal and they slide
your meal through a metal tray through
the door you get one hour wreck a week
and you can shower in your rooms
basically some of the prison's with God
have to ask whit appears much you only
could take a shower twice a week and
it's torture basically what they're
doing they're torturing you and they
trying to make they trying to just set
this the life out of you that's what
that experience is like yes but now
let's say someone says look we want
safer streets we want less crime what
else do we have what are their options
do we have like to rehabilitate people
to you know get people who are
committing these crimes you know to make
them pay for what they've done what are
the solutions well the staff or the
administration in the prison system
tried to trick me and believing that the
programs that they're offering would be
the key but it's not and the majority of
those programs are taught by inmates
very rarely do you see a staff teaching
the class or putting forth four sincere
effort no one to see you change because
that's their way of living the more
people they have in prison they got to
secure employment so they really not
trying to train you or teach you how to
not come to prison so they just let you
just free and it makes you teaching the
classes they basically just inmate talk
classes with no substance and I believe
that the only thing that would really
get people to wake up in a prison system
is Islam and that's just my firm belief
do you feel that a slum helped
rehabilitation definitely did and I'm
not the person today than I was
yesterday if I if I really like I don't
like to think about it but if I want to
talk about it I'm just share this with
you I live beneath my privilege I
dishonor my mother and my father and I
brought a lot of pain
no maturity and I'm ashamed of that and
Islam helped me with that because I know
now that this Deen or this religion
didn't come to a bunch of perfect people
it came to perfect people and I'm
thankful to Allah offenders Allah
because it took some time and I went I
would be naive to sit here and say that
everything happened overnight I had a
lot of work to do because I had a lot of
dunya dust still you know around my
heart and I was still caught up in the
jaw here in the ignorance that I used to
do in the past so it took a lot but
every day every day I worked at it and I
worked at and I worked at and then
insha'Allah I lost the pen and while I
was only warming for my efforts
inshallah that we're all a work in
progress
yeah that's the beautiful thing that now
Islam gives you the purpose of life
while you're here reforms you to become
a better human being well and what if
I'm understanding correctly so you don't
really you didn't have these programs
that are helping to educate you that are
helping to rehabilitate you to help you
come out a better human Deen basically
all that was taken away many years ago
when they had where you can go to
college and you can have college classes
coming in to offer you something or you
can have an instructor of some value
come in and teach you some some skills
that's gone and I've been from the USPS
all the way down to the Lowe's I worked
my way down from a maximum prison to a
low prison over the years and that was
because I had patients I lost depend on
what other granted me patients and I
have never seen in nine different
prisons in my 17 years sentence programs
that was realistic or value or substance
never and if you really want change you
had to do it for yourself and and that's
the thing with the prison system they
don't offer you anything but hard work
that's it they just want to work you
work you know work you and they want to
try to keep you there as long as
possible working for I heard pennies yes
15 cent an hour at a unicorn job at the
factories and its really slave labor
that's basically what it is
and and if you don't work they punish
you some more and they take away your
good time or they take your phone
privileges what you can't speak to your
family they take away your visits when
you don't have access to your loved ones
where you can talk to them face to face
they take away your commissary where you
can't even buy the basic necessities to
get by and so basically what they're
doing is torching you because that's the
way the system is I want to get your
reaction to this video and then you can
tell me what you think was pretty dead
if it's pretty dead on earth or what
with only 5% of the world's population
the u.s. has 25% of the world's prison
population which makes the USA the
world's largest jailer
since 1970 the US prison population has
risen seven hundred percent ninety-three
percent of people in prison are male
seven percent are female together
African American and Hispanic comprise
58 percent of all prisoners in 2008 even
though African Americans and Hispanics
make up approximately one quarter of the
u.s. population
one in six black men have been
incarcerated as of 2001 if current
trends continue one in three black males
born today can expect to spend time in
prison during his lifetime about 70
billion dollars are spent on Corrections
yearly prisons and jails consume a
growing portion of the nearly two
hundred billion dollars we spend
annually on Public Safety and prison is
a growing industry between 1990 and 2010
the number of privately operated prisons
in the u.s. increased by sixteen hundred
percent over half of the private prison
profits come from holding facilities for
undocumented immigrants in contracts
with the government some private prison
companies demand the minimum occupancy
levels of more than 90 percent these
contracts guarantee that prison
occupancy rates will stay at or above a
specified level if occupancy rates are
not fulfilled the government pays for
the empty beds as it turns out private
companies have a cheap easy labor market
and it isn't in China it's right here in
the land of the free where large
corporations increasingly employ
prisoners as a source of cheap and
sometimes free labor many prisoners are
forced to work real jobs for private
corporations forcing down wages in the
rest of the economy nation's prison
industry now employs more people than
any Fortune 500 corporate
except General Motors some people call
prison labor modern-day slavery a few
companies who hire prison labor are
Victoria Secret Boeing McDonald's and
Starbucks solitary confinement widely
used in American prisons is regarded
internationally as torture prisoners
held in solitary confinement are
typically kept in a small windowless
cell for 23 hours a day with minimal
access to lawyers family and guards the
number of prisoners currently in
solitary is estimated to be around
80,000 because of its prison system the
u.s. is the only country in the world
where more men are raped than women
there were two hundred sixteen thousand
victims of rape in US prisons in 2008
that is roughly 600 a day or 25 every
hour so what's your reaction when you
see that a pretty pretty much on the
mall yeah that's surprising when you say
okay we're 5 percent of the world's
population here in America but we hold
25 percent of the world's prisoners yeah
what would you like to see change I
would like to see the whole system
change but they don't start in the
prison system they've got to start first
in the governments and then in states
and then the courts and all those areas
where they initiating this horrible
thing that they're doing and it has to
start somewhere else first because the
prison is just a fun you know it's a big
front for these like to take were saying
the corporation's who invested all this
money into the prison system and a lot
of these politicians are getting money
off the prison system and they putting
these people in play where they got job
security for the rest of their life and
the thing that I've seen also is that
you now have whole families working in
prison system so you got the mother the
father the keys and and this is its
employment for them that's how they look
at it they don't see the the fact that
it's doing on people everyday lives they
just looking at the money
and this said and I wish I had to ask
that where I can just give you a
concrete resolution of what I think need
to be done I don't understand oh well
what we see is a lot of people they end
up they like to even these politicians
and and the people that are out there
the the haters Islamophobes they try to
make Islam look backwards they tried to
denigrate Islam they try to make Muslims
look oppressive and whatnot but you have
a system that's right in front of us
along with many of the systems I mean
there are a lot of good people out there
but they there's their underlining
factors and I understand when we all
make you know people make mistakes and
now when the sit up the system is kind
of setting it up for a person to fail
and then when they do fail instead of
helping them to get back on their feet
to get rehabilitated from what I'm
getting from from yourself and what when
people look into it you go in there and
for example you might have gotten
arrested for a petty crime but then you
get inside and now you're around the
mastermind of criminals who help educate
you to be a better criminal
there's no schooling system in place
from what you what you're telling me
what we see on the base of education
school
yes GED okay but no college courses they
do have like you know some little
construction classes or you might have a
CD CDL class you can take but nothing to
the scale what it should be if you
really want to see people make a
difference to come home and not come
back to prison
well you yeah well you get empowered now
with some knowledge and you can get out
I was reading where they had people out
there the inmates fighting forest fires
fighting fires and train like the
professionals but then when they get out
they're putting their life's on the line
but you know paid pennies but then when
they get out
there's stigmatized they cannot get a
job
and and I'll testify to that myself I've
been home now for tea someday he's going
on 50 days and I've been on maybe 20
interviews and the only thing do they
see it's the mistake I made they don't
see the person I really am or the skills
I had to acquire on my own to be a
better person and it's an unfortunate
thing and that was that's gonna be with
me for the rest of my life but I'm not
gonna let that deter me from being a
better person a better son to my mother
and father a better father to my
children and a better sibling to my
brothers and sisters and a better slave
to Allah one decimal just first and most
important to me so you know you're gonna
go through some trials and tribulations
but you just gotta hang in there so
would you say the the best gift that you
got in the prison was Islam definitely
and I say that with all honesty and I
now had Islam in my life I don't know
why I've been right now there were some
times in the prison system I felt like
giving up because I had that long
sentence and I really didn't have
anything to look forward to and I was
really in a dark place and I'm thankful
every day that I lost some kind of one
thought give me that chance because I
view life differently
I see things on a different scale I
don't have tunnel vision anymore and
like you said earlier that you alluded
to earlier mister Papa ganda that they
tried to put out against Islam to deter
people from accepting the truth the Huq
and that's an unfortunate thing but
Allah tells us about that too in the
Quran that they aim to esteem with the
light of Islam Allah what they utter or
blown with their miles and that's the
manufacturing of mistruths lying
propaganda were using their Airways and
their media but Allah has we have to
spread it's like no matter how much to
disbelieve I hate it and I stand firm on
that this team is growing and
like we said earlier brothers are not
being tricked by the anymore they've
taken a Shahada and I've witnessed this
and it's a wonderful thing so for people
that don't know earlier what you're
talking about you heard that Dan that's
to call to prayer come to prayer come to
prayer come to success there's nothing
worthy of worship except God o mighty
Allah the creator that happens in the
earth Muhammad is this final messenger
and obviously this would include all the
messengers that came before him Jesus
Moses Abraham because they all came with
Islam calling mankind not to worship the
creation but the one creator and that
resonates with the heart it makes sense
that pure monotheism a believable
message based on proof and evidence and
you're saying people are taking their
Shahada la hey la la mohammed
rasoolallah and that's what one needs to
do to become a Muslim is to give birth
what's already in very nature and we're
seeing that it's that's what's helping
reform and when you have a system what
do you think now we were talking
watching a video that people aren't
abreast to this that you have these
private before 1980 I believe it wasn't
privatized the prison system was then
from like 1990 onwards you had a
skyrocketing percentage I think sixteen
hundred percent of the prison population
skyrocketed
so if these beds so the private
institutions now they want these prisons
filled to make money to make money
yes and they would do anything possible
to keep them feel mm-hmm if they have to
put you in there for crimes that
ordinarily would get you probation or
would get you just a fine if they can
put you in that prison and manufacture
some lies they would do it because they
want to keep them base feel they might
generate income with empty beds and this
is not just with adults I was also
really with juveniles you had this judge
not too long ago he got sentence
hamdullah
but he was given the stiffest penalties
and he was getting kickbacks from a
profit from the private prison system
county judge mark ciavarella
fazes char
tonight prosecutors say he wrote
countless young wife sending children to
jails in return for cash has said and
I've lost to science at a prison system
and they both started off in a juvenile
system that system and it said and and
and I'm willing to I can't bet you
because we know gamble in Islam but I
bet that lawyer didn't do no time or
that judge didn't do no time for what he
did I don't think he did because if you
got money you can buy your way out of
anything and the majority of the people
in the prison system now they're not the
kingpins under real drug dillard these
guys are never in my own a house or car
and they're able to come for gym shoes
and they doing all the time like the
kingpin supposed to be doing so all the
kingpins are actually still out in the
streets and the majority of other
politicians the people from Wall Street
and Wall Street who ripped off most of
the the people they got Lula yeah so you
have to kind of get you got to buy
justice no did you see that no there
there's a lot of documentaries on it
there's one that I really recommend
people to watch call the survivors guide
to prison it talks about the plea
bargain systems it talks about how the
public defenders they really only get to
spend like seven under ten minutes with
ya talking to you and they pretty much
try to convince you just to plea it out
that's messed up but it could never
happen to me yes it could it could
happen to you just like that but we see
on most TV shows
yellow I was so frightened are you gonna
be a victim
I wasn't entertaining quit in a week I
watched a man die right next to me my
buck and I'm listening to it and I'm
thinking damn ain't somebody gonna come
help this door it's more like a horror
show just ask for an attorney don't
blindly trust authority figures be ready
to stand you're gonna need money
pray for a miracle take a bad situation
and they usually make it much worse all
the data luckily is out there just a
matter of whether you give we're gonna
get perspectives from investigative
journalists analysts academics prison
staff lawyers cops inmates showing the
unfortunate case that this may happen to
you this is the survivors guide to peace
it was not just the public defenders the
real lawyers in the real there is a real
lawyers on when I first got arrested on
my case I spent almost 160,000 on
lawyers and I and I was in the pre-trial
stage for a year I probably saw my real
lawyer three times mm-hmm and I went to
trial so how possibly can a lawyer
defend you when he don't even know
nothing about you or your case it was
about the money so it's big business
with the lawyers as well it wasn't just
the public defender because the public
defenders get paid by the courts and the
little money they do get they don't want
to do no work anyway and they and
sometimes their caseloads are so
overburdened
they got 15 20 people in court in one
day and it said this is all about this
money
Wow I've asked this question Islam
anything that goes away from that from
because you can't have peace unless you
have justice and Islam is built on
justice and peace and anyone who has a
sincere and genuine in their approach to
analyzing Islam they'll see that it's a
it's something from the crater and it's
there's no way that I can can't could
have come from anyone other than the one
who created this whole universe and
everything in it now there is a Pinos
sis there there are punishments
deterrence strong deterrence to keep
people away from don't doing crimes and
we know that after everyone's been fed
justice has been established even this
deterrent is as was suspended one time
in history will talk about the
amputation of the hand when people
didn't have you know people aren't
getting locked up for like you know like
you said like for food or for some basic
necessities but this is like the
mastermind this is the person who's
trying to come in your home and rob you
who's plotting and planning so let's say
now that person who's locked up and let
me see what you say because you were in
the prison system and that person who
was locked up now for 10 15 20 whatever
years and they're in the system in jail
but now they're offered to go back to
their family to get out to get a new
start but they're gonna also have to
suffer the consequences of the
amputation of the hand if you were given
that choice what would you have done
it's like my hand you definitely took
money you didn't hesitate there I
wouldn't hesitate take my hand take my
hand because to get that 17 years ago 17
years but I take my hand because that
would definitely deter me and I would
rather for you to take my hand
definitely I have no doubt in my mind
that would be my answer let's let's uh
let's dissect that a little bit how much
okay so your your life now you do you
feel that would have helped you save a
lot of the family issues that were a
result of being away from them for 17
years especially as a father definitely
with my boys especially I lost two sons
to the prison system already my
daughters I'm not having that
that guidance that they really needed in
their life to make the choices were even
choosing a boyfriend because my
daughters they only knew me for who I
used to be so they was act naturally
looking for a man like me somebody that
was in the streets who was able to give
them the bling stuff the material stuff
and that was an unfortunate thing for me
it was it was it was hard for me to
accept that and my son's thinking that
my old lifestyle was like a badge of
honor they want
be in the streets and sell drugs and be
like their daddy all that was my fault
because I should have been that for my
children so had I had the opportunity or
the choice listen this is what we're
gonna offer you time we take your hand
take my hand honestly can say that let
me go be with my family you would have
saved how much you think you to say the
taxpayer is also home is almost smiling
that's 17 times what does it cost a year
to house someone I heard it somewhat
what is it like oh I heard somewhere
between 70 to $100,000 awesome is
between that yes yeah a year yes so
figure how much that time 17 mom would
have saved the taxpayers your family now
you wouldn't have had that connection
than you would with your family yes yeah
so we ask people to think you know
before they make a very biased
prejudiced stereotypical accusation
towards Islam and Muslims really look
into Islam we try to bring these stories
to light to show highlights now that
someone who went in the prison system
and they actually came out rehabilitated
now because of the prison system but
because of Islam and then with all
honesty the majority a good 80 to 90
percent of the brothers who take they
Shahada in prison
navigating the trouble we're respected
by the staff and authorities in prison
are the trendsetters they do all the
things that normally the guard should do
keep the drama down to trouble down
organize programs the Muslims but you
don't hear about that in in the media
people don't talk about that much me
inside the prison sister's a Muslim of
the diamond airforce and they they the
guards look to them for everything she
didn't have a good relationship with the
warden and the guards to us they call
them for everything to stop two
fractions fighting against each other
they find the Imam from the community or
well Specter brother that's a Muslim and
they try to talk to them into going out
too
you know mediate the situation and the
Muslim are well respected in prison so
that because the prison guard they don't
have to worry about getting Shane beat
up by the Muslims Muslims are the P
actual peacemakers is that right yes and
all the prisons I've been to and that
was another thing that really made me
say Islam is a better way for me because
I saw it myself
and I used to always question well how
come these brothers are well respected
like that that's why I lost the final
month all I made them that way when you
have consciousness of your Creator when
you're connected to your Creator you
submit your well to the crater that's
what Islam is you become the whole point
is to become a better human being so we
need more Islam in the prisons and if
you have Islam outside of the prisons
everywhere you have Islam you're gonna
have more of a peaceful environment
you're gonna have more peace not only
for that person within themselves but
they're gonna want that's going to
resonate and it's gonna help to develop
peace and other people's lies by sharing
this this way of life so I really
appreciate you taking the time to share
some of the insights that you had with
us and anything else we missed from the
story that you like to you think is
important you'd like to share if people
would look at Islam wholeheartedly they
would see the beauty in Islam and this
religion really is truly and I'm not
just saying this because I must I'm
saying it because I witnessed it it's a
better way for everybody and I believe
if it's Nam was offered to the world in
this true form we have a better society
I honestly believe it what do you
believe about Jesus now as a were you a
Christian before yes I was so what do
you believe about Jesus now as opposed
to before I love them I love Jesus or
Issa
allez Salam it's just some differences
that I have but with his death and you
know stuff like that but I love Jesus
and and I don't believe you can be a
Muslim if you don't love you yeah that's
hundred percent of the point yeah that
is a god or lizard
Oh God but obviously is like Abraham was
he was a Messenger of God
every prophet that God ever sent were
messengers and unfortunately the books
got a little twist it and I don't want
to get into that right now but I love
Jesus mm-hmm I love so you you did your
homework you had a lot of time to read
you did a lot of reading I taught myself
Arabic how to read and write I was the
Imam or the spiritual leader in the
prison system for the last twelve years
and I'm in a better place and I don't
have no regrets I don't look back at my
past and say had I did this and had I
did that because I know I lost dependent
one time this is Carter and my family
loves me more now and I only been home
40 days and they respect me more that
I'm a Muslim they see the change in me
everybody I come in contact with see the
change in me and that's all that matters
what advice do you have for the people
who are chasing that bling-bling
lifestyle they're looking up to you know
trying to be a drug lord or you know
trying to be this that and everything
negative and you know the hip-hop
community and all this they're not
really helping are they oh the material
things it's a it's a false reality
mm-hmm and I used to ask myself sometime
what makes a man come of his life away
for false reputation and some material
things knowing the mentality of his
oppresses the system yeah and I see that
now and it's not worth it it's not worth
it alone and I can stand here and I can
tell you the sad stories the struggles
that I had to go through and I'm not
going to see him pretending it wasn't
easy I didn't just take my Shahada and
all of a sudden like this I was all holy
and my hair was up to the sky had to go
through some things yeah and I had to
work out some stuff that was ingrained
in my heart and my Cobb but Islam is a
better way and if you're looking for
that peace and that serenity that
tranquility try a slaw
hmm just try us long brother Siraj do
you have a contact number if people
wanted to contact you and give some
support love and of course maybe even if
you yeah to reach out to you course my
cell number 7 7 3 2 5 5 4 0 9 2 and I
have a gmail account Cooper see or oper
Raymond our a ymo and D 41 at gmail.com
I like that try Sloan you tried
everything else Kid Rock ain't gonna
give you peace cordials other famous now
I've been so far out of tune but all of
those people who are flashing that
bling-bling for a few minutes on screen
some of them most of them live in the
most miserable lives but you have our
brother here Suraj spend time but now he
found himself and he got the greatest
gift and he's trying telling you how you
can have peace and be successful by
trying trying slump try to put your head
on the ground humble yourself and seek
help from the creator of the heavens in
the earth ask him for guidance ask him
why are you here if you were on the moon
you'd want to want to know how you ended
up there but how did you end up on this
earth and what are you doing here and
where more importantly where are you
gonna go when you die because we're all
gonna die and you don't just fall asleep
and that's it there's a whole nother
reality that opens up and it's LOM lays
out the blueprint what you need to do in
this life to be successful by
worshipping the creator or not the
creation doing good deeds striving to be
the best human being possible and how
you can be successful when you depart on
your DD deaf date from this life thank
you very much subscribe if you haven't
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until then peace be with you
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[Music]