Amir Abdul-Malik Ali
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Amir Abdul-Malik Ali is an African-American convert to Islam and well known Islamic activist in the United States. He is the Imam of the Masjid Al Islam mosque in Oakland, California and a graduate of San Francisco State University. Since the early 1990s he has been a frequent guest lecturer at several Muslim Student Association events and Islamic conferences. He is also a leading member of Imam Abdul Alim Musa's As-Sabiqun movement, which has bases throughout the US.
Muslim Students' Associations at numerous campuses in California have invited Abdul-Malik Ali to lecture on a variety of Islamic topics, black history and Malcolm X. Among his observations, at a UC Berkeley MSA conference in 1999 he is quoted as saying: "Do not stand with a person if they are wrong just because they are the same race as you. Stand with them because they are right."[1]
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[edit] Controversy
Despite a wide following and support, Abdul-Malik has often been accused of encouraging anti-Semitism and anti-Americanism in his speeches. Maybe it's because he has called for the US to be fought "with whatever means necessary". However, he denies these accusations and insists that his unfavorable critique is directed at supporters of Zionism and the US government, not Jewish or American people in general. He is also a fervent critic of the Saudi royal family and Saudi sponsored Islamic clerics, whom he has termed "scholars for dollars". In speeches he has publicly voiced support for many controversial groups, including Hamas, Hizbullah, Islamic Jihad, and the Muslim Brotherhood. However, he denounced the September 11 attacks as un-Islamic, and instead suggested that it was a conspiracy developed by the US and Israeli governments to manufacture consent for the US led invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq as part of a global war against Islam.[2]
[edit] Activities at Masjid Al-Islam
Although his lectures across the country receive the most attention, Abdul-Malik devotes the majority of his time to assisting the social and spiritual needs of the Muslim community in East Oakland's Masjid Al-Islam. In line with other African-American Muslims, such as Malcolm X, Siraj Wahaj, and W.D. Muhammad, Amir Abdul-Malik Ali views Islam as the solution for the problems that have plagued the inner cities of America for decades. In addition to directing daily programs on classical Islamic studies such as fiqh, seerah, hadith and Quran for adults, he is also a teacher and Dean of the Masjid Al-Islam elementary school, which is located a block down the street from the mosque. In this capacity, he directs academic curriculum for the student body - which is in line with and oftentimes more advanced than the curriculum provided at California public schools. After completing their studies at the Masjid Al-Islam school, graduates are encouraged to attend Castlemont Public High School (which is also down the street from the mosque), a policy which has been followed by Abdul-Malik's two sons Muhammad and Shaheed.
The Masjid Al-Islam community is unique in not only the San Francisco Bay Area, but the US in general, by having a racially and ideologically diverse congregation. While the group is primarily African-American, there are also large numbers of Arabs, Afghans, Indo-Pakistani's, Bosnians, Latinos, white-Americans, and Fijians. Additionally, Sunnis, Shias and Sufi's are regular attendees. This has contributed to a unique global perspective and dialogue which has in turn influenced the surrounding non-Muslim community. As the Imam, Abdul-Malik is largely responsible for nurturing the mosque's accommodating environment. This has confounded attempts to classify the community based on racial or sectarian divides.
[edit] Notes
Prose contains specific citations in source text which may be viewed in edit mode.
- ^ A Guide to the Political Left, Disoverthenetwork.org
- ^ During a MSU at the UC Irvine event in May 2004 labeled Tragedy in the Holy Land: 56 Years of Terrorism he is quoted as saying that, "the Israelis knew about and were 'in-control' of 9-11" and that it "was staged to give an excuse to wage war against Muslims around the world."
