"My earliest memory of my father, Mustafa, is being with him in his home and the police coming to get me from him," remembers Hamid Bashir. "The sound of their voices echoing through my father's house, calling him to bring me out of the house. He kidnapped me from my mother."
Hamid grew up in South Central Los Angeles at the height of the crack epidemic. His mother struggled to take care of him. His father was addicted to drugs.
Hamid went to live with his grandmother, Anna, who first taught him about Christ. Although she provided a good influence, Hamid became a depressed, rebellious teenager who resented his parents for their actions. He began to abuse marijuana and alcohol to forget the pain. Soon, he had dropped out of high school and hit the streets with his friends.
