Former inmate and Richmond native shares his message of responsibility and redemption
Sunday, Jun 29, 2008 - 12:03 AM
By Robin Farmer - TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Hasan Zarif, who said his healing began with God's word, worships at Ephesus Seventh-Day Adventist Church
Photo By: Joe Mahoney - Times Dispatch
On a pleasant spring evening, Hasan Zarif nosed his vehicle past the perimeter fence he helped install and the administration buildings he painted years ago as an inmate at James River Correctional Center.
Bible in hand, he headed toward the front gate. As he approached, corrections officers who were headed home respectfully greeted him and engaged in chitchat. Several officers knew him when he was not the immaculately groomed minister visiting to lead worship services, but an inmate at the Goochland County prison serving a life sentence for murder. But even then, Zarif commanded a certain level of respect. Long before he was paroled in 1989 after serving 16 years, he had begun reshaping his life while incarcerated so once released he could repay society for what he views as a lifelong debt.
"Ex-felons must serve a life sentence of rebuilding their communities when they are released, rather than thinking, 'I've served my time, my debt is paid,'" said Zarif, 56, who last year became the first ex-offender in Virginia to serve as a chaplain at a facility where he once served time.
"We have to become the change we want to see."
It's a message of responsibility and redemption that the Richmond native shares as a popular speaker in state and federal prisons, in area churches, at workshops he leads for Goodwill and in the community.
An ordained minister with the House of Prayer Deliverance Ministry in Richmond, Zarif holds many titles. As coordinator of special projects for Chaplain Service of the Churches of Virginia, he serves as a liaison between Richmond churches and Chaplain Service, a nonprofit organization that provides chaplains to Virginia's prison and juvenile correctional centers. He also works as the re-entry program coordinator for Goodwill of Central Virginia. As such, he helps ex-offenders transition back into society. He began working as a prison ministry volunteer in 1980 while incarcerated. As a statewide volunteer, he visits four to six prisons a month. A gifted speaker, Zarif hosts a call-in cable show on Comcast 95 and a Sunday radio show on WCLM-AM 1450, where "We reach, the Bible teaches and God intervenes," he said. Zarif's other volunteer activities include serving as chairman of the New Creation Human Rights Committee in Chesterfield County.
But on this sunny Saturday, his mission was to share the Word with two dozen denim-clad inmates in the JRCC dining hall, doubling as a house of worship. They trickled in and sat at stainless-steel tables as the prison's gospel choir, consisting of five vocalists, a drummer, bassist and keyboard player warmed up. The acoustics of the mess hall could not distort the rousing power of the vocalists or the band's playing as the men clapped or tapped their feet and sang along. The song ended and Zarif stepped up to the podium to preach his sermon. The men with tired faces and animated eyes leaned in.
Some of the men had committed horrific crimes.
Some of the men were seeking forgiveness.
Some of the men have been lost on a journey paved with pain because of their actions.
For them, Zarif is a sermon they can see through the shared experiences of preacher and prisoner.
Zarif's crime is something he'd rather not dwell on. He fully accepts responsibility for it but doesn't want to discuss the details out of respect for the victim's family. He did not know the woman he fatally shot one evening as she headed to work. She was a stranger he said he encountered while drunk and confused over marital problems with his first wife.
But the act of taking a life haunts him and fuels his commitment to serve a church of "more than 32,000 men and women behind bars," he said. His work with prisoners and ex-offenders has contributed to some of the numerous awards, certificates, letters of commendation and clippings that make up a 10-pound portfolio he always carries.
Marcelle Harrison, one of Zarif's mentees, was serving a lengthy sentence when he first heard Zarif speak 15 years ago. "He came from a situation I was dealing with and I saw how enthusiastic he was," Harrison recalled. "I used to write to him. He would come visit me. I came home [in 2005] and everything he told me he would do he kept to his word. When he gave advice, it was good advice." And, with Zarif's aid, Harrison got a job at Goodwill in retail production. "Hasan's a wonderful guy. Very honest and concerned," Harrison said. Longtime friends and supporters say the traits Zarif demonstrates daily -- honesty, compassion, commitment -- were evident when he was an inmate. James "J.W." Winston, once one of the biggest club promoters in Richmond, befriended Zarif when Zarif was a teenager working as a disc jockey at WANT radio. Winston and his wife visited Zarif every other month while he was imprisoned. When he was released, Zarif needed a place to live. The Winstons allowed Zarif to live with them for 10 years.
"I let him stay here because I trusted him. You will not find a better person," Winston said.
The Rev. James Clements Jr., former pastor of Ephesus Seventh-day Adventist Church at 3700 Midlothian Turnpike, befriended Zarif in 1980 during the church's prison ministry. "When I first met him in prison years ago, I was impressed that he was serious. He had made a mistake in life, and he wanted to make amends of that mistake. I found him to be sincere and very determined to make a go of it." Over the years, the men became close, and Clements became one of Zarif's staunchest advocates. "I appeared before the parole board on his behalf so many times that when he finally made parole, I was notified first," Clements said. When Zarif was released and found a job working at night, Clements gave up his car so Zarif could keep the job. Clements was among the dozens who wrote letters asking Gov. Timothy M. Kaine to grant Zarif a pardon. Others included Walter F. Sullivan, Bishop Emeritus of Richmond, who befriended Zarif in 1977. Kaine restored Zarif's civil rights last summer, which means he can vote, hold public office, serve on a jury and be a notary public, which he now is. "The governor didn't just give me my rights back. It's been 35 years of work," Zarif said.
Ex-offenders "must be nonviolent, non-drug and alcohol users, and they must be willing to forgive, pray for the victim's family and friends and put them at the top of their prayer list. They must pray for forgiveness," he said. Zarif's parole lasted 12 years. It ended on his birthday in 2001. He doesn't believe that was a coincidence. "It's a reminder of the past and what I need to continue to do to be productive in the future," he said.
Zarif's parole lasted 12 years. It ended on his birthday in 2001. He doesn't believe that was a coincidence. "It's a reminder of the past and what I need to continue to do to be productive in the future," he said. Zarif credits his wife, Ruth, for helping him complete his transition into a productive citizen. "My wife doesn't realize how much she has helped me. I thought all I was good to do was to mop floors, and she helped me to fully realize who I was." Ruth Zarif said she saw the potential in her husband immediately, one reason they married in 1992 within six months of meeting. "His love for people is his greatest gift," she said. "Hasan has beat the odds; he refuses to give up. He means to succeed, and I'm proud of him and the hard work he does." Zarif also credits Goodwill and Chaplain Service for his growth. "They both offered me numerous opportunities that would not have otherwise been available to me had it not been for leadership at the helm who really understands and believes in the redemptive process." But his healing all began with God's Word, he said, although several years passed while incarcerated before he listened.
At his lowest point, "God revealed to me I couldn't do nothing without him," Zarif recalled. So he began attending Seventh-day Adventist worship services. He was baptized in 1980, the year he became a Bible instructor.
Zarif loves the Bible and enjoys sharing it. On this day at the correctional center, his sermon was about "a man who the church is built on." Sunlight poured in from a wall of windows with views of men outside lifting weights, doing push-ups or conversing under a brilliant blue sky. But all eyes were riveted on Zarif. "Saul was out of control. Anyone here out of control like that, let me see the hands." The men thrust their hands in the air as Zarif's voice rose. "Saul was a man so mean, nasty, a murderer who pilfered churches, and then God decided to use him! That's the way we are. We've done some terrible stuff, but God wants to use us." The men listened attentively; some nodded in agreement. "But only if we change our wicked ways. Saul became Apostle Paul and wrote 13 books in the Bible." Zarif wrapped up his sermon by reminding the men that their penance will continue long after they return home. "Your debt to society is not paid, ever! You have a responsibility, according to the second book of Genesis, to rebuild that, which you tore down!" After the sermon, Zarif chatted with the inmates, offering encouraging words to those who needed it. His visit over, he drove away, headed home to dinner and the wife and the life he has rebuilt.