Detroit leaders welcome Nation of Islam convention

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Detroit leaders welcome Nation of Islam convention
February 15, 2007
BY NIRAJ WARIKOO
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick joined political and religious leaders in welcoming the Nation of Islam to Detroit, where it will hold its annual convention next week.

"We're serious about welcoming the Nation to the city of Detroit," the Detroit mayor said at a press conference Thursday at the African American National Museum in Detroit. "We're serious about wrapping our arms around this event here in the city of Detroit."

The Nation of Islam will hold its convention, known as Savior's Day, from Feb. 23 to Feb. 25, when Minister Louis Farrakhan will deliver the keynote address.

It could be his last public speech, said Nation members. The Nation of Islam was started in Detroit, but is now headquartered in Chicago.

Detroit City Council President Pro Tempore Monica Conyers praised Farrakhan at the press conference.

"We have seen a real black man stand strong for all of us," Conyers said. Farrakhan is the "epitome of what black men should be."

Detroit City Councilwomen Joann Watson and Barbara-Rose Collins also praised Farrakhan at the press conference.

Religious leaders from metro Detroit who attended the conference included the Rev. Samuel Bullock, president of the Council of Baptist Pastors, Dawud Walid, head of the Michigan branch of the Council on American-Islamic Affairs, and Imam Abdullah El Amin, head of the Muslim Center in Detroit and executive director of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan.