Khalid Muhammad, Black Muslim Activist, 53

["Deathwatch Central" <cdw@slick.org>]

Saturday February 17 8:35 PM ET

Black Muslim Activist Khalid Muhammad Dies at 53 

ATLANTA (Reuters) - Khalid Abdul Muhammad, a former Nation of Islam
official known for venomous attacks on Jews, whites and gays, died on
Saturday after being hospitalized with a stroke, a spokesman with the
Muslim group said.

``We in the Nation of Islam mourn the loss of brother Khalid Muhammad,''
said the group's spokesman James Muhammad.

``Our prayers are with his family and followers.''

Muhammad, 53, was hospitalized Friday at Wellstar Kennestone Hospital in
Marietta, Georgia, and placed on life support after suffering a stroke.

Muhammad, who was born Harold Moore Jr. in Texas in 1948, joined the
Nation of Islam in 1970, rising quickly through the ranks of the group and
eventually becoming the right-hand man to leader Louis Farrakhan.

Muhammad sparked a public outcry in 1993 after he referred to Jews as the
``bloodsuckers of the black nation'' and made offensive remarks about
Roman Catholics, whites and homosexuals during a speech in Union, New
Jersey.

The fiery rhetoric led to his suspension from the Nation of Islam.

Muhammad later moved to New York, where he was active in Muslim affairs
and helped organize the New Black Panther Party. In 1994, Muhammad was
shot and wounded by a gunman during a speech at the University of
California in Riverside.

In 1998, Muhammad organized the ``Million Youth March'' in New York, which
drew fewer than 10,000 people and ended in a clash between police and
demonstrators. Dozens of people were injured.

``We remember the good that brother Khalid did in helping the honorable
minister Louis Farrakhan in the rebuilding of the Nation of Islam,'' James
Muhammad said in a telephone interview on Saturday.

``We call on those who followed him and benefited from him to double the
pace in the struggle for complete liberation of black people in America
and throughout the world.'' 



* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This mailing list is brought to you by Slick.ORG at http://www.slick.org
to remove yourself from the list, send e-mail to majordomo@slick.org
and include the words "unsubscribe deathwatch" in the message (not in the
subject).  For web-based help, go to:

http://www.slick.org/cgi-bin/majordomo

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *