Nation of Islam Members, Mainstream Muslims Unite at Detroit Forum

February 23, 2007

Author: Gregg Krupa

Source: The Detroit News

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070223/UPDATE/702230449/1041/LIFESTYLE04

DETROIT -- About 5,000 members of the Nation of Islam prayed this afternoon at Cobo Center with members of mainline Islamic groups, as the organization continues to makes some moves that would foster a closer alliance with mainstream Islam.

"I am very thankful to be here today with you at the invitation of our brother, Minister Louis Farrakhan and the executive committee," said Imam Siraj Wahhaj, an internationally known Islamic scholar based in Lexington, Ky. "And I want you to know this. Minister Farrakhan invited me because of a sense of movement, because of an attempt to bring Muslims together."

The Jumu'ah prayer is considered the most important of the five daily prayers that Muslims offer, especially on Fridays, when observant Muslims usually flock to local mosques.

When a number of noted Islamic leaders said they would travel to Detroit for the annual convention and conferences of the Nation of Islam this weekend, and to participate Friday in the Jumu'ah prayer, it was deemed significant by many Muslims.