BOSTON — Like he has most of the last 25 Labor Day weekends, Imam
\nTaalib Mahdee will spend this one in Chicago at an annual convention
\norganized by the Ministry of Warith Deen Mohammed.<\/p>\n
The big difference this year? Mohammed, who died a few days after
\nlast year’s convention at age 74, won’t be there.<\/p>\n
\nMahdee acknowledged that the death of Mohammed, whose moderation
\nearned him the respect of Muslim and non-Muslim leaders alike, had
\n“shocked” the community.<\/p>\n
\n“Not hearing him and not seeing him, you can’t help but feel a
\ndifference. But we know what he wants. We know his vision, and our job
\nis to carry it out,” said Mahdee, 59, of Boston. “And I’m going to show
\nmy support.”<\/p>\n
\nIn the year since Mohammed’s death, no one has assumed his mantle as
\nthe country’s de facto Muslim leader. Rather than naming a successor,
\nthe community elected a seven-member shura, or consultative council, in
\nJune. The council’s success or failure could have profound implications
\nfor Islam in America, and African-American Muslims in particular.<\/p>\n
\nMohammed preached living according to the Quran, full integration
\ninto American life and working for the betterment of local communities.
\nFor many African-American Muslims, Mohammed’s movement was an appealing
\nalternative to radical interpretations of Islam or the Nation of Islam,
\nthe black separatist movement founded by Mohammed’s father, Elijah
\nMuhammed.<\/p>\n
\nBecause this year’s convention is the first without Mohammed since
\nhe took over the community after his father died in 1975, its success —
\nas measured by attendance, unity and donations — is seen by some black
\nMuslim leaders as a good barometer of the community’s overall health.
\nIn recent years, the convention has attracted as many as 3,000
\npeople, organizers said. This year, based on registrations, between
\n1,000 and 1,500 people are expected.<\/p>\n
\n“It’s a time to sit back and take stock,” said Aminah B. McCloud, a
\nprofessor of Islamic studies at Depaul University who follows the black
\nMuslim community. “His death has made Muslims more conscientious of the
\nneed for community.”<\/p>\n
\nMohammed was a revered figure whose legacy will be difficult to
\nfollow. After assuming leadership of the Nation of Islam, Mohammed
\nabandoned his father’s black supremacist teachings and embraced
\ntraditional Islam. The organization eventually became known as the
\nAmerican Society of Muslims, and Mohammed became the best known American
\nMuslim in the world.<\/p>\n
\n(In 1979, Minister Louis Farrakhan revived the Nation of Islam with
\nAfrican-Americans who continued to believe in the teachings of Elijah
\nMuhammad. Farrakhan and Mohammed later reconciled, but kept each other
\nat arm’s length.)<\/p>\n
\nMohammed also founded The Mosque Cares, a non-profit organization,
\nand the Collective Purchasing Conference, a business initiative. Today,
\nmore than 500 mosques in the U.S. are affiliated with Mohammed’s
\nministry.<\/p>\n
\nIn the last years of his life, Mohammed sought to decentralize the
\nmovement. In 2003, he resigned as president from the American Society of
\nMuslims, turned control over to a council, and encouraged mosques to
\nbecome active in charity, education, and interfaith work.<\/p>\n
\n“While the imam was seen as the leader of this community, he had no
\nlegal ties to the body of Muslims who followed him,” said Imam Vernon
\nFareed of Norfolk, Va., head of the community’s consultative council.
\nSeveral weeks before his death, according to Fareed, Mohammed told a
\nfellow imam, “If anything happens to me, keep things just like they
\nare.”<\/p>\n
\nLast April, some 150 imams met in Louisville, Ky., to decide how to
\nproceed, and identified several concerns for the movement, including
\nwhether or not to change the name, how to structure the organization,
\nand how to provide for the imam’s surviving family, which includes nine
\nchildren from five wives. After consulting the community, the imams
\nreturned in June and decided against a name change and in favor of
\ncontinuing the shura council, whose members serve two-year terms.
\n“That’s what he always wanted. He wanted us to come together, to
\nwork together, and a do a lot of other things together,” Fareed said,
\n“but he wanted us to come together freely.”\n<\/p>\n
\nSupporters of the shura council acknowledge that some followers
\ndispute the council’s leadership and have left the community. On at
\nleast one blog, some of Mohammed’s followers have urged that his
\nson-in-law, Earl Abdulmalik Mohammed, a former ministry spokesman,
\nbecome the new leader.\n<\/p>\n
\nNonetheless, the council hopes to carry out several projects
\nMohammed had planned, including a curriculum for the 25 Clara Muhammed
\nschools (named for his mother) and building a “Model Muslim Community”
\ncomplex that would include a community center, school and Imam W.D.
\nMohammed museum and archive.<\/p>\n
\nIn keeping with Mohammed’s wish that his followers be active in
\nAmerican life, Fareed said the council has also reestablished “The
\nCoalition for Good Government,” a group of politically connected
\nfollowers whom the council can tap for advice or as delegates to
\npolitical events.<\/p>\n
\nBut like with the convention, success will depend on the leaders’
\nability to sustain interest, said Imam Darnell Karim of Chicago, a
\nchildhood friend of Mohammed who is leading efforts to build the Model
\nMuslim Community.<\/p>\n
\n“This model would represent his legacy and his vision,” said Karim,
\n73, who estimated the complex could be built in one year. “But the
\npeople have to want it.”<\/p>\n
\nMohammed also encouraged interfaith work, and cultivated a
\nparticularly strong relationship with the Catholic Focolare Movement.
\nMonthly meetings between the two groups were established in several
\ncities and still continue. “All these imams that we knew want to
\ncontinue the relationship,” said Clare Zanzucchi, editor of Living City
\nmagazine, a Focolare publication.<\/p>\n
\nMahdee, the Boston imam, and other Muslim leaders said they do not
\nbelieve Mohammed’s death will hurt their efforts to attract new
\nadherents.<\/p>\n
\n“We still have people coming into the masjid (mosque) accepting
\nIslam. That will always be there,” Mahdee said. “We have to make sure
\nwe’re ready to provide the vehicle.”<\/p>\n
BOSTON — Like he has most of the last 25 Labor Day weekends, Imam Taalib Mahdee will spend this one in Chicago at an annual convention organized by the Ministry of Warith Deen Mohammed. The big difference this year? Mohammed, who died a few days after last year’s convention at age 74, won’t be there.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nBy OMAR SACIRBEY
\nc. 2009 Religion News Service
Copyright 2009 Religion News Service. All rights reserved. No part of
\nthis transmission may be distributed or reproduced without written
\npermission.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"