W.D. Mohammed: A Witness for True Islam

I first met Warith Deen at a small Catholic-Muslim gathering and discussion group hosted by the then Cardinal of Baltimore. The Vatican’s top official for inter-religious dialogue was also present. Two memories stand out. At first, as I sat at the discussion table, I couldn’t recognize who W. D. Mohammed was. There was little in the way he carried himself, spoke or acted that signaled that there was a prominent personality at the table. He neither dominated nor pontificated. Second, after the meeting when I was out on the street on my way home, I noticed an incredible entourage of cars with an imposing police escort. I was sure, it was the Vatican’s cardinal being whisked to the airport and accorded the security he warranted. As the entourage passed, there was W. D. Mohammed in the main limo.

Warith Deen Mohammed (then known as Wallace D. Mohammed) became the Supreme Minister of the Nation of Islam upon the death of his father, Elijah Muhammad in February 1975. Soon after the son set out on what would become a substantial reformation of the doctrines and organization of the Nation. He integrated the Nation within the American Muslim community, the broader American society, and the global Islamic community.

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