Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center Durham, NC Prepared by Karen G. Berthiaume

Profile Driving down West Chapel Hill Street adjacent to the Durham Coop near Duke University's West Campus in Durham, North Carolina, chances are you will not notice Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center tucked into a small store-front building. Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center is not what one would typically think of as a traditional mosque. There is no large, peaceful courtyard with a tank for ritual cleansing and space for quiet contemplation of God. Nor do towering minarets reach toward heaven to call the faithful to prayer. Despite its modest appearance, Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center is a place of worship for a dedicated and faithful community of African-American Muslims who are united in their faith in Islam and social integrity. Imam Said Abdul-Salaam leads the Muslims of Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center. The Muslim American Society is well established throughout North Carolina. Mosques and Islamic Centers can be found in northern, southern, eastern, and western North Carolina. In addition to Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center, there are two other Muslim American Society-affiliated places of worship in the Research Triangle area. There is the Islamic Center of Durham and As-Seif Ud-Din in Raleigh. In Fayetteville, Masjid Ibn Omar Said is nearing completion. Imam Abdul-Hafeez Waheed of Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center, explained that this is a genuine masjid that has been "built from the ground up." The history of the African-American Muslim community in the Research Triangle region of North Carolina is rich and relatively unknown. The Triangle region is the metropolitan area incorporating the capitol city of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill in central North Carolina. The Triangle is dominated by the Research Triangle Park, which has been a center for white-collar employment and migration for the past several decades. In this area, which was formerly almost exclusively Protestant, an influx of people from other parts of the United States and from many countries, including Mexico, El Salvador, Guatemala, Pakistan, India, Thailand, Korea, China, and Cambodia have brought new languages, religions, and cultures to the Triangle region. While there has been considerable reworking of the religious and cultural fabric in the Triangle area, the African-American Muslim community has had an important local presence throughout. By-and-large, the African-American Muslim community is comprised of local people who converted to Islam and established a center for worship in the early 1970s. Sometime between 1972 and 1974, the small storefront property in Durham, near Duke University's West Campus, was purchased by the Nation of Islam. The Minister Kenneth (Murray) Mohammed led the Nation of Islam in Durham, and he is considered "one of the outstanding pioneers in the community." While the masjid was affiliated with the Nation of Islam, it was known as Mosque #34, as it was the site of the thirty-fourth Nation of Islam masjid. In its previous incarnation, the site housed a ballroom. On February 25, 1975 Elijah Mohammed, the founder of the Nation of Islam died. Elijah Mohammed's son, Imam Wallace D. Mohammed was selected by several nationally known leaders of the Nation of Islam to lead the adherents throughout all of North America. As a boy and young man, Imam W. D. Mohammed studied the Qur`an and Arabic. As Imam W. D. Mohammed learned more about Islam, there were many beliefs that the Nation of Islam espoused that were troubling to him. Imam W. D. Mohammed was troubled by the philosophy propagated by the Nation of Islam that white people were "blue-eyed devils" who must be avoided at all costs. This belief runs contrary to the Islamic philosophy that all humans are equal before God. Imam W. D. Mohammed gradually corrected other ideas and did away with other troubling practices. Imam W. D. Mohammed instituted the five daily prayers (salat), the Jumu`ah prayer service, and fasting during the month of Ramadan. Closer observance of the writings in the Qur`an were also instituted. As Imam W. D. Mohammed advocated a closer following of the tenets of Islam, the African-American Muslims at this Durham mosque took Imam W. D. Mohammed's message of tolerance to heart. According to Imam Waheed, "This community's history goes back some sixty-six years, it goes back to 1930. Any time we have the chance, or we are given the opportunity, the privilege to share that history with people, and in the process we help them make them to make clear our image, the picture of Islam. Because we, as an association, as a community, during the time of the Nation of Islam, we did not willingly or knowingly hurt the image of Islam, but with some of our presentation, our thoughts and beliefs during the Nation of Islam, it painted a certain picture of Muslims in America which is not the accurate picture, so we feel that, one, it is our responsibility as Muslims to share the clear picture of our religion. I guess we may feel more of a sense of responsibility because we have evolved from a situation where we may have done some things to taint the image of Islam and, on the other hand, we did some things to expose Islam to the American public in a good way. As the Qur`an tells us, we have to stand up for truth and justice even if it is against our own selves. We have to enjoin what is right and forbid, hold back, what is wrong. We know that many Americans have become more aware of Islam because of our history in this country, however, we also recognize, too, that we have to be the first to say that there were some ideas of the Nation of Islam that were erroneous. They weren't religious ideas, they weren't consistent with Al-Islam, and we have to be willing to say that those ideas were wrong and we have to say what the right image of Islam looks like." (1) During this period of change, Mosque #34 made the transition to Imam W. D. Mohammed's leadership quite smoothly. Though the transition in leadership and philosophy was difficult for some individuals in the Durham community, most appreciated the changes that Imam W. D. Mohammed was initiating. In 1975, Imam W. D. Mohammed gradually began to evolve the Nation of Islam to the World Community of Al-Islam in the West. Led by Imam W. D. Mohammed, this transformation embodied the beliefs of Al-Islam. At this time, the masjid in Durham changed its name to Masjid Mohammed. The Durham masjid later was changed to Masjid Ar-Razzaq, and more recently to Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center. Imam W. D. Mohammed encouraged the Durham community to change the name of its place of worship to an Islamic Center to reflect its history. As Imam Abdul-Hafeez Waheed explains, "We were encouraged to look at the history of Islam by our leader Imam W. D. Mohammed. He encouraged us, and when we look at the history of Islam, really to be a masjid, the Arabic term, it really should be built from the ground up. And this was not built from the ground up, so we thought that it would be best to call it an Islamic CenterŠ You don't want to take a former ballroom and then say that this is actually a mosque or masjid. It should be built from the ground up. There is a saying that our Prophet Mohammed said that God says, 'If you build a masjid for me in this life, I will build you one in Paradise.' So even from the spirit of that we should have the desire to build the masjid from the ground up." (2) Because "the nature of the human being is to be attracted to excellence", the members of Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center have been active participants in the Durham community. The Center has built very strong relationships with civic leaders, government officials, businesses and with other faiths. The members of Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center take their leader Imam W. D. Mohammed's call to correct the image of Islam in America and to "enjoin what is right." Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center emphasizes the role of education in individual life. Much has been done in the community to educate people about Islam. One particular emphasis is to educate individuals (whether Muslim or not) about the "demands of the religion on behavior, [and how] it exemplifies character and performance" in every day life. When the human being is "attracted to excellence" "life will be beautiful." (3) Currently, there are approximately seventy-five regular members of Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center, who formally associate themselves with the Muslim American Society. Of these seventy-five worshippers, twenty to twenty-five are children and teenagers. Several college students also attend worship at Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center. The Strongend School meets on Sundays to provide Islamic education for children ages five through teens. Recently students went on a trip to the beach near Wilmington, NC, which was organized by Ar-Razzaq Islamic center. While there are no established social activities for members of Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center, there is growing interest by members to develop the community as a social body. Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center spreads its message to Muslims and non-Muslims in the Triangle area through two television shows which are televised on the local community television stations. On Tuesday evenings Al-Islam in Focus is aired and on Wednesdays at 7:30 p.m. Muslim Journal airs. Imam Abdul-Hafeez Waheed, former Imam of Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center and currently the Convenor for the entire body of Muslim American Society Imams in the State of North Carolina, is thinking of producing his own show "which will examine events in the community from an Islamic perspective." (4) Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center has recently become involved in the Collective Purchasing Conference of which Imam W. D. Mohammed is the CEO and President. The Collective Purchasing Conference was established to enable the Muslim community to pool its money to buy "clothing at bulk discounts from factories in Syria and Bangladesh and then making them available for resale within the Muslim community." (5) Imam Waheed explains that these "buyer's collectives" will provide "economic dignity" for members of the Muslim community. Imam Waheed aptly states that there is nothing dignified about one spending all of his or her money on clothing for worship and not having any left over to pay the rent. (6) The Collective Purchasing Conference is a vivid example of the Islamic injunction for Muslims to take care of the less fortunate in society. The history of Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center is a genuine example of American religion. Imam Waheed is correct when he says that African-American Islam has had a "tremendous historyŠ and it's a miraculous evolution that has taken place in this predominantly African-American association (Muslim American Society)." (7) As the social fabric of the United States has changed during the twentieth century, this small African-American Muslim community has adapted and thrived. Interview with Imam Abdul-Hafeez Waheed, former Imam of Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center, July 22, 1999.   Back Interview with Imam Abdul-Hafeez Waheed, former Imam of Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center, July 22, 1999.   Back Interview with Imam Abdul-Hafeez Waheed, former Imam of Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center, July 22, 1999.   Back Interview with Imam Abdul-Hafeez Waheed, former Imam of Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center, July 22, 1999.   Back Lisa Miller, "Son of Elijah Muhammed Preaches Gentler Islam in Tune With the Times" Wall Street Journal, July 9, 1999. Interview with Imam Abdul-Hafeez Waheed, former Imam of Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center, July 22, 1999. Interview with Imam Abdul-Hafeez Waheed, former Imam of Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center, July 22, 1999. Back to the Ackland Art Museum Project Affiliate page