Article Seven:
An Interview with Imam Katib Adam Ibrahim Beyah
Masjid ‘Umar ibn Said of Fayetteville, N.C.
October 21, 1993
Ahari El: Assalm aleikum. Brother Imam can you tell our listeners a little about yourself.
Imam: Wa aleikum salam. My name is Katib Adam Ibrahim Beyah and I’ve been Imam at this Masjid since August 1990. I’ve been Muslim for twenty years.
Ahari El: How did you come into Islam?
Imam: Well, basically, I heard the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad in June of 1972 and that was my first introduction to the teachings of Islam. I became a member of the Nation of Islam at that time. In 1975 upon the ascension to leadership of Imam Warith Deen Muhammad, I came into a more universal understanding of Islam.
Ahari El: How did you prepare yourself for your current leadership position?
Imam: I just worked. In my mind I had made a commitment to be Muslim and follow the laws of Islam. I feel that I was only doing (in my mind) what every conscientious Muslim should be doing: supporting the religion, trying to advance the religion, anything for the betterment of Islam. I relocated to Fayetteville in September 1984 for employment. When I came here I found the people were not that active and I started to work with them anyway. I was preparing to be a leader, but I accepted that position when it was thrust upon me.
Ahari El: What was the community like at that time?
Imam: Well the community had purchased an acre of land and an old raggedy house at Southern Avenue. If you came to Jumaa’ at that time there might be five people. We had a lot of Muslims in town but they were not real active at that time. And the brother that was Imam -- Imam David Hassan who worked with the brothers. More brothers tended to come for taleem on Sunday. Looking at where we came from perhaps we were not that sophisticated and knowledgeable but we always had a desire to build a Masjid on the property and improve ourselves educationally and Islamically. What really helped the brothers along was when the building was condemned by the city and Rightly so because it was in bad shape.
Ahari El: Once they condemned the building and it was torn down did you start to build a Masjid?
Imam: Not really it was condemned but the city let us stay there. They didn’t really put any pressure on us to move. We knew it was condemned and we were happy to do something for safety reasons. So, we embarked on a plan to build a Masjid. One of the brothers that was in the community at the time had gone to school to be an architect, but was never licensed, but he knew enough to design a building.
Ahari El: So you designed the first Masjid and started to build it.
Imam: Right. That was the old Masjid that you visited today. He designed. It was a real simple design and we could do a lot of the work ourselves. We got help from the whole community. For example, the brother that made the cinder blocks was a Christian but was a friend of the community.
Ahari El: How did you come up with the design for the minaret?
Imam: That came four years later. That was part of the initial design. It was added on. As a matter of fact ...
Ahari El: It has the look of a traditional West African mosque.
Imam: Right. This was due to a brother out of Atlanta, Georgia who was originally from this area -- Brother Wali-ud-deen Sabir. He actually designed the minarets and did a lot of the initial construction on them in Atlanta and towed the framed and minarets up by car and trailer from Atlanta.
Ahari El: What is the frame? Iron?
Imam: No, its wood with wire mesh screens around it with stucco on top of it. It's a real simple design but it works well. We were able to build on this base when several well known figures such as Muhammad Ali, Naim Akbar, and others came in and helped us with fund raising.
Ahari El: How did you choose a name for the community’s Masjid?
Imam: Before it just Masjid Muhammad. As far as I know, I wasn’t there at the time, it didn’t have a number on it though. I believe it was a satellite temple of the Nation of Islam Temple in Durham, N.C.. Under the leadership of Imam Warith-ud-Deen Muhammad it was named Masjid Muhammad Fayetteville. In 1982, we decided to change the name and Imam Warith-ud-Deen had given a speech where he mentioned ‘Umar ibn Said.
Ahari El: You mean the lecture published in As the Light Shineth from the East?
Imam: Well, he had mentioned him in speeches before that. There was one brother in Fayetteville at that time named Dr. Abdul Hakim Muhammad. He was a music teacher at Fayetteville State University. He had heard a lecture and had done some research. He published his research as the pamphlet Seven Muslim Slaves.
Ahari El: I have the pamphlet.
Imam: Then you must know that one the Muslims that he wrote about was ‘Umar ibn Said. And at that time in 1982 or 1983, before I came here, the Muslims had decided to name the Masjid -- Masjid ‘Umar ibn Said. And that’s basically how it got the name. That was before they built the old Masjid. As I said before, their long range plans were to build a Masjid. In 1987 we were able to complete the construction of the Masjid without the minarets. At that time we had a dedication ceremony and Imam Muhammad came and gave a public address. It went very nicely and we had a dedication ceremony. After that we just tried to continue to grow as a community.
Ahari El: How did you pull yourselves together from having a few people come to Jumma’ to the point where you are today.
Imam: As I have said many brothers were not always able to come for Jumma’ as they were not able to get off work, but families came to Taleem which was at 1 P.M. on Sundays. We had more activities like that for people who couldn’t make Jumma’. Building the Masjid was the result of a lot of sacrifice by individuals. We even got a ten thousand dollar grant from the Saudi Arabian Embassy. But that money came in after we completed the construction. I guess that after that saw we could do something they were willing to help and it was without strings. We had a phone call one day from the Muslim World League from Daud Assad as a matter of fact who asked for our correct address so they could mail us a check. A few days later the check arrived. That helped too because we had some outstanding obligations we had to cover. After that, as a result of the Masjid being built more families came out and that is where we are now.
Ahari El: Earlier you said that the old Masjid was being torn down. Can you tell why this is going to happen and why are you at the temporary location that you are at now?
Imam: In August of 1992 we received a notification from the North Carolina Department of Transportation that a highway extension was being planned and the highway would cross the property the first Masjid was on and that they would buy our property as part of a right of way purchase to construct a highway. We knew before that the highway was coming our way but we didn’t know that it would encompass us, we thought that it would bypass us. But there had always been plans on the books as I found our later to build a highway in the vicinity. I did some research and found out that it was basically a lost cause to fight for the Masjid and we relented. And at that time, we obviously started to look for an additional location. We did a search for a comparable property and in the interim the state made an offer and we found out that we couldn’t find comparable land for that price. That center was in a less commercial district than the temporary Masjid we are in now while the new Masjid is being built. The old Masjid is being torn down for a highway extension. We are in a temporary center now and are building a new larger Masjid.
Ahari El: What did you do then?
Imam: Well about the search, we were able to find four acres of land on Mercanson Road and it was part of a fifteen acre tract and we could have got the whole thing for fifteen thousand an acre for the whole tract. But we wanted a smaller tract and we were blessed when he let us have it for sixty thousand. That was good for him. When he sold something, he could easily sell the rest because it would be a known interest. We were able with the help of one of our members who gave fifty thousand dollars, we were able to secure the land in March of 1993.
Ahari El: That means you had an outstanding balance of ten thousand dollars?
Imam: Which we don’t have now. What we did we able to convince the seller to hold the note until we settled with the state. Which he did and now we had deed to the land free and clear.
Ahari El: And the money that was left over?
Imam: We put it in a checking account but we don’t use checks on it. We don’t plan to access it until we need it. In the interim the state settled with us for one hundred thousand for the property and we paid off the seller of our new property. The state notified us of August 1st that we had to be out of our old property, so we started to rent this temporary space which used to be a barber shop. It suffices us for what we are doing now. We plan to break ground on the new structure in four or five days.
Ahari El: Future plans?
Imam: Our immediate plans are to complete the Masjid structure. It is an 8,500 square feet building but it has a lot of things we need but with area to grow. With the four acres we envision space for a school, but we will have classrooms in the main building to run a school temporarily. We hope to build a school but we also hope to encourage Muslims to open businesses around the structure.
Ahari El: Such as?
Imam: A Halal butcher, bakery, laundry, things that a growing Muslim community will need. They will not only serve the Muslim community but the community in general. There is also an eight acre lot of land we have rights of first refusal for.
Ahari El: Another thing you might try is farming.
Imam: Well, on the four acres the way we have it designed the land would be almost totally utilized. We have plans for a tennis court, a recreational facilities for the youth, and shops.
Ahari El: Where would the parking be?
Imam: Between the shops and the Masjid. After we allot all of that we feel all of the land would be used and we hope to secure the other lot after the Masjid is built.
Ahari El: Where do you see yourself as a community in ten or fifteen years?
Imam: Hopefully, InshaAllah, a growing community where we will basically be self sufficient and encourage people from other parts of the country to settle here. We feel that if we were able to get a school going, have a good economic base, and get the community would grow more quickly that we would attract Muslims to come and settle here. Another thing we have is that we are close to Fort Bragg, constantly Muslims (both converts and persons born into Islam) are coming there in the service and are looking for Muslims to socialize with and a community to be part of. Right now Muslims for Dubai are training there. Muslims from Saudi Arabia, Bosnia, and other countries have also been trained there. We hope to offer them an Islamic Cultural Center -- an outlet or place they can come to in order to be in touch with their Islamic roots. When they come to Fort Bragg they can visit us and they can learn from us and we from them. We would have classes and interact with them; that would really help and encourage them. So that’s another thing we hope to put in place soon. We will contact the various Muslims embassies to let them know and to let the soldiers know we are there and that they can visit us and eat Halal foods.
Ahari El: You mentioned an Islamic school. What about an Islamic library for the general community?
Imam: We Hope to have classes for adults to teach Qur’anic Arabic, Hadith classes, and general adult education classes. As you know we are located in the heart of an African-American community and such Adult Education services are greatly needed and we hope to be a place to provide those services. That is one reason that we are having a community awareness day sponsored by the Masjid. We are trying to be a facilitator to attract people to community service and to Al-Islam.
Ahari El: Thank you for your time. Assalm aleikum.
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