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Faith needs for detainees in police stations Summary Guidance June 2015 Discover Islam Luton
37c Upper George Street, Luton, LU1 2RD | [email protected]
CONTENTS
Who are Muslims? .......................................................................... 3
Synopsis ......................................................................................... 3
The Pillars of Islam ......................................................................... 4
Prayer .......................................................................................... 4
Pre-requisites to offering prayer ...................................................... 5
Types of prayer ............................................................................... 6
Diet.................................................................................................. 7
Fasting ............................................................................................ 7
Faith advice..................................................................................... 7
Further information, training or consultancy services .................. 8
Religious leadership .................................................................... 8
Discover Islam Luton
37c Upper George Street, Luton, LU1 2RD | [email protected]
Who are Muslims? A Muslim is anyone who believes in the statement: “There is none worthy of worship
except Allah (God) and Mohammed is His slave and last messenger,” then acts
according to the Qur’an and the teachings of Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon
him).
Although, it may seem that Muslims are of Arab or South Asian background only, the
Muslim community is very diverse, including people from the Far East to Africa, and
native communities in Europe and the Americas. It is not unusual therefore to find
differences of opinion and practice commonly caused by cultural differences. Even
though Islam is a faith governed by divine law and the teachings of the prophet
(peace be upon him), we may often find cultural practices among some Muslims that
have no basis in Islam but have been inherited from ancestral traditions. In
mainstream Islam, juristic differences of opinion have always been welcomed, when
scholars have exerted themselves to apply the principles of Islamic teachings to new
circumstances.
Based on this diversity, it is important to note that not all Muslim detainees will have
identical personal needs; however the core beliefs and ritual practices are consistent.
Synopsis Discover Islam is a charitable organisation, which strives to present Islam in society
to build mutual respect, better understanding and stronger relationships across the
UK’s many diverse communities. We are continually developing initiatives to benefit
the whole community as per the Islamic teachings. This has included partnerships
with numerous local organisations to facilitate the needs of the local community
including Luton Foodbank and Level Trust.
The Discover Islam Centre was approached by Bedfordshire Police to offer advice
on prayer requirements for detainees. Following the visit, further recommendations
were made about faith needs and this document summarises a number of these
points. We hope that this material can be of benefit for UK Police agencies and any
other organisation who wish to better their understanding of the Islamic faith and
meet the needs of those in custody.
Discover Islam Luton
37c Upper George Street, Luton, LU1 2RD | [email protected]
The Pillars of Islam The Islamic faith is built on five key obligations which are the pillars of the faith that
every capable Muslim individual must satisfy within their life to live a good and
responsible life.
The 5 Pillars are as follows:
1. Declaration of faith: the expression and belief that there is no true god but the
One and only God (in Arabic referred to as Allah) and Muhammad is the
Messenger of God.
2. Five daily prayers (salaah), which are compulsory upon every mature Muslim
individual.
3. Fasting (sawm) during the Holy month of Ramadhan from dawn to sunset for
29 or 30 days based upon the lunar calendar.
4. Giving an annual contribution from ones surplus wealth (Zakah) to the poor
and needy.
5. Undertaking pilgrimage to Makkah (hajj) compulsory upon those who are able
to afford to do so.
Prayer Muslims offer prayers to God at five allocated times throughout the day. Offering
prayer is integral to faith and is seen as a spiritual cleansing process. The Discover
Islam Centre feels this pillar to be most significant for staff at the Detention Centre to
develop an understanding of, as it is the most frequent and important act of religious
devotion a Muslim individual expresses.
The five daily prayers are as follows:
•
The early morning prayer (fajr) which is offered between the period of dawn
till sunrise.
•
The prayer offered after midday (dhohar) up until late afternoon.
•
The prayer from late afternoon (asr) up until 20 minutes before sunset.
•
The prayer from sunset to when the twilight disappears which is usually an
hour slot (Maghrib).
Discover Islam Luton
37c Upper George Street, Luton, LU1 2RD | [email protected]
•
The Night prayer (Isha) can be prayed anytime after twilight disappears until
dawn.
It is recommended that staff at the Detention Centre consider keeping a prayer
timetable at the facility as prayer timings are essential for those detainees who may
wish to pray. This can be provided upon request through Discover Islam Luton. The
prayers should take no longer than 10-15 minutes each.
Pre-­‐requisites to offering prayer There are a number of pre-requisite requirements related to cleanliness for prayers:
Washing
1. In order to prepare for the prayers, it is essential that a Muslim must be clean
of any impurities as this is an appropriate manner to stand before God. This
process of cleaning ones body is called wudhu and consists of washing any
impurity from private parts (after using the bathroom) as well as washing
hands, arms (up to the elbow), face, ears, head and feet (up to the ankles).
In order to clean off impurities from using the bathroom, Muslim detainees
require a bottle/vessel (whichever meets the safety requirement) of water to
wash their private areas after relieving themselves. It is important that
facilities can be provided to offer individuals, some level of privacy when
washing one’s private parts.
2. In some cases those who have been sexually active (prior to arrival) or have
a ‘wet dream’ are required to take full body shower which is known as ‘Ghusl’.
3. An individual loses this state of ritual purity by relieving oneself (by passing
wind, urination or excretion), sleeping or bleeding, and is required to complete
the ablution process.
Dress
4.
The clothing an individual is wearing must be clean in order for the individual
to be able to offer prayer as they have to be clean and presentable in front of
God.
Discover Islam Luton
37c Upper George Street, Luton, LU1 2RD | [email protected]
Prayer space
5. One of the acts of prayer is to prostrate on the ground and it’s important that
the ground that one prays on is clean, hence a prayer mat is used. Discover
Islam can provide these upon request.
Direction
6. Prayers must be read facing the direction of Makkah (qibla) in which Muslims
face to pray, which is South East on the compass
Additional resources
7. If a prayer hat or prayer beads are requested, these items are also available
for free from Discover Islam.
Aside from praying at the appointed times throughout the day, an individual may wish
to occupy their time with reading of the Islamic scripture – the Quran. English
translations of the meaning of the Qur’an as well as versions in other languages
including Arabic are available on request from Discover Islam.
Types of prayer It is highly recommended for Muslim males to offer their prayers at the mosque
(masjid) and in congregation, although it is permissible for the daily prayers to be
prayed individually. The only mandatory prayer to be prayed in congregation is the
Friday midday prayer (Jummah).
Based on national guidelines for detention facilities, prisoners are offered an hour
every week for congregational prayer with their registered faith. Since this is a
temporary facility we understand that it may potentially be difficult to offer such
services. However, we request that this is given some serious consideration in the
future as for some individuals, irrespective of their attachment to faith, the Jummah
prayer is one which from childhood has become an obligatory ritual. The Discover
Islam Centre can provide links to Muslim Chaplains within the vicinity of Luton who
may be able to conduct the services or aid in making suitable arrangements for the
offering of such prayers for detainees.
Discover Islam Luton
37c Upper George Street, Luton, LU1 2RD | [email protected]
Diet Muslims are prohibited from consuming some foodstuff such as pork and alcohol (or
any products containing them). These foods are known as forbidden (haraam) for
Muslim consumption and those, which are acceptable, are termed halal.
Halal items are very similar in preparation to kosher food which ensure appropriate
bloodletting and remembrance of the name of God when slaughtering any livestock.
Fish are exempt from this slaughter and therefore Muslims often opt for vegetarian or
fish meals when halal meat is not available. It is important that there is no crosscontamination with prohibited foodstuffs when cutting, preparing or handling halal
food. Discover Islam can provide further information regarding Muslim dietary
requirements if required.
Fasting The Islamic Calendar is based on the lunar (moon) calendar and there are occasions
throughout the year that have significant religious relevance. One such occasion is
the month of Ramadhan in which the Quran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him). During this month Muslims fast from dawn until sunset. The act
of fasting in this month involves ensuring that no food or drink must be consumed
and generally Muslims avoid taking part in any physically enduring tasks as fasts can
last up to 20 hours in the summer period of year.
The month of Ramadhan is followed by the festive celebration of Eid, which involves
Muslims praying a special Eid prayer in congregation.
There is another Eid celebration approximately two months after Ramadhan, which
follows the event of the annual Hajj pilgrimage. We can support the Police service to
facilitate attendance to either of the Eid congregational prayers on request.
Faith advice We recommend that a Muslim Chaplain is made available to detainees at least once
a week to provide for the pastoral, emotional and spiritual needs of Muslim detainees.
Discover Islam is in contact with local Imams and current Muslim Prison Chaplains
who can offer advice services to the Police force on request.
Discover Islam Luton
37c Upper George Street, Luton, LU1 2RD | [email protected]
Other useful contacts
Further information, training or consultancy services Discover Islam Luton
37c Upper George Street
Luton
LU1 2RD
Email: [email protected]
Religious leadership •
Council of Islamic Scholars
Contact: Imam Saqib Mahmood, Zuhri Academy
•
Luton Council of Mosques
Email [email protected]
Correspondence address: 95 Maple Road Luton Bedfordshire LU4 8BQ
Discover Islam Luton
37c Upper George Street, Luton, LU1 2RD | [email protected]