Oral History Interview with Imam Abdullah Bey El-Amin on July 25, 2020

Oral history interview with Imam Abdullah Bey El-Amin conducted by Samayyah Cook on July 25, 2020. Interview written by Dr. Alisa Perkins (Research Director) and Samayyah Cook. Imam Abdullah Bey El-Amin was born in Little Rock, Arkansas on October 31, 1944. When Imam El-Amin was a child, he arrived in Detroit via train with his family as part of the Great Migration. Imam El-Amin was raised in Detroit as a Christian. He converted to Islam in 1976 and joined the Masjid Wali Muhammad community under the leadership of Imam Warith Deen Mohammed. Imam El-Amin has played multiple leadership roles in Detroit in both political and religious arenas. Between 1994 and 2001, he served as Neighborhood City Hall Manager under Mayor Dennis Archer, working on community connections and development. In 2009, Imam El-Amin ran for City Council, and his campaign successfully raised the visibility of the Muslim community in Detroit. Along with his late wife, Dr. Cheryl El-Amin, he is one of the Muslim Center Mosque and Community Center founders. Imam El-Amin forged relationships with leaders of different faiths across Detroit both as a longtime imam of the Muslim Center and as the first director of the Council of Islamic Associations of Michigan, now known as the Michigan Muslim Community Council. In the interview, Imam El-Amin discusses how he has contributed to building the Muslim Center from the ground up. He reflects on how he and other pioneers founded the Muslim Center to cultivate interfaith and intra-faith relationships and encourage mosque-based community outreach and activism. Now, as Imam Emeritus of the Muslim Center, Imam El-Amin explores the importance of continuing to develop the Muslim Center into an attractive space for individuals across the generations through expanding youth programming, sports and recreation, and the Jazz Cafe.https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/dream-storytelling-interviews/1017/thumbnail.jp