Imam WD Mohammed, American Muslim leader, affirms religious unity

http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/2008/01/02/news/top_news/doc541b4b60b478d58a862573c40010777d.txt

Muslim leader affirms religious unity
BY KASS STONE
Times Correspondent | Wednesday, January 02, 2008

GARY | Iman W.D. Mohammed, a leader in the African-American Muslim community, offered a message of unity among Christians, Jews and Muslims at the 47th annual Emancipation Proclamation Program of Freedom on Tuesday at Western Christian Community Church.

The Interfaith Clergy Council of Gary and Vicinity's program was held to mark the 145th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Before Mohammed's presentation, speakers spoke about Frederick Douglass and read from the proclamation.

Mohammed is the son of Nation of Islam founder Elijah Muhammad and took over as its leader in 1975. He is responsible for bringing the Nation of Islam more in line with mainstream Sunni Muslim beliefs and opening up membership to nonblack Muslims, which led to a long period of acrimony between him and Louis Farrakhan.

He has spoken before presidents, popes, the Dalai Lama and other world leaders on issues of faith. On Tuesday, he spoke to an audience of Gary church leaders and representatives of the city's Islamic and Jewish communities.

"The first freedom of the United States is freedom of religion. ... Religion is what binds us together. Faith in one God. We all believe in a god and don't believe that this world is without a designer who designed it," Mohammed said.

Mohammed continued to point out connections that the faiths have with each other, including common origins and prophets.

"We have the same prophets. We have the same God and we believe God made all of this world for human beings. Isn't that wonderful," Mohammed said.

He went to great lengths to point out the role Christianity played in forming the Islamic faith, relating a story of how the religion's founder, Mohammed, was given refuge by a Christian Ethiopian king.

"That begins our history with Christians, when we are given protection by a Christian king. ... And here we are now in the United States, and without the protection of the president and Christians or somebody, we would be in trouble.

"So we are still being protected," Mohammed said.

"Prince Among Slaves" documentary playing tomorrow

"Prince Among Slaves" will be shown tomorrow evening, Thursday, at 7 PM at the Fellowship Chapel Church at 7707 W. Outer Drive in Detroit, Michigan.

Admission is FREE.

A NEW LOOK AT HISTORY: Film shows dignity of slaves, Muslims
October 17, 2007

BY NIRAJ WARIKOO

FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

It's a story not well-known: A prince in west Africa who is heir to a sizable kingdom is enslaved and taken to America in 1788 at age 26 and fights for 40 years to regain his freedom.

But now, the life of Abdul-Rahman Ibrahima, an African Muslim, may reach a wide audience through a new film about his struggles.

The movie, "Prince Among Slaves," will make its Detroit debut Thursday at a screening sponsored by local Muslim and African-American groups, including the Detroit Branch NAACP and the Council on American-Islamic Relations. It comes at a time of renewed interest in some slaves' Islamic faith.

"It's a very moving film," said Mitchell Shamsud-Din of Detroit, who is helping to organize the event. "We need to be conscious of where we came from, so we can know where we want to be."

Born into the Fulbe group, Ibrahima was sold in Natchez, Miss., to a plantation owner. He wrote letters to his family in Africa, trying to regain his freedom, and his case got African leaders' attention.

He eventually won his freedom, but his children were still slaves, and he fought hard for years to get them released. He returned to Africa, but died a few months later, with his children still in slavery.

Directed by Bill Duke and narrated by Mos Def, the movie will resonate with many in metro Detroit because of the area's large African-American and Muslim populations, organizers said. Shamsud-Din said he was touched by the prince's struggles to help his children.(MORE)

W. Deen Mohammed speaks about NOI

http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2007/08/10/news/081107lrmohammed.txt

Muslim Americans Setting Example For Muslims Abroad, Leader Says
This article was published on Friday, August 10, 2007 6:52 PM CDT in News
By Jason Wiest
THE MORNING NEWS

LITTLE ROCK -- The leader of the largest Muslim community in America said Friday that Muslims here live in harmony overall with people of other religious backgrounds and Muslim nations abroad are taking note.

"I believe that Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, and perhaps many other Muslim nations, are really studying (Muslim) life here in America to see how they can benefit from what's our strategies over here and our embracing one another over here," Imam W. Deen Mohammed said Friday at the Clinton Presidential Center.

Mohammed is the son of the late Elijah Muhammad, who led the Nation of Islam until his death in 1975. While his father's teachings included the belief white people are "devils," Mohammed publicly opposed his father and after his death dissolved the organization. He established a new Muslim American Society, declared it part of the orthodox worldwide Sunni Islamic community and taught tolerance.

Since then, Louis Farrakhan has re-established the Nation of Islam under its original teachings, but Mohammed said the organization is starting to shed its intolerance and align with orthodox Muslims.

"The time for those leaders who had that hate rhetoric has come and passed and they know it," Mohammed told reporters after a question-and-answer session with the audience.

His appearance was part of the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service fall lecture series.

"I think there's a merger coming," Mohammed said, noting that student ministers in the Nation of Islam have been studying with orthodox Muslims. "A quiet merging of leaders of the Nation of Islam and leaders in my community."

Calls to a number of Islamic mosques and centers in Little Rock and around the state went unanswered Friday, as did a call to the Houston office of the Southwest Region of the Nation of Islam, which includes Arkansas.

Today, Mohammed is a Muslim elder statesman leading approximately 2.5 million American Muslims. He is a member of the World Supreme Council of Mosques, the Peace Council and an international president of the World Conference of Religion and Peace.(MORE)

Blog on African-Americans in Islam on BET

This week, Black Entertainment Network (BET) began a blog called "Meet the Faith", which is featuring African-Americans in Islam. Writing on the blog this week is Precious Rasheeda Muhammad, who is a scholar of Islamic history pertaining to Islam in America and student of Imam WD Mohammed.

SEE: http://betintroduces.com/shows/meetthefaith/

Recommended books to read on suicide bombing and history of Islam in America among African-Americans

Two books, which I've recently purchased and read are "Dying to Win: The Strategic Logic of Suicide Terrorism" by Robert A. Pape and "A History of Muslim African-Americans" by the Islamic History Project (a group of researchers).

The first book,"Dying to Win", discusses the root causes of suicide terrorism and provides information tracking all suicide bombings from 1980 to 2005 including dates, organizations that sponsored the attacks and the targets.

Mr. Pape's premise is that religion is not the primary motive for suicide bombings; oppression and occupation are. He provides clear information such as the primary organizations that perpetrated suicide bombings in the 1980's in the Middle East were secular organizations, which had suicide bombers of Muslim and Christian roots including Ms. Norma Hassan, a Lebanese Christian female suicide bomber. The data further shows that the Tamil Tigers, a Hindu/Marxist organization in Sri Lanka, have been the leading organization, which has sponsored suicide bombings from 1980 to 2005, at the publication date of this book.

An interesting observation within the book is that from 1980 to 2002, Iraq was suicide bombing free, but it now leads the world in suicide bombing attacks. So much for the false idea that the US military presence in Iraq has helped in the "War on Terror." It has bred more terror, way more terror and lose of life than under the rule of Saddam Hussein from 1979 to 2002.

Order from: http://www.amazon.com/Dying-Win-Strategic-Suicide-Terrorism/dp/1400063175

The second book, "A History of Muslim African-Americans", is more than just a history book ranging from the time period of when African Muslims reached America during the trans-Atlantic slave trade until today. The book begins with providing historical evidence about the interconnection between Arabs and Africans beginning with the ancient people of `Ad (Adites) to the era of the slave trade in East Africa and how its differences with the chattel slave trade of West Africa.

The book also touches on the evolution of the Nation of Islam and its transformation under the leadership of Imam Warith Deen Mohammed.

I've yet to read in one book so many aspects relating to not only the history of African-American Muslims but also the philosophy behind historical events. The book is documented extremely well.

Order from: http://www.wdmpublications.com/online_store/books/index.htm

Muslim leaders pushes for education and discourages violence

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070728/UPDATE/707280407/1003/METRO

Tom Greenwood / The Detroit News

Imam W. Deen Mohammad -- the son of Elijah Muhammad, who founded the Nation of Islam -- addresses an audience in the auditorium of Wayne Community College Saturday afternoon.

DETROIT -- It isn't often that you see a speaker receive a standing ovation before he addresses an audience, but that's what happened to Imam W. Deen Mohammad in the auditorium of Wayne Community College Saturday afternoon.

Imam Mohammed, the son of Elijah Muhammad who founded the Nation of Islam, addressed the audience on the role of "Islam and Higher Education." While the Imam lightly touched on the subject of formal education, his main theme was on the moral education of mankind.

"Muhammad, the messenger of Allah, told us that 'the ink of the scholar is more precious than the blood of the martyr,'" the Imam told a warm and respectful audience of about 300 people.

"Education teaches us morality; from the simple justice of right and wrong to the higher level of morality, which we call ethics. Our scientists, whether they are political, military or economic, must eventually respect justice and morality."

While the Imam's audience was made up mainly of Muslims and was totally African American, his theme was aimed at people of all races, colors, creeds and religions; a reflection of his break from the Nation of Islam and his embrace of Islam proper.

"This man is the best kept secret in America when it comes to Muslims in America," said Dawud Walid, Executive Director of the Council on American Islamic Relations.

"When he said that the 'ink of the scholar is more precious than the blood of the martyr' he was telling us that armed struggle is not the answer. Education and morality; those two things will propel Muslims out of the condition they are in today."

According to Imam Mohammad, 73, who was born in Hamtramck, the importance of education can be seen from the very beginnings of Islam.

"The first word that God said to Muhammad was not 'God,' but 'read,'" the Imam said, as many in the audience nodded or took notes.

"The word 'Koran' means 'that which must be read.' And the Koran shows both men and women to be thinkers."(MORE)

More blacks "converting to Islam since 9/11

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/nation/16966779.htm?source=rss&channel=cctimes_nation

More blacks converting to Islam since Sept. 11
Pittsburgh among cities to see increase after terror attacks as religious leaders try to paint positive image
By Ramit Plushnick-Masti
ASSOCIATED PRESS

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Allahu Akbar, the Muslim call for prayer, rings out on a recent Friday and a group of black men and women gather to celebrate the Islamic day of rest.

The wooden house in Pittsburgh's rundown Homewood neighborhood looks like any other on the block. But the sign at the door, Masjid Mumin, and the rows of shoes lined up inside on gray, plastic shelves hint of the brand of Sunni Islam its members practice.

The mosque is one of seven in Pittsburgh, home to a vibrant community of about 8,000 to 10,000 Sunni Muslims -- some 30 percent of them black.

Following what appears to be a trend in cities nationwide, religious leaders in Pittsburgh say there has been a rise in black conversions to Sunni Islam since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.

No national surveys have been taken to confirm the increase, but Islamic religious leaders in Chicago, Cleveland and Detroit have also reported growth, said Lawrence Mamiya, a professor of religion and Africana studies at Vassas College in New York. Experts estimate that 30 percent of the 6 million to 7 million Muslims in the United States are black, with only South Asians making up a larger number at 33 percent.(MORE)

Traditional Islam for the hip-hop generation

Traditional Islam for the hip-hop generation
By Zaid Shakur, Staff Writer
Southern California InFocus
March 2007

http://www.infocusnews.net/content/view/4013/135/

SAN DIEGO -- In the heart of San Diego’s inner-city, just blocks away from "the Four Corners of Death," (an intersection so nick-named by locals in the 1980s because of its notoriety for gang violence), nestled unceremoniously between a martial arts dojo and a neighborhood grocery store is the Logan Islamic Community Center (LICC). Situated in a working-class neighborhood that is overwhelmingly Latino, LICC serves a Muslim congregation that is small yet incredibly diverse. Within its 27 founding members there are Filipinos, Africans, African-Americans, Caucasians, and of course, Latinos.

The most striking characteristics of this up-and-coming community is the fact that it is made up entirely of reverts to Islam—and though some regular attendees are anywhere from 40 years of age well into their 70s, the average age of LICC’s members is a tender 26 years old. It is precisely this youthful energy that one feels pulsating through the masjid and fueling its impressive list of programs, activities, and services.

Mohammed Zaki Abdul-Latif, 26, is a local music DJ and active member of LICC. When the youth of the jama’at or congregation is mentioned, he is resolute. "

Traditional Islam for the hip-hop generation

All praise is due to Allah, we’ve been received pretty warmly by children of immigrants who connect with us because we share common values. The elders and leaders of other Masajid have welcomed us. One of our members is the public relations director for Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)-San Diego and another is on the board of the Southern California Shura Council. We are first and foremost an indigenous, homegrown community of mostly young Muslims, but we’ve sat with and learned from traditional Ulama (scholars), many of them having a connection going back to the Prophet (saw) himself through either transmission of knowledge or lineage or both."

One of the most dynamic and successful ways that LICC is serving this emerging young adult demographic is through its monthly poetry and spoken word contest, known as "Manual 4 Existence" held on the second Saturday of each month at Voz Alta, a downtown venue for the arts. It is a hip and high-energy function that allows members of the masjid to give strong daw’ah, or Islamic education to youth that would otherwise be enthralled by the usually immoral lyrics and rhythms of popular rap music. Abdul-Latif explains that "many of the traditional Ulama used to teach using poetry and qasidas. This is what gave us the idea to reach out in this manner."

During the contest intermission, one of the members gives a dars (short talk) on topical issues such as gangs or drugs and relates it to Islamic solutions. The effect is palpable and non-Muslim attendees have converted to Islam as a result of this effort. Abdul-Latif often DJ’s during the event. "In my previous life before Islam I used to be a professional DJ, focusing more on the art itself. Now I don’t play in clubs, of course, and have branched out into world music and traditional Islamic music," he says.

Tariq Ali, a Puerto Rican revert and Amir of LICC, came to San Diego in 1999 from New York. He and several others were part of the Jama’at of Shehu Uthman Ibn Fodio, an international group that studies and follows the methodology of that West African Islamic Scholar. That same year Ali and members of the Filipino Islamic community joined forces to create the "UMA of San Diego" (UMA stands for United Muslim Association). They began seeking knowledge from Amir Mohammad Shareef and Shaikh Hamza Yusuf Hanson.

They opened a small school in 1999 in San Diego’s largely Mexican, low-income Logan Heights area.

"We felt that there was a need in San Diego for traditional Islamic knowledge to be taught--knowledge that was based on the Qur’an, the Sunnah and the work of the great Ulama," says Ali. "There was no other masjid in the area that we felt was doing this." The school, or "the Building" as it was known, was opened to all Muslims and offered a wide array of classes including Hadith studies, Arabic courses, Fiqh classes and the study of classical Islamic texts by the likes of Shaikh Uthman Ibn Fodio, as well as some contemporary Islamic thinkers like Dr. Sherman Jackson.

There is wonderful irony in the fact that these young reverts, themselves a product of ‘hip-hop’ culture and modernity, have become qualified to teach Islam. Several of the brothers have in the past eight years traveled extensively to places such as Yemen and Mauritania to study for years at a time with scholars like Shaikh Mohammed Al-Yacoubi and Shaikh Habib Umar in order to pass on what they’ve learned, becoming fluent in the Arabic language and receiving Ijazah (license) in several Islamic sciences.

By 2006 the needs of the jama’at had grown and the small one room school was no longer sufficient. A search for a larger location proved fruitful when a local storefront Masjid closed, allowing for the jama’at to take over the site. With only minor adjustments in structure, such as the erection of curtains for the privacy of the women and the addition of traditional wudoo or ablution stations, the congregation was able to transform it into the thriving center of learning and worship that it is today.

The current class schedule consists of 6 courses held 4 days a week that include in-depth study of Islamic Jurisprudence from the Risala of ibn Abi-Zaid, Shafi’ Fiqh, Maliki Fiqh from the Umdat l’ Bayyan of Shehu Uthman Ibn Fodio, Biblical Sources & Dawa’ah Strategies with Special Emphasis on Refutations/Rebuttals, and Women’s Arabic.

LICC is also home to a very strong and vibrant women’s program known as "Yan Taru." Yan Taru was a Fulani word used in the Sokoto Caliphate to refer to women under the age of 14 and over the age of 45 who were the backbone of an educational movement established by Nana Asma’u during the reign of her brother Caliph Muhammad Bello (1817 - 1837). The Yan Taru was a group of female student-teachers. These women and girls left their homes and made the long arduous journey to Sokoto, primarily on foot. They were led by knowledgeable women called Jaji’s. The Jaji would prepare the Yan Taru for study, asking them to purify their intentions. The Jaji would accept sadaqa or charity for the journey from the women who could not make the trip and then teach them upon their return. Women, the sustainers of the home and society would thus have access to knowledge without having to leave their homes. Yan Taru is an international program but Najiyya Ali is the Jaji of LICC’s division. "Women are the foundation of the Muslim community. They are the first educators," explans Najiyya. "If you have ignorant women you’ll have an ignorant community. If you have knowledgeable women you’ll have a knowledgeable community."

Presently the sisters sponsor each other to attend "Deen Intensives" around the country and hold classes for the other sisters when they come home. The women of LICC also perform charitable work for the community, recently holding a community sponsored rummage sale with the proceeds going to buy food vouchers that were given to the needy.

The community of LICC is also making an impression throughout the broader Muslim community with its lectures at masjids, college campuses and public libraries. Among the highest priorities is working with youth for gang prevention and intervention, especially poignant since many in the community were once affiliated with gangs themselves until Islam entered their lives.

Abdul-Latif remembers a particularly successful event. "We called it ‘non-Muslim family gratitude night’ where we held a banquet and seminar for our non-Muslim parents, brothers, sisters, etc, where we honored them, and Imam Zaid gave a talk on understanding Islam."
Abdul-Latif and others at LICC have recently put their musical and rhetorical talents to use online by hosting "Discourse," an internet radio show on Earthbound radio (www.twelvez.com), which airs every Sunday afternoon from 12-2pm. It is a mixture of clean hip hop and conscious discussion.

Abdul-Latif is excited about the show. "The inspiration for the title "Discourse" came from a lecture by Shaikh Hamza Yusuf who once said that ‘Islam was not allowed in this discourse…,’ referring to national and societal discourse. Our mission statement is ‘raising the standard of intellectual discussion in all arenas of life amongst hip hop aficionados and people who just want to think.’ We insert Islamic themes into our discussions while keeping it objective and trying to share information with people of different backgrounds, while always maintaining our Islamic identity. There’s a hint of comedy and seriousness without nonsense or Jahilliyya (ignorance)."
With an active congregation, LICC has its own unique "flavor" and a rich atmosphere of family and connectedness. Sitting firmly on the edge of Islamic teachings and creative programs, the masjid has succeeded in reaching out to a hip-hop generation.

Farrakhan takes podium once more

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Farewell_Farrakhan.html

Farrakhan takes podium once more
By JEFF KAROUBASSOCIATED
PRESS WRITER

DETROIT -- Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan is heading into what's billed as his final major address Sunday, and some Muslims are wondering if the fiery orator - now slowed by poor health - will try to repair old divisions between his movement and mainstream Islam.

Farrakhan's scheduled appearance at Ford Field, home of the NFL's Detroit Lions, will be his first since ceding leadership last year to an executive board because of illness.

The 73-year-old Farrakhan was released last month from the hospital after undergoing a 12-hour abdominal operation to correct damage caused by treatment for prostate cancer. A statement from the Nation at the time said Farrakhan "doesn't see himself coming before the public on such a major stage as we are preparing in Detroit." He might, however, honor lesser engagements.

The event will be a homecoming of sorts for the Nation of Islam movement, which promotes black empowerment and nationalism. It was founded in Detroit by Wallace D. Fard in 1930.

Fard attracted black Detroiters on the margins of society with a message of self-improvement and separation from whites, who he said were inherently evil because of their enslavement of blacks.

Farrakhan rebuilt the movement in the late 1970s after W.D. Mohammed, the son of longtime nation leader Elijah Muhammad, moved his followers toward mainstream Islam.

Farrakhan angered many Americans in the process.

He became notorious for his provocative comments, calling Judaism a "gutter religion" and suggesting crack cocaine might have been a CIA plot to enslave blacks. He met with foreign leaders at odds with the United States - Moammar Gadhafi, Fidel Castro and Saddam Hussein - prompting the State Department in 1996 to accuse him of "cavorting with dictators."

His closest brush with the political mainstream probably came in 1995, when he attracted hundreds of thousands of black men to Washington for the Million Man March.
Now, back in the Nation's birthplace, there's speculation about what Farrakhan's last major address could tackle. The topic of Sunday's speech, capping a series of meeting that start Friday, is "One Nation Under God."

"We have been told that Minister Farrakhan is going to be making a big announcement at this meeting," though it's not known what he will say, said Dawud Walid, executive director of the Michigan branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations.

The Nation and orthodox Islam diverge on several key beliefs. While mainstream Islam holds that Muhammad was God's last prophet, Nation of Islam had taught that God came in the form of Fard decades ago in Detroit.

Farrakhan has downplayed many of those teachings in recent years, adopting some mainstream Muslim traditions and embracing W. D. Mohammed on stage in 2000 after years of discord. Mohammed also visited Farrakhan recently during his recovery, a Nation of Islam official said.(MORE)

The Middle Passage - Holocaust of Africans

Of the 15 million slaves that were brought to the Americans during the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, estimates range that 30 million to 100 million slaves perished before making it to the Americas in the infamous sea route known as the Middle Passage. There is no crime against humanity that can compare in years of protracted brutality and amounts of death. The only story that comes close in comparison is the 400 years of captivity, which the Children of Israel suffered in Egypt according to the scriptural narratives.

The Middle Passage is the area of the Atlantic Ocean where slave ships sailed between the west coast of Africa to the Americas. The areas where the largest concentrations were taken were Muslim lands (Senegal-Gambia, Hausa land, Sierra Leonne, and Ghana). See the book written by the Non-Muslim African history scholar Dr. Sylviane Diouf entitled "Servants of ALLAH: African Muslims Enslaved in the Americas."



Has an apology ever been given regarding this holocaust? Have the offspring of these people been given justice? How many wealthy families and corporations that currently exist owe their wealth to the blood, sweat and tears of the victims of the African holocaust? Are they willing to give reparations?



Don't hold your breath.

Detroit leaders welcome Nation of Islam convention

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070215/NEWS01/70215079/1001/BUSINESS05

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.

Walid discusses Malcolm X at University of Detroit - Mercy

Last night's presentation was given in front of faculty, teachers and students at the University of Detroit-Mercy in Detroit, Michigan. Many of the issues that Malcolm X discussed over 40 years such as Islamophobic media coverage in America and American Exceptionalism that displays itself in our government's occupying sovereign nations holds true as ever.

*NOTE* The speech mentions a lawyer, who purchased from Alex Haley's estate 3 chapters of Malcolm X's autobiography that were omitted. The Detroit man, who paid $100,000 for those manuscripts, Warren Evans, is a doctor, not a lawyer.

To listen, cut & paste below:
http://www.zshare.net/audio/malcolm-x-mp3-aju.html

Islam and Black History Month

The following article was printed in the Detroit News on 2-23-06:

Islam remains a key to Detroit's history

By Dawud Walid

Rarely do we equate Black History Month with the Islamic movement in the United States. In fact, Islam and the history of African-Americans in Detroit have a stronger link than with most other regions.

At the turn of 20th century, many African-Americans migrated from Jim Crow Southern states to northern metropolises such as Detroit and experienced a different form of racism. Proto-Islamic movements such as the Nation of Islam, which was born in Detroit in 1930, convinced many African-American Detroiters that the key to a better life was Islam, that Islam was freedom, justice and equality. The Nation of Islam gained popularity in Detroit and later spread to Chicago, Milwaukee and Washington, D.C.

Just as American Muslims today face harassment and are victims of Islamophobia, African-American Muslims in the 1930s-60s faced illegal detainments, firings and, in some cases, assaults and killings. In 1934, teachers and staff of a Muslim school were jailed by the state on charges of leading to the delinquency of minors; children also were incarcerated. The charges were dropped for a lack of evidence.

In 1942, Elijah Muhammad, leader of the Nation of Islam, was jailed on draft dodging charges at the age of 45, even though he was past draft age. Other Islamic movements in Detroit faced harassment for being perceived as foreign creeds that had the potential of altering the status quo.

Islam's message of social equality attracted Malcolm X, otherwise known as "Detroit Red," whose charismatic speeches helped spark the spread of Islam among African-Americans. Malcolm X's influence became so widespread that FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover feared Malcolm X's becoming the "Black Messiah." This same message attracted the world's most famous athlete and recent Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient Muhammad Ali.

Many African-American Muslims with roots in Michigan -- such as Imam W. Deen Mohammed, the first Muslim to make the invocation in the U.S. Senate, and Adam Shakoor, America's first Muslim judge and co-trustee of the Rosa L. Parks Trust -- are a testament to how Muslims have contributed to the fabric of society. African-Americans and Muslims, regardless of race, enjoy many freedoms not enjoyed 70 years ago; however, the goal of freedom, justice and equality has not been fulfilled. Government searches for radiation at mosques yielded no results yet cast suspicion on an entire demographic.

Profiling includes "driving while black" and "flying while Muslim." Cartoons that demeaned African-Americans have switched to cartoons that disrespect Latino and Arab-Americans. February is more than a time for reflection on African-American history.

It is a moment for all of us to contemplate how far this nation has come in achieving "liberty and justice for all." Our nation's struggle for equal protection under the law should peak during this special month.