1977 Hanafi Muslim Siege

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The 1977 Hanafi Muslim Siege refers to an incident that occurred March 9-11, 1977, in which three buildings in Washington, D.C. were seized by 12 African-American gunmen. They were held responsible for taking 149 hostages and the death of two people. After a 39 hour standoff all hostages are released from the District Building (city hall) – now called the John A. Wilson Building, B'nai B'rith headquarters, and the Islamic Center.

One of those killed was 24-year-old Maurice Williams, a young radio reporter from WHUR-FM, who stepped off a fifth floor elevator into the crisis. (The fifth floor is where the Mayor and City Council President have their offices). The gunmen also shot DC Protective Service Division, Special Police Officer Mack Cantrell, who died a few days later in the hospital of a heart attack. Then-D.C. council member, later mayor, Marion Barry walked into the hallway of the District Building after hearing a commotion and was hit by a ricocheted shotgun pellet just above his heart. He was taken out a window and rushed to a hospital.

The gunmen had several demands. They "wanted the government to hand over a group of men who had been convicted of killing seven relatives – mostly children – of takeover leader Hamaas Abdul Khaalis. They also demanded that the movie Mohammad, Messenger of God be destroyed because they considered it sacrilegious."^[1]

Time magazine noted: "That the toll was not higher was in part a tribute to the primary tactic U.S. law enforcement officials are now using to thwart terrorists—patience. But most of all, perhaps, it was due to the courageous intervention of three Muslim ambassadors, Egypt's Ashraf Ghorbal, Pakistan's Sahabzada Yaqub-Khan and Iran's Ardeshir Zahedi."^[2]

1 Black Muslims - Hanafi disputes
2 The takeovers in Washington
3 The demands
4 Negotiations
5 30 year anniversary
6 Trivia
7 References

[edit] Black Muslims - Hanafi disputes

After internal disputes among the members of the Nation of Islam, Hamaas Khaalis left the sect and began teaching a different set of beliefs in New York, but later moved to Washington, D.C.[1]

In 1973 men who were in Nation of Islam broke into the Washington home of Khaalis and murdered five of Khaalis' children, his nine-day-old grandson and a devoted follower. Five were convicted and given life sentences, but Khaalis swore revenge.

Time wrote: "Born in Indiana as Ernest McGee, Khaalis, 54, was discharged from the Army in World War II on grounds of mental instability. While working as a jazz drummer in New York City, he switched from Roman Catholicism to the Nation of Islam and rose to a trusted position before he broke with the Black Muslims in 1958. In the mid-1960s he formed his own group. In 1968, he was arrested for trying to extort money from a bank, but charges were dismissed after he was found to be mentally disturbed. In 1972 he attacked the Black Muslims in an open letter, an act that is thought to have led to the execution of his family."^[2]

[edit] The takeovers in Washington

At approximately 11am, seven members of Khaalis' group burst into the headquarters of B'nai B'rith, just a few miles south of Khaalis' headquarters, and took over 100 hostages. Less than an hour later, three terrorists entered the Islamic Center, and took eleven hostages. At 2:20pm, two Hanafis entered the District Building, two blocks from the White House. They went to the fifth floor looking for important hostages. When an elevator opened the terrorists thought they were under assault and fired, killing Maurice Williams, and injuring security guard Mack Cantrell. Marion Barry, was struck by a ricochet in the chest, and two others were wounded.

"Throughout the siege Khaalis denounced the Jewish judge who had presided at the trial of his family's killers. 'The Jews control the courts and the press,' he repeatedly charged."^[2]

[edit] The demands

Khaalis and his followers wanted those convicted for the 1973 murders handed over to them, presumably for execution. They also wanted to receive visits from Wallace Muhammad and champion boxer Muhammad Ali, long an active Black Muslim supporter. Khaalis also demanded that he be refunded $750 in legal fees caused by a contempt of court citation due to his misbehavior in the trial of his children's killers. Time noted: "He also wanted the recently released film Mohammad, Messenger of God, to be banned on the grounds that it is sacrilegious. Khaalis' concern over the film was thought to have triggered the attack."^[2]

[edit] Negotiations

A large part of the negotiations were the three Muslim ambassadors, who "read to the gunmen passages from the Koran that they said demonstrated Islam’s compassion and mercy. They urged the gunmen to surrender. These ambassadors relied on their religious faith for compassion and tolerance."^[3]

On the evening of the following day, following a number of phone calls, the three ambassadors, along with a few DC officials, (including police commander Joseph O'Brien, who had investigated the murder of Khaalis' children and was trusted by Khaalis) met with the Hanafis. Finally, Khaalis, and the other involved in the hostage taking at the two sites where no one was killed, were allowed to be charged and then freed on their own recognizance. Nevertheless, they were convicted later and received serious time: Khaalis was sentenced to 21 to 120 years for his role. [2]

[edit] 30 year anniversary

In 2007, the fifth floor press room was named for Maurice Williams.^[4]

[edit] Trivia

Playwright Jonathan Leaf wrote a play, The Caterers, which explored the 1977 Hanafi Muslim takeover of the B’nai B’rith offices in Washington, DC., produced as an off-Broadway production.

The siege is also parenthetically mentioned in Joni Mitchell's song, "Otis And Marlena."

John W. King wrote about the Hanafi siege in his book, The Breeding of Contempt, which chronicles the siege, and his family's entrance as the first African-American family in the Federal Witness Protection Program due to the massacre of the Khaalis family.