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Imam W. Deen Mohammed

 Imam W. Deen Mohammed was born October 30, 1933, in Hamtramck (Detroit), Michigan, to the builder and leader of the Nation of Islam, the late Hon. Elijah (Poole) Muhammad and the late Clara (Evans) Muhammad. The Nation of Islam was founded by the late Master Fard Muhammad, whom Imam Mohammed fondly referred to as "WD40."


From his birth, he was raise under the teaching of the Nation of Islam (NOI) and grew as a teenage and a young man to question the theology, turning the Holy Qur'an and what has come to be termed "Islam Proper" (to distinguish from the NOI brand of teachings).


Learning Arabic originally from Dr. Jamil Diab, a Palestinian refugee in the U.S., who was hired by the Hon. Elijah Muhammad to teach Arabic to the young children of the NOI, they young Wallace Mohammed studied for himself the Holy Qur'an and concluded that the NOI teachings were good for social reform by the religion brought by Prophet Muhammed (Peace and Blessing upon the Prophet) we better to guide the Muslims of America.


Differing with his father's teachings, he was excommunicated from the NOI three time, returning to his father's side after the assassination of Malcolm X, and remained there until his father's death in 1975 and ultimate unanimous election to be the next leader of the NOI. Master Fard had predicted that his son would lead the NOI into "a new teaching."

1975, Feb. 26:One day after the Hon. Elijah Muhammad's death, his son Imam Wallace D. Mohammed succeeds his father as leader of the NOI with unanimous support of the followers and national ministers who had gathered at the Annual Savior's Day Meeting in Chicago, Illinois. Imam Mohammed immediately begins to "transform" the NOI toward "Islam proper," joining the then 1.25 billion (1 out of every 5 person) Muslim worldwide in religious practices.


1976: Encouraged Muslim American to register and vote and participate in the American political process on every level, putting emphasis on the Legacy of Africa American Freedom Fighters who gained citizenship rights for the African population. He opened the NOI to all races of Muslim and celebrated the legacy of Malcolm X by naming the largest mosque in New York City in this honor as Masjid Malcolm Shabazz.


1977: Toured China with the American Friends of China; lead the then largest known delegation of Muslim American to make Hajj to Mecca, Saudi Arabia.


1988: In Oxford, England, Represented Muslim at World Parliament of Religious Leaders for the Survival of the Earth; signed the Williamsburg , VA., representing Muslims in affirmation of the First Freedom First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution establishing Freedom of Religion.


1992, Feb. 5-6: Delivered the Invocation opening the U.S. Senate in Washington, D.C., the first ever given by a Muslim. On March 3 the same year, he delivered and address on the floor of the Georgia State Legislature - the state of his father's birth - the first ever given there by a Muslim.


1993: Participated in the Inaugural Interfaith Prayer Service for President William (Bill) Jefferson Clinton; delivered and address before the Los Angeles based World Affairs Council.


1994, Oct. 15-16: Mufti abdullah Mukhtar, leader of 60 million Muslims in Asia, visits with Imam Mohammed at Masjid Bilal in Cleveland, Ohio the fist mosque built from the ground up by Muslim African American. In December, be received the Cup of Compassion Award form the Hartford Seminary in Hartford, Conn.


1995: In February, participated in the "Acts of Kindness Week" in Dallas, Texas, with Rev. Martin Luther King III, Mrs. Rosa parks and the Thanks-Giving Square leaders; was selected as a President of the World Conference of Religions for Peace and in March addressed it's Governing Board in Copenhagen, Denmark.


1995, March 6: Delivered Keynote Address at Muslim-Jewish Convocation, first serious public dialogue between top leaders of Islam and Reformed Judaism, in Glencoe, Illinois. In May, Forbes Magazine invited him to speak in Naples, Fla., on "How Do We Save Our Youth?"


1996: He established the Collective Purchasing Conference (CPC), a collective buying business organization with distributors and investors and individuals as members, to strengthen the purchasing power f the small business man and woman. Imam Mohammed goes to Chiapas, Mexico, as a member of peace Conference.


1996, Dec.: Imam Mohammed leads a delegation to visit the West Bank and Jerusalem and meets with Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.


1997, Jan 6: President Bill Clinton invites Imam Mohammed to White House's 1st Annual Ecumenical Breakfast; on Jan. 20, Imam Mohammed reads from the Qur'an at President Clinton's Inauguration Day National Prayer Service.


1998, May 18-20: Imam Mohammed visits Auschqitz, Pland, where he participates in Conference of Religions for Peace hosted by the Center for Christian and Jewish Understanding of Sacred Heart University with Executive Director Rabbi Joseph H. Ehrenkranz. He continues on the Dhak, Bangladesh, to explore business opportunities for the CPC.


1998, June 8-14: Invited to Rome by Blessed Lady Chiara Lubich, one of founding members of the Focolare Movement, Catholic Sister and World War II survivor, Imam Mohammed addressed Muslim Friends of the Focolare Conference which brought together Muslims from 24 nations.


1999, Oct. 28: With Pope John Paul II and the Dalai Lama present on stage, Imam Mohammed was invited to address a gathering of 100,000 at The Vatican. On Nov. 25 of this year, he participated in the Jubillenium Interfaith Conference of World Peace held in Israel and the World Conference on Religions for Peace Assembly VII in Amman, Jordan, and there electied as WCRP International President for the U.S


2000: Appointed to the Executive Committee of Religious Alliance Against Pornography (RAAP). On Nov. 12, Focolare Movement and Imam Mohammed's Community hold joint Conference in Washington, D. C., at the Convention Center.


2001, Sept. 11: Imam W. Deen Mohammed in STRONGEST TERMS immediately denounced the Terrorist attacks on the United States as un-Islamic and evil.


2001, Oct. 29: At "Evening of Religious Solidarity," Imam Mohammed participates with Dr. Robert H. Schuller, Min. Louis Farrakhan and members of the Parliament of World Religions at The Mosque Foundation in Villa Park, III.


2001, Nov. 17: He attends the "Contribution of Religions to Peace" Conference in Assisi, Italy, at the invitation of Pope John Paul II, for religious leaders to gather and pray for world peace.


2001, April 6: He is ceremoniously inductive into the Martin Luther King Jr. International Board of Preaches at the Morehouse College, in Atlanta, Ga., where his portrait hangs in the International Chapel of Non-Violent Religious Leaders at More house.


2002, June 12-15: As one of the international Presidents of the WCRP, he participates in Conference of Religious Leaders Addressing the Devastation on Africa fro HIV/AIDS held in Nairobi, Kenya.


2003, June 29: An Honorary Doctorate was bestowed upon Imam W. Deen Mohammed by the Sojourner-Douglass College in Baltimore, Md., as an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters. Imam Mohammed also received and Honorary Doctorate from Martin University in Indianapolis, Ind.


2007: Imam Mohammed visits Turkey where he is welcomed as a "Native Son."


2007, May: Imam Mohammed is invited by Wisdom University Conference to address their theme on "Sacred Activism an Power of Inclusion" and introduced by it's President, James Garrison. Throughout the years, Imam W. Deen Mohammed taught Arabic, Islamic Studies and Comparative Religion mainly to former members of his father's Nation of Islam, inspiring hundreds to return to school formally to complete various degrees of study. He developed relationships with Universities and Foundations, in Malaysia and Syria where he met with the late Sheikh Kuftaro, sending students to both countries to study Islamic Studies. He has lead several delegations to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia over the 34 years of his leadership.


2008, Sept. 9: Imam W. Deen Mohammed passed at his Markham, III., home; may Allah grant him a place in Paradise.

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