Kareem Saïd

Kareem Saïd is a character played by British actor Eamonn Walker on the American television show "Oz".

"Prisoner #97S444. Convicted June 6, 1997 - Second degree arson. Sentence: 18 years, eligible for parole in five. Later, plead guilty to two counts of attempted murder and sentenced to an unknown peroid of time."

Saïd (born Goodson Truman), is a Muslim and Black nationalist who was imprisoned for blowing up a white owned warehouse. In prison, Saïd immediately took charge of the Muslim prisoners, who sometimes chafed at both his extreme moral code and his apparent violations of those same standards. Saïd is sometimes confused to be a member of the 'Nation Of Islam', however this indeed is not the case, as in season 4 in one of his classes it is written 'Muhammad the last prophet of Allah', which is contradictory to the Nation of Islam's beliefs. Furthermore, Nation Of Islam members do not wear kufis or Tasbih.

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Upon his arrival in Oz, Saïd takes control of the Muslim group, making himself one of the most powerful prisoners, held in high regard by the 78% majority of non-white prisoners. He is immediately viewed as a threat to the Aryan Brotherhood and the black Homeboy gang. The Homeboys, who sell drugs, oppose Saïd's moral prohibition against drugs. Saïd, however, is not intimidated, and one of his fellow Muslims (at Saïd's insistence) repeatedly punches him in the head to prove himself tough in front of the Homeboys' leader, Jefferson Keane. When he is diagnosed with a heart problem, another Muslim, Huseni Mershah, who opposes Saïd's philosophy of non-violence, allows him to have a heart attack so that he may take control of the Muslims. Saïd exposes Mershah, and casts him out. Mershah attempts revenge by telling Warden Leo Glynn that Saïd is stockpiling weapons, and Glynn orders a shakedown. All the inmates who are found with drugs or weapons blame Mershah, and he commits suicide in protective custody.

A sympathetic C.O. smuggles a Glock pistol in for Saïd, and when a riot erupts in which Emerald City is taken over, Saïd uses his firepower to take control and organize every group of prisoners. The riot is eventually broken up by the S.O.R.T. team and the prisoners are transferred to General Population until the investigation is over.

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This season starts off with law school dean Alvah Case investigating the riot. When Tim McManus lets him and the rest of the inmates back into Emerald City, they both state their grievances but maintain a mutual respect for each other. Afterwards, the Muslims serve as a watchdog gang, waiting to expose prison mismanagement. Saïd uses his legal knowledge to help Augustus Hill and even Aryan leader Vernon Schillinger fight their legal battles for hopes of reduced sentences. Saïd is eventually offered a pardon by Governor Devlin, which he refuses because he feels it is a cheap way for the governor to gain favor among the Islamic voters.

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Saïd enters this season with the intent to sue the state for brutality during the season 1 riot. Saïd grows attracted to Scott Ross' sister, who is white. This provokes taunting by both the Aryan and Homeboy gangs and, after the Muslims are humiliated, Saïd is removed as leader. Saïd's mentoring of white inmate Tobias Beecher is also opposed by his followers, and Hamid Khan takes leadership up until he is permanently brain damaged in a boxing match against Irish-American inmate Cyril O'Reily. Meanwhile, Augustus Hill testifies against inmate Malcolm Coyle for the brutal murder of an Italian-American family. Kenny Wangler and the Homeboys seek to murder Hill, but Saïd convinces the Italians, Latinos, and even the Aryans to protect Hill, since every leader is a family man, and as such will benefit from Coyle's conviction. The Italians, led by Antonio Nappa, go one further and murder Coyle as a way of telling the Homeboys to back off from Hill, which they do. As Saïd helps Beecher forgive various inmates to alleviate his personal guilt, a fight breaks out Saïd, Beecher, and the Aryans who view an opportunity to eliminate both Saïd and Beecher. Khan and the other Muslims defend the two of them however from the Aryans along with White inmate Chris Keller who ends up hospitalizing Schillinger while protecting Beecher. As Beecher and Schillinger go to the hospital, Saïd, Khan, and Keller are sent to Ad Seg (short for Administrative Segregation) where CO Len Lopresti, an Aryan Brotherhood sympathizer puts a rat in Saïd's cell giving him a trip to the hospital. Afterwards, Homeboy leader Simon Adebisi starts polarizing black inmates against white inmates as Oz's racial tension is at an all time high due to the brain damaging of Hamid Khan in the boxing match. As Adebisi organizes the Black inmates, Saïd is the only one amongst them who tries to prevent a race riot.

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After Hamid Khan is taken off life support and dies, Zahir Arif takes over leadership of the Muslims, and Saïd offers no opposition. Arif naively buys into a plan by Adebisi to get an African American to replace McManus. Saïd questions but does not oppose Arif's motives. They are successful and a Unit Manager named Martin Querns is hired. In the meantime, Saïd helps a gay inmate, Jason Cramer, get a new trial by finding evidence that he was convicted for his sexual orientation. Saïd wants him retried for his crime and found guilty for what he did, but he regrets this when Cramer goes free altogether. When Arif realizes that Adebisi has double crossed him and that Emerald City is out of control, Arif begs Saïd to lead the Muslims once again. Saïd accepts, but only because he is disgusted by the way in which Adebisi and his followers are ruining Emerald City. Schillinger tells McManus, who is now running Unit B, that Adebisi has turned Emerald City into a "ghetto"; all the guards, with the exception of Claire Howell, are now black, white inmates are scarce, and drugs are rampant. Saïd says at the same time that "A bad system ran by blacks is the same as a bad system ran by whites." Saïd agrees to help McManus take down Querns and Adebisi alike and, when Querns is fired, Adebisi makes an attempt on Saïd's life which backfires with Saïd killing Adebisi in self-defense.

The Aryan and Biker inmates wish revenge on the Muslims and other black inmates for Adebisi's transformation of power in the first half of the season. Both groups, however, focus on the Muslims and constantly torment them. They even hire a black inmate, Leroy Tidd, who was an acquaintance of Adebisi's, to murder Saïd. When Tidd converts to Islam and follows Saïd as Salah Udeen, he is killed by the Brotherhood while protecting his new Imam. Schillinger and James Robson taunt Saïd, and Saïd uncharacteristically resorts to violence, severely beating Robson while Arif knocks out Schillinger, rendering him unconscious. They later call a temporary truce, but Saïd threatens Schillinger when the Aryan plots to interfere with Beecher's parole application. After his parole is denied, Schillinger taunts Beecher, and Saïd defends him by stabbing both Schillinger and Robson.

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While in the isolation unit, Saïd agrees to plead guilty to attempted murder of both Schillinger and Robson. Later, prison psychiatrist Sister Peter Marie Reimondo arranges an interaction session with Schillinger, Saïd, and Beecher to prevent a war between the Muslims and Aryans. The Aryans instead go to war with the Italians when it is discovered that Chucky Pancamo is responsible for the murder of Schillinger's son Hank. Schillinger is assisted by Robson in an attempt on Pancamo's life. Later, disgraced Italian Peter Schibetta asks Saïd to help him murder Schillinger, but when Saïd refuses, Schibetta attempts to murder both Schillinger and Robson. Instead, Schibetta is raped by the Aryans. To make matters worse, Schillinger reminds Schibetta of being raped by Adebisi by harassing him about it and covering his penis in black grease. All the black inmates are complacent with this war; if either side loses, the black inmates will grow stronger.

Saïd, in the meantime, is asked to help the disgraced drug addict Omar White to become a better person, for McManus fears that Saïd is losing his sanity. Saïd is later angered when Muslim convert Ahmad Lalar is murdered by Robson, and Warden Glynn does little to convict him. In an interaction session when bringing up the subject of homosexuality, Schillinger and Saïd denounce it as a "perversion" that goes against their religions. However, as Schillinger agrees, Saïd points out that Schillinger indulges in sodomy, having previously raped Beecher and the mentally handicapped Irish inmate Cyril O'Reily, among others. As Schillinger denies this, Beecher angrily attacks him during the interaction session. Later, Saïd brutally attacks Omar White when he is caught dealing drugs for Burr Redding to inmate Reggie Rawls and Saïd is sent to the hole as a result. White, however, remains drug-free and is successful in a singing program created by Suzanne Fitzgerald. Saïd and McManus are the first to congratulate White for coming through. Later, when the Muslims question Saïd's motives in helping White, he admits that he has been using several inmates to preserve his own image, and to killing Adebisi, a man who mocked everything he stood for. After hearing that Aryan initiate Wolfgang Cutler plans to kill Saïd, White attacks and nearly kills him. Saïd argues with McManus that he should not be sent to solitary confinement, to no avail.

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This season takes place six months after last season's finale, where Augustus Hill dies protecting Redding from being stabbed. Saïd is asked in an exit letter to publish Hill's journal, and he decides to see it through. In the meantime, Redding is in mourning for the loss of his friend Hill, and lets the Homeboys get out of control, attacking various inmates with drug addictions. Saïd demands that Redding take control of his men, and as a result Redding takes them out of the drug trade and gets them to participate in a telemarketing business. As Saïd sets up the book publishing business, he meets a news reporter, Lemuel Idzik, who shoots Saïd in the chest twice in the meeting room. Saïd's last words are to his friend Zahir Arif: "Arif, don't harm him..." begging him not to kill Idzik.

External links

* [http://www.hbo.com/oz/cast/character_said.shtml Official character biography at Oz website]