National News

Ramadan Prayerline: 10 Years Later

By Nisa Islam Muhammad -Staff Writer- | Last updated: Jul 5, 2016 - 11:19:59 AM

What's your opinion on this article?

ramadan-prayer-line.jpg
The year is 2006, George Bush is President, the Pittsburgh Steelers win the Super Bowl, and James Brown dies.  It’s also the year that Nasser and Majidah Muhammad enter their sophomore year at Shepherd University and Spelman College.

Like many parents concerned about what their children will be doing while away at college, I wanted to ensure that they were maintaining their Muslim values on campus.  I couldn’t be there and it wasn’t enough for them to say, “We’re being good Muslims at school mommy.”  I wanted to create a mechanism that at least during Ramadan would sustain them while staying connected as a family.

What about a spiritual conference call where we could communicate every morning of Ramadan? 

I took that ‘what if’ to Jamil Muhammad.  Our families have known each other for decades and our children are cousins to each other.  I’m “Aunty Nisa” to his children and he’s “Uncle Chip” to mine. 

“I thought it was a good idea from the very beginning.  I had two children at Howard University and one at Morehouse School of Medicine.  We started with 50 lines, which we thought was too many, as a means of giving spiritual guidance,” he said.  “The idea has become much bigger than I originally thought,” said Jamil Muhammad.

Doing 50 lines was an easy conference call.  That first morning as I sat in Valerie Muhammad’s home in Houston, I started getting texts that people couldn’t get on the line for the Ramadan call.  “Who were these people?” I thought and “How did they hear about our call?”

Those 50 lines filled quickly and increasing n umbers wanted access to our simple “family conference call”.

We were shocked but wanted to serve the need.   That required putting together a tech team to help us do this.

“Whenever I went to Memphis, I enjoyed being in the brotherhood with Anthony Muhammad who was the minister and I loved hearing Andre call the ahdan.  I said to myself that we have to have this on the call.  I knew Marticus was technologically savvy enough to make things happen,” said Jamil Muhammad.

“We pulled in Anthony J. to help and Ademah and Sheila Muhammad.  We had the right people at the right time.”

Ten years later with close to 500,000 (conservative estimates) live listeners on the phone and Boston’s Touch FM Radio since 2006 and 250,000 listeners (conservative estimates) to playbacks on SoundCloud from over 50 countries around the world since 2013, the Ramadan Prayerline has become a staple to the Ramadan experience for hundreds of thousands of people.

“We’ve been successful because all communities of Islam can find a place.  We find a way to be brothers and sisters.  The maturity of the line is that like the beginnings of Islam we started very small and narrow.  We didn’t know other communities were listening.  This type of exposure forced us to see things differently,” said Anthony Muhammad, Student Minister in Memphis.

“I’ve enjoyed hosting.  I was very shy at first but learned how to do it.  It let me find my voice.  I’m amazed watching the tech team come together with people over time that we didn’t even know but they are committed to help like Georgina Muhammad in Seattle, Najma Muhammad, Bro. Wali Muhammad in Chicago and now Nasser Muhammad leads the team.  The 10 years have been a very humbling experience for me.”

Highlights of the first few years include praying for the health of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, the Allahu Akbar button which allowed listeners to voice their enthusiastic approval of speakers and one year an evening program recognizing the nights of power during Ramadan.

In 2010 the program expanded to include the widely popular Hadith of the Day by Imam Abdul Jalil Muhammad.

“I look forward to it every year.  Ramadan is a blessing but in my humble opinion the Ramadan Prayerline enhances that blessing.  It falls in line with what we are to be doing, reading the Qur’an, remembering Allah so he will remember us and learning the religion.  Those three components are intertwined in the Ramadan Prayerline,” said Imam Jalil.

“Another component is the dawah effort, the propagation of the religion.  Dawah is given to the believer and the unbeliever.  The believer receives this rich weighty education.  There are those who have not professed the faith and they listen also.  Perhaps Allah will guide them to Islam through the Ramadan Prayerline.”

The program has fan favorites with Minister Farrakhan opening and closing Ramadan, Imam Siraj is day two and Dr. Safiyya Shabazz is day three.  Other speakers include Jamil Muhammad, Carlos Muhammad, student minister in Baltimore, Imam Abdul Malik, Ieasha Prime, Imam Zaid Shakir, Omar Suleiman, Imam Johari Abdul Malik, Lateefah Muhammad, Imam Sultan Muhammad, Donna Auston and Dr. Aminah McCloud.

“This accomplishment shows how an idea can start very small and with perseverance and consistency, grow.  Imagine the shear planning that goes into making this happen.  The Ramadan Prayerline has become an institution.  Allah has blessed us,” said Abdul Akbar Muhammad who has been with it since day one.

nisa-islam_07-12-2016.jpg

“Many people try but cannot sustain an idea.  It starts by not allowing critique and criticism to get in the way.  These are people committed, who know the power of Islam in their lives.  I’m honored to be a part of it,” said Akbar Muhammad.

The call works because everyone understands that and as I say every morning on the call, “Islam is not the problem, Islam is the answer.”  —Nisa Islam Muhammad