Hon Imam Akbar Shabazz
Photo of Akbar Shabazz, obtained from The Huntsville Item.
Memorial by Imam Abdul Aleem Muhammad Miles
Student, Colleague, and Friend of Hon Imam Akbar Shabazz
Greetings of Peace and Blessing, And beginning with the name of G-d, The Merciful Benefactor, The Merciful Redeemer! About 20 years ago I had the honor and pleasure of meeting the honorable Dr. Imam Akbar Shabazz. The capacity from which I became acquainted with the Imam was that of a leadership body where the Imam met with us often to encourage us towards human excellence. Our Imam is a student of the late Hon Imam WD Muhammad, a modern scholar on Al Islam, and a champion for Human Excellence.
Dr. Imam Akbar, as an Islamic Chaplain for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), created an environment to learn the tenets of the religion of Al Islam for Muslims incarcerated throughout the state of Texas. In this capacity, he established “offender led” Islamic programming in collaboration with TDCJ. He spent over 40 years fighting for the rights of incarcerated persons to Acknowledge, Accept and Pursue their Human Excellence, regardless of who they were.
Dr. Imam Akbar influenced and mentored many people in our incarcerated population, and his community. Dr Imam Shabazz will definitely be missed and is loved by many who had the honor of being in his presence. Fighting for Al Islam to be implemented inside the Texas prison has consequently resulted in many brothers and sisters becoming more productive human beings. We thank our hon Dr. Imam Akbar Shabazz for his service to humanity, may G-d Almighty forgive him his sins and grant him the higher level of paradise.
From Mourning Our Losses:
We lost a bold pioneer on April 23, 2020.
Akbar Nurid-Din Shabazz, 70, nicknamed “Lynn” by his siblings and commonly known to the community as “Shabazz,” was born in Monroe, Louisiana on March 30, 1950. His career path speaks to his talent and dedication. Working initially as a volunteer chaplain at the Wynne Unit in Huntsville, Texas, Shabazz became the first ever Muslim chaplain to be hired by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) in September 1977. Ultimately named the Regional Area Muslim Chaplain, he organized Taaleem classes, Friday Jumu’ah prayer services, and Ramadan observances at about 25 prisons in Texas. TDCJ hired a few other Muslim chaplains in Shabazz’s wake, but their relative scarcity — five in all of Texas — meant that each had a heavy workload and covered well over a dozen prison units at once. In 1982, Shabazz led prayers for Charles Brooks, Jr., the first incarcerated American to experience the death penalty by lethal injection, in the hours before his execution. In 2012, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Divinity from Trinity International Seminary.
Shabazz leaves behind a large family, including his wife, his father, his son, six daughters, two brothers, four sisters, seventeen grandchildren, and nine great-grandchildren. After a lifetime of service and a three-week fight against coronavirus, Shabazz passed away on April 23, just hours before the beginning of Ramadan, at Methodist Hospital in The Woodlands.
Perhaps the most striking evidence of Shabazz’s impact can be found in comments left online in response to his death. The following were written on his obituary page in The Huntsville Item:
“Shabazz and I worked at Gulf Coast Trade Center on I-45. We would talk about religion and how different things were in the world. He was like a Big brother, full of wisdom and encouragement. He will truly be missed.”
“Our times were always delightful, our sharing mutual and his caring extremely evident! God's Peace!”
“My friend my buddy will miss you. One of the first [people] I met in the 70's at the Goree Unit. A joy to be around, never met a stranger.”
“A shining example of manhood.”
And on Facebook in response to the TDCJ announcement:
“Chaplain Shabazz lit up a room when he entered. He commanded respect and didn’t even know he was doing it. He was always professional and had a heart of gold. When you talked to him you could feel his passion. He is home now.”
“This breaks my heart. Some of my rough days on the unit, he would talk me back to where I [...] needed to be. R.I.P. my friend, I will never forget you.”
“I'm heartbroken. Such a sweet and loving man. He always had a smile on his face and encouraging words.”
“I remember him coming to Gurney for Ramadan. R.I.P. Chaplain Shabazz.”
“Praying for his family both in prison and out!!”
These selections offer just a taste of how many lives Shabazz touched, and how deeply he did so. Abdul Aleem Muhammad Miles, who spent time with Shabazz in a San Antonio prison in 2000, says in an interview with NBC News that “Shabazz's leadership was so pivotal” in his life. He explains, “When [he] spoke, he spoke the truth and left it up to you. He definitely had his own thoughts but it was always consistent with the word of Allah… He wasn’t overbearing with his knowledge or understanding… It was Imam Akbar’s trust in our leadership that allowed me to be serious.”
Jihad Muhammad, another man who was incarcerated when he met Shabazz, speaks to the chaplain’s advocacy efforts for Muslim men in prisons. During Ramadan, he says to the Houston Press, “the secular institution would not bother to make accommodations for Muslims. [Shabazz] was our inside guy who looked out for us.” Shabazz’s religious teaching and mentoring, he says, were “priceless.”
Shabazz was a cornerstone in the prisons where he worked. Haywood Talib, a former Muslim chaplain, reports to the Houston Press that a common refrain in the prison was, “Make sure you talk to Shabazz, make sure you run that by Shabazz.” Eugene Farooq, Shabazz’s long-time coworker and friend, adds that Shabazz “was like a landmark” in Texas prisons who “touched a lot of lives of believers.”
Shabazz was admired not only for his commitment to incarcerated people practicing Islam but those who belonged to all religions. In addition, his daughter Rabiah Shabazz attributes her father’s ability to “de-escalate conflicts” inside to his immense “patience and calm” in his obituary published by The New York Times. Many men who met Shabazz while incarcerated remained his friends after their release; Shabazz continued to support and mentor those he met behind bars. All in all, Eugene Farooq characterizes Shabazz on NPR as “someone very dedicated who sacrificed a lot of pleasures in life to give attention to men who really needed it most.”
Shabazz’s son, Akbar Nurid-Din Shabazz, Jr., said in an interview NPR, “After he passed, I really started to hear about the impact he had on others.” Shabazz gave so much to other people, both inside and outside of prisons. Let his legacy speak for itself; his invaluable contributions will continue to impact other people’s lives for many decades to come.
This part of the memorial was written by MOL team member Eliza Kravitz with information from reporting by The Huntsville Item, Robert Downen of Houston Chronicle, Ahmed H. Sharma of NBC News 4 San Antonio and Houston Press, David Montgmery of The New York Times, Alisa Chang and Sarah McCammon of NPR, and Texas Department of Criminal Justice.