It is the pleasure believers are promised to enjoy when spending on those in need, to say nothing of the fruitful reward they will gain in the hereafter.

Salam alaykum - peace to all. It is truly a blessing to me and my family to learn about your great and wonderful work. I pray to Allah to accept and bless you always Ameen. Salam alaykum Yusuf Estes

Dear Makkah, I want to thank you for your important comment which was brought to my attention just today. As MVPR’s mission says, “We are Muslim men and women promoting world peace, human rights, compassionate justice and religious reconciliation. We speak up for innocent men, women and children, regardless of their faith. We seek to help all who are unjustly treated due to bigotry and prejudice. We work collaboratively with inter-faith groups and other non-government organizations, seeking to be a Muslim voice of peace and reason in the midst of civil unrest and war.” The long history of injustices committed against African Americans (men, women and children) must be of grave concern, not just to Muslims, but to peoples of all faiths. And, I assure you that American racial injustice is a major concern for of mine. I have posted my concerns regularly on Facebook and other social media. I would be proud to stand with any brother or sister who is experiencing the horror of American police brutality or who is unjustly imprisoned or the families of loved ones who have been murdered or wrongly convicted. As a member and chair of the Annapolis (Maryland) Democratic Central Committee and later as a member of the Annapolis City Council, I personally was a supporter of the Innocence Project and assisted their Maryland leaders in organizing an Annapolis public rally high-lighting unjust incarceration in that state. I testified in support of Maryland state legislation for prison reform and now support current efforts to bring further reforms to the state’s penal system. (America contains but 5% of the world’s population, yet it is a known fact that more than 25% of all the world’s prison inmates are in US prisons, and a highly disproportionate number of those inmates are African America.) I supported bringing Betty Shabazz, daughter of the late American civil rights leader Malcolm X, to speak at an Annapolis, Maryland, high school assembly. Betty’s speech on the history of injustice suffered by African Americans was well received and publicized. I authored and successfully oversaw the passage of the first municipal government slavery apology in the United States. I defended that legislation as it was hotly debated in public and in City Council sessions. It passed unanimously. Now, as a Muslim and director of MVPR, I continue to speak and work in prisons as time permits, in various nations around the world, realizing there are among our world’s prison populations (in the US and elsewhere) inmates that need the hope of justice at all levels. So you see, Makkah, I do have a known record for supporting justice for African Americans, and I would welcome the opportunity to lend support, when physically possible, to Black Lives Matter and any other cause that champions justice for African Americans and other American minorities. Samuel Shropshire MVPR Director