Mohammed Khaku
March 1st, (27th Rajab) is a very important day in Islam. Historically, there are two great events that occurred on this day. One is the Mab’ath – Delegation of Prophethood.This was the day when the Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) received his first revelation at the age of 40 years. The other event is Me’raj –the ascension of the Holy Prophet to the heavens –ten years after Mab’ath at the age of 50 years.The message for humanity on this auspicious occasion is that if one reads and acquire knowledge the sky is the limit. One can reach the outer space and heaven just like the Prophet Muhammad. First verse that descended on the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) Was Iqra, meaning “read,” opening the door to read, write, reflect, ponder, and acquire knowledge. There are many narrations where Prophet Muhammad said: “Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave… The ink of the scholar’s pen is more sacred than the blood of the martyr…Acquire knowledge from cradle to grave…The best form of worship is the pursuit of knowledge.” I pin this column as Islam says pen is glorified tool of civilization.Reading keeps children’s brains sharp and helps them become better readers. But sadly, I rarely hear children say, “The book was so much better than the movie.”Many youths spend excessive hours on I-phone, playing video games, watching television or sitting in movie theaters rather than reading books.This requires a conscious investment of time and energy in reading. It’s an investment that always pays off richly in long-term enjoyment, combined with increased knowledge and enlightenment. Lehigh Valley Read has begun a program for call “Million Minute Challenge” with amazing prizes. Please register at the below link. https://wlvr.org/read/#.Yh7QdujMKUk “We wanted everyone to participate and we also wanted to make reading fun again,” said Lehigh Valley Reads Campaign Director, Angela Zanelli. She said even though they officially launched on Monday, there are already more than four million minutes pledged from people in the community. Reading doesn’t always promise instant “fun,” which may be why too many children give books a pass.While some may find difficulty reading due to not acquiring necessary mechanics in schools or being forced to read material that has no interest or value to them.But we can all cultivate a genuine love for book-reading among the screen-watching generation by reading with our children, reading something interesting, educational or fun that child chooses.Reading requires a love of comprehension and contemplation. By reading imagination is awakened.No wonder Michael Hart ranked Prophet Muhammad as No. 1 in his popular book “The One Hundred,” a ranking of the most influential people in history.Within 90 years of Prophet’s death, Islam had spread as far to the east as China, as far as north to Spain and beyond and south to Africa.For more than 1,000 years the Muslims were second to none in the arts, architecture, medicine, surgery, sciences and technology, and even military science.The technology of artillery cannons was developed by the Turks in the ottoman empire. During that golden age, the Islamic civilization was the most advanced civilization in the world with numerous scientists, philosophers and intellectuals. What is literacy? Research after research has shown direct correlation between children’s success rate and their likelihood caught in the criminal justice system is due to their literacy levels. Research shows that children who struggle to read in first grade are 88% more likely to struggle in grade four; and those who struggle in fourth grade are four times more likely to drop out of school.Data reveals that 85% of juveniles who interact with the court system are functionally illiterate, and 60% of the nation’s inmates are illiterate.There is a strong connection between early low literacy skills and incarceration rates. Critical questions we should ask are what are the root cause of the behavior of our youths and incarceration? More importantly, what can each and every one of us do to break this pipeline in order to not just help our youth but also our community? There are already some organizations in our community that mitigates the impact of the School to Prison Pipeline (STPP) and work towards dismantling it. I have been working with Lehigh Justice Institute (LVJI) and End Mass Incarceration (EMI) for last two years to reduce STPP.
