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Volunteer Application
Click on this form above to submit to your gifts to the team and grow the dawah efforts. 

To whom this concerns,
I want to tell you about a group of people that are practically invisible to the Muslim community yet love Allah and His Messenger in a strong way. These are fellow members of our ummah who have embraced Islam and this way of life has given them dignity in a space designed to dehumanize them.

These are our Muslim brothers and sisters behind bars. There are 9000 inmates in Harris County Jail (the main jail we serve), and at any given time  we have the opportunity to help get them on the path of deen - if they aren't already, before release in to the free world.
We have been failing our brothers and sisters year in and year out despite the fact that many of us, even though we don't want to think about it, could suddenly fall into their position at some point in our lives and get detained.
 
These brothers and sisters have displayed remarkable resilience. When they learn one verse or hadith, they hold onto it for the lifeline that it is.
 
I'll share one specific story about a brother who I met behind bars who was incredibly inspirational to me, Br. Burnside. This brother was told about the benefits of memorizing Quran, and even though he didn't know Arabic, he got right to work. He has multiple chapters of the Quran committed to memory in English, including all of Surah Mulk, and then he set about learning how to read Arabic and has memorized Quran in Arabic as well!
 
We're here in front of you not only to simply fundraise, but are asking that you spend more time with these brothers and sisters. 
 
Right now, the brothers get to pray jumah together once every 2 months. Given how many brothers are in the system, many of them enter the system and get moved around such that they may not even get to pray jumah for the duration of their stay.

It's a requirement in Harris County that for us to pray jumah with the brothers, we need 2 people present. Alhamdulillah, we have a full time Muslim chaplain at Harris County named Br. Hamid Hardizi, but due to the security requirements, he needs a volunteer each week to accompany him so that we can bring the brothers across each half of the floors together to pray.
Sign up to possibly get in the rotation further and allow these brothers to pray jumah more frequently.

• Sister volunteers needed on Saturdays for Taleem & Brothers for Jumah on Fridays only

 
The most urgent need we have at the moment is to find sisters who can spend time with the sisters behind bars. They have access to our chaplain Br. Hamid, but truly nothing makes their day more than to spend time with a fellow sister, and they get a visit maybe every couple of months.
 
I won't deny it, the process for volunteers to get approved is a long one...but please TRY!

• First you attend a training held once a quarter to learn the regulations around these visits.
• Then you must pass a background check which takes a few months.
• Then you must schedule time to come visit these brothers and sisters, and we lose a lot of volunteers because they simply are not prepared for the tough environment.

 
Difficulties aside, this is the most rewarding work I have ever done in the Muslim community. There is no group of people more receptive to the message of Islam than those behind bars, and truly they appreciate the freedom we all gain from submitting to Allah more than most people who grew up with this way of life.
 
Amazing dawah opportunity that doesn't require too much knowledge:

• "Convey from me, even if it is one verse."
• "One who guides to something good has a reward similar to that of its doer." [Narrated by Muslim]

 
I'll end with this one Hadith and call to action: 
 
If you can't volunteer, at least make dua for our brothers and sisters. 

• “The supplication of a Muslim for his brother in his absence will certainly be answered. Every time he makes a supplication for good for his brother, the angel appointed for this particular task says: “Ameen! May it be for you too,” [Muslim, 1494]

 
 JazakAllah khair for your time,
Author, Hasan Gopalani       

​Volunteer Application
Please click to submit to volunteering your gifts with the team and to help grow the dawah efforts.

Once you are an approved volunteer your guide is:
Chaplain Haimd Hardizi ([email protected]) 

​​Salaam Reentry Program is a 501 (C) (3) a public charity non-profit organization. We strive to facilitate inmates’ transition to the communities by providing them opportunities to self-reflect because “Thinking Matters”

Operators: 
Harris County Jails, & Volunteer Builder, Hasan Gopalani ([email protected])
Fort Bend County Jail, Ahmet Gunduz ([email protected])
Travis & Williamson County Jails, Syed Fawad Raza ([email protected])
Gatesville, Crain, Murray, & TDCJ Female Units, Yusuf Abdul Samad  (y[email protected])
Trailblazer, & Recruitment, Nimra Riaz 
Website Developer, Abdi Abdi
Publisher, & Digital Marketing, Bidita Paprie ([email protected])
President, & Ameer, Badar Alam 
Founder, Aijaz Ahmed ([email protected])