Remembering Imam Abdullah El-Amin

On Saturday, August 29th, I attended the Street Sign Dedication honoring my dear brother, Imam Abdullah El-Amin. The event was incredible on a number of levels.

For one, the sign bearing a Black Muslim’s name, placed above the previous street name, was a liberating contrast that was not lost on members of the community. The people attending this event were a living testimony to the many people touched by Abdullah’s life, including Jews, Christians, and the rich range of Muslims from the Arab world, Southeast Asia, and Detroit’s Black Muslim community. Detroit City Councilman Coleman Young Jr. was also in attendance.

I took my seat in the back as the program was getting ready to start. Then, Abdullah’s daughter, Zarinah, gently encouraged me to sit in the front, in the reserved seats. The next thing I knew, I was asked to speak for no more than two minutes, being the only non-Muslim and white person to speak.

While I quoted Sura 49 from the Holy Qur’an as a tribute to Abdullah’s interfaith nobility, I spent my remaining 60 seconds speaking about how, in founding the Muslim Center, adding a funeral home, health clinic, and social services office, and leaving a vision for community and economic development to transform this run-down, very poor neighborhood, Abdullah had accomplished what I understood to be the role of a faith congregation: creating an alternative to what dehumanizes members of the community.

I left hours later, having spoken with many members of that community, rededicating myself to helping congregations work toward emulating the vision and very good work of Imam Abdullah El-Amin.

Steve Spreitzer – IFLC Community Organizer