COMMA Network

Networking Ministries to Muslims in North America

  • HOME
  • Calendar of Events
  • CONTACT US
  • LINKS
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • History of COMMA
    • COMMA Local Groups
  • Resources
    • Ministry Resources
      • Books
        • Muslim Evangelism
        • Testimonies
      • Jesus Film Project: Free Tools for Evangelism
      • Bibles
      • World Relief Resources
      • Tracts
      • Discipleship Resources
      • Recursos en Espanol
      • Farsi Language Resources
      • Prayer
    • Online Resources
      • Apps
      • Booklets
      • COMMA Network YouTube
      • Other Online Resources
    • Muslim Ministry DVDs
    • Training Centers / Programs
  • Approaches
    • Overcoming Fear of Muslims
    • Building Friendships with Muslims
    • Equip Your Church to Reach Muslims
    • 7 Approaches to Muslims
    • Types of Muslims in the Modern World: The Many Voices of Islam
    • Testimonies
    • Islam in North America
    • Campus Ministry
    • Ministry of Hospitality
    • Muslim Women
    • Keys to the Iranian Heart
    • African American Muslims
    • Does Goodness Live In You?
  • Editorials
  • Articles
  • Members

How the Nation of Islam and Louis Farrakhan came to be at the center of a D.C. political flap

May 16, 2018 By COMMA Network

By Michelle Boorstein

Chris Hawthorne was 16 in the spring of 1989 when the Nation of Islam brought hip-hop giant Public Enemy to the banks of the Anacostia River. Crack, AIDS and murder were running roughshod on the District, particularly in Ward 8, where Hawthorne was growing up. But if the Nation guys — clean-shaven, in suits, out in force — were at the park for the concert they helped organize, Hawthorne knew, they would be very visible and things would be under control.

“If there was a situation where guys got out of hand, the Nation of Islam would step in to restore order, and walk up and down the streets if fights or bullets were flying,” Hawthorne said. “The Nation of Islam was very vital in our neighborhood.”

To Hawthorne and others who lived through that period, he says, the Nation’s role in boosting black pride and neighborhood security — including patrolling crime-plagued public housing — is a powerful cultural touchstone. But as with so much of African American life in a newly gentrified Washington, the Nation’s role in Ward 8 is a shadow of what it once was.

“They just aren’t as visible as in the ’80s and ’90s,” said Hawthorne, a 43-year-old wastewater worker and Advisory Neighborhood Commission representative. Young people “just aren’t catching on to the Nation of Islam.”

Gone, Ward 8 residents and members say, is the Muslim offshoot movement’s large recognizable force of members in suits and ties, replaced with what they described as the low-profile, helpful efforts of scattered individuals.

But despite this diminished presence, mention of the Nation of Islam can still stir powerful emotions among some black residents, especially those with memories of its heyday

Click here to read the rest of the article

Filed Under: American Islam, Nation of Islam, Politics Tagged With: DC, Farrakhan, Politics, Washington Post

Search

About Us

  • What is COMMA
    • COMMA Local Groups
  • History of COMMA
  • Contact Us

Resources

  • Books
  • Testimonial Books
  • Evangelism Books
  • Booklets
  • Tracts
  • Recursos en Espanol
  • Jesus Film Project: Free Tools for Evangelism
  • Muslim Ministry DVDs
  • Farsi Language Resources
  • Bibles
  • Prayer
  • World Relief Resources
  • Other Online Resources
  • Training Centers / Programs
  • Lausanne Recommendations
  • COMMA Network YouTube

COMMA

COMMA is a coalition of Christian agencies that network together to reach and disciple Muslims in North America.

COMMA exists to

  • Network
  • Equip
  • Teach

Recent posts

  • Turkey to deport American Islamic State detainee after Greece slams door
  • American-Born Woman Who Joined ISIS Is Not a Citizen, Judge Rules
  • Mary vs. Aminah: Why Did Allah So Honor Mary, the Mother of Jesus? Tawhid Dilemma Ep. 9

Resources

  • Books
  • Testimonial Books
  • Evangelism Books
  • Booklets
  • Tracts
  • Recursos en Espanol
  • Jesus Film Project: Free Tools for Evangelism
  • Muslim Ministry DVDs
  • Farsi Language Resources
  • Bibles
  • Prayer
  • World Relief Resources
  • Other Online Resources
  • Training Centers / Programs
  • Lausanne Recommendations
  • COMMA Network YouTube

Approaches to Muslims

  • Campus Ministry
  • 7 Approaches to Muslims
  • Keys to the Iranian Heart
  • Ministry of Hospitality
  • Muslim Women
  • Sharing Christ with African American Muslims

Categories

  • Ahmadiya Islam
  • American Islam
  • Apologetics
  • Asylum
  • Believer from a Muslim Background
  • Book Reviews
  • Burka
  • Community
  • Converts
  • Culture
  • Demographics
  • Diaspora
  • Discipleship
  • Donation
  • Dreams
  • Europe
  • Evangelism
  • Family
  • Fasting
  • Folk Islam
  • Hajj
  • Hijab
  • History
  • Holidays
  • Hospitality
  • Immigrant
  • Immigration
  • Insider Movement
  • Interfaith Dialogue
  • Iran
  • Islam
  • Islamic Reform
  • Islamophobia
  • Jesus
  • Latino Islam
  • Marriage
  • Mecca
  • Mosque
  • Muhammad
  • Nation of Islam
  • Persecuted Church
  • Politics
  • Prayer
  • Qibla
  • Qur'an
  • Radical Islam
  • Ramadan
  • Refugees
  • Scholarship
  • Scripture
  • Second Generation
  • Sects
  • Shari'a
  • Shiite
  • Slavery
  • Social Media
  • Terrorism
  • Testimony
  • Theology
  • Uncategorized
  • Women