[inquisitive piano and gentle brass]
[shimmery music]
[Islamic call to prayer] Hayya ala-Salah (Hasten to prayer...)
- Angela Fitzgerald: Milwaukee's Islamic Da'wah Center is a place for faith.
Ashadu anna Muhammadan Abduhoo wa Rasuloo, (I bear witness that Muhammad is the servant and messenger of God)
balagha risaala. (and in the eloquent message.)
- Fellowship.
- Get you something to drink.
This ginger beer's good.
- Angela: And for Brother Will Perry,
a focus on what's important.
- And here you find Muslims from all over the world
that come here to worship, to learn about their religion,
to practice their faith.
- Angela: Brother Will spent almost three decades
as a Milwaukee firefighter.
- So I thought I had the best job going then.
The 911 call is made.
You respond to the call.
You take care of whatever that emergency is,
and you're done with that one.
- Angela: After retiring in 2006,
he still felt the call to help others.
- Will Perry: It's a spiritual responsibility on my part
to be of service to the best of my ability
and within the guidelines
that's legislated within Islam.
- Angela: That's why he took the role
of Executive Director at the Da'wah Center.
- I'm kind of on that other side of the hill right now.
So I've gotta be thinking about, "What do you leave behind?"
- Angela: He's leaving a legacy of service.
He helped the center start a weekly food pantry.
- Brother Will Perry: This is an opportunity for us
as a religious-based organization.
One of our creeds is to feed other people.
Regardless of who they are and where they're from.
So, we began the food pantry in 2007,
out of my minivan at the time.
- Angela: It's grown from a small pantry out of a minivan
to this.
[lively upbeat music]
Truckloads of food, dozens of volunteers,
cars lined up and down the street.
With the help of several community partners,
this pantry is now a crucial lifeline.
- I hope y'all got some bread so I can feed the animals.
- We got bread in there; We got bread.
We got a little bit of everything over there.
We touch hundreds of people every single week.
And it's had a significant impact
on the quality of life for a lot of people.
Thank you for coming; Appreciate you.
- I be coming here for 12 years.
- Twelve years you've been here?
- Yep! - That's a blessing.
- Angela: Brother Will says
they give away more than 10,000 pounds of food a week,
curbing hunger in this North Milwaukee neighborhood.
- It doesn't matter whether you come here to worship or not.
It's our duty to be of service, and that's what we do.
- Angela: But this isn't the only Da'wah Center program
making a difference.
[traffic noise]
Down the street, the Ibrahim House is a living space
and re-entry program for those leaving incarceration.
- When you get out, you can have a job,
you can go to school,
but housing is hard.
- Angela: James Watkins spent
more than two decades in prison.
- And so, when these guys come out,
they come out, and we are holding their hands
and helping them through the process
of re-entry back into society.
- Angela: The Ibrahim House Program
provides the support to chart a new path.
- Brother Will: They get their own apartment,
eventually get their own house,
and they contribute back to the community here.
- Angela: That's what James is doing.
He's now an instructor at Marquette.
- It was a long road, but I had support.
Like, I had Brother Will.
I'm talking about his story, never really gets told.
Like, all the stuff he do.
He constantly, like, talk to me.
He constantly encouraged me.
He constantly supported me.
- Angela: It's all part of a life in service.
- Food pantry, prison re-entry, education,
community service,
working with religious and non-religious entities
in our community.
Working, putting those folks together in a common goal.
That's all part of worship, too.
Okay.
- Angela: So, Brother Will says,
don't expect to find him anywhere else.
His focus is on the Da'wah Center,
his faith, and his community.
- It's the best thing going.
I don't see myself going anywhere else
or doing anything else.
This is pretty much it.
I'm gonna be here,
and I'm committed to this community until I'm done.
[lively music]
[shimmery music]
[inspirational vocalizing]