NEWARK, N.J. (RNS) — As Newark Mayor Ras Baraka accepted an award from the Muslim-American Ministry for Human Salvation on Sunday (Oct. 26), he praised how the Nation of Islam, a Black nationalist Islamic movement from which MAMHS was derived, left a mark on the city.
“It is without question that Newark is a Muslim town,” Baraka said. “We still feel and understand the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and W. (Warith) Deen Muhammad at the same time.” Elijah Muhammad was an early leader of the NOI and Warith Muhammad, his son, also served as a leader.
Nearly 100 supporters attended the ceremony at Newark’s Central High School, part of MAMHS’ fifth annual Muslim-American Day of Leadership. Above all, attendees came to hear from Imam Earl Abdulmalik Mohammed, who founded MAMHS in 2019 and considers himself Warith Muhammad’s successor.
The WDM Faith & Just Society Humanitarian Award, named after Warith Muhammad, was given to Baraka in recognition of his decades-long engagement in Newark. In May, the third-term Democratic mayor made headlines after being arrested for trying to visit Delaney Hall, the East Coast’s largest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility.
The presentation also commemorated the 50th anniversary of Warith Muhammad’s appointment as NOI leader in 1975, a position he held until he died in 2008.
For MAMHS, which has distanced itself from the NOI’s controversial Black supremacist discourse, hosting the event …