What is Millati Islami?

Millati Islami is a 12-step self-help program based on the Al-Qur’an and Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Millati Islami is a fellowship of people joined together on “The Path of Peace.” We look to Allah (God) to guide us on Millati Islami, which means the Path of Peace. Millati Islami is designed to help combat the disease of addictions, such as to drugs/alcohol, violence, anger, or food. These addictions are only a few that have taken a firm place in society and have caused a great increase in the prison population.

As recovering addicts, we strive to become rightly guided Muslims, submitting our will to the will and service of Allah. We begin the submitting process through the practice of Islam in our daily lives. Millati Islami strives to equip the individual with the necessary tools of awareness and understanding to break the cycle of addictions. Millati Islami is also based on the sin model. As taught from the Qur’an, addictions are a sin, which have a negative impact on an individual’s life. Here people (Muslims, Christians and Jews) can learn to recognize their self-destructive lifestyle patterns by sharing life experiences, strengths, and aspirations in a group setting.

In America, today’s society is plagued with many social ills, which cause much moral decay, and social values are a main concern of many people. There are thousands of men, women, and youth under some type of Judicial Supervision. The incarceration rate among these groups has reached epidemic proportions. The Millati Islami program was founded to help recover from what we identify as the “fallen human condition.”

Islam tells us clearly that the status of man in this world is that of an “Abd” (slave or servant). We must learn to be slaves and servants only to Allah and not slaves to mind or mood altering chemicals. We must also learn not to be slaves to people, places, things and emotions. Allah tells us that man is “Khalifatullah” or “The deputy and vicegerent of Allah”. This means that Allah has entrusted us as human beings with custodianship of his creation. Our own bodies, minds and souls truly belong to Allah. They are only entrusted to us for a time. We are charged with their care while we have them in our possession.

Back in 1989, the late Imam Zaid Imani began this program called Millati Islami (Path of Peace) in Baltimore, MD with a group of believers who sought to stay rooted in the Islamic way of life while remaining focused on recovering from their addictive behaviors. When Islamic principles are included with the traditional 12-step program, they have proven to further enhance the recovery process. For the first few years, the Millati Islami program functioned primary in local communities. Now Millati Islami can be found taught in Islamic centers, schools, churches, recreation centers, prisons, state jails, recovery programs, and homes in many states.

In 1995, the Millati Islami program found its way into the Texas Penal System by way of the Islamic community at the Wynne Unit campus in Huntsville. At that time, just like today, the prison population was booming with individuals who were compulsively and psychologically dependent on habit-forming substances and behaviors that are morally destructive. By 1996, forty-two Millati Islami groups had been established in sixteen states across the nation. This growth has often been attributed to the 1993 publication of the manual outlining the Millati Islami Twelve Step program. Today, the Millati Islami program is even more effective.

On October 27, 2005, the year’s graduation theme was “Anger Management” at all Huntsville Unit campuses. The message was provided by Certified Chaplain Br. Abdullah Muhammad-Bey, LCDC/CCJP and Islamic Coordinator Br. Joseph Burnet and Millati Islami Coordinator Br. Grady Sims from the Goree Unit. Each week in this program people become successful in learning to fight back their addiction and become winners, and are successful in learning about the impact of addiction on themselves, family, and society.

Hopefully, the message that was received by the graduates and those in attendance was to live without being a slave to their addictive behaviors. Your past does not have to get in the way of your future. In fact, it is the very essence of your future in terms of learning from your past mistakes. We’ve all heard about being condemned for forgetting the past. Well, Millati Islami teaches that we must begin rebuilding our lives in such a way as to create fond memories, one that no longer needs to be deleted from our majestic minds.

This process can start here and now. There is no need to wait. We’ve all made mistakes and we need to forgive ourselves. We need to show real care and concern by building each other up not tearing each other down. We all need to find a common ground sharing our wisdom and insights. Life is short, much too short to waste. Regardless of how you look at it, we must see that we have been given an opportunity to do something worthwhile with our lives. Take full advantage that we are friends to one another who are guided by the belief in the submission to the will of One Creator. Only this belief in one God can give you the power to change your addictive behaviors, attitudes, core beliefs, and criminal thinking.

In our desire to follow the steps of recovery as detailed by Millati Islami, we seek self-acceptance and change from Salat to Salat (prayer to prayer). We have to be able to let go and trust in Allah (oneness of God) and have faith in him alone. As a result, he will fill our hearts with thankfulness and gratitude. We will also begin to experience a sense of PEACE after given the opportunity for this graduation, and we like to thank the wardens and other officials who allowed the Millati Islami program to continue to be successful every year since 1995. By participating in a 24-week intensive group counseling session, many of these men have established a precedent that has changed the way they once viewed addictions.

Breaking the cycle of addiction will allow these men to redefine their futures and elevate their relationships with families and associates. These graduates made a pledge to help clean up drug use and crime in their communities, starting with themselves. The process of this program depends upon people working together. Individuals, who are recovering from their past weakness, need a support system. Millati Islami can help these men rededicate their lives as men, women, fathers and mothers, on the path of peace.

The Whole-Way House, Inc is a support system being offered to those same brothers and sisters being released from prison who have successfully completed the Millati Islami program. The goal of the Whole-Way House Inc is to provide comprehensive, multi-faith and multi-cultural reintegration housing facilities, anywhere in the nation. The Whole-Way House Inc will provide recovery and treatment programs, such as Millati Islami, as well as Life Skills, job search, and a support groups, all within a structured faith based environment. The Whole-Way House Inc also intends to provide assistance for the homeless and indigent.

Due to the lack of funding, we are limited on how many people can be released to this aftercare program. Br. Abdullah Muhammad-Bey is the founder of the Whole-Way House. He is a Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor (LCDC) who is presently employed with the Gateway Foundation as a Substance Abuse Counselor. He has been a Millati Islami and TPDP Volunteer for many years within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. This is a great project offered by the Muslim community and is an excellent way to help sisters and brothers coming back to society and those who may need services from the community at large. Inshallah.

Our goal is to emerge successfully from this test called life as prescribed by Allah. To win His pleasure and reward is our ultimate human objective. May we accomplish sobriety success and peace of mind on Millati Islami.

Masjid Al-Ummah
C/O The Whole-Way House, Inc
800 10th Street Bldg D
Huntsville, Texas 77320
(936) 891-1198
(936) 714-4135

By Tariq Nelson

http://MuslimMatters.org/2007/05/14

May 14th, 2007

Alhamdulillah, after much planning and preparation, last Saturday we had the Spanish language open house event “Hispanic Muslim Day” at Dar Al Hijrah with our guest speaker Muhammad Isa Garcia from Argentina – who is a graduate of Um Al Qura University in Makkah.

Alhamdulillah, the community was behind the event and we had several Hispanic Muslims (as well as Muslims that are not of Hispanic descent) to bring their family members and friends to the masjid to learn about Islam and break the barriers.

I feel this event was a very important step to community bridge building because Dar Al Hijrah is located in an area that has a large Hispanic population and it is essential that we – as Muslims – reach out to our neighbors – by every means available -to help dispel misconceptions. So even had not a single person accepted Islam, I feel that we had to get this message out – and still do.

This was a very busy day as Dar A Hijrah also co-sponsored a community cleanup that morning in which several of our youth participated in a cleanup with the youth of other faith in the neighborhood. (Alhamdulillah, they brought some of their friends to the event as well)

We put lots of large Spanish language posters (The Discover Islam posters in Spanish) around the masjid and our guests were given a tour of the masjid along with a brief explanation of Islam.

There were then Spanish language lectures and question and answer sessions. I could not understand what was going on, but I was told that it was a good discussion and lots of good questions were asked. The Spanish speakers mixed and mingled with the non-Muslims and made them feel welcome and answered questions as well.

I was really glad to see so many Hispanic Muslims and was particularly touched by one family originally fom Bolivia that lives in this area who Allah has really opened the doors of hidayah to, Masha Allah.

The older brother accepted Islam, then his (blood) brother, his brother-in-law and then his sister (the wife of the brother in law). They tell me that their parents are very supportive and are very close to accepting Islam (Insha Allah) as well. I can only hope to be worthy of such a blessing one day.

By the end of the program, we had four people to embrace Islam (2 Hispanic males, 1 Hispanic female and one white American male who came after hearing about the event from Muslim friends) I know that Nour posted in this post that there were two, but there were two more alhamdulillah

Alhamdulillah, it would have been a wonderful thing to have one person to embrace Islam, but alhamdulillah we had four.

Why-Islam and the brothers that work with Yusef Estes were there giving out Spanish language material and talked to people about Islam with the English speakers that came. It was a great team effort, masha Allah.

Now, we have to work on the hard part: the follow up.

I pray that Allah rewards all those who made this event possible and prayed for its success. However, Insha Allah, this is only the beginning and we hope to have other similar events coming soon as we strive to make our masjids a more open place for our neighbors and lead in breaking the chains of isolation that we – as Muslims in America – have fallen into. It is my hope – in sharing this – to inspire others to do similar events and to encourage those doing it to continue the good work.

By Najwa Awad

http://www.readingislam.com/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1180421294682& pagename=Zone-English-Discover_Islam%2FDIELayout

The Beauty of Family in Islam

In the late morning of May 12, 2007, Muslims and non-Muslims, Hispanics and non-Hispanics gathered at Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center in northern Virginia for an extraordinary event. It was the first ever Hispanic Muslim Day. People of various ages, ethnicities, and religions gathered for a day of meaningful and insightful dialogue.

Although the event was specifically geared toward the Hispanic community, organizers of the event were successful in fostering a friendly environment and welcoming all to participate and contribute to the open discussion.

Introduction to Basic Beliefs

During the first segment of the program, men and women separated into groups, each led by a Hispanic Muslim, to learn about important tenets of Islam. Organizers of the event had put up posters in Spanish briefly explaining the basics in Islam, such as the pillars of faith, tawheed, and the Qur’an.

The group leaders spoke in Spanish and engaged the listeners while at the same time they welcomed questions about the role of women in Islam, what Islam says about terrorism, who was the last prophet, and what the Qur’an says about Jesus and his mother Mary. Pamphlets were distributed among the attendees to supplement the discussion.

Keynote Speaker: Muhammad Isa Gracia

The introduction to Islam was then followed by the keynote speaker Muhammad Isa Garcia. In his presentation, “The Beauty of Family in Islam,” he spoke of his journey to Islam and the importance of family. As he narrated his inspiring story in Spanish, non-Spanish speakers eagerly surrounded the interpreters for the translation:

Brother Muhammad Isa Garcia was born in Argentina to a Catholic family. His family were not strict Catholics, but instead held more liberal views.

The children in his area were required to go church in order to get passes to play soccer. Muhammad would go for the soccer, but he did not agree with Catholicism and would ask his priest questions about the fundamentals of the religion.

Muhammad wondered, if God was the Creator, how could He have a mother and who created her? He would sit with his priest and discuss this, but never felt that his questions were answered.

As he grew older he wanted to study the matter further because he did not feel that Catholicism was correct. He looked to many different Christian groups for answers, but was still not satisfied. He then began to study Confucianism, Hinduism, and Buddhism, but repeatedly failed to find a connection to the Creator.

One night in desperation he raised his hands to the sky and asked God to help him. The very next morning his father’s friend came to the door. He told Muhammad that he was Muslim and wanted to teach him about Islam.

The confusion Muhammad had felt all his life was eased after the two spoke for a few hours. He felt the description of God in Islam corresponded to what was in his heart. That same day he went to a masjid and declared his Shahadah.

After this part of the presentation, Muhammad focused upon the importance of kinship and family in Islam. He emphasized that family members should be treated well whether or not they are Muslim. He shared with the audience that although his father remained Christian, his mother accepted Islam ten years later.

Muhammad said that in the beginning he had not been advised to nurture relations with his family. He was so eager to be a good Muslim and do all that was obligatory and Sunnah, that he did not consider how uncomfortable his family was with how he was changing.

No one had advised Muhammad to be patient or to understand that it was difficult for his family to see him change. Over time Muhammad had learned of the importance of family in Islam and wanted to relay this to all who attended.

An Uplifting Moment

The lecture was followed by the noon prayer and lunch. At this time two individuals declared their Shahadah, an uplifting moment shared by all.

Getting to Know Dar Al Hijrah

Following lunch Imam Johari, one of the event’s hosts, gave a brief talk about Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center. He explained the times of the prayer, the direction of prayer, and why the mosque is not decorated. He spoke of the food bank operated by Dar Al Hijrah to help those in need and also of the community iftars (meal to break the fast) held during the month of Ramadan. This short talk was important in familiarizing the non-Muslim audience with Dar Al Hijrah and the services it offers.

Panel Discussion

Following Imam Johari’s talk, a panel of Hispanic-American converts spoke in Spanish of their personal experiences finding Islam. Again, the non-Hispanic audience members listened to the translation of the interpreters:

Panelist Yvette Chaupis-Guadalajara is a Mexican-Peruvian revert of six years who began to learn about Islam from her coworkers while she was stationed at Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, Nebraska.

There she was invited to attend an event similar to Dar Al Hijrah’s Hispanic Muslim Day. Yvette was raised Baptist but could not understand the concept of the Trinity. After three months of studying Islam she became Muslim.

Her mother was present in the audience and remarked how much she respected her daughter for becoming Muslim. Her mother felt that people look at her daughter differently because she wears a scarf and said that the non-Muslim public should not judge Muslims without having any knowledge of Islam. Non-Muslims need to be educated about what Islam really is.

Another one of the panelists, who is of Puerto Rican descent, presented her story while her family sat in the audience. She embraced Islam almost seven years ago.

One of the major things that guided her to Islam was the Autobiography of Malcolm X. Prior to reading the autobiography she had unanswered questions about her religion. The book impressed her so that she began asking about Islam.

She had Muslim friends and would ask them questions in hopes of finding the answers she was looking for. She found the answers according to Islam to be logical, and eventually decided to accept Islam.

A Perfect End to the Day

After the panelists shared their personal journeys to Islam, the floor was opened for questions. During this time panelists gave advice about matters such as how Muslims should interact with family members and how Muslims should give da`wah (invite people to Islam).

One important thing a panelist said to the audience was that if your non-Muslim family is scared of Muslims, then you are doing something wrong. In other words, Muslims should be the prime example in their family of Muslim behavior and ideals.

As the day drew to a close, another person stepped forward to accept Islam. It was a perfect end to the event. That day something momentous had taken place: the Hispanic community was formally received at the mosque, meaningful questions were answered, important stories were shared, and the Muslim community embraced new converts.

The impact of Hispanic Muslim Day continued on into the following week, as the father of one of the men who embraced Islam during the event also became Muslim. As the theme of the event suggested, it is important to show non-Muslim family what Islam is all about.

Najwa Awad is a Palestinian-American who has lived in northern Virginia all her life. She graduated from George Mason University in 2005 with a Bachelor’s degree in psychology and recently graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University with a Master’s degree in social work. She has been a practicing Muslim for about five years.