It seems to me that not all but some of our moulanas have become masters in deception in order to deflect the truth. Allow me to set the record straight. The open letter that was sent to me was written collectively by the prisoners at Medium B. A copy of this letter was also handed over to the prison management. Feel free to contact any of the following people inside the prison who will verify this, Area Commissioner Luckyboy Mathiba (011) 933 7006, the head of the prison Samuel mahlangu at (011) 933 7113/4 or the Deputy Director Hendrik Kroukamp at (011) 933 7111. This now settles the first comment that since the letter was not signed with an official stamp, it’s possible that anyone could have written the letter in order to malign the supposed good work by the Muslim Prison board. I find it really ironic that the executive members of the prison board come on radio talking about the happenings inside the prison and yet none of the prisoners I interviewed actually met these executive members in person. Apart from visiting the prison management occasionally they do not visit the prisoners or interact with them personally. So this equates to a person running a big company but not knowing the target market or understanding the needs and wants of the clientele you providing a service to.
In an interview that was conducted on radio Islam during the month of Ramadhaan, a member of the Muslim Prison Board stated on air quite proudly and clearly that the MPB facilitates basic Islamic education within the prisons. Subsequently, the same MPB member and his counterpart in a recent interview on Salaamedia stated that the role of the MPB is merely Islaah, that is to reform by encouraging prisoners to be good. This concept of Islaah works hand in hand with acquiring Islamic education in my opinion. You can’t tell someone to be a good Muslim, if they are reverts and do not know how to be a good Muslim. The situation inside is such a sad state of affairs that as per the amir in medium A there aren’t enough prayer mats and books to learn about Islam. “We only have 1 kitabu salaah which was brought by my wife. So please tell me sister, how will over 200 Muslim inmates share one book”. Whilst listening to the radio Islam interview, I was in stitches of laughter at how the member of the MPB created a very rosy fairy tale scenario of how prisoners are treated during the month of Ramadhaan, a far cry from the actual reality. He spoke about prisoners breaking fast together in fasting cells, praying taraweeh etc, absolute hogwash. During the month of Ramadhaan prisoners are allowed hampers of tea, coffee etc that they can use for iftaar and sahoor. This year the prisoners only received a few boxes of dates on 2 occasions and their own families put money in their accounts to purchase other items from the prison shop. Those prisoners who have family that can afford to give them more money then purchase groceries from the shop and share with the other prisoners who get no visitors. In Ramadhaan inmates now get a warm meal at fatoor due to the fact that the prisoners themselves took the prison management to court for violating their rights as per the prison policy. Again the MPB was not a part of this initiative. Medium C does not have fasting cells. Prisoners still remain in their own cells with their roommates during the month of Ramadhaan. There is no taraweeh in congregation or breaking fast together. Medium B and A has a fasting cell where all prisoners gather and this is due to the fact that the prisoners at Medium B took the prison management to court and won the case. I have documented evidence of this. Again the MPB was not involved in this process. (“Slmz. Im writing regarding the prison conditions and would rather not touch on the subject of indian muslims coz thats another topic for another day. I visit the prison every month for the past 2 and a half year coz soneone very dear to me is incarcerated there. The reason for his incarceration is not important but i can comment there is no food for iftaar or sehri provided by any islamic institution during ramadaan. The lunch time food is kept by the prisoners for iftaar and the bread n tea they receive for supper is eaten at sehri. Our muslim counterparts are forgotten during these times. May Allah grant them sabr and allow us to remember all muslims in our duas. I am going again on sunday and if this brother is at sun city as it is called. I will glady pay him a visit if he wishes. Thank you for posting his letter. May Allah reward you for all your efforts. Ameen” )
On air, the prison board member stated that Muslim spiritual care workers are only allowed access to prisoners once a week. What he forgot to say is that they also allowed access for Juma prayers weekly. If indeed only one visit is allowed, why are there different rules for Muslims as opposed to other denominations who I know for a fact visit for longer than one hour and more than once a week. One now wonders whether Muslims are being discriminated against or is the MPB misrepresenting the facts. I make the claim of the latter on the basis of knowing that at some prisons, Muslim SCW enter many times per week, at times daily such as in Barberton during Ramadhaan. I need to state on record though that Currently at Medium B Brother Mahmood goes once a month (I don’t blame him as he is old) and at Leeukop Medium C Moulana Ebrahim visits roughly once every 3 months. Why the deception, why not say we have a problem with volunteers and use the publicity to ask for help?
In the first Salaam media interview conducted just before eid ul fitr, the prison board member stated that Juma is conducted in all prisons weekly by spiritual care workers. This is not the case. At Medium B Jumu3a is performed only once a month and I was quite shocked to hear on national radio how Moulanas manipulate and change fatwas and rulings to suit them. On air, the prison board member stated that they cannot dictate and tell moulanas to go to the prison and perform the Jumu3a prayers as it is supposedly a very bad and sad environment to be in. According to some scholars Juma prayers is not compulsory for those who are incarcerated. Well folks from my observation, not all but most theologians want to be stationed in posh affluent areas and be seen hanging out with the who’s who of society. The real dawah work that must be carried out in informal settlements and within prisons is being totally overlooked and ignored. How do you make a revert Muslim understand Islam if you do not show them how to make salaah, how to perform Juma etc etc etc? It’s an absolute joke. If the prison board is struggling to hire full time aalims to carry out this task due to financial reasons then we need to be asking ourselves, why is million of rand sent to other countries especially during the month of Ramadhaan when we have serious issues at our doorstep that needs to be dealt with. Mufti Ridha ul Haq visited the prison a few years ago, he issued a fatwa and stated that Juma prayers must be performed in all sections of the prison. . Is it not prudent, vital in fact, to perfom Jummuah where the policy allows for it and allows the inmates the freedom to perform Jummuah?
With regards to the consent form that the family members of Muslim inmates need to sign in order to log the prisoner as a Muslim on the system, this form was created by the MPB and not the prison management. I have seen forms filled out by men in their 30’s, 40’s that have been rejected by their family members. In other words if the family members do not sign the form the prisoner is not considered a Muslim inmate and is denied all rights pertaining to a Muslim inmate. This is definitely unconstitutional in my opinion and needs to be investigated. On air, the prison board member stated that this only applies to juveniles or people under the age of 18. This is a lie. Muslim inmates within the prison are of the opinion that this form was created to absolve the MPB from their duties and responsibilities. If the family members do not sign the form , the MPB members can then turn around and say, “ sorry, you are not our responsibility. We cannot assist you.”
At the end of the day it is evident that there are major issues that still need to be addressed. Interviews and posts create much needed awareness but debating them is not the solution. MPB should meet with the prisoners on the ground, face to face, hear their challenges on the ground and proactively address the issues. As they use various platforms to share their good work they should also use them to explain challenges and seek assistance. Their mission and goals are noble but much effort from all spheres is required to make it a reality. That ultimately is all I am trying to achieve.
No comments:
Post a Comment