Black Muslim Chicago/Hyde Park

Submitted by Brenda Rossini (United States), Jan 24, 2014 at 07:56

Back in the early 70s, I worked on a Muhammad Ali publicity. I met Herbert Muhammad, a son of Elijah, and a group of those unsavory "religious" sorts. They lived in the mosque-like mansions built in the 4000 south area of Hyde Park (about a 1/2 mile from where the Robinsons and Michelle lived, on Cornell).

Though this Black Muslim movement had some nascent converts, they didn't have to learn Arabic. They were unaware of the truly hateful sentiment towards blacks that the Muslims and the Koran espoused. They fell easily into the hate-the-Jews trap, and directed it towards the immigrant/refugee Jewish shopkeepers who worked in the poorer black neighborhoods. In the late 60s, I remember being on the bus for South Shore with the late Barney Tasemkin, and how a group of young hoods harassed us without fear of retribution on that bus.

That Hyde Park/Black Muslim area is where Louis Farrakhan settled. He used to be a trumpet player on Rush St., with an ordinary name, and had been a client at our law office. He now lives in a large mosque/house in that area, which had an Arab architect, situated about a 1/2 block from the large mosque that was erected there, and about 2 blocks from the Obama mansion.

He must have become a millionaire as a Chicago imam, because he sure didn't earn it as a trumpet player.

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