Mission

KUFISNAPBACK's The Inside Bulletin's mission is to reduce the impact of criminal thinking, substance abuse, and truama, on America's most disadvantaged and marginalized communities.

Backstory

KUFISNAPBACK is the vision of incarcerated writer Jovan "Aqeel" Strong. After struggling to find freelance work from prison, he decided to create his own multimedia platform. During Ramadan 2023, he unveiled the idea for a stripped down version of a magazine - proposed as a newsletter - and he received overwhelming support from the congregation to push forward with a full-length and fully featured magazine prototype first edition. Now, after months of writing content, organizing, and compiling photos, the team is finally ready to make it's first drop.

The last phase before we can officially drop is fundraising so that we can pay for the services of a copyeditor, a graphic designer to do layout, and a printer. As an alternative, the team is shopping for a joint venture with either an individual, firm, or institution who can check each of those boxes.

As a nonprofit charitable organization, our magazine shall be distributed as free resources for readers to prison and jail libraries, youth detention centers, and residential drug rehabs, with the help of grants from different governmental institutions and private foundations. Additionally, citizens will be able receive their own editions of the magazine (and merch) as gifts for donations of specified amounts.

*At some time in the future we will make available a digital version of the magazine by utilizing platforms like Flipsnack and Magcast.

Editorial Departments

• Transformative Justice

At KUFISNAPBACK, we're ambassadors of rehabilitative prpgramming for incarcerated persons. We are living proof that public funding for those programs are truly worth the investment. Restorative Justice can be related to some of the 12-Step Program principles which can be summed up as: "Taking Accountability" (Steps 4 & 5) and "Making Amends" (Steps 8 & 9). This process culminates in Transformative Justice, which can be related to the principles of "Sustained Spiritual Awakening" and "Helping Others" (Step 12). Because justice is a universal concept, both of these forms of criminal justice also resonate with Islamic spirituality in terms of the religious practice of sadaqat/zakat, or charitable acts. The Holy Quran teaches that charitable acts, whether of material donation or volunteer service, brings about a cleansing of the stains left on our souls by our sins and crimes upon our communities. In Islam, self-refinement is called tazkiya, and it is an individual duty for all of humanity. So editorally, this department showcases the common sense of treatment, education, and skills training as easily more favorable to public safety and community development than the slave plantation-styled punitive justice of some states.

• Popular Culture

Here, we cover and weigh in on the current state of Hiphop and popular culture. By filtering out the trash and presenting only the most conscientious, soul- searching, and inspirational content, our commitment to Islamic values and ethics is most evident. The directive for this department is to loosen the degenarative influence of hidden forces like vanity, complacency and impatience.

• We Flow Like the Nile River

This section is dedicated to the empowerment of Black youth. It is a celebration of authentic Black culture, and our collective contributions to world history and global civilization. We want to motivate our youngsters to dare to be something other than entertainers or criminals. And for them to do this, they should first know their broad and rich heritage, so that they can then dream.

• Spirituality & Addiction

"In the African- American community, organized spirituality is key to promoting recovery. Faith-based treatment programs in church settings are more effective than traditional treatment settings. In one study in Arkansas's Mississippi River Delta region, one- third of a group of drug users consulted with clergy, and everyone reported significant religiosity. Members of the clergy who were interviewed, however, said they were not as prepared or knowledgeable as they should be in the field of substance abuse." (Inaba, Cohen. Uppers, Downers, All- Arounders, p9.58) In service to Black (and multiethnic Muslim) communities, KUFISNAPBACK is closing the gap between them and addictions treatment service providers by creating a convenient space where both can learn about the other through a unique blend of content thats crafted with that exact goal in mind. And its only possible because our founder is formally educated in both Addictions Counseling and Islamic Studies.

• Faith Friday at the Prison Chapel

This section will include original sermons, or khutabs, from incarcerated peer ministers. The aim is to invite readers out in society to experience a small piece of what religuous lives of Muslims who're incarcerated is like.

• College Behind the Razor Wire

Of course, there are some people who advocate bitterly against any public policies that support giving "criminals" access to higher education. However, the truth is that most incarcerated people in America developed their criminal behaviors in response to the disadvantaged communities and dysfunctional homes from where they come. Its unfortunate, but at least by struggling through the truamas of incarceration we might encounter some unfamiliar opportunities for pesonal and professional development. And that's not to mistake that such opportunities are somehow owed to us, because it would be foolish to take them for granted. The statistics say that only 16% of people who leave prison with an Associates degree are ever arrested again, in comparison to 54% for those with only a highschool diploma or GED. So the aim of this department is to give a platform to the students, professors, and researchers who believe in the power of education is this specific setting.

• Stay Woke

This department is focused on civics, activism, and advocacy. It will publish mostly reprints from organizations like San Quentin News, PEN America, Marshall Project, LA Times, and ACLU.

*Content includes: opinion pieces, essays, comics, poetry, literary excerpts, insider interviews, original sermons, scripture, and film reviews, all written or compiled mostly by the incarcerated.

Founder's Resumé

✓ Registered Addiction Counselor with CAADE's Addiction Counselor Certification Board of California. (Registration #16798-RAC) Education and training was provided by Options Recovery Services, located in Berkeley, CA.

✓ Integrated Substance Use Disorder Treatment (ISUDT) rehabilitative program completions: Parenting Inside Out, Victims Impact, Anger Management, Helping Men Recover, Thinking For A Change (a cognitive- behavioural modification program), Trauma-Informed Care, and Motivational Interviewiing. Programs provided by Amity Foundation, headquartered in Los Angeles, CA.

✓ Rising Scholars college student with a 3.3 GPA.

✓ Tayba Foundation intermediate-level student in Islamic Studies. Tayba Foundation is an affiliate of Zaytuna College, in Berkeley, CA.

✓ Articles published @Shadowproof.com under the names Jovan Strong and retired penname Jaqil Ali.

*Disclaimer:

In accordance with CCR Title 15, section 3250, The Inside Bulletin contains articles written by incarcerated person's but it is not "an inmate publication". Section 3237 reads: "Inmate may obtain and retain membership in outside organizations and associationd provided such membership does not threaten facility security or the safety of staff, inmates, or the public; and creates no financial burden on state."

And lastly, "the opinions expressed therein are the author's and do not necessarily represent the position of the facility or department." (See section 3250.2(a))

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