All praise belong to Allah, the Beneficent, and the Merciful. I send salutations upon our blessed Prophet (PBUH), his family, companions and nation.
Alamgeer Choudhury
Chairperson.
Dear respected brother and sisters
I am truly honoured and feel privileged to be elected as chair of the MCA. This is a huge responsibility that I will not take lightly. I feel fortunate to have a wonderful group of Muslim Chaplains who will be working alongside me as the executive committee members. They bring with them their commitment, dedication as well as their years of experience in working in prisons and outside in the community.
The MCA has come a long way over the years in providing vital support and guidance to Muslim Chaplains throughout the country. My own Chaplaincy career started in 2002 when there was virtually not much information and support for new Chaplains. I struggled to find information and support in my professional development. The creation of the MCA changed everything. We now had a platform where Muslim Chaplains could voice their concerns and learn from one another. We had a platform to progress and develop our skills on what we could offer. We could now receive up to date information on what is happening around the estate. The MCA became an enabling mechanism for all its members and vital support organisations.
Like with many organisations, the MCA over the years has been in a position where we have developed our services to meet the need of our service users in the ever changing landscape of the prison estate.
The MCA will be working more closely with partner organisations and the third sector to introduce and promote resettlement initiatives in the coming years. We will be working to break down barriers in the community and encourage localities to help with the resettlement agenda and be a part of the solution.
Providing pastoral care has always been one of our key objectives of the MCA and this will continue. Along with that, professional development and up skilling is vital in the work place. We want all the Muslim Chaplains to feel that they can have the skills needed to be more efficient and effective as a Muslim Chaplain and employee.
The Muslim female community have various specific needs that we as an organisation could assist with. Along with our partners, the MCA will look at specific resources and materials that could benefit the female estate. This is a community that has real needs and issues that need to tackled. Our designated executive member for the female estate is well placed to give this community a voice and get the Muslim Females Chaplains much needed support.
The MCA already work with a number of partners in the aim of resettlement and reducing reoffending. The MCA is keen to work with like-minded organisations that will support our aims and have a passion to make a difference. As a team, working in partnership towards a common goal, will multiply our success by dividing the tasks on our road to betterment.
We encourage all Muslim Chaplains to become a member of the MCA and benefit from the vast knowledge and expertise of our service users. Help the MCA so that we can help you.
Finally, I pray that Allah guides us towards the right path and helps us in fulfilling our responsibilities entrusted on us to the best of our abilities. Ameen
