In April 2010, Baquee Sabur opened Huma-Faith, a transitional home welcoming formerly incarcerated Muslim men. After crossing paths with Sabur in 2019, Joseph Clark established his own: Halal House. But why are transitional houses so critical?
In Sabur’s case, working after his 1991 release from prison resulted in a temporary disability and becoming unhoused.
After being rejected and mistreated by Christian shelters, he decided to create transitional housing for himself and his Muslim brothers, many of whom converted to Islam while incarcerated. This housing forged a community that he felt didn’t always translate in the outside world.
Now, Sabur and Clark provide that community and security themselves.
In exchange for $11 a day to $600 a month, residents explore work opportunities, sleep safely, and fellowship with a community of spiritually like-minded people who lift each other up and hold each other accountable.
Incarcerated Black Muslims are frequently discriminated against for their race and faith, and formerly incarcerated Americans are 10x more likely to be unhoused. So this community is necessary.
Instead of punishing formerly incarcerated Black Muslims for their identity, these transitional housing programs create safety and disrupt a systemic cycle that significantly harms our communities. They’re tangibly changing the conditions of people’s lives.
And unlike the criminal legal system, that’s justice.