Dedicated to community efforts and social work… Imam Na’eem Muhammad is a ‘Special Person’

Jan 10, 2021 News, Special Person

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By Rehanna Ramsay

Kaieteur News – Many persons, particularly the youths of Albouystown are familiar with the work of Imam Na’eem Muhammad, the Islamic priest who has been instrumental in helping to improve their relationship with the police.
In 2014, Imam Na’eem helped to successfully spearhead the Impact Albouystown Project (IAP), which was intended to make the neighbourhood safer through law enforcement and social intervention, a collaborative exercise between the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and the religious and social organisations of Albouystown. In fact, this week’s ‘Special Person’ has over 24 years experience in leadership positions spanning agriculture, social work and business management.

Kaieteur News recently caught up with the respected religious figure known for his ability to positively impact his community; he shared candidly about his Islamic, social work and community development efforts.
During the interview, the dedicated Islamic leader and community advocate ascribed his academic and other achievements to faith, family and upbringing.
He noted his drive for development allowed him to work in leadership positions in several different agencies including the Guyana Rice and Milling Authority, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) the Berbice Islamic School in Port Mourant, Corentyne, National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) under the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) where he is currently employed as a Training Manager.

EARLY STEWARDSHIP
Born Warren Atoesho Barlow to parents, Archibald Barlow and Loreen Barlow nee Collins, this week’s ‘Special Person’ spent most of his formative years in the ancient county of Berbice.
The Imam related that he had a wonderful childhood enjoying swimming in trenches, and playing traditional folk games and other things relative to life in rural communities.
Under the guidance of his great aunt, who was popularly known in Alness village on the Corentyne Coast as ‘Aunty Lucille Park’, the Imam explained that he was nurtured into a goal-driven, goal-oriented individual whose sole purpose for living included ensuring that those around him were taken care of.
Along with him, Imam Na’eem told Kaieteur News that his aunt also raised two of her nephews Compton Matheson, Herbert Park, her only son, Nigel Park, and one of her nieces, Loretta Matheson. He said that “this was due to the fact that my parents had eight other children apart from me.”
With the family growing and his father working as an educator to care for them, his mother had no other choice but to allow him to be raised by Aunty Lucille since she has the task of raising five little children at the same time.

But under that care, the youngster lacked nothing particularly in the area of education.
He attended the Alness Village Nursery and Primary Schools where he wrote the Common entrance Examination in the year 1981 and was successfully placed at the Winifred Gaskin Memorial Secondary School.
Under the stewardship of Ms. Norma Stewart, the then teenaged Barlow was impacted positively on the importance of mentoring and seeking higher goals.
He recalled vividly that during normal assemblies on Mondays, it would not conclude without this short poem been recited by all: “the heights that great men reached and kept were not attained by a sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were onward toiling through the night”.
Following the completion of secondary education, Barlow was called by the Department of Education in New Amsterdam Berbice in the year 1987 to become a teacher.
“I was sent to the Rose Hall Primary where I taught there for a period of one year,” he said, noting that this might have been owing to the fact that his father was the former Education Officer, and Head of the teachers’ in-service training centre in New Amsterdam.
Sharing a bit about his parents, Imam Na’eem explained that his father is the example of a strict disciplinarian and educator he is so dedicated to his work that he only recently retired as a teacher with the Board of Education in New York.
He recalled his mother was a compassionate home maker who always ensured she put an extra pint of rice in the pot, so that neighbours can have something to eat, if they dropped in by us.
Though his mother is now deceased and his father lives abroad, Imam Na’eem credits them for his dedication to improving himself and his community, leadership drive and compassionate disposition.

SELF –IMPROVEMENT

That dedication to self improvement continued after High School, the Imam attended the Kuru Kuru Cooperative College at Kuru Kuru on the Soesdyke Highway and pursued a Diploma in Management, joined the Guyana Rice and Milling Authority at Johanna in Black Busk Polder where he was appointed the post of Accounts Clerk, He was later promoted to acting head of the Payroll Department.
After one year, the industry was divested; Alesie Group of Companies bought the facility. He applied to the Guyana Sugar Corporation for the position of field foreman. He did not get the job right away but was placed on the waiting list.
Not one to shy away from challenges, the Imam recalled that during the period of processing of his application, he opted to work in the fields planting sugar cane to ensure that his family was provided for.
He explained that he had accepted Islam during high school and had completed an Imam Course at the Central Islamic Organization of Guyana in Woolford Avenue. His faith taught him some valuable lessons in responsibility and serving others.
“No doubt,” he said, “being in service to the people has always been very high on my agenda because of the virtues attached to such an effort.
“We have been taught that those who serve others in this world, Allah will serve them in paradise. Understanding my responsibility, coupled with being an Imam has allowed me to demonstrate the love and care which our Prophet demonstrated to humanity,” he added.
Still on a quest to further his studies so as to improve himself and those connected to him, the Imam recalled that during those years, he took the opportunity to apply to study at the Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA) to pursue a Diploma in Agriculture.
Imam Na’eem recalled that after he graduated in 1995, he migrated to St. Lucia, then to the US where I stayed with his father for a few years.
“I attended the Hunters College under the City University of New York where I did pre-calculus and Economics,” he said disclosing further that he didn’t manage to continue because of the high cost for my course.
Upon his return to Guyana in 2004, Imam Na’eem was asked to play a key role in the starting up of the Berbice Islamic School in Port Mourant on the Corentyne Coast.
After one week of operation, he was appointed the Principal of the Institution.
“I managed that facility for eight long years seeing its transformation into a very successful primary and secondary school,” the Imam said adding that during that period, he completed his Degree in Agriculture at the University of Guyana’s (UG) Berbice Campus.

IMPACT ALBOUYSTOWN
The Islamic priest resigned from the position in 2012, and moved to Georgetown where he was appointed the Imam and Director of the Masjid AnNajm and Social Centre in Albouystown. The Imam said that his perspective of the community led him to foster a fruitful relationship with its members, particularly, the young people.
He noted that “I had never seen the community of Albouystown as a depressed community, or the people of the community as thieves or criminals as others may perceive, I saw them as my brothers and sisters despite their shortcomings and challenges.”
As a result, the Imam was able to implement a monthly youth programme where a senior officer would visit and speak with members of the community at the Masjid AnNajm and Social Centre on many social topics which included domestic violence, the value and importance of education, among others. That programme, Impact Albouystown, he assisted in bridging the gap between the police and members of the community that viewed the police as a foe instead of an ally.
During this time, Imam Na’eem also conducted a monthly family night programme where families would be treated to a lecture by a prominent personality and dinner.
While there, he organized two major inter-jamaat small goal football competitions – judo and table tennis training at the Masjid.
He explained that Community large screen television programmes were conducted on the Albouystown tarmac and there were hamper distributions, distribution of beef during qurbani, charity distribution, among others.
“We were also the pioneers with the project Impact Albouystown along with the Guyana Police Force where citizens were under police protection during the day, and patrols in the evening. There were also quran, distributions, distributions of publications on Islam, training sessions and seminars with both governmental and non-governmental agencies,” Imam Na’eem added.
Though he was recognised and awarded by the Guyana Police Force for outstanding contribution to the police/community efforts in the community of Albouystown, Imam Na’eem said nothing keeps him motivated than his deep love for humanity.
“I think my greatest achievement to date would be to see many youths within the community of Albouystown who took a positive outlook on life. Many of them would have interacted with the teachings and principles of Islam which would have effected positive behavioural changes to their lives. There are many today who are speaking out against vices within the community and have taken life very seriously with regards to their faith and livelihood,” he said.
Given his commitment to the social ventures, Imam Na’eem admits that he would sometimes find it challenging to balance his time between work and family.
He said, “The demands from family, work business and studies have always been challenging. I am able to manage due to my skills in administration and time management.”
When it comes to advice for living, the Imam says that he is never short.
“Poverty,” he said, “is a state in which a person or community lacks the necessary resources to attain a minimum standard of living.”
He wants the younger generation to know that they should always strive for that which is of permanence and not chase after that which is temporary.
“I would advise the young persons in Albouystown that education prepares them for life and therefore, do not squander opportunities to attain an education. Consequently, they need to strive to equip themselves with the necessary tools which will allow them to become employable so that they can earn to take care of their families,” the Imam said.
He counsels many youths to, “Be wary of trying to emulate the lifestyle of persons who may have made a fortune from illegal activities. Let’s always be positive and strive to live an unblemished lifestyle that will earn them the respectability within their communities and further afield.”

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