Zahir Arif aka Jerome Van Dyke is a fictional character on the HBO series Oz

Oz (TV series)

Oz is an American television drama series created by Tom Fontana, who also wrote or co-wrote all of the series' 56 episodes . It was the first one-hour dramatic television series to be produced by premium cable network HBO. Oz premiered on July 12, 1997 and ran for six seasons...

, played by Granville Adams

Granville Adams

Granville Adams is an American actor best known for his role as Zahir Arif on the HBO television series Oz. He also had a recurring role on the NBC series Homicide: Life on the Street as Officer Jeff Westby....

.

Character overview

Arif is a former drug addict in prison apparently for possession of stolen goods. In prison, he undergoes a spiritual transformation into one of the most well-behaved and non-violent prisoners throughout the series. A member of the Muslim

Muslim

A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...

 group, he is primarily a lieutenant of Kareem Said

Kareem Said

Kareem Saïd is a character played by British actor Eamonn Walker on the American television show Oz.-Character overview:Prisoner #97S444. Convicted June 6, 1997 - Arson in the second degree. Sentence: 18 years, eligible for parole in five...

. He supports the teachings of Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

 by any means possible. He is a weak leader and considered by many as a dope, however, and is disliked somewhat throughout the series by Muslim prisoner Nacim Bismilla

Nacim Bismilla

Nacim Bismilla is a fictional character on the HBO drama Oz, played by Ra Hanna.-Character overview:Bismilla is a prominent member of the titular prison's Muslim gang. He is one of the more muscular and imposing members of the group, and throughout the series he often appears with Sanjay Afsana...

. He is also only one of a few inmate characters to survive all 6 seasons, although a "crime scene flashback" sequence for the character is never featured throughout the series.

Season 1

In the show's first season, Arif is mainly a background prisoner supporting Said. During the riot, he is one of the Muslims who enforces order as far as how to handle hostages. When the S.O.R.T. team takes over "Emerald City," Arif and the rest of the prisoners are sent to General Population.

Season 2

Arif, Said, Bismilla, and Afsana are the four Muslims allowed into Em City under the new deal. In Em City, Said is defending other inmates on legal issues and with the help of the Muslims is looking for any opportunity to legally overthrow the prison system. Arif questions Said's motives in defending Vernon Schillinger

Vernon Schillinger

Vernon Schillinger is a fictional character, played by American actor J. K. Simmons, on the HBO series Oz.-Character overview:Prisoner #92S110. Convicted October 21, 1992 – Aggravated assault in the first degree. Sentence: Eight years, eligible for parole in five...

, the head of the Aryan Brotherhood

The Aryan Brotherhood in Oz

The Aryan Brotherhood in the TV series Oz is a gang of white supremacist inmates led by Vernon Schillinger.-Overview:The Aryans of Oz are a loosely organized gang of white supremacist inmates. As a minority, the Caucasian-American prisoners of the gang mostly come from criminal backgrounds already...

. Later, during Ramadan

Ramadan

Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, which lasts 29 or 30 days. It is the Islamic month of fasting, in which participating Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex during daylight hours and is intended to teach Muslims about patience, spirituality, humility and...

, the Muslims are called into Warden Leo Glynn

Warden Leo Glynn

Leo Glynn is a fictional character on the HBO drama Oz. He is the warden of the Oswald state correctional facility-Character overview:...

's office to determine which one of them should be pardoned by Governor James Devlin

Governor James Devlin

Governor James Devlin is a fictional character on the HBO drama Oz, played by Željko Ivanek.-Character overview:Devlin, the governor of the state, is hated by most of the inmates and some of the staff members at the Oswald State Correctional facilities as he proposes several anti-prisoner acts of...

. Arif expresses some discontent in not being chosen mainly because he misses his wife and kids, but is not angered that Said is chosen. Said, however, sees this pardon as a slick move on Devlin's part to gain popularity among African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 and Islamic communities alike and refuses at the press conference, publicly humiliating Devlin. As he returns to Em City, Arif leads the prisoners in chanting for Said.

Season 3

The sister of white inmate Scott Ross

Scott Ross (Oz)

Scott Ross, played by Stephen Gevedon, is a fictional character on the HBO drama Oz.right|thumb|Stephen Gevedon as Scott Ross.-Character overview:...

, who was murdered in the riot, visits Said for pressing charges against the state. Schillinger points out to the Muslims in the cafeteria that Kareem had "goo goo eyes for a white gal." This causes Arif and new inmate Hamid Khan

Hamid Khan

Hamid Khan, played by Ernie Hudson Jr., is a fictional character in the HBO series Oz.- Character overview :Prisoner #99K515. Convicted March 6, 1999 - Aggravated assault. Sentence: 10 years, eligible for parole in five....

 to question Said's leadership. Later, after another visit, Arnold "Poet" Jackson recites a poem in the cafeteria calling Said a "race traitor." This, combined with Said allowing Tobias Beecher

Tobias Beecher

Tobias Beecher is a main character on the television show Oz, played by Lee Tergesen. He is one of only eight regular characters to survive the entire run of the show...

 to sit in on a Muslim prayer meeting, prompts Arif and Khan to decide that Kareem is no longer fit to lead the Muslims. Khan is elected as the new leader of the Muslims. In the boxing tournament, Khan is facing a gay

Gay

Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....

 white inmate named Jason Cramer

Jason Cramer

Jason Cramer is a fictional character on the HBO drama Oz played by Robert Bogue.-Character overview:Prisoner #98C931. Convicted September 6, 1998 - Murder in the first degree, Kidnapping, Assault with a dangerous instrument. Sentence: Life imprisonment without parole...

 and as a result Arif urges Khan to beat Cramer into submission because he represents everything that is repulsive to the Muslims. Black inmate Simon Adebisi

Simon Adebisi

Simon Adebisi is a fictional character played by Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje on the HBO dramatic series Oz, set in an experimental prison unit.-Character overview:Prisoner #93A234. Convicted May 2, 1993 - Murder in the first degree...

 is stirring up racial tension in Oz, and encourages Khan further, saying "Don't beat Cramer because he likes boys, beat Cramer because he is white." Khan wins, and then faces Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 inmate Cyril O'Reily

Cyril O'Reily

Cyril O'Reily is a fictional character, played by American actor Scott William Winters, on the HBO drama Oz. He is also mentioned in the companion book , p. 58.-Character overview:...

 in the championship match. Cyril wins in an upset, however, and beats Kahn so badly he incurs brain damage

Brain damage

"Brain damage" or "brain injury" is the destruction or degeneration of brain cells. Brain injuries occur due to a wide range of internal and external factors...

. Because Khan is in a vegetative state, Arif takes over leadership of the Muslims. Said does not object, but Bismilla, Said's main bodyguard, is not a fan of Arif's leadership. Right before the fight took place, the Aryans and Muslims fight in the gym and Arif saves Said. As Cyril has won the fight, Oz is in a tense racial situation wherein Adebisi and Arif plan to overthrow the prison. After Adebisi masterminds a plan for black inmate Augustus Hill

Augustus Hill

Augustus Hill is a fictional character, played by Harold Perrineau on the American television show Oz, serving as the show's narrator.-Character overview:...

 to be sent to the isolation ward unjustly, the black inmates, led by Adebisi and Arif, start chanting "Set Hill Free." Said opposes Arif, mainly because he feels that Arif is misusing the Koran to support this racial uprising. Oz is locked down as a result.

Season 4 Part I

Arif is now in control of the Muslims unopposed. After white inmate Guillaume Tarrant

Guillaume Tarrant

Guillaume Tarrant was a fictional character on the HBO prison series Oz played by Lothaire Bluteau.- Character Overview :Prisoner #00T416. Convicted January 2, 2000 - Destruction of private property, concealment of a deadly weapon. Sentence: 10 years, eligible for parole in 3.Guillaume Tarrant was...

 gets a gun and murders the sadistic

Sadism and masochism

Sadomasochism broadly refers to the receiving of pleasure—often sexual—from acts involving the infliction or reception of pain or humiliation. The name originates from two authors on the subject, Marquis de Sade and Leopold von Sacher-Masoch...

 black inmates Kenny Wangler

Kenny Wangler

Kenny "Bricks" Wangler is a fictional character in the HBO drama Oz, played by actor J.D. Williams.-Character overview:Prisoner #97W566. Convicted July 6, 1997 - murder in the first degree . Sentence: 20 years, eligible for parole in six.He was sent to prison for murdering a student he was...

 and Junior Pierce

Junior Pierce

Junior Pierce, played by Malé B. Alexander is a fictional character on the American HBO drama Oz.-Character overview:Pierce is an enforcer of the Homeboys, Oz's main African-American prison gang...

, Arif and Adebisi both point out to Warden Glynn that Em City is out of control and a black man must replace unit manager Tim McManus

Tim McManus

Tim McManus is a fictional character on HBO's prison drama Oz, played by Terry Kinney.-Character overview:McManus, the idealistic manager of Emerald City, is unlike the rest of the staff members at Oz as he has never been a CO, has a college education, and generally believes in the inmates as...

. McManus is fired and CO Sean Murphy

Sean Murphy (Oz)

Sean Murphy is an Irish American Correctional Officer on the HBO drama Oz, played by Robert Clohessy. A fair and honest officer, Murphy is handpicked by Tim McManus to act as the head CO of Emerald City as he and McManus are lifelong friends...

 is temporarily named unit manager. Latino inmate Raoul "El Cid" Hernandez is murdered and Adebisi urges Arif to get community leaders that know Said to force Glynn to hire a black man as a Unit Manager. Arif goes along with this and as a result a black man named Martin Querns

Martin Querns

Warden Martin Querns is a fictional character on the HBO drama Oz, played by Reg E. Cathey.-Character overview:He is an African American prison unit manager who has a vast experience of handling various prison units. He is hired by Warden Leo Glynn after he is asked to find a competent black unit...

 is hired. Querns, however, does not respect the Muslims, especially Arif, and only considers Adebisi a worthy trustee. In the meantime, a Five Percenter

The Nation of Gods and Earths

The Nation of Gods and Earths, sometimes referred to as NGE or NOGE, the Five-Percent Nation, or the Five Percenters is an American organization founded in 1964 in the Harlem section of the borough of Manhattan, New York City, by Clarence 13X, a former student of Malcolm X, who left his mosque...

 member named Supreme Allah

Supreme Allah

Supreme Allah is a fictional character of the HBO drama Oz. He is portrayed by Lord Jamar of hip hop group Brand Nubian.-Character overview:Prisoner #00K251. Convicted March 22, 2000 - Second degree murder...

 arrives in Oz, angering Arif. Since Five Percenters typically deal drugs, drink alcohol, and have many gangster members who are unsalvageable, Arif does not want Supreme anywhere near the other Muslims. As he attempts to convert Bismilla, Arif asks Adebisi to murder Supreme. Arif is later confronted by Supreme and told to watch where he walks. Arif later sees Irish inmate Ryan O'Reily

Ryan O'Reily

Ryan O'Reily is a main character in the television series Oz. He was portrayed by Dean Winters from 1997 to 2003.-Character overview:Prisoner #97P904. Convicted July 12, 1997 - Two counts of vehicular manslaughter, five counts of reckless endangerment, possession of a controlled substance,...

 murder Patrick Keenan

Patrick Keenan

Patrick Keenan is a fictional character at HBO drama Oz played by Dylan Chalfy.-Character Overview:Prisoner 00K414. Convicted March 25, 2000 for assault in first degree and rape. Sentence of 12 years, up for parole in seven....

 and is sickened by it, but is too afraid to speak against him.

In all this, Em City undergoes a power shift. First Querns names three trustees: Adebisi, Chucky Pancamo

Chucky Pancamo

Charles "Chucky The Enforcer" Pancamo is a fictional character, played by Chuck Zito, on the HBO series Oz.-Character overview:Prisoner #97P468. Convicted June 4, 1997 - Second degree murder. Sentence: 35 years, eligible for parole in 15....

, and Enrique Morales

Enrique Morales

Enrique Morales is a fictional character played by NYPD officer turned actor David Zayas on the HBO drama Oz.-Character overview:Prisoner #00M871. Convicted April 6, 2000 - Murder in the second degree. Sentence: 25 years, up for parole in 15....

. Next, eight inmates are transferred out, all of which are Biker or Aryan inmates. The inmates who come in replacing them are black, but not Muslim. They are all followers of Adebisi and this angers Arif, mainly because he was not chosen as a trustee and because Adebisi is in violation of their agreement. As the days go on, more prisoners are transferred in, all of whom are black and handpicked by Querns and Adebisi. Querns goes one further by putting together an All Black Correctional Officer staff led by Travis Smith

Travis Smith (Oz)

Travis Smith is one of the correctional officers on the HBO drama Oz, played by Jerome Preston Bates.Smith first appears as the Head CO of Emerald City under the management of Martin Querns. Querns and Smith both work together with inmate Simon Adebisi to build a virtually all-Black correctional...

 and Adrian Johnson

Adrian Johnson

Adrian Johnson, played by Cyrus Farmer, is one of the African American corrections officer on the HBO drama Oz.-Character overview:He first appears as one of the several African American corrections officers to work in Emerald City under the management of Martin Querns...

. Em City is now out of control because Adebisi and his crew, who make up the majority of the prisoners, are free to do all the drugs and alcohol they wish as long as no violence occurs. Arif realizes he cannot lead the Muslims any more and begs Said to lead them once again. With McManus' help, Said gets Querns fired and things running back to normal. Angered, Adebisi makes a failed attempt on Said's life, but Said kills him instead.

Season 4 Part II

A television crew comes to investigate what has happened in Oz and starts asking one too many questions. Arif warns Said to stay away from the crew, as they may create bad publicity

Publicity

Publicity is the deliberate attempt to manage the public's perception of a subject. The subjects of publicity include people , goods and services, organizations of all kinds, and works of art or entertainment.From a marketing perspective, publicity is one component of promotion which is one...

 for the Muslims. Homeboy Leroy Tidd

Leroy Tidd

Leroy Tidd is a fictional character on the series Oz, an African American inmate played by Jacques Smith.-Character overview:Prisoner #00T255. Convicted May 10, 2000 - Armed robbery, reckless endangerment. Sentence: 20 years, eligible for parole in 12.Imprisoned for armed robbery and running over a...

 wants to convert to Islam, but Arif and the others think that Tidd is secretly on a mission to murder Said for killing Adebisi. Tidd pretends to be sincere in his conversion

Religious conversion

Religious conversion is the adoption of a new religion that differs from the convert's previous religion. Changing from one denomination to another within the same religion is usually described as reaffiliation rather than conversion.People convert to a different religion for various reasons,...

 by a staged defense of Arif from Aryan inmate James Robson and Biker inmate Jaz Hoyt

Jaz Hoyt

Jaz Hoyt is a fictional character played by Evan Seinfeld on the television program Oz.-Character overview:Prisoner #98H432. Convicted August 12, 1998 - aggravated assault in the first degree. Sentence: Eight years, eligible for parole in four. Later, confessed to four counts of murder in the first...

. Arif then convinces Said to let Tidd convert and Tidd's conversion ends up being legitimate as he converts under the name Salah Udeen. The Aryan Brotherhood is angered by this, as they hired Tidd to murder Said, and they make an attempt on Said's life in retaliation. Tidd dies, however, jumping in front of Said. Robson is sent to the isolation ward for setting up the murder but later released when Warden Glynn decides there is not enough proof to convict him. Later, Robson and Schillinger berate the Muslims over Tidd's death and Said hospitalizes Robson as Arif neutralizes Schillinger. An all out war is about to occur between the Muslims and Aryans and both gangs are put into a temporary truce by Reverend Cloutier

Jeremiah Cloutier

Reverend Jeremiah Cloutier is a fictional character on the HBO prison drama Oz, portrayed by Luke Perry.-Character overview:Prisoner #00C966. Convicted December 27, 2000 - Embezzlement and petty larceny. Sentence: nine years, up for parole in five....

, McManus, and Glynn. Arif, meanwhile, secretly testifies against O'Reily with Said's help. O'Reily, however, complicates things and makes it impossible to get a conviction by stirring up the facts of what he did. Meanwhile, white inmate Tobias Beecher

Tobias Beecher

Tobias Beecher is a main character on the television show Oz, played by Lee Tergesen. He is one of only eight regular characters to survive the entire run of the show...

, an enemy of Schillinger's, is up for parole and is thereby a target of the Aryans. The Muslims warn them not to mess up Beecher's parole, which gets rejected anyway. Schillinger and Robson attempt to rape

Rape

Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...

 Beecher, and Said stabs Schillinger nearly to death defending him. Arif assists Said by making sure the guards cannot save the Aryans from dying.

Season 5

Arif's wife is one of the many visitors who dies in a bus accident transferring the visitors to the prison. O'Reily's investigation is later dismissed as he pays inmate Martin Montgomery

Martin Montgomery

Martin Montgomery played by Kiss drummer Peter Criss was a character in the HBO drama Oz.-Character Overview:He is a member of a minor league baseball called 'Quinn's' team whose players sport a white, yellow and green jersey. He has a problem with alcohol and is seen drinking liquor while up at...

 to mess up the story so Arif cannot send him to death row

Death row

Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...

. The Aryans come out of the hospital ready for war with the Muslims once again, but are stopped by Beecher and prison psychiatrist

Psychiatrist

A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...

 "Sister Pete" Reimondo. It is agreed that Schillinger, Said, and Beecher will all sit together in interaction sessions, preventing the two groups from going to war. The Aryans start another war with the Italians, however, as the FBI informs Schillinger that Gaetano Cincetta, who was hired by Italian leader Chucky Pancamo to murder his son, has entered the Witness Protection Program. The war between the Aryans and Italians is good for all the black inmates, as the Homeboys want the Italians destroyed and the Muslims want the Aryans destroyed.

The war with the Aryans is not completely over, however; Robson still wants to kill the Muslims and murders Ahmad Lalar

Ahmad Lalar

Ahmad Lalar is a Muslim inmate on the HBO drama Oz played by Chris Gardner.-Character overview:A young convert, he is seen as one of their weaker members and eventually targeted for execution by Aryan Brotherhood member James Robson.-Season 5:...

, a young Muslim convert. Arif wants Robson dead, but Said assures him that they don't need to do anything, as Robson's day of reckoning is approaching. Robson later tells drug addict Omar White

Omar White

Omar White is a fictional character on the HBO drama Oz played by Michael Wright.-Character overview:Prisoner 01W711. Convicted January 4, 2001 - Murder in the first degree...

 that Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

n Muslims enslave

Slavery

Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...

 other Africans and that Said and Arif are thereby supporters of slavery. The Muslims are stunned by this and begin to once again question Said and his teachings. Said later goes to solitary for beating White and Arif, and the other Muslims turn against him. Said and White reconcile, however, and then Said explains to Arif and the other Muslims what he has done in ignoring the teachings on slavery. Said also tells Arif the truth about how violent he truly is and that it was exposed in killing Adebisi. Later, Robson is expelled from the Aryan Brotherhood for getting a pair of "ghetto gums" (gums from a black person) in a dental transplant. Arif leads the Muslims in ridiculing Robson.

Season 6

The Muslims start a book binding business to publish the journal of Augustus Hill, a deceased inmate who kept a journal about what has happened in Oz. Said and Arif meet a media representative named Lemeul Idzik, who murders Said in the visiting room with a concealed firearm. As Said dies, his last words to Arif are "Arif, don't harm him." Arif is now running the Muslims again. Arif finds the book binding business to be nowhere near as profitable as he expected and also must now deal with hiring the Homeboys who have left their leader, Burr Redding

Burr Redding

Burr Redding is one of Oz's oldest inmates.-Character overview:Prisoner #01R289. Convicted January 11, 2001 - Murder in the first degree, seven counts of attempted murder...

, to work for the Muslims. Redding is angered by this and destroys Arif's business. Arif wants to tell the authorities, but Redding convinces him that he shouldn't talk, mainly because Arif can collect the insurance money as it was an "accident." Arif is economically in no place to argue, but his conscience

Conscience

Conscience is an aptitude, faculty, intuition or judgment of the intellect that distinguishes right from wrong. Moral judgement may derive from values or norms...

 gets that best of him as he eventually tells the other Muslims that he accepted the money. Bismilla, Afsana and the others beat Arif and excommunicate

Excommunication

Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...

him from the Muslims, but Arif later tells McManus, who then sends Redding to solitary.