This afternoon because this is my area of concentration and focus. Prisons, criminal justice. We had scholars here. Real scholars. Isnt that interesting . Guess what . They are muslim. Amazing. I think god for the opportunity, just for me being here. Before i introduce panelists, just a couple of thing. What do you call them, housekeeping notes . You will have some q a cards on the table, and we ask as we move that youthe panel, post your questions and write a but ace, not a paragraph, sentence on the cards. The cards will be collected. Hand it to me. I will then read the question or the statement. Does that work . Then refer it to the panelists. Does that work . Ive been in the criminal justice business for 47 years. Spent most of my time in corrections. Introduction to slims, was a case called full wood versus klamath. It had to do with the Police Chiefs brother who was incarcerated at the lard and reformatory. Reformatory. The issue was the right to practice his religion, which was islam. Court, as i indicated earlier, wrote in his favor and then the balls started to roll. Its been my experience that , theys who are in prison have been the most disciplined, motivated, and keepers of the peace. Not only that, theyve always been at the forefront of prison and jail reform. Inside jails and prisons and outside jails and prisons. A lack theres been such of information about what goes on that people have this false notion that they are at war inside the prison. Thats an untruth. Muslims were the most progressives inmates ive ever worked with. Ive always been honored and proud to work with them. Know, the population and prisons is normally traumatized, undereducated, angry, looking for a cause. As a result of their seeking becomeuse, prisons have ripe territory for recruiters for terrorist activities. Just think about that. And thats just now beginning to really happen. I read a report the other day that the corrections director had written. He talked about how they were with disruptive elements in the Muslim Community. Becauseay off base those who were involved were not being disruptive, they were educating the total population about what islam was all about. They are really peaceloving people. We listened and read all of this unfortunate information. It comes out of certain houses, all right . I wont tell you what color the house is. Need not do that because you already know. In addition to mass media, electronic, and prints. So what we hope to do today is to kind of educate you, familiarize you, as to what the real deal is. What the real deal is. And, from there, we are really considering taking all of this stuff on the road. To show the country. Country whats really going on with the muslim family. I guess im the only nonmuslim up here, huh . And i feel so comfortable. [laughter] i really do. But god is good. Having said all of that from my notes, i want to stay on target and on time. Baker. Dr. Thats my english friend from london. Dr. Ingram kenneth the second, who says hes not quite there with the doctoral. Your honorary. And then my good friend joe from houston, texas. I told him, we dont address like that in texas, man. You have the wrong stuff on, man. Boots, hat. On a serious note, i ask that you tune in, listen, and become. Ducated. O having said that, dr. Baker i volunteered. Doctor volunteered me in the last one. All right, majority rules. I want to thank all of you for attending today and the group for putting this together at the museum and the museum for hosting the event, and my for what doe we call it . Eatbeats me. Moderating. Youve been americanized. Yes. Today we are supposed to be talking about radicalization in the prison system, is a hotbed for radicalization or reform, what is the role it is going to play in preventing radicalization and reforming people that may be incarcerated or prone to recidivism along those lines. What id like to speak to you about our three main issues. Number one, how legitimate is that radicalization is rampant in the u. S. Prison system. Number two, what challenges does a involvement post to the deradicalization, and how can muslim believes be a positive tool for change and reform of prisoners in prisons russian mark when we are discussing about the issues of radicalization, its important first to challenge the notion of its existence. Im asking as a nonspecialist in that area, i dont have the Empirical Data, but is there significant Empirical Data that is being provided by those making claims that radicalization is happening at a rampant rate in the u. S. Prison system . Said, there is susceptibility. But is it actually happening . Thats the question we have to ask, we cannot just answer in the affirmative based upon biases that we carry about people who are incarcerated, about muslims, or the nature of islam, or any other minority faith group in the united states. Further claim like this is to malign a community, and is not only bad character, but bad policy. Without sayinggo that assumptions about radicalization play heavily into prevailing prejudices in the american psyche. Whether those be racebased prejudices as member members of an ethnicity being predisposed to criminal intent in action or religionbased prejudice functioning the same way. Many times these two prejudices are intertwined, islam is seen as the reason for extremism among many minority groups and minority groups are seen as sympathetic to what is labeled as extremism in the minds of majority members of society majoritarian members of society. Ofessence, this line thought, ray religionbased prejudice, attempts to pin the causes of extremism and radicalization on something outside of an foreign to the american cultural psyche, namely judeochristian, civilized, and of european background. The racialized tones of many of the discussions on this issue lend credence to this. My comments here today will not focus on the particle data and instead, 400 been the case i would be speaking to you not in my role as a member of the American Muslim Community or a thought leader in that community, but instead as a member of one democratic the data has shown his most predisposed to violent extremism and homegrown terror, namely middleaged, white, american males. What i do want to talk to you today about, im on my comments will focus on, are the epistemological challenges of those who have to straddle what seemed to be competing value systems. The values of freedom of religion, speech, and expression. The value of reasonable accommodation for those who are incarcerated. On one side, we have these values. On the other side, we have religious affiliations, ideologies and believes that may be imposed or seem to be opposed at times, to the system that seeks to protect it. American and this is not my belief if i were to say that i believe it is wrong for any american to have access to a firearm regardless of what type it is. Which goeselief against a core constitutionally protected right. However, my dancing this belief does not forfeit my right to be protected by all of those other Constitutional Rights that are afforded to me. Is question then becomes, protecting beliefs and values that are not normative or not popular, if we do so, are we in some sense going against our own values in favor of another value system . Those who we see as conservative or extreme, when we protect their rights to hold those beliefs and practice those beliefs within the confines of mean we law, does that are enabling illicit practices or endangering the American Public . Additionally, is it appropriate for us to label those we see as conservative austere or beyond our own scope of practice as something which is extreme or veers off towards the path of radicalization . When such labeling becomes a matter of policy, this is where the problem grows. Of the a danger government exceeding its boundaries and going beyond mere religious accommodation to religious dictation, dictating to any individual or any Group Believes andd or practices that are considered legitimate or a legitimate form of that faith. If you solely through lens of National Security, it would seem to make sense to challenge the ideas lead to radicalization. I think we can agree that those do need to be challenged. But when the assumption is that radicalization, especially when the assumption is radicalization effectively counters terrorism and protect the American Public. Why shouldnt government officials try to marginalize what they view as theology cited by violent extremists, one that poses a danger not only to individuals, but to society at large . The problem is that when governments attempt to dictate to anyone their religious beliefs, they create a myriad of strategic tensions. For the practitioner of that religion that is targeted by that government, this governmentsponsored religion appears to be a faith which is foreign to their own, and one that they do not recognize. And in the context of the broader Muslim Community, it appears the government is playing favorite and rereading their religion through National Security context, dictating to them what is and is not acceptable. This would contravene the basic rights enshrined in the constitution that everyone, regardless of faith, expects to be afforded to them under law. Exacerbated when the target populations that make up the majority of muslim communities come from backgrounds where the expectations from government is that they intervene, to the detriment of the individual. Whether it be the historical memories of programs like oh intel pro or the security apparatuses of foreign government, persecuting even the most basic performance of faith such as prayer in the mosque has happened in many muslim majority countries, u. S. Government programs that seek to dictate to muslims what their beliefs are or should be will naturally cause mistrust and inadvertently push people away and towards radicalism, not away from it. Even in direct influence into the communitys thought process can be seen as and sometimes its trade programs that seek to coopt leadership in the Muslim Community, such as prevent for the purpose of combating radicalization, will oftentimes have the opposite effect. When the individuals and represent religious authority in the community are seen as we cannot compromise, expect those who would lean towards radical beliefs to confide in them and to reform their ideas. We certainly cant expect them to stay away, as they will consistently tried to mend from what they see as a compromise villages ideal. By expecting a breach of confidentiality from pastors, imams, chaplains, and those who work in religious functions in muslim communities, we compromise the effectiveness of religious authority to be a positive force in deradicalization. Solution in my humble opinion lies in not just creating institution and initiatives that are grounded in faith, socially relevant and legally viable, but in reevaluating what it means to have religious leadership, who really is an imam, who is a chaplain, what authority do they have an who speaks for islam, what sort of faith do we have in our texts and what sort of trust to we have in those entrusted to interpret it. Questiont answer this as a Muslim Community and instead allow ourselves to interpret it, how are our personal interpretations or the interpretations of a government more authoritative or valid than those of others. Here i feel its important to mention as well the muslim communities themselves cannot only denounce radical beliefs, but they must see themselves as partners and be seen as partners by organizations and government authorities that want to work the them to combat coopting of their beliefs for any purpose, whether that be for National Security assumptions, or to promote extreme accident will damage society. As a whole, at home or abroad. The question then is, how can muslim beliefs be used for positive change and reform of people prone to radicalization . With regards to National Security interests, government policy, the policies of correctional institutions, what is needed is an open door policy for religiously affiliated or qualified individuals to be able to counsel, teach, and advise incarcerated individuals that may be susceptible to radicalization. With regards to chaplains and those working in the rehabilitation prisoners, theology of personal choice, and theology of personal importantlity, is that that be inculcated in them and almost all those under their supervision, this means that the basic leaves of islam are taught to those individuals in a fashion that does not play into the tropes of anyone radical a store extreme group. Chaplains and other individuals as well as laypeople themselves may subscribe to a more conservative or liberal point of view about their own faith, but we have to recognize that it is not one individual perspective of religion, whether that the islam or any other religion, that is susceptible to being coopted by radical or extremist. Weve seen in two years how versions of sunni islam, how shia islam, and even sufi islam in the events that occurred in turkey, have shown us that regardless of religious orientation, each of these groups may be coopted for political purposes. One of the hallmarks of radical is to believe is their tendency to engage in groupthink, and engage in their own prison autonomy and ability to make their own decisions, instead demanding from them. Medic, rote application of the groups ideals. Is imperative for any chaplain or teacher of those susceptible to radicalization to present the general precepts of islam and how first and foremost every individual believer be held accountable for their actions and their beliefs. In several verses of the koran the idea of personal responsibility is reiterated. Every soul shall be accountable for what it earns, says one firstrate another, no soul shall bear the burden of another. Every soul should be concerned with itself on the day of judgment. In one prophetic tradition, a Maggie Malone the desert and as the Prophet Muhammad if he only prayed his prayers and fasted is fast and give to charity and did the basics of islam, yes whether he would enter paris paradise. The props that yes. When he left, the prophet turned to his companions and said, if he is true to his word, that he will indeed enter paradise. In another tradition, the prophet said the muslim is the one who people are safe from his tongue and his hands. The believer is the one whom people are secure from. And the immigrant is the one who migrated away from sinfulness. In another tradition, he says with whomlls a person they have a social contract, they will not smell the scent of paradise even though its sent can be smelled from a distance of 70 autumns. Related asto whats a point of historical memory, or points of consensus in early muslim scholarship is important areell, so that those who susceptible to radicalization can see that the ideas of being civic or having civic duty and personal responsibility have primacy not only an islamic texts but have been upheld as ideals from the earliest muslim generations. Inculcating in people the ability to make informed religious choices, and that they are religiously motivated practices be made consciously by themselves. Thee who are susceptible to must be taught that the ultimate responsibility of each and every one of them falls upon themselves to ensure both their personal and public safety. Teaching a muslim individual, whether incarcerated or not, that they have a civic duty towards their fellow man and a personal responsibility to fulfill that duty. Duty is paramount. It will only be through the teaching of islamic believes that will create a sense of identity in the religiously practicing individual, that they will be protected from possible radicalization. What this does is it creates in the minds of the practicing believer that their personal private practice does not and should not dictate the minimum of public religiosity. Mayhile i as an individual be more conservative or more austere in my approach and practice of religion, im not expected, nor should i force that upon the public. In fact, when im expected to do as a religious practitioner is to guarantee for the public their personal safety for myself and from anyone who would want to do them harm. By encouraging those susceptible, take personal responsibility for their actions and pairing those actions with being held accountable by god himself without any help and assistance from those, along with prophetic traditions we mentioned, those working in the service and education of incarcerated individuals can be the preventative cure to any lapses in judgment and possible engagement with radicalized groups. And to sum up, my long runon sentence to you all, charges that radicalization is a problem, specifically charges that radicalization to islamic extremism is a problem, need to be substantiated with hard numbers so they are not used as a tool for propaganda seeking to marginalize muslims both inside and outside of prisons prayed when government officials attempt to dictate religious beliefs, they create a myriad of strategic and legal tensions, contravening both American Values and jeopardizing and or reversing the desired effects of deradicalization. This pitfall can be avoided by governmental agencies partnering expertise necessary for positive change and reform of and those inclined to radicalization. Communityerts, and leaders can affect positive change by encouraging theologically grounded concepts of personal responsibility, civic duty, and accountability to god, enabling those individuals to take personal agency in their religiously motivated practices. Thank you very much. Thats all i have to say. [applause] thank you, joe. Thank you very much. What we are continuing now is education. We need to focus on the politicians. Leaders, community leaders, the whole family as to what this is really all about. In the name of allah, the all merciful, the bestower of mercy. The world of incarceration is an interesting one. We have people in our societies that commit crimes. Then when we believe we have the right person, we then put them away in a prison system. Hopefully we got the right person. Ist is consistent though that these people, the population of the people that they are stored away for years on end, and what we dont always is that at that time this population of people, they will become returning citizens. They will be coming back into society. So, at the point that we realize that, it raises two questions. How will thiss, person be when they come back into society . And for all these years we store them away, what was their developmental process to that period of ti