Wudu Unit for Ablution installed in Canadian Prison for the first time!

Wudu Unit for Ablution installed in Canadian Prison for the first time!

Habeeb Alli

June 09 2019 Last Friday, June 7^th 2019, which happens to be both the Day of Juma and the day the Muslim inmates were celebrating Eid at Warkworth Institution, will be marked in Canadian prison history as the first time a wudu unit has been made operational. This is for ablution before prayers.

Muslims wash five times a day, called ablution, before prayers. This washing of the hands, face, and feet; and wiping the head necessitates dignity and grace- something all faiths warrant. However, having to make wudu inside one’s cell, where the toilet sits as well, and lifting one’s feet inside the sink to wash them in the presence of other cellmates, do not augur well for inmates relations nor dignity of religion to say the least.

At the One Love Gala 2017, an event aimed at celebrating the successful reintegration of inmates, proceeds of the gala were earmarked for the purchase of the wudu units and its installation within the Chapel of this particular Institution.
Thanks to the donors and well wishers as well as Correction Services Canada, their capable staff was able to see to the plumbing and building a base to mount the two units within the required standards.

The unit was purchased in the UK, thanks to the capable spearheading of the project by Site Base Chaplain Dr. Desmond Khanoo. He worked on this diligently for the past two years and was present at the opening on Friday.
Present at the official launch was Regional Chaplain Imam AbdurRasheed Michael Taylor, who shared his own experienced as the former Muslim Chaplain and the how far the journey has been that today such an accomplishment could be achieved. He emphasised Corrections’ commitment towards diversity.

Special gratitude is extended by the inmates for this facility and the fact that this can happen at one institution it can happen anywhere else.
This mobile type wudu units are common in the prisons and hospitals in the UK.

Like Jesus and Moses, Muhammad was ordered to wash up before prayer- Quran 5:6 “O you who believe! When you rise up for prayer, wash you faces, and your hands up to the elbows, and wipe your heads and wash your feet up to the ankles.”

Imam Habeeb Alli is thankful to being part of this history, from the beginning, as the Muslim Chaplain.