November 5, 2023
Dear Bill,
I hope you are fine; I am well. Everything is going well. Let me answer the questions first:
Are all services provided by Congress 60 provided on a non-residential basis? How do you respond to people seeking entry into Congress 60 who lack housing and food security at the time of their first contact?
Yes! All of our services are non-residential. All members participate in educational sessions 3 times a week (public session and legions). Each day takes about 4 hours of their time (e.g., from 16.30 to 20.30). There is another sports gathering once a weekend in a public park (6 hours at most). Congress 60 firmly believes that all effort should be put into the treatment process, and support regarding food, shelter or finding jobs should be avoided. Even the members themselves are not allowed to help each other in these regards. This is because the treatment process with OT helps to balance the members and gives them enough energy to take care of themselves and work. Congress 60's approach is to teach members how to fish rather than giving them fish, which is a great way to empower individuals to be self-sufficient. Providing shelter and food to the members of Congress 60 during their treatment process would have resulted in too many homeless people, which could have interrupted the treatment process. That's why other NGOs are taking care of that support. It's incredible to see how some members who were once homeless are now driving expensive cars after completing their treatment.
Question: How and to what extent does Congress 60 address issues related to religion or spirituality within its treatment approach? Are there non-Muslim members who are involved in Congress 60?
When individuals enter Congress 60, they are only asked for their first name. No one asks about their job, family name, neighborhood, political views, religion, or other personal information. Yes! There are non-Muslims in Congress 60.
Dear Bill,
What do we mean by spirituality or religion? The highest-ranked science or art is the art of living in this world. All the science branches are in service of living. The primary purpose of all religions was to teach the science or art of living to human beings. All the religions are mutually teaching us the same thing: Don't lie, avoid perjury, help each other, take care of orphans, Don't gossip, Avoid corruption, Don't kill each other, Help those in need, be trustworthy, etc. All of the above is supported by wisdom within us. Religions are complementary to each other. In the Quran, Moses is mentioned 136 times, Jesus 25 times, and Mary 70 times, while Muhammad is mentioned only 4 times! This indicates previous prophets and religions are respected. Sometimes, people dress their wrongdoings and prejudices with religion! For example, burning people(claimed to be witches) in Europe and beheading in the name of Islam! Alas! To enlighten the subject of religion or spirituality within Congress 60, we can encourage the audience to read "Love, 14 Valleys to Recovery" since this book introduces the worldview of Congress 60. And this worldview is based on righteousness or wisdom.
Be young and immortal!
Friends and brothers on heaven and earth forever
Hossein