Salahuddin Mustafa Muhammad
Encyclopedia
Salahuddin Mustafa Muhammad is an American imam
. He is the imam of the Masjid al-Ikhlas mosque in Newburgh, New York. He is also the Muslim chaplain of Bard College
and has been a chaplain by the New York State Department of Corrections since 1985.
Muhammad holds the B.A. in the social sciences from SUNY New Paltz, and a Masters of Professional Studies degree in theology and counseling from the New York Theological Seminary.
Muhammad told a journalist that he was attracted to Islam as a fatherless 13-year-old growing up in Harlem. He became a student of Clarence 13X
, founder of the Nation of Gods and Earths.
Muhammad is known for his work with prison inmates.
Muhammad drew national attention when four ex-convicts who had been attending his mosque were arrested in the 2009 New York City bomb plot, a plan, stopped by the FBI, to shoot down military planes at an Air National Guard base in Newburgh and blow up two synagogues in the Riverdale neighborhood of New York City. The congregants had discussed the fact that a man who regularly attended the mosque appeared to be recruiting members for violent Jihad
(this man turned out to be the FBI's planted informant.) However, no member of the large congregation made any attempt to report the man they believed to be a jihadi to the authorities. The imam, calling the failure on his part and the part of the congregation to report the suspicious talk of jihad by the man who turned out to be an informant a "mistake", justified the failure to report by saying “But how are we going to report the government agent to the government?” It is established that Muhammad did not know that the man was an informant until after the would-be terrorists were arrested.
Imam
An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
. He is the imam of the Masjid al-Ikhlas mosque in Newburgh, New York. He is also the Muslim chaplain of Bard College
Bard College
Bard College, founded in 1860 as "St. Stephen's College", is a small four-year liberal arts college located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.-Location:...
and has been a chaplain by the New York State Department of Corrections since 1985.
Muhammad holds the B.A. in the social sciences from SUNY New Paltz, and a Masters of Professional Studies degree in theology and counseling from the New York Theological Seminary.
Muhammad told a journalist that he was attracted to Islam as a fatherless 13-year-old growing up in Harlem. He became a student of Clarence 13X
Clarence 13X
Clarence 13X, born Clarence Jowars Smith was the founder of the The Five Percenters and was referred to by members of that group as Allah or the Father.-Biography:...
, founder of the Nation of Gods and Earths.
Muhammad is known for his work with prison inmates.
Muhammad drew national attention when four ex-convicts who had been attending his mosque were arrested in the 2009 New York City bomb plot, a plan, stopped by the FBI, to shoot down military planes at an Air National Guard base in Newburgh and blow up two synagogues in the Riverdale neighborhood of New York City. The congregants had discussed the fact that a man who regularly attended the mosque appeared to be recruiting members for violent Jihad
Jihad
Jihad , an Islamic term, is a religious duty of Muslims. In Arabic, the word jihād translates as a noun meaning "struggle". Jihad appears 41 times in the Quran and frequently in the idiomatic expression "striving in the way of God ". A person engaged in jihad is called a mujahid; the plural is...
(this man turned out to be the FBI's planted informant.) However, no member of the large congregation made any attempt to report the man they believed to be a jihadi to the authorities. The imam, calling the failure on his part and the part of the congregation to report the suspicious talk of jihad by the man who turned out to be an informant a "mistake", justified the failure to report by saying “But how are we going to report the government agent to the government?” It is established that Muhammad did not know that the man was an informant until after the would-be terrorists were arrested.