Community News (V10-I36)

Obituary: Jabir Muhammad, Manager of Muhammad Ali

CHICAGO-Jabir Herbert Muhammad, son of Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad and long time manager of boxing legend Muhammad Ali, died on Monday following heart surgery. He was 79.

Jabir Muhammad was born in Detroit and grew up in Chicago. He managed Ali’s boxing career from 1966 until 1981 and managed his post-fighting career for an additional 10 years.

Earlier Jabir Muhammad held several key positions in the Nation of Islam organization and served as an advisor to his father until his death. He successfully ran the groups business establishments including a bakery, restaurant, dry cleaning and other profitable enterprises.

As a manager of Muhammad Ali he reportedly promoted several million dollar purses for the latter. His funeral were held at Chicago’s Masjid al-Faatir.

The land for the mosque was donated by Jabir Ali which is believed to be the first freestanding mosque in Chicago.

“He was a man who loved his fellow man and he developed some very meaningful and positive relationships worldwide,” his son Elijah Muhammad III said in a statement.

He is survived by his wife, 14 children, and numerous grandchildren, 21 great-grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren.

Orland Park mosque plan approved

CHICAGO,IL-Orland Park village authorities unanimously approved the plans for a community building by the Orland Park mosque. The new three story building is intended to give more programming space to the members of the community.

The 19,000-square-foot building, expected to cost about $3.5 million, will house a multipurpose room with a warm-up kitchen, offices, classrooms for Islamic studies for children and a library.

The mosque, which opened two years ago, recently tripled the size of its parking lot to 375 spaces to accommodate its growth. Fundraising for the mosque is expected to start in Ramadan.

Christian-Muslim debate attracts a crowd of 3000

FORT MYERS,FL-A remarkably civil and dignified debate between an Imam and a Pastor attracted a crowd of 3000 in Florida. There were no conclusions reached at the debate but the two sides put forward their respective views.

“It went better than I expected,” Imam Mohamed Al-Darsani said after the two-hour debate. “We connected with people, we started a conversation and I hope we can keep that conversation going.”

The debate was scheduled after Al-Darsani saw one of Pastor Reza Safa’s programs on WRXY, a Christian TV station, and approached station manager Paul Lodato to ask for equal time.

Al-Darsani is the founder and imam of the Islamic Center for Peace in Fort Myers.

He regularly organizes interfaith programs at the center and with Christian churches and Jewish temples in this region.

A number of people who attended the debate appreciated the tenor of the debate and termed it educative.

Muslim savior is up for Liberty Medal

New York-A Muslim student who ran to aid of a group of Jewish subway riders has now been nominated for a Liberty Medal.

Last December, Walter Adler and his friends were attacked in a New York subway just for saying happy Hanukkah. Hearing the greeting a group of young thugs attacked Adler and three of his friends as others just watched. At this time Hassan Askari jumped to the aid of the victims.

He was also beaten up by the thugs and wound up with two black eyes.

Askari has now been nominated for a Liberty Courage Medal by both Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, and, separately, by Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-NY). Askari has been hailed as a hero and was invited to President Bush’s State of the Union address last year.

Lecture series about Muslims in Delaware

The public is invited to attend “Let’s Talk About It,” a lecture series sponsored by New Castle County that kicks off  this week at the Woodlawn Library. The series will focus on being Muslim in Delaware and will feature speakers from the diverse, local Muslim community.

County officials said the goal of the series is to dispel stereotypes, heighten awareness and open a dialogue between Muslims and non-Muslims.

“This is a great opportunity to discuss different perspectives and to ask questions about varied experiences to ideally result in a better understanding of each other’s backgrounds,” County Executive Chris Coons said. The county is sponsoring several lectures and book discussions on the topic over the next two months. The first  event will feature Adly Gorrafa, a native of Egypt and retired DuPont Co. engineer, who will discuss “The Basics of Islam.” For a complete listing of the programs, go to www.nccde.org and click on the link to “community services” on the left side of the screen.

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