Shocked friends say imam was generous and helpful

Detroit --Those who knew Luqman Ameen Abdullah as a religious leader expressed shock over his death and accusations that he led a violent, separatist mosque.

They portrayed the imam of Masjid Al-Haqq mosque as a generous man and had no inkling that Abdullah would ever be involved in crime.

"We have no information about illegal activity going on at that mosque," said Dawud Walid, executive director of the Council On American-Islamic Relations-Michigan. Walid said Abdullah "would give the shirt off his back to people."

"The congregation he led was poor," Walid said. "He fed very hungry people in the neighborhood who were Christian. He helped and assisted a lot of troubled youth. People would come to him who were hungry and he would let them sleep in the mosque. He would let them in from the elements."

Detroiter David Nu'man said he considered Abdullah a friend and had visited the mosque several times. The mosque relocated to a brick home on Clairmont at Holmur this year after members were evicted from a building on Joy Road for non-payment of property taxes, according to an FBI complaint.

"I'm totally in the dark about these allegations," Nu'Man said.

"He successfully fed a lot of people in the neighborhood during the month of Ramadan. It was a good humanitarian effort."

The FBI's complaint described Abdullah as a "highly placed leader of a radical fundamentalist Sunni group." It included numerous alleged statements from him about bombs, weapons and his desire to overthrow the government.

But federal authorities didn't seek terrorism charges against Abdullah or others in the mosque, and Walid wondered why their religion was so prominent in the complaint against them.

"They have no linkage to terrorism nationally or internationally," Walid said. "What in the world does Islam have to do with these charges? Why is religion being brought into play?"