Logo for InfluenceWatch InfluenceWatch

Donate
Person

Luqman Ameen Abdullah

Occupation:

Imam, Masjid Al-Haqq
Death:

2009

Contact InfluenceWatch with suggested edits or tips for additional profiles.

Luqman Ameen Abdullah was a Michigan-based Muslim imam who preached at the Masjid Al-Haqq Mosque until his death in 2009. Abdullah was a radical preacher and member of Al-Ummah, an Islamic movement influenced by American Black nationalism. 1 2

A criminal complaint against Abdullah asserted that Al-Ummah is a fundamentalist group that has a goal of creating an independent Islamic state within U.S. borders. 1 Abdullah argued in favor of a violent revolution of Black Muslims against the United States government and gave his congregants weapons training and encouraged them to take violent action. 1 3

Abdullah was shot and killed during a raid by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) during an attempted arrest at his compound in Dearborn, Michigan. 4 Several Muslim groups called for an investigation into the shooting. A U.S. Department of Justice investigation concluded that there was no federal civil-rights violation, and state and local investigations found that the shooting was justified. 5 6

Connections to Al-Ummah

Masjid Al-Haqq is a Sunni Muslim mosque in Detroit, Michigan, where Luqman Ameen Abdullah lived and was head imam until his death in 2009. The mosque was founded in 1983. 7 Masjid Al-Haqq offers the typical prayer and religious services of a mosque, including daily prayers and formal jumaa, the traditional Muslim prayer service held on Fridays. 7

Masjid Al-Haqq has alleged ties to the Al-Ummah group, an Islamic Black nationalist movement in the United States. 1 2 A criminal complaint against Abdullah asserted that al-Ummah is a fundamentalist group and with the goal of creating an independent Islamic state within U.S. borders. 1 The leader of Al-Ummah, H. Rap Brown, now known as Jamil al-Amin after converting to Islam in the 1970s, is serving a life sentence in prison for murdering a police officer. 8 9

Masjid Al-Haqq’s most-notable connection to al-Ummah is through Luqman Ameen Abdullah. Under Luqman Ameen Abdullah’s leadership, the mosque was the site of weapons and combat training for radical Muslims training for jihad. 1 3

Radicalism and Support for Violence

Luqman Ameen Abdullah was a convert to Islam and an orthodox Sunni, one of many African Americans who converted to Islam during and following the Black Power movements in the 1960s. 6 Abdullah preached repeatedly against the United States government and encouraged violence against law enforcement. Abdullah also expressed support for the violent overthrow of the United States government to achieve an Islamist society within America. 1

In August 2008, Abdullah told his followers that the U.S. government needed to be “take[n] out,” that revolution was necessary, and that there was no such thing as a non-violent revolution. 3 The FBI alleged Abdullah talked about how he would not let police capture him or take his guns. 6 The FBI also alleged that Abdullah had been laundering money, stealing property, and encouraging his congregants to steal. 10

The FBI began a four-year probe into Abdullah and his followers after a former member of the Masjid Al-Haqq mosque had shot two Detroit police officers in 2006. 6 When he and his followers were evicted from the Masjid Al-Haqq mosque for nonpayment of property taxes in January 2009, authorities recovered an assortment of weapons from the property and a shooting range. 1

Abdullah Shooting Controversy

In October 2009, Luqman Ameen Abdullah was killed by FBI agents in Dearborn, Michigan, while he was sought for arrest on suspicion of financial and other crimes. 4 His associates were arrested shortly thereafter, including three who fled across the U.S.-Canada border. They faced charges of conspiracy to receive and sell goods that the defendants believed were stolen from interstate shipments, conspiracy to commit mail fraud through an insurance scam involving arson, providing firearms to a known convicted felon, and tampering with motor-vehicle identification numbers pursuant to the theft of a vehicle. 1 11

When Abdullah was killed, multiple Muslim organizations came to his defense and called for an investigation into government actions. The Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA) denied that Abdullah was capable of resisting arrest, breaking the law, or calling for jihad against the American government. 12

The NAACP, citing the medical examiner’s comments on the number of shots fired, also called for a U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation. 4 Some of Abdullah’s supporters called his death a cover-up by federal law enforcement. 13

The Civil Rights Division of the DOJ investigated the shooting and the FBI’s actions leading up to it. It concluded that no civil-rights violation occurred. 5 The Michigan Attorney General’s office and the Dearborn Police conducted similar investigations and concluded that the shooting was justified. 6

References

  1. Gartenstein-Ross, Daveed. “The Shooting of Luqman Abdullah.” Foundation for Defense of Democracies. November 18, 2009. Accessed November 17, 2024. https://www.fdd.org/analysis/2009/11/18/the-shooting-of-luqman-abdullah/
  2. Washington, Jesse. “Blacks drawn to Islam despite FBI raids.” Pocono Record. October 31, 2009. Accessed November 17, 2024. https://www.poconorecord.com/story/lifestyle/2009/10/31/blacks-drawn-to-islam-despite/51817184007/
  3. USA v. Luqman Ameen Abdullah, et al., 2:09-MJ-30436, “Criminal Complaint,” (D. Mich. October 27, 2009). Accessed November 17, 2024. https://www.investigativeproject.org/mosques/396/masjid-al-haqq
  4.  “NAACP Supports the Investigation into the Shooting Death of Imam Luqman Ameen Abdullah.” NAACP. 2010. Accessed November 17, 2024. https://naacp.org/resources/naacp-supports-investigation-shooting-death-imam-luqman-ameen-abdullah
  5. “Justice Department Concludes No Federal Criminal Violation in the Death of Imam Abdullah in Dearborn.” U.S. Department of Justice Office of Public Affairs. October 13, 2010. Accessed November 17, 2024. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-concludes-no-federal-criminal-violation-death-imam-abdullah-dearborn
  6. Warikoo, Niraj. “FBI’s killing of Detroit Muslim leader 10 years ago haunts communities.” Detroit Free Press. October 29, 2019. Accessed November 17, 2024. https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2019/10/28/ten-years-fbi-imam-luqman-abdullah-death-dearborn/2451750001/
  7. “Masjid Al-Haqq.” Salatomatic. Accessed November 17, 2024. https://www.salatomatic.com/spc/Detroit/Masjid-Al-Haqq/CJOmjCfUup
  8. “Death Penalty Sought for Al-Amin.” Washington Post. March 11, 2002. Accessed November 17, 2024. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2002/03/12/death-penalty-sought-for-al-amin/fb20aa5c-12cb-461d-8f75-fb4cc318df11/
  9. Brown, Rembert. “The Many Lives of H. Rap Brown.” Time. November 1, 2021. Accessed November 17, 2024. https://time.com/6111614/h-rap-brown-jamil-al-amin/
  10.  “Home-grown terrorists or ‘bunch of thugs’? FBI investigating Michigan Islamic group’s real motives.” NY Daily News. January 11, 2019. Accessed November 17, 2024. https://www.nydailynews.com/2009/10/30/home-grown-terrorists-or-bunch-of-thugs-fbi-investigating-michigan-islamic-groups-real-motives/
  11. “Eleven Members/Associates of Ummah Charged with Federal Violations.” FBI, April 28, 2011. Accessed November 17, 2024. https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/detroit/press-releases/2009/de102809.htm.
  12. Muslim Alliance in North America. “The FBI Raid and Shooting Death of Imam Luqman.” Monthly Review Online, October 29, 2009. https://mronline.org/2009/10/29/the-fbi-raid-and-shooting-death-of-imam-luqman/.
  13. Hussain, Murtaza. “KILLING OF DETROIT IMAM IN 2009 DESCRIBED AS ‘NOTHING LESS THAN A COVER-UP.’” The Intercept. August 9, 2015. Accessed November 17, 2024. https://theintercept.com/2015/08/09/family-detroit-imam-killed-police-files-lawsuit-supreme-court/
  See an error? Let us know!