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PERSPECTIVES:
Resignation of W.D. Mohammed
September 5, 2003 Episode no. 701
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BOB ABERNETHY, anchor: We want to talk about the implications of Mohammed's resignation with Geneive Abdo, religion reporter for the CHICAGO TRIBUNE.
Geneive, welcome. You talked with W. D. Mohammed shortly after his announcement. Why did he step down?
GENEIVE ABDO (Religion Reporter, CHICAGO TRIBUNE): He told me he stepped down because he was very frustrated. When he took over the movement in 1975, at that time, he was committed to trying to teach the imams or the preachers to adopt the traditions of Sunni Islam. For example, he wanted people to fast during the Islamic month of Ramadan. And he also wanted people to pray five times a day. These are just some of the traditions of Sunni Islam. But he told me that 80 percent of the imams, the preachers -- that they have never really followed his mission. And so, he said that he was resigning because he had basically given up.
ABERNETHY: So what are people saying now about the likely consequences of this?
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Ms. ABDO: It's a bit difficult to say. There are a lot of opinions about where the movement is headed in the near future. There is certainly a power struggle between the followers of Imam Mohammed and also these defiant imams. So there's a power struggle -- it's a bit difficult to know who is going to win out. There is also a big question over what happens to the young people in the organization. And, out of about an estimated 1.2 million followers, I'm told about 30 percent of those followers are young people. So the question is, are they going to remain in the organization? Will they try to join Sunni Islamic movements, of which there are many in the United States? Or will some of them even join the Nation of Islam, which of course is Louis Farrakhan's movement, that is considered to be a longtime rival of Imam Mohammed?
ABERNETHY: And the Nation of Islam has paid a lot of attention to the everyday problems of African Americans. Is there a likelihood now that the followers of Mohammed will become more political?
Ms. ABDO: It's possible, particularly the young people in the organization. And I'm told that about out of 1.2 million followers, about 30 percent of those are young people. Young people, of course, are concerned about social issues, such as drug abuse and violence in neighborhoods across the country.
ABERNETHY: Many thanks to Geneive Abdo, of the CHICAGO TRIBUNE.
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