Hanafi Muslim Movement

Involvement with the Nation of Islam

In 1950, Khaalis joined the Nation of Islam in an attempt to bring its teachings into line with orthodox Islam. At that time, the Nation of Islam taught a kind of Islam that was considered heretical by most Muslim leaders. In 1956, Khaalis became the national secretary of the Nation of Islam.

[Page 162]Khaalis eventually fell out with the Nation of Islam over the group's refusal to adopt mainstream Islam. In 1958, Khaalis left the Nation of Islam and moved to Washington, D.C., where he opened his own Hanafi Madh-Hab Center. At its height, during the 1960s, the center had more than 1,000 members and Khaalis led several protests for Muslim causes. The most famous member of the center was basketball star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, whom Khaalis had helped convert to Islam.

Khaalis continued to disagree with the teachings of the Nation of Islam. In 1973, five members of the Philadelphia Nation of Islam murdered Khaalis's wife, their four children, and two other Hanafi members. Khaalis was angered by the police investigation, which was, in his view, cursory; the police did not appear interested in finding the killers.

Taking Hostages

In 1977, Khaalis and a group of his followers seized control of three Washington, D.C., buildings and took 124 people hostage. Khaalis was protesting what he felt to be the lack of progress in the investigation of his family's murder, and the group was also protesting the planned release of a movie about the life of the prophet Muhammad (many Islamic teachings forbid the display of images of Mohammed).

The hostages in the B'nai B'rith building, the City Council chambers, and the Islamic Center were held for more than 30 hours. One hostage was killed during the initial takeover and several, including Marion Berry, future mayor of Washington, D.C., were injured.

The hostages were eventually released with the help of ambassadors from Egypt, Iran, and Pakistan, who talked Khaalis into giving himself up, at one point taking turns reading to him passages from the Koran emphasizing God's compassion and mercy.

Although the Jewish hostages were subjected to threats and anti-Semitic statements while being held, the incident did temporarily help bring the area's Jewish and Muslim communities closer. After his release, the director of the Islamic Center told the leaders of B'nai B'rith, “Now we are one.” After the siege, a statement by the Hanafi Madh-hab Center threatened “all Zionist Jews and their allies” with a “bloodbath.”

Khaalis and the other kidnappers were all arrested. Khaalis remains in prison in Washington, D.C., serving a sentence of 41 to 120 years. The Madh-hab Center is still in operation, teaching orthodox Hanafi Islam. The movie, Mohammed: Messenger of God, was never released.