Black Lives Matter.

As a Muslim collective of abolitionists, Believers Bail Out echoes the righteous anger being expressed across this country, and across the world, opposing the ongoing state-sanctioned violence perpetrated against Black communities. Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and Yassin Mohamed are among the dozens of Black people murdered by the police this month. They should be with us, but their lives have been stolen from us at the hands of publicly-funded agents of the state.

We reiterate our founding mission: to be part of the movement to abolish bail, abolish jails, abolish the police, abolish prisons, abolish immigration custody, abolish state surveillance, and to build the world we deserve. The criminal punishment system was not produced for our safety; the moment we are in now makes this abundantly and viciously clear. We will continue to organize and speak firmly against the ongoing violence of this system that criminalizes Black people, murders Black people and then jails us for refusing to remain oppressed or be complicit in the oppression of others.

We acknowledge that it is up to us, collectively, to plant the seeds towards a just and sustainable future. Our faith calls on us to fight for liberation and commit to justice, real justice. In community with each other, with clear intentions, and through the strength of our faith tradition, we will fight for a world in which we are all valued, whole, and truly safe.

As Muslims, we call upon our non-Black co-religionists to sincerely reflect on the ways Black Muslims and Black people have been marginalized or erased in our communities, our families, our homes, our Masajid and even our du’as.  Reflect and then, take action:

1. Educate yourself on anti-Black racism and how to be actively anti-racist.

2. Approach your families and friends about their anti-Black attitudes and actions – correct them, educate them.

3. Advocate for a society that does not imprison, brutalize and surveil Black people, and amplify the call for an abolition of the prison industrial complex.

4. Center the leadership, the voice and the demands of Black Muslims. Expand your outreach and networks to include Black Muslim women, youth, and elders.

We state unequivocally that Black Lives Matter. Black lives are precious. Black men, women and children deserve the space and freedom to breathe. It is our moral obligation, as Muslims and as humans, to protect and honor Black life.