| Return To Walanzo Shabaka's Homepage |
Third in a series of three interviews
with Minister Walanzo Shabaka,
who is incarcerated under sentence
of death in Oklahoma State Penitentiary
MIN. WALANZO SHABAKA SPEAKS:
BEING ON DEATH ROW, PART 3
Q = Questioner
Month: November
WS = Walanzo Shabaka
Year: 2000
Q: As Salaam Alaeykum.
Min Shabaka, we once again have the fortune to
converse with you.
As always it is a delight
to speak with you and an opportunity to have a
glimpse into the life
of a man on Death Row, a man we equally feel does not
deserve to be there.
We pray God's blessings on you, friend, and know that
you'll continue to persevere
along the path which is straight.
WS: Wa Alaikum Salaam.
The prayers are appreciated. And inshaa' Allah I
shall forever remain
loyal to this Mazhab.
Q: In our previous discussion
from a few months back, we learned of how you
perceive certain injustices
within the American Judicial System, and how it
relates to you men and
women in prison’, your lack of faith in the Criminal
Justice System; your
views on how limited the courts are to those
incarcerated; your opinion
of how your appeals are heading; and your belief
that racism still plays
a major role in American society. With these views
having been expressed,
we would like to know, contrary to your opinion that
you’ll be executed, that
if you’re granted relief from prison one day, would
you be a liability or
an asset to your community? I ask this not to offend
you, but because it is
an important question. We see too many men return to
society after being outstanding
inmates in prison and appearing to have
reformed themselves into
a positive person only for them to return to a life
of crime after their
release. Our concern is, would you be the same?
WS: First, allow me to
apologise for giving the impression I would be
executed. That is not
a statement of fact that you are referring to. What I
meant was there is a
strong probability that I’ll be executed if my Appeals
continue to be fruitless.
I have no idea how this experience will conclude.
There is no doubt, however,
that the so-called "state" would love to carry
out an execution on me.
Now as to a release from prison, let me start by
saying it is wrong of
us to form opinions of persons in prison and the
prospect of them returning
to society based on the failures of those who
didn’t or couldn’t make
the most of their freedom from incarceration.
Generalisations at times
can develop into prejudices and unfounded
stereotypes. We don’t
know the particular circumstances any person was
confronted with on release
from prison that compelled them to commit a crime
or jeopardise the stability
of a community. Each case must be examined on
its basis of facts. Some
people return to a society that is a cesspool of
degeneracy and violence;
they have no other place to return to. How do they
make best of their release
when confronted by numerous forces that beckon
them to a lifestyle,
perhaps of survival, but within a Judicial context,
considered criminal?
This is not to make excuses
for violating established laws and social
decorum of stabilised
communities, but simply to say lets take this into
consideration. Was the
person in prison provided an outlet to develop
marketable skills? Certainly
this is necessary if a person intends to
establish a firm and
legal basis for financial security. Was the person
returning to a community
that warmly embraced convicted felons? Then there
is also the issue of
crime, and what they were imprisoned for (or allegedly
for). You see this covers
a wide spectrum of scenarios. And this is why it
is highly important to
deal with facts of specific cases and not generalise.
If I was out of prison,
had never been in any further trouble with law
enforcement agencies,
never broke any laws, and an armed person breaks into
my marital home intent
on inflicting harm on my wife and children, what
rights would I have to
protect my family? If I managed to secure a weapon
owned by my wife and
shot and killed the intruder as he was about to shoot
me, in the eyes of the
law I would be guilty of murder. The law would claim
for one thing that as
a former felon I was forbidden to be in possession of
or in proximity to a
fire-arm, and that therefore I was in violation of my
parole. In this scenario
I shot a man who was going to harm us, yet I would
be ridiculed and no defence
explanation would suffice. Everything I could
say would be otiose.
The fact is that I would have been in the right to have
protected my family,
but in the laws eyes I have forfeited that right. My
human value in their
eyes would have diminished as a result of my
incarceration. This same
disposition is taken against men and women who
return to society from
imprisonment.
Q: OK, I see the picture
you’re painting. But let’s deal with you. Would you
be an asset or liability
to society? And may I say you’re correct, we
shouldn’t generalise.
WS: Oh, my mistake. I
misheard the question. You’re saying liability? I
thought you were asking
about their committing crimes on return to society.
Q: Yes, liability.
WS: Let me say in conclusion
to my first statement that I do not believe
that people on parole,
scheme of ways to break the law. I feel it is
important for a society
to have a concern for the community and should work
to help better the life
of the person released from prison. If the person is
a sex offender, no doubt
he should be monitored for a while as case studies
show that these types
of offenders are more prone to commit further sexual
assaults on women and
children. I single them out, for their crimes are
distinct from others
and lean more towards being a psychological disorder.
There are some good people
in prison who are very deserving of parole. But
there are others who
are best, perhaps, kept behind bars. Indeed prisons are
necessary. But they should
not be a place for breeding moral degeneracy and
anti-social behaviour.
Prisons should place greater investment in developing
the human mind to function
better in an industrial and so-called civilised
society. The Government
has the means to provide all Correctional Facilities
with educational programmes
and avenues to cultivate whatever marketable
skills they had prior
to imprisonment. And let me say this, I do not want to
appear contradictory
by singling out sex offenders, as it might suggest that
I’ve stereotyped them
all. Let’s just chalk it up by saying we should use
discretion when dealing
with them upon their return to society. Some perhaps
will never again commit
the shameful crimes of violating a woman or child
sexually, or other perversions.
Q: Min. Shabaka, are you dodging my question?
WS: No ma’am. And in fact
it was an important one as you’ve mentioned. Now
to accurately answer
your question it will be wise of me to compare Walanzo
Shabaka of now with Walanzo
Robinson who was placed in confinement at the
age of eighteen (I8).
The man I’ve become would be a valued asset to his
community based upon
the following reasons:
1) I have a profound concern
for the safety and welfare of my fellow human
beings and with this
concern I would be sensitive toward their needs. I
would feel a drive to
be at peace with my community with the emphasis being
on helping those that
I can with what I have, when I can, as well as
possible.
2) I am a man of Taqwa
and have a responsibility of upholding the integrity
of Islam., showing that
we are not the antithesis to peace, stability,
harmony and goodwill.
We love God and this must reflect in how we relate to
God’s creatures. This
relationship places the Muslim in a unique position,
we are not to dominate
anyone, but to be the administrators of Justice. And
this being
so, my neighbours would
know I can in no way uphold anarchism or crime, and
that I would not pose
a threat to them or nor their property. As a true
Muslim they’d see that
I represent the best expression of Justice on earth
and in no way have room
to confuse us with Muslims who have strayed far from
the pure religion Islam,,
3) I would seek to be
an active participant in any grass roots programmes
that have realistic goals
towards being a benefit to our community. I’d
attend community meetings
and establish relationships with our state elected
district officials, and
I’d attempt to have a better understanding of how
the local Police Department
relate to our community; we’d realise their
responsibility to us
and our duty to them. Corrupt cops will never be
tolerated and should
be exposed, as they blemish what little Justice exists.
That is law enforcement
does keep blatant crimes in check and are the agents
to protect people in
society even though this is not always reflective of
them, as we clearly see
in the media of police abuse of authority over
common folk,
4) I am older, wiser and
more mature in my thinking than I was as a young
person coming to prison,
and take my life seriously. I’d have this quality
filter over to how I’d
conduct myself within my community. I am focussed,
not reckless, and would
want a healthy environment where I could raise
children, mine and those
of my neighbours. And this can only be done with my
input in conjunction
with others striving to have a safe environment.
Lnshaa’ Allah in a few
months I’ll be thirty (30) years of age. For me life
is not about fun and
games, and my serious mindness would not allow me to
make compromises that
would jeopardise what we as a community would strive
for. I am a man of moral
integrity, and no-one would have to worry about me
being a social hazard
or criminal influence on the youth. I do not drink
alcohol, would not drink
alcohol or smoke drugs or take them otherwise. I am
against adultery and
fornication therefore I pose no threat to our women. I
would definitely seek
the companionship of a goodly woman. You would not
hear of me frequenting
movie theatres, night clubs, pornography shops, house
parties or meetings with
mischief makers. Whereas the youthful Walanzo
Robinson had not developed
in areas of placing significance on the
establishing or maintaining
of a stable community. My wisdom in life
experiences of important
matters to do with the welfare of human life and
means necessary to suit
them was underdeveloped. A youthful mind is easily
deceived and won over
by the glitter or temptations in life in areas that
are truly not beneficial
to us, they may have temporal affects toward
feeding our desires and
passions, but in the context of having value to
life, it is absent. Too
much candy, no matter how sweet, can never prove
good to your health.
No candy at all will serve you just fine in maintaining
strong teeth. But the
youthful mind wants the sweetness of life no matter
the consequences on our
health. I do not desire the sweetness in life. The
young me didn’t have
a true sense of responsibility to the community in its
management and upkeep
from becoming degraded. I am now a man, not a boy, and
as such life has greater
value and meaning to me. I would be an asset to my
community, irrespective
of what any opposition would say or suggest
regarding my person.
My life is not a con game. I’m not looking to get over
on ones emotions. I live
for Allah, not what people think of me. I say this
because my opponents
would claim this is simply "jail house" conversion talk
that has no roots in
sincerity. Praise be to Allah for what you see in
Walanzo Shabaka is what
you get, no more, no less. I front for no-one,
including myself. I shall
continue to live as a Realist and will die as
such.
Q: Impressive response.
And it’s safe to say you would not live a life of
crime.
WS: No. No. Nothing is
said just to be impressive. I do not toy around with
words nor seek to be
an emotional lollypop, your tone of voice carries that
suggestion.
Q: Excuse me. I meant
no offence. I just think that was a sincere assertion
on the matter. And it
wasn’t used to flatter. I do think the lollypop remark
was a bit sarcastic.
WS: Forgive me. Perhaps prison life has dulled my senses.
Q: No, you’re fine. And
forgiveness granted. I can imagine that prison life
can make you a little
edgy, or certain things can aggravate you.
WS: Actually I took the
comment the wrong way. Let’s leave it at that. No
harm done. No feelings
abused. We’re still friends. I simply thought you
were making a suggestion
that I needed to say more about, a life of crime.
Let’s just move on.
Q: Min Shabaka, I’ll respect
that. Well, I guess some people would like to
know is it difficult
living in prison, are there concerns and worries that
men face behind bars?
WS: Our life is what we
make it. But the prison itself as a body of people
can sometimes impede
on the ideal lifestyle we’d like to exemplify. Prison
is sadly a place where
the worst of society can be lord of prison madness.
Some prisoners are diabolic.
Then there are others who are mentally balanced
and good hearted. A person
must be of sound mind and have courage to live a
structured life behind
bars. This is still a universally accepted truth,
"the weak are raped and
violated, the strong stand tall through it all."
This is worse than Animalism.
The human being can be the best expression of
love and hope or of hate
and destruction. Some men love to beat other men,
physically. Some are
confrontational and look to exploit a person's weakness
and they look to challenge
a good-hearted person. Others test young persons
to see if they can become
an instrument for misguided sexual energies. And
some men don’t know how
to deal with this evilness and as such, they are
perceived as weak. They
then become vulnerable to the sexually depraved.
This may sound ridiculous.
But I question any man who has never been in
prison, how would you
respond to this scenario? You are new to prison, you’
re issued with prison
clothes but first you must take a shower in the
communal shower area.
You undress and a man says "you are a cute sugar
muffin. How ‘bout you
let me squeeze those buns." At that moment, if you
fail to respond with
violence or verbally correct the predator, you have
forfeited your right
to manliness. Prison has a distorted concept of what
constitutes manhood.
Then the predator approaches you and says, "you look
like an old girl-friend
of mine. Boy, I sure missed that pretty young thing
until I found you GIRL."
Do you see how this leads up to a sad violation of
ones dignity? Some men
crack under simple words. But such simple words carry
a ton of sinister motives.
This play of words can be used to extort a person
out of his money, or
canteen or property. We look down on homosexuality, but
the man who does the
penetrating sees himself as a "man", not a homosexual.
It is wild. And the universal
greetings to a newcomer in prison is "welcome
to the jungle, it is
all about do or die. There is no mommy and no daddy to
protect you here." What
I find so disturbing is that man can stoop so low
and justify his sickness
and in fact turn it into an acceptable act within
the prison culture. Now
I am not suggesting this is the prevailing spirit of
despotism in prisons,
but it is one exercised by men who can’t keep their
sexual energies under
control and who like the affection of other males. It
is sickening! Also might
I say this is not the overall reflection of the
prison society. There
are well balanced and disciplined men here and in all
prisons, men who are
soldiers that are distinguished from the common
criminal. The benchmark
of a soldier is that he surpasses those villains who
thrive on being brutal;
some prisoners are violent, others brutal, others
dangerous. A soldier
incorporates all those traits but keeps them under
control and therefore
he is par-excellent DEADLY! No jive, no fancy stuff,
you step to him you either
kill him or you die. Prison life has these
dynamics, and we have
to acknowledge this.
Q: Do you consider yourself a soldier in this respect?
WS: For a Muslim there
is to be no influence for us other than Islam. I am a
soldier not by chance
of being in prison, but because of my love for life.
When one opposes me and
seeks to inflict harm on my person, my mind set
shifts and I then see
this person or persons as an enemy to my family, to my
friends, to my loved
ones, to Islam and every Muslim on earth and elsewhere
we give praise to Allah,
because he seeks to harm that which we love. I
cannot freely allow that
and my fight then becomes one of survival and it is
my duty at that point
to inflict as much pain and damage on their person as
possible; break bones;
knock out teeth; rip out testicles; gouge out
eyeballs, become the
embodiment of ALL-OUT-WAR! Here there is one rule: no
surrender. In this sense
even we God loving men kill our adversary. If a
person thinks this is
harsh or cruel, they best be glad they are not in
prison.
Q: It has to be a scary place. I hate to imagine how women are perceived.
WS: For some men, a woman
without protection is like maple syrup to a young
bear. They’d no doubt
devastate her. This is extremely sad as it reflects
how prison can desensitise
a person to the point of not acknowledging a
woman as a human being.
For we men who know our worth and value the sanctity
of women, a woman could
be in our midst and experience no assault on her
person. I think it is
a strain on the mind to lust after women while being
in prison for an indefinite
period of time. The mind should be exercised on
productive things. I
can’t say how women are generally perceived. But there
is no doubt, a great
many of the men in prison will view them solely as an
object for release of
sexual tensions. They have no concern for her
feelings, nor for her
being a live, thinking person. They detach the human
make-up and reduce her
to their level of imagination, executing exotic
sexual acts upon her.
I’ve heard men openly express their filthy fantasies
about women, and towards
female guards. Fortunately there are no females
working on our Unit.
Those women shouldn’t be victims of strange eyes
molesting their bodies.
Q:. Does this carry over to how they see women on television?
WS: I can’t say with certainty
how they see them. Women on television are
abstract to us. I've
heard men express their likes toward certain women
shown on television.
Some men watch soap shows and claim a strange affinity
to some of the female
characters. I cannot comprehend this warped form of
thinking. It is a tragic
mismanagement of the mind. And I’m not being
overtly critical.
Q: You’re a man, of course
with high morals, but one would think you’d
likewise crave the companionship
of a woman.
WS: That’s natural. But
the craving would be for a real woman, not some
imaginary relationship.
Not for some soap woman. It’s about control. To
successfully overcome
that drive for the warmth of a female companion we
must realise, under these
circumstances it is not viable and there can be no
substitution. We must
control our thoughts and protect it from certain
imagery. When I see a
pretty woman on television my mind doesn’t compute her
as an object of sex,
nor does she register as someone I would like to have
as my own.
For example, if I see
a physically attractive woman, say like Gail Devers
the track and field athlete,
I acknowledge her physique as pleasing to my
eyes, but I know absolutely
nothing about the woman. And this keeps into
perspective, not all
what you see is what you think. I assume she is a
chaste person and a humbled
Christian person. Here establishes a line of
respect, but it forms
no conclusions based upon facts. She then simply comes
across as a person. Life
for me must go on without entertaining thoughts of
women on television or
elsewhere. My ideal companion would preferably be a
Shi-ite woman. There
can be no room to exercise a complete relationship with
a Shi-ite woman under
these circumstances, and as long as I’m in prison one
may never come about.
It is of course unnatural for man to be without a soul
mate. However I can deal
with it. My life struggle is on greater focal
points than being limited
to craving the warmth and comfort of a lady.
Q: People outside of prison
forget there are issues you all must confront.
We have this belief that
you all are just in prison pulling time, but we
forget y’all have issues
that affect all human beings. And we overlook the
fact that men are different
in prison than how we see them out here. You are
all in a more electrifying
environment that has rules which must be taken
seriously, your very
lives depend on it. I fully understand the role
organised violence has
to play in prison if one intends to survive when
confronted by a foe or
circumstances which leave no room for reasoning with
a person bent on harming
you.
WS: Then you’ll agree
that sometimes violence is appropriate, it is
necessary depending on
the circumstances.
Q: Yes. But up until this
point I wouldn’t have thought so. I clearly see in
the prison context how
it can be used positively by protecting oneself, or
negatively by initiating
harm to someone. You were very graphic in sharing
with us this reality,
and this is needed in order to bring home the
seriousness of your situation
and what prison life presents to a person
here. I admire your strength.
Earlier you brought up
the issue of Islam being your influence. We are on
the eve of the Muslim
fast Ramadam, that is it commences later this month.
Does this bring special
meaning to you?
WS: Yes. It is a time
for introspection and a renewing of oneself, a time
for seeking the blessings
from God, a time for cleaning and purifying our
mind and spirit. It is
for me a time to be at Salaam with Muslims the world
over, knowing the faithful
ones are at fast and in devotion to our Lord. I
hope this to be my best
Ramadam so far observed while in prison, inshaa’
Allah. I’ll also be praying
for the victory of the Palestinian people over
our avowed enemies who
continue to blind Mr Arrafat with their smoke cloud
called peace.
Q: Min. Shabaka, do you
support the Middle East peace process between the
Muslims and the Jews?
Surely the fighting needs to end?
WS: Those Zionists are
enemies of Islam. The so-called Israelis are
foreigners in Palestine,
they are colonial power backed by U.S. imperialism.
Those so-called Jews
don’t want Salaam with Muslims, they only want to
uproot them from their
homeland and establish an Israeli state. The Jews are
killing hundreds of Muslims
every year. The Muslims are the victims of
Israeli aggression, and
we should no longer tolerate it. Muslims should
unite to once and for
all rid ourselves of this blood sucking leech. I have
no respect for what the
Israelis are attempting to implement in Palestine
and Jerusalem. The handful
of peaceful Jews will never be the voice over
those who hate Muslims.
No I do not support the bogus peace process and it
will never come to life.
The Muslims love Allah and seek to have genuine
peace and stability under
an Islamic government. We cannot compromise our
faith and allow Jews
to govern our affairs or be co-partner in how we manage
an Islamic state.
Q: I respect this aspect
of Islam. Muslims have a sense of Kinship with
their Brothers and Sisters
in faith who may have never met before. This
issue on what’s taking
shape in Israel would require more time than we have.
But I find it interesting
that you say Muslims want genuine peace and they
love God. I think people
over here are insensitive towards Muslim beliefs
and since they feel they
are of an illegitimate belief system, they cannot
be speaking of love to
the Creator God Almighty. Does this disturb you?
WS: Most images of Muslims
shown on television are distortions of what we
are and what we represent.
The media wants the world to believe we are slave
traders out to capture
Christians, and this comes from them perceiving the
Sudanese Government’s
practice of torturing Christians and enslaving them as
Islamic. It is un-Islamic!
Those Muslims who partake in the destruction of
the Christians and killing
of Bedouin Muslims who help free them, are
enemies to Islam and
must be viewed as such. We who love Allah know that God
has said we’re best evolved
as leaders for mankind. Let Allah’s truth
prevail and man be a
liar. Certainly what is happening in Sudan contradicts
what Muslims have from
our Lord, the perfect Religion and in it we know how
to treat our friends
and even our enemies. The media wants the world to see
us as terrorists. When
we fight for Justice and our right to practice our
way of life, we are called
fanatics, and when we take up arms against
enemies of Islam we’re
called terrorists. People do not see that all we want
is to live as good Muslims
and enjoy the company of fellow believers while
having a solid Islamic
Government that we can be proud of. We prefer peace
over violence. We prefer
love over hate. This is Islam, but we will fight
those that fight against
us. Even in all the sorrow for we Muslims, I give
God praise for Islam
shall eventually triumph over all religions of the
world. Praise be to Allah!
Q: We’ve covered a mixture
of topics and this exchange of conversation wasn’
t as in depth as previous
held ones, but none the less it is always a
delight to speak with
you. We appreciate the opportunity to learn from you
and get a perspective
on prison life and on your situation. I think you are
deserving of a safe return
to society. We need men like you. You’ll remain
in our hearts and prayers.
Min. Shabaka, you must continue to trust in Allah
and be an example of
what a good Muslim is. In closing, know that we’ve all
learned a great deal
from this dialogue and we would hope that others can at
least appreciate this.
And we know that this forum could have been used to
further your cause in
spreading the word about your faulty imprisonment. We
have confidence that
you will have success in your appeals, and that you
will continue to be a
service to those seeking to be involved in your case.
God bless you and I leave
you in all due respect, with the love of Jesus
Christ. You are free
to conclude.
WS: I’m grateful for the
exchange of conversation. I hope that what little
has been shared will
bear witness there are some of us who are in prison
that care for what is
taking place around the world, and that we are not
misusing our time in
prison. We care for our communities and would very much
like to return to them.
We seek to be at peace with our society, not at war.
We want to create an
environment for healthy homes and safety for our
children. Life is not
a playground for us, and there is nothing nice at all
about being in prison.
We want our humanity to be acknowledged and we’d like
to work with those willing
to work with us in building a better future for
human beings. My struggle
continues until victory is won. ALLAHU - AKBAR!
This is the conclusion
of the three (3) part series of interviews with Min
Walanzo Shabaka. We hope
he has touched your lives in some way as he has
ours. Let us pray for
his safety while in prison and an eventual return to
society. F.A.S.O.M.S
(Friends and Supporters of Minister Shabaka)
| Return To Walanzo Shabaka's Homepage |
