In “American Caliph” Shahan Mufti pulls out all the stops to tell the extraordinary but largely forgotten tale of a man deranged by grief and ambition
Save time by listening to our audio articles as you multitask“American Caliph” focuses on Hamaas Abdul Khaalis, leader of the Hanafis, a black Muslim group that took its name from an old strand of the faith—and became caught in a vicious rivalry with the Nation of Islam . But that did not placate those Muslims who considered the movie to be sacrilegious. Several prominent figures, including Saudi Arabia’s then crown prince, tried to shut it down.
In a final bid to prevent the screening, Khaalis and his followers seized the three buildings in Washington and demanded that the film be banned in America altogether. Khaalis also requested visits from Elijah Muhammad’s son, who had assumed thenoi . And he wanted the men convicted of murdering his family to be delivered to him, presumably so they could be executed.
Two people in the occupied buildings lost their lives. Marion Barry, later the capital’s mayor, was wounded. Khaalis died in prison in 2003. Mr Mufti artfully weaves wider historical events into his story, such as Malcolm X’s assassination, new laws that facilitated Muslim immigration to America, even the seizure of the Suez canal by Gamal Abdel Nasser, Egypt’s leader. These elements supply the rich context of a saga that builds in tension until the last gripping moments. The reader is left wondering how this extraordinary tale could ever have been so neglected.
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