History of Islam in the Bahamas
_There are over one billion Muslims in the world today. Muslims can be found in all parts of today’s world from the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe to Indonesia, Australia and Malaysia and in the Western Hemisphere of North, South and Central America and the Caribbean Islands. Some of these countries have populations that are 100% Muslim while others have populations of 1% or less of Muslims. The Islands of the Bahamas is one of those places where the population of Muslims is less than 1%. This represents a huge challenge to those Muslims who are mostly converts on the island and are striving into live by the tenets of Islam every single day. Where Muslims are a majority, one can find many masjids and hear the adhan five times a day. In the Bahamas, there is one Masjid which is still in the process of being built to completion and an effort is made to have the adhan called for each salat daily. The Community of Islam in the Bahamas has a history that started in the early 1970’s when a few Bahamian students who had embraced Islam while studying abroad returned home and started to gather together for prayers and studying the tenets of Islam.
Early History
Even though local historical evidence shows that a great many Muslims, many of them quite literate, existed here during the slave period, it is a known fact that due to harshness and rigors of slavery, Islam did not survive during that era. Information about Muslims in the Bahamas during slavery can be found in the Government Public Records Office, Ministry of Educational Culture.
In the booklet, “Aspects of Slavery,” page 15, the record states, “In 1802 Mr. Rose removed his residence to Exuma, and on Christmas Day dedicated ‘the new Church.’ After having officiated so long ‘in old uninhabited houses in Long Island...he felt, in the discharge of his duty under a consecrated house a renovation, as it were, of the clergyman.’ The inhabitants then consisted of 140 whites, 35 ‘free people’ and 1,078 Negro and other Slaves. On his first coming many of the Negroes ‘called themselves the followers of Mahomet,” a name used in medieval Europe for the Prophet Muhammad,” but these, with other blacks, he baptized to the number of 93 adults and 41 infants in less than a year.
On page 25, we see further evidence of a letter written in Arabic from a liberated African living at Carmichael 1831 CO23/84 415-20. The exhibit show a letter addressed to Governor, Sir James Carmichael Smyth, from a liberated African living at Adelaide. It is believed that this man’s name was Abul Keli, an African Prince of the Ibo tribe who had been captured by slave traders as a potential slave. However, he was rescued from this fate by the timely intervention of the Royal Navy who captured the slave ship and brought it to the Bahamas. The letter is believed to be in Arabic and cites passages from the Qur’an, the Muslim Bible. It is interesting to note that this man’s ability to write destroys the myth that all Africans were illiterate.
The renowned historian, Michael Craton, states in his book "A History of the Bahamas," “Taking into account the usual shipping routes; it is probable that most of the Bahamian Negroes came from the more northerly parts of Africa. There were found the brown-skinned Mandingoes, Fulani and Hausa..”[1] It is a historical and sociological fact that the Mandingoes, Fulani and Hausa tribes are predominantly Muslim.
Timbuktu is a name uttered by the tongues of many of our Bahamian old folk from Abaco to Inagua. But it is not known by most Bahamians that Timbuktu is an ancient African city, established around 1,000 A.C. by many of our Bahamian forefathers. It is recorded in encyclopedia Britannica that, “In 1310 the powerful Mandingo king Kankan (Gongo) Musa had a new mosque built and Timbuktu became a center of Muslim learning and culture.”[2]
It is these same Muslim people that gave Christopher Columbus his reason to sail west, for under the dictums of the Holy Qur’an, Muslims always knew that the Earth was round, and that it was possible to travel the globe by sea. Global travel was common talk among Muslims when Europeans thought that the Earth was flat. The Moors from the Timbuktu region ruled Spain from the year 711 A/C/ until 1492. Basil Davidson in his book, "Africa", records that, “Passing through Cairo in the 1324 on his way to Mekka, the great Mansa Musa of Mali had told a dramatic tale of maritime adventure. He said that his predecessor had sent two big expeditions, one of four hundred ships and the other of two thousand, across the ocean, in order to discover what lay on the other side, but only one of those ships and its crew and had ever returned.”[3]
Because of the differences in Islamic background that the various brothers were cultivated in while studying abroad, it was agreed by all that the establishment of an Islamic Community in the Bahamas had to be based on its “pristine purity” i.e. the way it was practiced by the Prophet Muhammad ibn Abdullah (Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him) and his Companions (May Allah be pleased with them).
Roots: Beginning of the Islamic Movement in the Bahamas
In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s a Bahamian who called himself Bashan Saladdin walked around Nassau wearing a long thobe (male garment) and an Arabian head dress. The people used to call him “Allaah” because it was a word that he used a lot when talking to the people. His given name was Charles Cleare. He lived in Fort Fincastle area and had started to convert his house into a mosque. Some of the earlier local Bahamians who embraced the Muslim faith included Zubair Ali (Howard Clarke) who remains a faithful Muslim today and Mustafa Khalil Khalfani 1 (founding member of Jamaat-ul-Islam, the Revolutionary Islaamic Movement of the Bahamas) who became a Muslim here with Bashan Saladdin after attending school in New York. Mustafa Khalil Khalfani 1 is married to a Muslim lady from Senegal.
In July 1974, Dr.Vivian X Russell (founding member of Jamaat-ul-Islam, the Revolutionary Islaamic Movement of the Bahamas) returned home as a Dental Specialist and a member of the Nation of Islam, the organization in the United States, which was headed then by Elijah Muhammad. The plan was to establish a nation of Islam Mosque here in the Bahamas and eventually throughout the Caribbean region.
Mustafa Khalil Khalfani I was a Sunni Muslim who belonged to an organization called the Islamic Party of North America. The two organizations were both claiming to be Muslims but did not share the same akeedah or beliefs. Bashan Saladdin, however, was exposed to both Sunni Islaam and the teachings of Elijah Muhammad and he tried to incorporate both in his practice of Islaam. It was apparent to all of us that the Bahamas was too small to try to establish a religion that was already strange to the majority of the people in such a diverse and often conflicting manner.
Before the Nation of Islam could successfully plant its seeds here in the Bahamas, Elijah Muhammad passed away on February 26, 1975 and his son Wallace D. Muhammad became the leader. His first declaration to his followers was that he would follow the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace & blessings of Allah be upon him) and all who were with him could do the same. He did not expect the change to occur overnight, but his plan was to gradually incorporate the Sunnah (practices of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) into the activities of the Nation of Islam. He gave Dr. Vivian X the name Munir Ahmad.
So the stage was set for us in the Bahamas to move forward to build Islam in the way it should be, which was to establish community of Islam based on Quran & Sunnah in its ‘pristine purity’ i.e the way it was practiced by Prophet Muhammad ibn Abdullah (PBUH) and his companions (May Allah be pleased with them).
It was our quest, from that point forward to seek the ‘pristine pure’ teachings of Islam and to follow those principles and practices to the best of our abilities. We got together to read books on Islam and discuss the contents and try to implement the practices outlined. For example we read a book called ‘Towards Understanding Islam’ by Maulana Maududi which emphasized the importance of performing salaat (prayers 5 times a day) and described how the prayer should be performed . We then started to perform our prayers according to the Sunnah of Prophet Muhamaad (PBUH) led by Mustafa Khalil Khalfani 1, who had learned that way while he was in New York.
In 1977, there was a Muslim Doctor named Ghulam Muazzam from Bangladesh, who came to work as a pathologist at Princess Margaret Hospital and when he found out there were some Muslims here, he offered to help us study the Quran and learn the basic rudiments of the Arabic language. He would read the verses of the Quran in Arabic and then the translation in English for our understanding. We met at his apartment in Cable Beach on Sunday afternoons to carry out this exercise. Then we began to alternate the meetings at the home of Mustafa Khalil Khalfani 1, who was renting a house in Albury lane off Shirley Street. It was during this time that Faisal AbdurRahman Hepburn (Pascal Vergilius Hepburn, Leader of Jamaat-ul-Islam, the Revolutionary Islaamic Movement of the Bahamas and the present Leader of Jamaat-ul-Islam of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas ) had returned from studies in United Kingdom. Dr. Munir Ahmad (Dr.Vivian X) had met Faisal AbdurRahman Hepburn earlier as a patient and explained some of the teachings of Islam to him while performing dental surgery on his mouth. He had embraced Islam while in United Kingdom and came home married to a Muslim lady from Malaysia who also was studying in the United Kingdom.
Later in 1977, Mustafa Khalil Khalfani 1 invited a Maulana (teacher) from Pakistan to visit the Bahamas, who stayed at his home in Albury Lane and teach us about Islam on a daily basis. His name was Khurshid Abdullah and he was about 80 years old and was married to an English Muslim lady from Manchester, England. He started off teaching us to recite the last ten Surahs (Chapters) of the Quran from memory. We would meet for the Maghrib salaat (sunset prayer) and take turns reciting from the Quran until time of Isha’ Salaat (night prayer). He also spent time teaching the Arabic alphabet and how to read and write Arabic. His wife helped teach the women and everyone was excited about learning. Maulana Abdullah was a very active man for his age. He walked every morning after Fajr (early morning dawn prayer) with his staff in his hand like Moses.
In September of 1978, we met at Dr. Muazzam’s apartment to discuss the formation of a Jamaat (Islamic community) At that time most of the Muslims who came here as professional workers were from the Asia sub continent of India & Pakistan. Anyone learning about Islam would come to know about the Madhabs, Hanafee, Shafee, Maliki and Hambali, which are the major schools of Islamic law. Most Muslims from India & Pakistan follow the Hanafee Madhab. The Madhabs evolved after the time of the Prophet (SAW) (609-632 CE) and are followed by the majority of the Muslims in the world to some extent or other. Needless to say, we had a very heavy Hanafee influence in our early up bringing in Islam, but when we met to form our Jamaat (Islamic community) we intentionally avoided adherence to any one madhab and agreed to establishing a Jamaat based on with the “pristine purity” of Islam as it was understood and practiced by the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and his sahabah (companions) (R.A)
This practice of Islam based on the pristine purity, today is how we practiced with the acceptance and clear understanding of the Salaf, To this day, we are holding fast to that concept despite all the changes that we adopted as we interrelated with various Muslim groups and organizations over the years.
In the early 1980’s we traveled to different parts of USA to attend ijtimahs (gatherings) where Muslims brothers mainly met at public facilities during holiday periods such as Easter, Labor day, Thanksgiving and Christmas and transformed those facilities into a huge camp where hundreds to thousands of Muslims gathered to pray, listen to lectures, read Quran, eat and sleep in an Islamic atmosphere for three or four days. These gatherings were organise by Jamaat Tabligh, which had its headquarters in India and send Muslims men out on Dawah missions to various Muslim countries and regions to invite Muslims to renew and revive their faith and practice of Islam.
Three of our brothers spent four months in India doing this work. Two returned to Nassau and one Abu Saeef Umar Barnett (Carlos Barnett) remained to study Arabic, Urdu at a Madrassah (school) in Pakistan. He later went to the University of Medina in Saudi Arabia and later transfer to Yemen where he stayed for seven years. He is married to a Muslim lady from Malaysia. He has a young son and daughters who are hafeez, ie they have memorized the whole Quran.
Another brother Fareed Abdullah (Frederick Sturrup ,founding member of Jamaat-ul-Islaam,the Revolutionary Islaamic Movement in the Bahamas) , went to Guyana to study Arabic on a one year course. This prepared him to go to King Abdul Aziz University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where he qualified as a scholar in Shariah (Islamic law). He returned to Nassau in 1991 and later went to the United States to teach Islam and serve as an Imam (spiritual leader) of an Islamic Community .
During the early period of Islam, two other members should be noted Haneef Abdul Haqq (John Russell) and a Muslim Lady Najah Baker, who was married to Daoud Shabazz (David Armbrister).Daoud Shabazz was one of Malcom X’s body guards in the 1960’s. Haneef Abdul Haqq and Najah Baker were also founding members of Jamaat-ul-Islaam, the Revolutionary Islaamic Movement in the Bahamas.
The development of Islam in the Bahamas since 1970’s constitutes a very important era. Our fore fathers, who were brought here as slaves, were unable to practice their faith and consequently Islam never flourished. Conditions now are much more conducive for the growth and development of this faith which emphasizes the worship of one God alone and the finality of Prophethood with Muhammad, who established Islaam 1430 years ago in Arabia.
In October 1992, our Islamic organization, Jamaat-ul-Islam presented a symposium called “Deeper Roots’ at the auditorium of the College of the Bahamas. The main speaker was Dr. Abdullah Hakeem Quick, a Muslim scholar and Historian to show that Muslims from Africa ventured out to the new world one century before Columbus. This information was outlined in the book entitled “Deeper Roots 1” published in 1990.A followup to the same book “Deeper Roots-Muslims in the Americas and the Caribbean From Before Columbus to the Present” 1997 edition is now available.
The community also benefited from the presence of Daud Abdul Haqq from Barbados who was the Imaam and Educator. He came to Nassau in the early 1990s. He was instrumental in producing a paper by Jamaat-ul-Islam which dealt with Recommendations for Crime and Punishment in the Bahamian Society in 1995.
As the community grew, through the efforts of Da’wah to the wider Bahamian Society, it became necessary for it to become officially registered as a religious organization within the Bahamas to benefit from the laws that govern and protect such organizations. This was done in 1990. The Jamaat (community) started out by holding meetings at various homes of brothers and sisters and through collective efforts of the believers over the years along with generous donations from Muslims abroad, we were able to purchase two acres of land in the Carmichael Area, a developing area of the capital city of Nassau, Bahamas on which we have built a Masjid and have plans to build a school for our children, an Imam’s residence and a business centre where Muslims can conduct business.
Da'wah Efforts
The growth and development of our community is directly related to the amount and effort of Da’wah that we carry out. We cannot grow in numbers or develop Islamic characteristics without inviting people to Islam consistently. Da’wah must be based on correct knowledge of Qur’an and the Sunnah. The Muslim community in the Bahamas though a relatively small community, has been quite active and has seen a steady growth of its membership over the years, mainly due to people embracing the religion of Islam.
Da’wah is carried out not only in the capital city of Nassau but also in the nation’s second city of Freeport.
The Da’wah approach has both scope and depth in the Bahamas. Our community is actively involved in the taking of the message to the people through various methods. There is “street Da’wah” where Brothers visit areas and talk to the people about Islam. The community has been actively involved in presenting the message on Radio talk shows as well as conducting discussion forums at the center and presenting historical exhibition on Islamic Culture.
Social Issues and the Muslim Community
The community has also been actively involved in Social work, such as the distribution of clothes to the needy, and other civic activities.
In relation to social issues, the community has made its voice heard on a range of topics, from crime in society to correcting the negative image of Islam and Muslims in the media. The community has work in presenting Islam as a viable alternative to various social ills.
Historically the community has involved itself in Government initiated socially oriented activities. When the Government established the National Social development council, the community immediately jumped at the opportunity to make a contribution. The Council was an amalgamation of civic bodies coming together to tackle the social problems of the nation. The Council was expected to establish commissions to deal with issues such as crime in society, teenage pregnancies, domestic abuses.
In mid February 1995, the Jamaat prepared a comprehensive document, outlining its assessment of the crime situation in the nation, and detailing its recommendations for dealing with the current situation. This document, "Recommendations for Crime and Punishment in the Bahamian Society"(Recommendations for Crime and Punishment in the Bahamian Society 1,) (Recommendations for Crime and Punishment in the Bahamian Society 2) was presented to the government, the press and other relevant agencies. As a result, the community has been invited by the media and other civic organizations to participate in many forums dealing with the issue of crime and punishment and other social issues. The document was well received by the Government and the Bahamian Society, and the Government is already implementing a number of its recommendations.
Recognizing the difficulties facing the Muslims in the society the community presented to the Senate Select Committee on Bahamian Culture another document titled “The Doctrine of Islaam and How it Relates to the Religious and Social Development of the Bahamas.” In it the community stated the following complaints:-
1. The community has been excluded by the government and the media from participating in social and political issues affecting Bahamians.
2. The media’s refusal to air positive Islamic programs.
3. The reluctance of the local newspaper to cover events relating to Islaam and Muslims.
4. The media’s continuous use of the words “fundamentalists”, “extremists” and “Moslems” when speaking about Muslims.
This document called on the committee to take steps to ensure that the Muslim community was treated as an integral part of the Bahamian Society.
The Muslims in the Bahamas face the same challenges as Muslims all over the world in the areas of Child Care, Family Life and Terrorism.
[1] Michael Craton, A History of The Bahamas, Collins Clear-Type Press, London 1968, page 189
[2] Encyclopedia Britaninica, 1967 edition, Vol. 22, page 70
[3] Basil Davidson, Africa (History of a Continent), Spring Books, London 1978, page 213.
Early History
Even though local historical evidence shows that a great many Muslims, many of them quite literate, existed here during the slave period, it is a known fact that due to harshness and rigors of slavery, Islam did not survive during that era. Information about Muslims in the Bahamas during slavery can be found in the Government Public Records Office, Ministry of Educational Culture.
In the booklet, “Aspects of Slavery,” page 15, the record states, “In 1802 Mr. Rose removed his residence to Exuma, and on Christmas Day dedicated ‘the new Church.’ After having officiated so long ‘in old uninhabited houses in Long Island...he felt, in the discharge of his duty under a consecrated house a renovation, as it were, of the clergyman.’ The inhabitants then consisted of 140 whites, 35 ‘free people’ and 1,078 Negro and other Slaves. On his first coming many of the Negroes ‘called themselves the followers of Mahomet,” a name used in medieval Europe for the Prophet Muhammad,” but these, with other blacks, he baptized to the number of 93 adults and 41 infants in less than a year.
On page 25, we see further evidence of a letter written in Arabic from a liberated African living at Carmichael 1831 CO23/84 415-20. The exhibit show a letter addressed to Governor, Sir James Carmichael Smyth, from a liberated African living at Adelaide. It is believed that this man’s name was Abul Keli, an African Prince of the Ibo tribe who had been captured by slave traders as a potential slave. However, he was rescued from this fate by the timely intervention of the Royal Navy who captured the slave ship and brought it to the Bahamas. The letter is believed to be in Arabic and cites passages from the Qur’an, the Muslim Bible. It is interesting to note that this man’s ability to write destroys the myth that all Africans were illiterate.
The renowned historian, Michael Craton, states in his book "A History of the Bahamas," “Taking into account the usual shipping routes; it is probable that most of the Bahamian Negroes came from the more northerly parts of Africa. There were found the brown-skinned Mandingoes, Fulani and Hausa..”[1] It is a historical and sociological fact that the Mandingoes, Fulani and Hausa tribes are predominantly Muslim.
Timbuktu is a name uttered by the tongues of many of our Bahamian old folk from Abaco to Inagua. But it is not known by most Bahamians that Timbuktu is an ancient African city, established around 1,000 A.C. by many of our Bahamian forefathers. It is recorded in encyclopedia Britannica that, “In 1310 the powerful Mandingo king Kankan (Gongo) Musa had a new mosque built and Timbuktu became a center of Muslim learning and culture.”[2]
It is these same Muslim people that gave Christopher Columbus his reason to sail west, for under the dictums of the Holy Qur’an, Muslims always knew that the Earth was round, and that it was possible to travel the globe by sea. Global travel was common talk among Muslims when Europeans thought that the Earth was flat. The Moors from the Timbuktu region ruled Spain from the year 711 A/C/ until 1492. Basil Davidson in his book, "Africa", records that, “Passing through Cairo in the 1324 on his way to Mekka, the great Mansa Musa of Mali had told a dramatic tale of maritime adventure. He said that his predecessor had sent two big expeditions, one of four hundred ships and the other of two thousand, across the ocean, in order to discover what lay on the other side, but only one of those ships and its crew and had ever returned.”[3]
Because of the differences in Islamic background that the various brothers were cultivated in while studying abroad, it was agreed by all that the establishment of an Islamic Community in the Bahamas had to be based on its “pristine purity” i.e. the way it was practiced by the Prophet Muhammad ibn Abdullah (Peace and Blessings Be Upon Him) and his Companions (May Allah be pleased with them).
Roots: Beginning of the Islamic Movement in the Bahamas
In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s a Bahamian who called himself Bashan Saladdin walked around Nassau wearing a long thobe (male garment) and an Arabian head dress. The people used to call him “Allaah” because it was a word that he used a lot when talking to the people. His given name was Charles Cleare. He lived in Fort Fincastle area and had started to convert his house into a mosque. Some of the earlier local Bahamians who embraced the Muslim faith included Zubair Ali (Howard Clarke) who remains a faithful Muslim today and Mustafa Khalil Khalfani 1 (founding member of Jamaat-ul-Islam, the Revolutionary Islaamic Movement of the Bahamas) who became a Muslim here with Bashan Saladdin after attending school in New York. Mustafa Khalil Khalfani 1 is married to a Muslim lady from Senegal.
In July 1974, Dr.Vivian X Russell (founding member of Jamaat-ul-Islam, the Revolutionary Islaamic Movement of the Bahamas) returned home as a Dental Specialist and a member of the Nation of Islam, the organization in the United States, which was headed then by Elijah Muhammad. The plan was to establish a nation of Islam Mosque here in the Bahamas and eventually throughout the Caribbean region.
Mustafa Khalil Khalfani I was a Sunni Muslim who belonged to an organization called the Islamic Party of North America. The two organizations were both claiming to be Muslims but did not share the same akeedah or beliefs. Bashan Saladdin, however, was exposed to both Sunni Islaam and the teachings of Elijah Muhammad and he tried to incorporate both in his practice of Islaam. It was apparent to all of us that the Bahamas was too small to try to establish a religion that was already strange to the majority of the people in such a diverse and often conflicting manner.
Before the Nation of Islam could successfully plant its seeds here in the Bahamas, Elijah Muhammad passed away on February 26, 1975 and his son Wallace D. Muhammad became the leader. His first declaration to his followers was that he would follow the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace & blessings of Allah be upon him) and all who were with him could do the same. He did not expect the change to occur overnight, but his plan was to gradually incorporate the Sunnah (practices of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) into the activities of the Nation of Islam. He gave Dr. Vivian X the name Munir Ahmad.
So the stage was set for us in the Bahamas to move forward to build Islam in the way it should be, which was to establish community of Islam based on Quran & Sunnah in its ‘pristine purity’ i.e the way it was practiced by Prophet Muhammad ibn Abdullah (PBUH) and his companions (May Allah be pleased with them).
It was our quest, from that point forward to seek the ‘pristine pure’ teachings of Islam and to follow those principles and practices to the best of our abilities. We got together to read books on Islam and discuss the contents and try to implement the practices outlined. For example we read a book called ‘Towards Understanding Islam’ by Maulana Maududi which emphasized the importance of performing salaat (prayers 5 times a day) and described how the prayer should be performed . We then started to perform our prayers according to the Sunnah of Prophet Muhamaad (PBUH) led by Mustafa Khalil Khalfani 1, who had learned that way while he was in New York.
In 1977, there was a Muslim Doctor named Ghulam Muazzam from Bangladesh, who came to work as a pathologist at Princess Margaret Hospital and when he found out there were some Muslims here, he offered to help us study the Quran and learn the basic rudiments of the Arabic language. He would read the verses of the Quran in Arabic and then the translation in English for our understanding. We met at his apartment in Cable Beach on Sunday afternoons to carry out this exercise. Then we began to alternate the meetings at the home of Mustafa Khalil Khalfani 1, who was renting a house in Albury lane off Shirley Street. It was during this time that Faisal AbdurRahman Hepburn (Pascal Vergilius Hepburn, Leader of Jamaat-ul-Islam, the Revolutionary Islaamic Movement of the Bahamas and the present Leader of Jamaat-ul-Islam of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas ) had returned from studies in United Kingdom. Dr. Munir Ahmad (Dr.Vivian X) had met Faisal AbdurRahman Hepburn earlier as a patient and explained some of the teachings of Islam to him while performing dental surgery on his mouth. He had embraced Islam while in United Kingdom and came home married to a Muslim lady from Malaysia who also was studying in the United Kingdom.
Later in 1977, Mustafa Khalil Khalfani 1 invited a Maulana (teacher) from Pakistan to visit the Bahamas, who stayed at his home in Albury Lane and teach us about Islam on a daily basis. His name was Khurshid Abdullah and he was about 80 years old and was married to an English Muslim lady from Manchester, England. He started off teaching us to recite the last ten Surahs (Chapters) of the Quran from memory. We would meet for the Maghrib salaat (sunset prayer) and take turns reciting from the Quran until time of Isha’ Salaat (night prayer). He also spent time teaching the Arabic alphabet and how to read and write Arabic. His wife helped teach the women and everyone was excited about learning. Maulana Abdullah was a very active man for his age. He walked every morning after Fajr (early morning dawn prayer) with his staff in his hand like Moses.
In September of 1978, we met at Dr. Muazzam’s apartment to discuss the formation of a Jamaat (Islamic community) At that time most of the Muslims who came here as professional workers were from the Asia sub continent of India & Pakistan. Anyone learning about Islam would come to know about the Madhabs, Hanafee, Shafee, Maliki and Hambali, which are the major schools of Islamic law. Most Muslims from India & Pakistan follow the Hanafee Madhab. The Madhabs evolved after the time of the Prophet (SAW) (609-632 CE) and are followed by the majority of the Muslims in the world to some extent or other. Needless to say, we had a very heavy Hanafee influence in our early up bringing in Islam, but when we met to form our Jamaat (Islamic community) we intentionally avoided adherence to any one madhab and agreed to establishing a Jamaat based on with the “pristine purity” of Islam as it was understood and practiced by the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and his sahabah (companions) (R.A)
This practice of Islam based on the pristine purity, today is how we practiced with the acceptance and clear understanding of the Salaf, To this day, we are holding fast to that concept despite all the changes that we adopted as we interrelated with various Muslim groups and organizations over the years.
In the early 1980’s we traveled to different parts of USA to attend ijtimahs (gatherings) where Muslims brothers mainly met at public facilities during holiday periods such as Easter, Labor day, Thanksgiving and Christmas and transformed those facilities into a huge camp where hundreds to thousands of Muslims gathered to pray, listen to lectures, read Quran, eat and sleep in an Islamic atmosphere for three or four days. These gatherings were organise by Jamaat Tabligh, which had its headquarters in India and send Muslims men out on Dawah missions to various Muslim countries and regions to invite Muslims to renew and revive their faith and practice of Islam.
Three of our brothers spent four months in India doing this work. Two returned to Nassau and one Abu Saeef Umar Barnett (Carlos Barnett) remained to study Arabic, Urdu at a Madrassah (school) in Pakistan. He later went to the University of Medina in Saudi Arabia and later transfer to Yemen where he stayed for seven years. He is married to a Muslim lady from Malaysia. He has a young son and daughters who are hafeez, ie they have memorized the whole Quran.
Another brother Fareed Abdullah (Frederick Sturrup ,founding member of Jamaat-ul-Islaam,the Revolutionary Islaamic Movement in the Bahamas) , went to Guyana to study Arabic on a one year course. This prepared him to go to King Abdul Aziz University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia where he qualified as a scholar in Shariah (Islamic law). He returned to Nassau in 1991 and later went to the United States to teach Islam and serve as an Imam (spiritual leader) of an Islamic Community .
During the early period of Islam, two other members should be noted Haneef Abdul Haqq (John Russell) and a Muslim Lady Najah Baker, who was married to Daoud Shabazz (David Armbrister).Daoud Shabazz was one of Malcom X’s body guards in the 1960’s. Haneef Abdul Haqq and Najah Baker were also founding members of Jamaat-ul-Islaam, the Revolutionary Islaamic Movement in the Bahamas.
The development of Islam in the Bahamas since 1970’s constitutes a very important era. Our fore fathers, who were brought here as slaves, were unable to practice their faith and consequently Islam never flourished. Conditions now are much more conducive for the growth and development of this faith which emphasizes the worship of one God alone and the finality of Prophethood with Muhammad, who established Islaam 1430 years ago in Arabia.
In October 1992, our Islamic organization, Jamaat-ul-Islam presented a symposium called “Deeper Roots’ at the auditorium of the College of the Bahamas. The main speaker was Dr. Abdullah Hakeem Quick, a Muslim scholar and Historian to show that Muslims from Africa ventured out to the new world one century before Columbus. This information was outlined in the book entitled “Deeper Roots 1” published in 1990.A followup to the same book “Deeper Roots-Muslims in the Americas and the Caribbean From Before Columbus to the Present” 1997 edition is now available.
The community also benefited from the presence of Daud Abdul Haqq from Barbados who was the Imaam and Educator. He came to Nassau in the early 1990s. He was instrumental in producing a paper by Jamaat-ul-Islam which dealt with Recommendations for Crime and Punishment in the Bahamian Society in 1995.
As the community grew, through the efforts of Da’wah to the wider Bahamian Society, it became necessary for it to become officially registered as a religious organization within the Bahamas to benefit from the laws that govern and protect such organizations. This was done in 1990. The Jamaat (community) started out by holding meetings at various homes of brothers and sisters and through collective efforts of the believers over the years along with generous donations from Muslims abroad, we were able to purchase two acres of land in the Carmichael Area, a developing area of the capital city of Nassau, Bahamas on which we have built a Masjid and have plans to build a school for our children, an Imam’s residence and a business centre where Muslims can conduct business.
Da'wah Efforts
The growth and development of our community is directly related to the amount and effort of Da’wah that we carry out. We cannot grow in numbers or develop Islamic characteristics without inviting people to Islam consistently. Da’wah must be based on correct knowledge of Qur’an and the Sunnah. The Muslim community in the Bahamas though a relatively small community, has been quite active and has seen a steady growth of its membership over the years, mainly due to people embracing the religion of Islam.
Da’wah is carried out not only in the capital city of Nassau but also in the nation’s second city of Freeport.
The Da’wah approach has both scope and depth in the Bahamas. Our community is actively involved in the taking of the message to the people through various methods. There is “street Da’wah” where Brothers visit areas and talk to the people about Islam. The community has been actively involved in presenting the message on Radio talk shows as well as conducting discussion forums at the center and presenting historical exhibition on Islamic Culture.
Social Issues and the Muslim Community
The community has also been actively involved in Social work, such as the distribution of clothes to the needy, and other civic activities.
In relation to social issues, the community has made its voice heard on a range of topics, from crime in society to correcting the negative image of Islam and Muslims in the media. The community has work in presenting Islam as a viable alternative to various social ills.
Historically the community has involved itself in Government initiated socially oriented activities. When the Government established the National Social development council, the community immediately jumped at the opportunity to make a contribution. The Council was an amalgamation of civic bodies coming together to tackle the social problems of the nation. The Council was expected to establish commissions to deal with issues such as crime in society, teenage pregnancies, domestic abuses.
In mid February 1995, the Jamaat prepared a comprehensive document, outlining its assessment of the crime situation in the nation, and detailing its recommendations for dealing with the current situation. This document, "Recommendations for Crime and Punishment in the Bahamian Society"(Recommendations for Crime and Punishment in the Bahamian Society 1,) (Recommendations for Crime and Punishment in the Bahamian Society 2) was presented to the government, the press and other relevant agencies. As a result, the community has been invited by the media and other civic organizations to participate in many forums dealing with the issue of crime and punishment and other social issues. The document was well received by the Government and the Bahamian Society, and the Government is already implementing a number of its recommendations.
Recognizing the difficulties facing the Muslims in the society the community presented to the Senate Select Committee on Bahamian Culture another document titled “The Doctrine of Islaam and How it Relates to the Religious and Social Development of the Bahamas.” In it the community stated the following complaints:-
1. The community has been excluded by the government and the media from participating in social and political issues affecting Bahamians.
2. The media’s refusal to air positive Islamic programs.
3. The reluctance of the local newspaper to cover events relating to Islaam and Muslims.
4. The media’s continuous use of the words “fundamentalists”, “extremists” and “Moslems” when speaking about Muslims.
This document called on the committee to take steps to ensure that the Muslim community was treated as an integral part of the Bahamian Society.
The Muslims in the Bahamas face the same challenges as Muslims all over the world in the areas of Child Care, Family Life and Terrorism.
[1] Michael Craton, A History of The Bahamas, Collins Clear-Type Press, London 1968, page 189
[2] Encyclopedia Britaninica, 1967 edition, Vol. 22, page 70
[3] Basil Davidson, Africa (History of a Continent), Spring Books, London 1978, page 213.