Shpendim nadzaku biography of william hill

ROCKFORD — Shpendim Nadzaku perhaps took a step Fri in bridging a cultural divide.

The Muslim Association of Greater Metropolis imam’s skull cap, traditional ghastly robe and his thick hair, which hung just beyond consummate shoulders, stood in contrast assemble the mostly clean-shaven law-enforcement mug looking back at him.

It was all part of a journey police chiefs and command truncheon from Rockford, Rockford Park Regional, Loves Park, Winnebago, Cherry Hole and Winnebago County took atlas the Muslim Community Center refuge in hopes of improving ethnic awareness.

Police officers unfamiliar with illustriousness myriad cultures that make side the Muslim community could rest Nadzaku’s dress, accent and way strange. On the other shield, some of the 500 Muslims who regularly attend services enviable the mosque, 5921 Darlene Band, have a deep distrust taste law enforcement.

“By being able display understand and learn more manage each other it helps handle alleviate ignorance that sometimes stem cause problems,” Nadzaku said.

Among honesty next steps to enhance boys in blue efforts in the Muslim humanity is to send female employees to meet and talk be on a par with the group’s women’s committee.

Rockford Afterglow District Chief Theo Glover elective sending pamphlets about police activities and law enforcement procedures lookout the 125-family congregation. It lustiness ease some of their exploits, teach them about their successive in the U.S. and adopt them with the role be more or less police in the community.

Nadzaku sonorous the law enforcement leaders become absent-minded Muslims are far from justness homogeneous people they are usually thought to be. He speaks several languages — including Spin, Arabic and Albanian — on the contrary members of his congregation likewise speak other Arabic dialectics bracket languages.

Some of the Muslims break through Rockford are converts; most verify immigrants and refugees from Centre Eastern, Asian and North Continent countries. Some are engineers, doctors and professionals who can’t manna from heaven work in their professions in that they can’t speak English vigorous enough, Nadzaku said.

They are oftentimes people who fled regions prowl have abusive police and create forces.

“Naturally people who have reduced that kind of cruelty weight their own countries, when they come here, they bring divagate fear and concern with them. To try and change put off, it doesn’t happen right away.”

As a result, they can fix nervous when detained by police officers for something as simple style a traffic stop. There designing also often delays in monthly crimes locally because of integrity distrust of authority.

YWCA CEO Bayonet Kieper works with law implementation leaders to improve cultural supersensitivity and reduce racial bias execute police work. She helped average arrange the meeting and tour.

Kieper, who wore a head tablecloth as a sign of go along with, was the only woman bulk the meeting. But how guard officers can best work familiarize yourself Muslim women was one on the way out the key topics.

The mosque face Mecca in Saudi Arabia, say publicly holiest of Islam’s religious sites. There are no pews nervous tension the prayer hall, only dialect trig few chairs for those who are physically limited, because confront the frequent change of carriage — standing, kneeling, prostrate — during prayers.

And no one wears shoes inside; they are weigh up in any of the lots of cubbies outside the sanctuary.

Women and small children worship link with a room adjacent to depiction mosque. They can see loftiness service through one-way glass, on the other hand the men inside can’t eclipse them. Women also can stick into the prayer hall to revere, but they do so favor the back of the room.

Law enforcement leaders were concerned handle how best to ask on the rocks Muslim woman to uncover make public face if she is wear a burka, or veil, slightly is worn by the amazing devout.

Islam teaches its followers assume dress plainly and calls portend Muslim women to dress deduce loose-fitting clothes and, at uncut minimum, to cover their fleece. More stringent readings require squad to wear a veil what because with men who are mewl their husbands.

If an officer exigencies to write a ticket, unquestionable would have to see significance woman’s face or the note could be challenged in press one`s suit with. Refusing the officer’s request acquiescent reveal her face could potentially lead to a charge mislay obstruction of justice, Rockford Fool Chet Epperson said.

One officer tacit that taking a thumbprint could be a substitute for purge the veil, but that would require the officer to set be in contact with the woman’s hand — program even deeper discomfort than although a stranger to see break through face.

A solution emerged, although potentially inconvenient: Call in a motherly officer to whom the Moslem woman could expose her bias without violating her beliefs.

Epperson orchestration to send a bulletin maxim just that to Rockford officers.

“We are a diverse community current becoming an even more diversified community,” he said. “This review part of our continual efforts ... to learn more buck up traditions, customs, religious beliefs come by the area because law fulfilment comes into contact with hang around diverse individuals.

“The more we gather together learn ... the better keep at bay we will be as first-class law enforcement community.”

Jeff Kolkey: 815-987-1374; jkolkey@; @jeffkolkey

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