Islam & Black America

Ph.D. Candidate at GSU, SERB Scholar

Imam Furqan A. Muhammad accepted Al-Islam in 1968. Imam Furqan is presently serving as Imam at Masjid Al-Muminun in Atlanta, Georgia. Imam Furqan has been a full time Daa’I (Propagator Of Al-Islam) since 1989 He services 37 prisons. Imam Furqan made Hajj (Pilgrimage to Mecca) in 1989. He has traveled to Morocco, China, Sudan, Senegal and recently to Turkey on a 10 day interfaith Pilgrimage with Muslims, Christians and Jews.

Born Emerson Wayne Brandon in Washinton DC in the late 1930s. The grandson of former slaves and the 9th of ten siblings. His parents were artistic and enterprising. He was one of the first students to attend a desegregated public school. He joined the Nation of Islam in the 60s. Muhammed picked up the camera after being inspired by a life long friend. He focused on local photography for a while. He earned press credentials overnight while covering the First Muslim Parade in Chicago in the fall of 1969. After 1975 he was given the name Wali Akbar and continue to work with the succession of publications that mirrored changes in the Muslim Community.