Thought Muslims had it hard? Try being an incarcerated female Muslim convert!

Nearly every woman in prison is suffering from trauma.

From childhood sexual abuse to witnessing a horrific crime, nearly every woman behind bars has a traumatic past that has led her to a prison sentnece. Many are incarcerated after turning to drugs as a means of addressing the trauma. 

During incarceration, some of these women turn to Islam and through it gain solace and a powerful system for working through their trauma and mental health challenges.

Tayba Foundation offers tailored therapy services to help our incarcerated sisters do just that.

Many incarcerated women are separated from their children

As a result of their incarceration, children are often shifted around with family or may end up in the foster care system. This will lead to additional stress for the mother while behind bars.

Upon re-entry, regaining custody of their children is a legal battle they have to fight on top of all the other challenges of re-establishing a life on the outside. 

Tayba Foundation helps Muslim sisters returning from prison to reunite with their kids and restart successful lives in free society by providing them with the tools to help them be an accomplished caregiver.

They’re often the only Muslims on their block

Incarcerated Muslims are often called “the forgotten believers” because of how little support and resources they receive from the Muslim community in free society.

But Muslim women face even more challenges in prison. Unlike many male prisons, Muslims in women’s prisons frequently lack a community of any sort, being the only Muslims on their block.

There is significant bullying and discrimination against female Muslims, both from prison staff and from fellow prisoners.

In many prisons, Muslim women are not allowed to wear hijab, have no access to a chaplain or even the most basic of religious literature.

Tayba Foundation offers a comprehensive correspondence Islamic curriculum along with access to qualified teachers by phone, email, and snail mail, helping incarcerated Muslims across the country connect with other Muslims and learn the deen.

They turned to Islam, but Muslims turned away from them

Christians and Jews often bring support, counseling, and religious services to women’s prisons in the US.

Muslim women, on the other hand, often go years without hearing or seeing a Muslim from free society.

With no access to learn their deen, nobody to ask questions when confusion arises, and no mentor to look up to, our Muslim sisters often end up leaving the deen or joining a fringe sect.

Project Fatima is one of America’s only projects serving incarcerated Muslim women

Through Project Fatima, Muslim women around the country are able to learn their deen and ask questions about things they don’t understand.

Once released, they have support in re-establishing their lives, finding work and housing, and reuniting with their kids and families.

And they’re offered therapy and counseling to help work through past trauma and other mental health challenges that may be holding them back.

For women, by women

Project Fatima is administered by other Muslim women with personal knowledge of incarceration and the struggles that come with it.

We are not operating on assumptions, but extensive research in the field along with insights from those who have gone through this experience themselves.

Your donation can help a Muslim woman rebuild her life

Can you support her today?

Watch Kelly explain Project Fatima