In the early 2000s, Brother Javier Andrade served a stretch at San Quentin State Prison. Seeing proud Muslim inmates there planted a seed in his spiritual journey after a rough and tumble existence as a young man.

Spared from a life sentence that he attributed to mercy from Divine Hand, he fulfilled a promise he made to God to seek and to serve His Creator.

His winding journey led him to Islam.

In April 2020, as the Coronavirus squeezed its grip on our society and masjids had shuttered their doors, Brother Javier was ready to take the next step and become a Muslim.

He said he phoned more than a dozen mosques in the Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay areas. The best he said he got was a gentleman on the phone who did not speak English.

Not perturbed, he kept trying for five more months. On a whim one Thursday afternoon, he left a message with the MCC. A staff member called him back ten minutes later. They made an appointment for Saturday morning.

Shaykh Rami Nsour, MCC's Youth Director and co-founder of the Tayba Foundation, the first organization in the United States to offer Islamic distance-learning to incarcerated men and women, and Br. Sajad Shakoor, an early-release ‘three-striker' who served 19 years of a life sentence, facilitated Javier's Shahadah (Declaration of Faith) in front of MCC's closed doors.

In this recording, Br. Sajad Shakoor speaks about the revival of Muslim faith many inmates like himself go through while in prison that guided him toward repentance and contemplation. While incarcerated, he relished in the educational offerings at San Quentin State Prison and earned advanced college degrees. Today, he is a successful restaurateur.

#shadamoments #mcceastbay

- More Shahadah moments at MCC: http://mcceastbay.org/shahada
- More Shaykh Rami: http://mcceastbay.org/rami
- Recordings of educational talks for converts playlist: http://mcceastbay.org/after-shahada
- How MCC supports our revert brothers & sisters in the San Francisco Bay Area: https://mcceastbay.org/new-muslim

This recording was delivered outside the doors of the Muslim Community Center - East Bay (MCC East Bay) in Pleasanton, California on September 5, 2020.

Shaykh Rami Nsour spent a number of years in Mauritania, where he studied at some of the foremost Islamic Colleges (mahdaras). He is the Co-Founder of the Tayba Foundation, one of the few Muslim organizations in the US serving incarcerated Muslims, providing them much-needed Islamic education, along with essential life skills training, and assistance upon re-entry.

More MCC East Bay:
Events & Activities: http://www.mcceastbay.org/calendar
Weekly Updates: http://www.mcceastbay.org/newsletter
Support MCC: https://www.mcceastbay.org/sadaqa
Facebook:   / mccpleasanton  
Instagram:   / mcceastbay