Mujahid Abdul-Karim
Imam Mujahid Abdul-Karim | |
|---|---|
| Born | Benjamin Farmer December 26, 1944 Waldo, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Imam, peace activist |
| Known for | Orchestrating the 1992 Watts Gang Truce; leadership of Masjid Al Rasul and The Imam Mahdi Movement |
Imam Mujahid Abdul-Karim (originally named Benjamin Farmer, born December 26, 1944) is an African-American individual who embraced Islam and gained recognition for orchestrating the April 26, 1992 Watts Gang Truce. This agreement brought peace among four prominent rival factions—the Watts Hacienda Village Bloods, Grape Street Watts Crips, Bounty Hunter Watts Bloods, and PJ Watts Crips. He holds the position of imam at Masjid Al Rasul located in Watts, Los Angeles, and leads an organization known as The Imam Mahdi Movement.
Early life
Abdul-Karim was born in Waldo, Arkansas, before his family moved to the vicinity of Lake Michigan in Muskegon Heights, Michigan. His father served as an army veteran and worked in a factory, while his mother was responsible for raising thirteen children. Enduring economic hardship, he began working at nine years old as a "shoe shine boy", often crossing segregated neighborhoods to support his family financially.
At the age of sixteen, he left home independently and traveled to New Haven, Connecticut to live with relatives. After spending three years there, he relocated to Chicago upon invitation from his brother Edward. Immersed in Chicago’s historically African American South Side, Abdul-Karim encountered Black empowerment philosophies that significantly influenced his political outlook.
Black Panther Party Involvement (1967–1970)
Through his brother Johnny’s introduction, Abdul-Karim joined the Black Panther Party and participated in their political education sessions. By 1968, he was actively engaged in speaking at universities, distributing literature, demonstrating publicly, and residing at the Chicago Black Panther headquarters alongside prominent activists such as U.S. Representative Bobby Rush and Deborah Johnson—the mother of Fred Hampton Jr. and widow of the slain Panther leader Fred Hampton.
Move to Watts, Los Angeles & Adoption of Sunni Islam (1970 - 1980)
With the decline of the Black Panther Party amid the FBI's Cointelpro operations, Abdul-Karim moved to Los Angeles, California. During the late 1970s, neighborhoods like South Central and Watts, Los Angeles transitioned from centers of civil rights activism to areas heavily impacted by drug-related violence and gang presence, particularly involving the Crips and Bloods.
Abdul-Karim dedicated himself to engaging African American youth in Watts—a community historically marked by the 1965 Watts Rebellion—who were becoming entangled in gang life. It was during this era that he embraced Islam following conversations with Muhammad Abdullah, father to NFL athletes Hamza Abdullah and Husain Abdullah.
Masjid Al Rasul (1980 - Present)
In 1980, Abdul-Karim established Masjid Al Rasul on South Central Avenue. This mosque later served as the pivotal venue for the April 26, 1992, Watts Peace Treaty, which successfully mediated peace among four key rival gangs: Watts Cirkle City Piru Bloods, Grape Street Watts Crips, Bounty Hunter Watts Bloods, and PJ Watts Crips.
Adoption of Shia Islam (1982 - 1983)
Motivated by the Prophet Muhammad’s role in reconciling the feuding tribes of Medina (Banu Aws and Banu Khazraj), Abdul-Karim dedicated himself to mediating peace between the competing Los Angeles gangs, Bloods and Crips. His efforts included extensive grassroots organizing throughout Watts’ prominent housing developments: Nickerson Gardens, Jordan Downs, and Imperial Courts. After nearly twelve years of dialogue, a peace agreement was finalized at Masjid Al Rasul.
During this period, Abdul-Karim encountered Iranian students from UCLA who practiced the Shia branch of Islam, which led him to explore Shia doctrines. Inspired by the example of the Prophet’s grandson, Hussain ibn Ali, he transformed Masjid Al Rasul into the first African American-led Shia mosque in the United States.
International Studies: Islamic Republic of Iran (1983 - 1990)
Between 1983 and 1989, Abdul-Karim pursued advanced Islamic studies at the sacred seminary in Qom, Iran, enriching his religious understanding. While there, he attended teachings by the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and had the opportunity to meet prominent Iranian figures such as then-President Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (now supreme leader), Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, and former President Mohammad Khatami.
Abdul-Karim returned to the United States in 1990 with renewed focus on cultivating enduring peace among gang leaders within the Watts neighborhood.
Watts "Bloods and Crips" Peace Agreement (April 26, 1992 - Present)
The historic Watts Peace Treaty was officially signed on April 26, 1992, following successful mediation sessions held at Masjid Al Rasul.
Distinctions, Honors, and Acknowledgments
- Recipient of the Ambassador for Peace accolade awarded by Senator Roderick Wright
- Honored with Special Recognition for initiating the Watts Peace Treaty by Congresswoman Maxine Waters
- Awarded a Certificate of Recognition commemorating the treaty’s 20th anniversary from Councilman Joe Buscaino
- Served as a former community advisor to King-Drew Medical Center in Los Angeles
Masjid Al Rasul Depicted in Fine Art
Photographer Joel Sternfeld captured an image of Masjid Al Rasul’s interior—taken after the groundbreaking Watts Peace Treaty—in his publication On This Site: Landscape in Memoriam (1997). This photograph was subsequently contributed to the esteemed collection at the Art Institute of Chicago.
Analysis of Joel Sternfeld’s Masjid Al Rasul Image
Art critic Geoff Dyer emphasizes the emotional impact of Sternfeld’s photograph of Masjid Al Rasul despite its understated composition:
One of the most affecting photographs I have seen is also among the most unremarkable: a vacant, plain room with a brown carpet and beige walls. It appears at the conclusion of Joel Sternfeld's book On This Site (1996).
Dyer further explains:
This image serves as an epilogue after all preceding content. The unadorned room is Masjid Al Rasul mosque in Watts, where rival gangs Bloods and Crips came together to negotiate and sign a truce on April 26, 1992. Its fragile hope stands as documentary evidence supporting Maxim Gorky’s assertion that ‘Life will always be bad enough for the desire for something better not to be extinguished in men.’