Believers Bail Out (BBO) is a community bail fund and criminal justice advocacy group that funds bail bonds for members of the Muslim community in pre-trial incarceration or in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. 1
BBO partners with several left-of-center groups advocating for left-of-center policies such as the elimination of cash bail. Such groups include the National Bail Fund Network and the Coalition to End Money Bond. 2 3
Background
Believers Bail Out is a community-organized bail fund focused on paying bon for members of the Muslim community in pre-trial incarceration or in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody. It advocates against the bail bond system for both immigrants and pre-trial prisoners, claiming that the bail system “criminalizes poverty and is inherently racist in nature.” 4
BBO was formed in 2018 by members of several left-of-center advocacy groups including Sapelo Square, MPower Change, and the Chicago Community Bond Fund. It is volunteer-run and fiscally sponsored by Sirat Chicago. 5 6
BBO encourages Muslims to donate their Zakat, the Islamic faith’s mandate for donating a portion of one’s wealth to charitable causes, to its organization. 7 8 As of September 2024, BBO had raised $1.4 million and bailed out over 200 in custody. 9
Focus Areas
According to its website, Believers Bail Out (BBO) has three focus areas: the “prison industrial complex,” anti-Muslim racism, and anti-Blackness. It claims that its goal is the abolition of the prison system. 10
In March 2021, BBO issued a statement titled “Black Lives Matter” claiming to be part of the movement to “abolish bail, abolish jails, abolish the police, abolish prisons, abolish immigration custody, abolish state surveillance” and further claiming to advocate against a system it believes “criminalizes Black people, murders Black people and then jails us for refusing to remain oppressed.” 11
Partnerships
Believers Bail Out is a member of the Coalition to End Money Bond along with the ACLU of Illinois, the Workers Center for Racial Justice, and the Shriver Center on Poverty Law. Along with the Illinois Network for Pretrial Justice, the Coalition pushed for the passage of the Pretrial Fairness Act in Illinois that ended cash bail in the state effective June 2024. 12
BBO is a member of the National Bail Fund Network, a network of over 90 community bail funds that raise funds to pay bail for those in the criminal and immigration detention systems while advocating against the cash bail system. It is hosted by the Community Justice Exchange, a project of the left-of-center Tides Foundation. 13
In 2024, left-of-center grantmaking organization Pillars Fund identified BBO as an “organizational partner” along with the Emgage Foundation, We Are All America, the Muslim Civic Coalition, and MPower Change. 14
Funding
LaunchGood is a fundraising platform that publishes campaigns each Ramadan for Zakat donations. 15 All Zakat funds raised are used for bail bond expenses. BBO’s operating expenses are paid for through independent grants and donations through its fiscal sponsor, Sirat Chicago. 16
Leadership
Kecia Ali is a Believers Bail Out (BBO) co-founder and a professor of religion and Islamic studies at Boston University. She is on the leadership council of Oxfam America and is the senior editor of Sapelo Square, which leads BBO in partnership with MPower Change, the Chicago Community Bond Fund, and Sirat Chicago. 17 18 19
Maytha Alhassen is one of the co-founders of BBO. She has a Ph.D. in American studies and ethnicity from the University of Southern California and is a journalist, writer, and producer. Along with BBO, Alhassen has co-founded several left-of-center social justice organizations including religious activist group Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative and Arabs for Black Lives. 20
Hoda Katebi is listed as a staffer for BBO. She is an Iranian American writer and describes herself as “the angry daughter of Iranian immigrants.” She hosts a “radical digital book club and discussion series mobilizing local communities” and is a strategist for anti-war movement Dissenters. 21 22
References
- “About.” Believers Bail Out. Accessed September 12, 2024. https://believersbailout.org/about
- “About Us.” Coalition to End Money Bond. Accessed September 13, 2024. https://endmoneybond.org/about-us/
- “National Bail Fund Network.” Community Justice Exchange. Accessed September 13, 2024. https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/en/national-bail-fund-network
- “About.” Believers Bail Out. Accessed September 12, 2024. https://believersbailout.org/about
- “History.” Believers Bail Out. Accessed September 12, 2024. https://believersbailout.org/history
- Vanessa Taylor. “Leaving No Others Behind This Ramadan.” The New Republic. April 23, 2020. Accessed September 12, 2024. https://newrepublic.com/article/157414/leaving-no-others-behind-ramadan#:~:text=Taking%20up%20this%20call%20in%202018,%20Sapelo%20Square%E2%80%94a%20blog%20documenting
- Believers Bail Out home page. Accessed September 12, 2024. https://believersbailout.org/
- Daniel Liberto. “Zakat: The Basic Rules for One of the Five Pillars of Islam.” Investopedia. July 25, 2024. Accessed September 12, 2024. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/z/zakat.asp#:~:text=Zakat%20is%20an%20Islamic%20finance%20term%20referring%20to%20the%20obligation
- Believers Bail Out home page. Accessed September 12, 2024. https://believersbailout.org/
- “Donate Zakat to Bail Out Incarcerated Believers – Believers Bail Out.” LaunchGood. Accessed September 12, 2024. https://www.launchgood.com/v4/campaign/believers_bail_out_give_zakat_to_bail_out_incarcerated_believers
- “Black Lives Matter.” Believers Bail Out. March 2021. Accessed September 13, 2024. https://believersbailout.org/post/black-lives-matter/
- “About Us.” Coalition to End Money Bond. Accessed September 13, 2024. https://endmoneybond.org/about-us/
- “National Bail Fund Network.” Community Justice Exchange. Accessed September 13, 2024. https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/en/national-bail-fund-network
- “Our Portfolio.” Pillars – Catelyze Fund. Accessed September 13, 2024. https://pillarsfund.org/catalyze-fund/our-portfolio/
- Ada Tseng. “We asked Muslims how they’re giving back during Ramadan. Here’s what you said.” Los Angeles Times. April 27, 2022. Accessed September 12, 2024. https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2022-04-27/we-asked-muslims-how-theyre-giving-back-during-ramadan-heres-what-you-said
- “About.” Believers Bail Out. Accessed September 12, 2024. https://believersbailout.org/about
- [1] Liz Bucar and Amanda Randone. “This Ramadan “Believers Bail Out” Wants Muslims to Address Prison Abolition.” Teen Vogue. June 11, 2018. Accessed September 13, 2024. https://www.teenvogue.com/story/ramadan-believers-bail-out-wants-muslims-to-address-prison-abolition
- “Kecia Ali.” BU Arts and Sciences. Accessed September 13, 2024. https://www.bu.edu/religion/faculty/kecia-ali/
- Kecia Ali website. Accessed September 13, 2024. https://www.keciaali.com/about-me#about-me-keciaali
- “Maytha Alhassen.” Harvard Divinity School – Religion and Public Life. Accessed September 13, 2024. https://rpl.hds.harvard.edu/people/maytha-alhassen
- Hoda Katebi website. Accessed September 13, 2024. https://hodakatebi.com/#:~:text=Hoda%20Katebi%20is%20a%20Chicago-based%20Iranian-American%20writer,%20abolitionist%20organizer
- “Plaintiffs’-Side Work Panel.” Berkeley Law – Events. Accessed September 13, 2024. https://www.law.berkeley.edu/event/plaintiffs-side-work-panel/