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it's time for afternoon prayers
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and the Muslim inmates in this California state prison
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are doing what was once forbidden
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having an Islamic worship service
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people couldn't gather in groups
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uh to teach and to practice a religion
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of the 3,832 inmates at Solano prison
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the chaplain estimates about 5% are practicing Muslims
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the prison doesn't track religious identity
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partly because it's so fluid
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and religious expression is a barometer
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for how Islam has evolved
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within the US penitentiary system
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hey guys
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I'm Sreen
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and today we've traveled to Solano Prison in Vacaville
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California
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to explore how the world's fastest growing religion
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has had to fight to find a home in prison
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when I became Muslim I was given a set of principles
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do this don't do that
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when in doubt don't
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that's Jesse Burleson who people here know as Hassani
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he's been in prison for 31 years
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Hasani
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is one of the practicing Muslims at Solano Prison
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and they're part of the millions of people behind bars
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in the US in fact
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the United States has
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the largest prison population in the world
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the more than 2.3 million people
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had incarcerated by the end of 2017
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or more than any other developed nation
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that number includes inmates at federal
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state and county prisons and it's growing
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in a place where your housing
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meals
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and recreation time is highly constrained by rules
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finding a way to practice your faith can be difficult
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these inmates have figured
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out a way to infuse their faith
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into their sentences one of the things that started me
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seeking something different was
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I was looking at the people that were around me
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who were older than I was
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who had been in prison longer than me
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and who had been on that same negative
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self destructive path and me
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not being satisfied with what I was seeing in them
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and at that time I started going to religious services
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it didn't matter if it was Muslim
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Christian Jewish
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I went seeking a better way and I believed in god
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so I I know that the only way I was gonna change
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was through god
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he's just one of the Muslims that Solano chaplain
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Muhammad Ali interacts with on a daily basis
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Ali isn't a mom who spent four years at this prison
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helping people like Hassani explore their faith
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he believes
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it can be an important part of their rehabilitation
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religion is important to inmates
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because it connects them to something bigger than
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their circumstance you have people who you know
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or you're here in prison
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and there's a lot of things you can't control
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whether it's your eating
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whether it's your living condition
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it really helps human beings
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feel a sense of connectedness
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to something beyond what's
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what's right in front of them
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but as long as journey
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and penitentiaries has been complicated by prison
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culture and legal challenges
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though nationally
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Muslims make up 1% of the US population
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that number is expected to double by 2050
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some of that growth specifically
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comes from inmates converting to Islam behind bars
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Islam is known for having a particularly
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strong presence in prisons
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in fact more people convert to Islam per capita
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than any other religion nationwide
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Muslims make up 10 to 15% of prisoners
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Ali even said
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he has one to two inmates convert to Islam monthly
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so that's not his goal
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what makes US statistics resonate more
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is knowing how difficult it was to get Islam accepted
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as a recognized religion within some prisons
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the prison administration
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through their custody officers
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wouldn't allow groups of Muslims to congregate
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over three and when they did
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they would break they would break them up
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that's Abdul Rau Ufnisir
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and he spent 30 years using his Islamic faith
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to help inmates in correctional institutions
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he considered it social justice work
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and an active part of his faith
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back when he started in the 1970s
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he says the prison system
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was full of subtle discrimination against Muslims
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some Muslim inmates at this prison sued in 1996
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for greater access to religious services
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their demands included
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hiring a full time Muslim chaplain
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and the ability to attend Friday prayers
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without penalties like demerits for leaving work
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eventually they did receive a full time imam
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and their other demands
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prison officials dispute this account
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they say Muslim inmates
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were never denied access to their religion
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and instead the constraints were reflective of
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staffing and organizational issues that were resolved
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nationwide the legal pushes continue today
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a 2013 report says that
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Muslims
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submitted the most religious discrimination complaints
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out of any other religious group in prison
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Islam and Muslim organizations and prisons
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for the most part are seen to be powerful
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because they've been there a long time
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they have challenged the status quo of the prison
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system itself
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legally and physically
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that quality of questioning power
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is easily identifiable
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with one of the religion's most notable converts
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Malcolm X his narrative is prominent
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and so that attracts people toward Islam
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and then the reformative value that they find in that
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the hope that it gives that I can survive in prison
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Malcolm survived in prison
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Malcolm X's legacy still resonates today
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more than 50 years after his death
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while serving a prison sentence
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then named Malcolm Little
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converted to the nation of Islam in 1952
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he found mainstream Islam years later
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and felt
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it was much more racially inclusive than the nation
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but as Muslims we will be Muslims
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I will try and teach the religion of Islam
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among the so called Negroes
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and make them Muslims aside from spiritual guidance
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in the ability to change your life around
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another reason Nasir says
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some incarcerated people are drawn to the faith
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is for another reason entirely
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how prisons are organized
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a central organizing principle in prison
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is containing the threat of violence
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inmates are housed and classified
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according to the risk of violence
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they pose here at Solano
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inmates are housed dormitory style
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those that pose a higher risk
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our house in cells like this
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with armed guards in their downtime
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the crew that inmates spend time with matters
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because they're the ones that also offer Protection
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so what does
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any of this have to do with practicing Islam in prison
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well Nasir explains
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that your brothers in the faith
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can actually help protect you behind bars
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and that source of support transcends race
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Islam does challenge the strict rules of race in prison
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because if a person of another ethnic group
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besides African America becomes a Muslim
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then he's embraced in Islamic community
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and he's not only embrace
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he's protected from outside precious
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that other groups may place against them
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and being in prison
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isn't necessarily that type of situation
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to where you know
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you need to join a group to be safe
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uh that's not
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hasn't been my experience uh
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but I would say uh
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being a part of a community in prison uh
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is definitely beneficial in nevergoing
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what he is really describing is support
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and the support that incarcerated Muslims require
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is different than their free Brethren
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in fact there are several things about prison
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that change how Islam is practiced
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there's no court on app
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no call to prayer from your cell phone
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and being Muslim here is about survival
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in a completely different way than it is outside
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it does afford some opportunity for inmates to
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think about their rehabilitation
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think about meaning in life
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think about who they want to be as a person while here
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or when leaving here
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just because religion might help some people survive
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prison doesn't mean they'll continue the practice
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after release
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Nasir seen people let go of the faith when they get out
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but Hassani who's just days from release
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has his site set
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on making Islam's most important journey for Muslims
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the pilgrimage called Hajj
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so I think for me that making the Hodge as
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as as one of my goals
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primary goals if I keep that as a primary goal
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that I will be successful
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and not only stand on the path
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for doing everything that I need to do
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in order to get off the road
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save some money and make the Hodge
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I Learned so much about incarceration in this story
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if you want to learn more
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check out Ear Hustle
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the podcast out of San Quentin Prison
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in the meantime don't forget to like
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share and subscribe and let us know in the comments
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what prison stories you want us to cover next
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