[The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: 3.18.2000]
Al-Amin, mosque respected for
steps to drive out crime
By John Blake
Atlanta Journal-Constitution Staff Writer
When Barbara Jordan moved into the West End neighborhood years ago, drug
dealers and homeless people sleeping in abandoned houses had taken over her
street.
Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin, once known as H. Rap Brown, dispatched his followers
to talk to the street's unwelcome guests, she said.
"They laid the law down," said Jordan, 64. "They talked to them real earnest
like and cleaned them out."
Al-Amin, a leader of the Black Panther movement in the '60s, transformed the
area, residents said Friday, bringing a sense of community and a feeling of
security to the impoverished neighborhood where he lived.
On Friday, Islamic officials and West End residents credited Al-Amin and the
100 orthodox Muslims he leads at the Atlanta Community Mosque as a
stabilizing force in the area.
The area remains a mixture of trash-filled lots and ranch-style homes, but
West End residents credit Al-Amin and his followers with making the area more
livable.
"They didn't bother anybody and they were well respected," said Wendell
Muhammad, a Nation of Islam spokesman who spent time in the neighborhood.
"People knew they could come in the area and not worry about trouble."
In recent years, Al-Amin was known more for his religious beliefs and efforts
to improve the lives of West End residents then his violent past, a change
dating to his conversion to Islam.
"He did a 180-degree turn on that," Muhammad said. "He was the epitome of the
peace of Islam."
Plemon El-Amin agrees. The leader of the city's largest Islamic community,
the Atlanta Masjid of Al-Islam, Imam Plemon said Al-Amin was well-respected
in the city's Muslim community.
"He's been consistently involved in trying to direct individuals in Islam
into a better lifestyle," he said.
Members of the Atlanta Community Mosque cut a distinctive path through the
West End. Most wear non-Western clothing: veils and scarfs for the women,
long flowing robes and skull caps for the men. But they combine their dress
with '60s black militant gear: combat boots and fatigues.
The mosque runs a school in the neighborhood today and often helps neighbors
get jobs or do errands, residents said. "What happened [Thursday night] was
unfortunate," said West End resident Antoine Grisson, 34. "I've never seen
them act tough or try to act bad."
Members of the mosque, in fact, often provided security for the neighborhood.
When the area lost power after a recent storm , for example, Al-Amin
followers made sure the area was secure.
© 2000 Cox Interactive Media
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