Mr. Muhammad
was born in
Hampton,
Virginia, and
raised in New
York City. It
was in New York
that he joined
the Nation of
Islam (NOI)
under the
leadership of
the Honorable
Elijah Muhammad
in 1960, and
served as a
Student Minister
under the NOI's
Harlem Minister,
Malcolm X. From
1965 to 1975, he
served as
Minister Louis
Farrakhan's
assistant,
orchestrating
the publication
of Minister
Farrakhan's
book, 7 Speeches
(1973); and he
was a key
organizer of
"Black Family
Day" which drew
over 70,000
people to
Randall's Island
in New York City
in 1974. When
the Honorable
Elijah
Muhammad's son
Imam W. D.
Mohammed assumed
leadership of
the NOI in 1975,
Akbar continued
to serve the
Muslim
community, first
as head of its
mosque in St.
Louis, Missouri,
and then as
Special
Assistant to
Imam Mohammed in
Chicago. During
that time, he
made his first
trip to Europe,
Africa, and
Asia.
In 1978 Akbar
accepted the
responsibility
to assist
Minister
Farrakhan to
rebuild the
Nation of Islam
and in 1984
gained his
stature at home
and abroad as
the
International
Representative
of the NOI.
Akbar has been
one of the key
organizers of
many of the
NOI's Saviours'
Day conventions;
in October 1994,
he organized the
NOI's first
International
Saviours' Day
Convention in
Accra, Ghana,
bringing over
nineteen hundred
travelers from
America to
Africa. In
addition, he
planned and
organized
Minister
Farrakhan's
international
tours to Africa,
Europe, Asia,
and the
Caribbean while
building
relationships
with presidents,
heads of state,
and leaders of
many of the
countries they
visited.
Akbar has
traveled to one
hundred and
twenty-eight
countries around
the
world—including
thirty-eight
African
nations—and has
lived in Ghana,
Africa for over
a decade.
Through the
Africa and
Middle East
Literacy
Foundation, he
continues to
consult with
African and
African-American
leaders to
promote
humanitarian
efforts in many
parts of the
world, including
galvanizing
African-American
physicians to
work in remote
clinics and
hospitals in
parts of Africa.
He recently
organized an
historic trip
for an
African-American
press delegation
to travel to the
Sudan for a
visit to Darfur
on a
fact-finding
mission, and
through his
efforts secured
exclusive
one-on-one
interviews with
Sudan's
President Omar
El-Bashir for
Black
Entertainment
Television (BET)
and the TV-One
Network.
His work also
focuses on youth
education and
development. He
is the founder
of Youth4Africa
Foundation, a
non-profit
organization
geared toward
providing Black
youth in America
a personal
journey "back to
Africa" in order
to gain a
historical
perspective that
connects past
lost cultural
traditions to
their present
life choices. He
believes,
"Taking young
people to Africa
can make a
difference. The
African
experience will
aid our youth in
understanding
their purpose,
inspiring
fundamental
discussions, and
shaping positive
self-images."
His extensive
work and travel
in Africa are
reflected in his
column, "Africa
and the World,"
published in
African-American
newspapers
nationally and
internationally,
and he is a
sought-after as
a speaker on the
history of Islam
in America,
Malcolm X, the
life and work of
Minister
Farrakhan, and
issues affecting
the African
continent.
To schedule
Akbar Muhammad
to speak at your
event, seminar,
school, or
university, you
may contact him
at Akbar@friendsofakbar.com
or
202-986-3863
