- Jamaica, NY
January 2008
Advocacy letters.
Notes: When telling her conversion story, Umi explains that she took her shahadah with “Imam Rasul ...one of El-Hajj Malik's (Malcolm X) right hand men, aka Robert 35X, aka Karate Bob” at Green Haven Correctional Facility. Imam Rasul was incarcerated and he was the imam at the Sankore masjid in the prison, and Umi was friend's with his wife, Hagar. Hagar, who had taken Islamic Studies classes with Dr. Betty Shabazz at 72nd Street, had become Muslim in 1969; one day before her son, Shui'ab Abdur-Raheem, took his shahadah. Like many in her generation, Br. Shu'aib grew in his Black consciousness and was drawn to Islam through Malcolm X and he was active in the movements of the time, like the Black Panther Party, of which he was a member. He also served in the Air Force, where he served as president of a Black soldiers' group at his base.
Before and after becoming a Sunni Muslim, he experienced violent aggression from members of the Nation of Islam. Accordingly, in 1973, when two women and five children were murdered in the home of Hamaas Abdul Khaalis, an open critic of the NOI, Br. Shu'aib believed more attacks were coming and other Sunni Muslim communities needed to be armed to protect themselves. Subsequently, he and three other brothers attempted to rob a sporting goods store for guns and ammunition. Referred to as the “Williamsburg 4,” these brothers were not members of the Black Liberation Army (BLA), however against the backdrop of the expropriations and armed struggle of the BLA at the time, their attempt was viewed through that lens. As a result, rather than de-escalate the situation, which Br. Shu'aib attempted himself through an early surrender, an inept law enforcement response escalated the situation; which led to the death of a police officer, an unfair trial, and a sentence of 25 years to life. Umi would visit Br. Shuaib while he was incarcerated (and I've learned, bring me along) and she advocated for his release. Br. Shu'aib was released in 2010.