Al-Maa’uun: Living Out the Call to Serve Humankind
For me, Islam has never been just a weekly commitment, just something I did at noon on Fridays. It’s been my lifestyle, starting from the time that I was 12 years old. As a young woman, I attended the parochial school at the Nation of Islam, and I was a secretary at the Nation’s headquarters in Chicago, Illinois. My life was enveloped with that community.
In 1976, my husband Charles was asked to take over the post of Imam (worship leader) at the Muhammad Temple of Islam, which would later become Masjid An-Nur, after the death of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad in 1975.
I fell in love with the community right away. Even though it was challenging to leave my hometown and my family, the Twin Cities felt like such a welcoming place. It never felt like we were strangers in the land.
I remember opening the door to let my children go out and play in the grass, which was a big difference from the concrete jungle in Chicago. After 40 years here, it really does feel like home.
As soon as we moved here, I continued the volunteering and other activities that I was engaged in. At the masjid, I immediately connected with the secretary and helped streamline the work. As time went on, we started to explore other avenues and questioned how we could be more involved in the broader community.
In the 1990s, the government was decimating all types of social programs as part of a devolution project, which was leaving people in the lurch. They would go one day from having food stamps or another social net, then the next day they would be cut off. So many people were left without hope of making progress or even just feeding their families. It was eye-opening to see how menacing our government could be, to watch how they could uproot people’s lives with no sense of shame.
Allah tells us that we need to be in service to mankind, and in that spirit, we established Al-Maa’uun. The organization’s name comes from the phrase in the Qur’an which means “neighborly needs.” It was important for us to provide resources and programs that would benefit not just the Muslim community but anyone who needed the services. We didn’t want to be kept in this little chasm of Minneapolis Muslims—we wanted to express our commitment to the entire community, using Surah 107.
We started out with a food shelf, which we stocked and staffed through a grant from the McKnight Foundation as well as donations from the Islamic Center of Minnesota (ICM). We noticed right away that community members loved our organization for what we provided. My daughter did a lot of work establishing the program, and she became known as the “food shelf lady.” At first there were only 25 families who came, but according to my last count, we now have over 300 families who visit the food shelf. Today, Al-Maa’uun offers food, housing, mentoring, and career services to anyone who needs them.
We also partnered with other religious organizations and congregations such as Church of the Ascension, which is right down the street from us. Regardless of our faith persuasions, we were united because we wanted to serve the people no matter what. Even within the Muslim community, there are subtle differences and sometimes large divisions, but I believe that you can work with anyone whose goal is to make this world a better place—without denying your own self or your own religious convictions.
We are a tapestry of many colors, hues, and all types of whatever Allah has made us to be, and we should be proud of what we are.
I’m pleased with what I’ve been able to accomplish in the last 40 years by the grace of Allah, and I’m proud of how my children have been carrying on the idea of being in service to mankind. I hope that they have been inculcated with the same desire to be a good person and the same sense of community. I pray a lot that I have set enough of an example for them to want to carry forth in this manner—because in my heart, this is the only way, the only lifestyle that I know.
My oldest daughter RaSheedah, because of her health challenges, became skilled at navigating the social security system and making life more comfortable for others with disabilities. My younger daughter Kamillah is an entrepreneur who’s passionate about housing for seniors and farm-to-table foods. Many people know my youngest son Khalid, who was a professional basketball player known as “Mr. North High.” My middle son Ishmael worked diligently to help bring a garden to Masjid An-Nur before he relocated to Atlanta, Georgia. And my oldest son Makram followed in his dad’s footsteps with the ministry and is now the Imam of the masjid. We’ve welcomed many grandchildren and great-grandchildren into our family. Allah has been merciful.
When I think about my history and my legacy, I can’t separate out being African American and being Muslim and being a woman. There’s no crossing the road from one to the other—I am who I am.
This country, even though its history is drenched in the blood of African Americans, would like us to feel as if we had no history of our own. And when it comes to the Muslim community, some think of Islam as an Arab religion or an immigrant religion. But I don’t see a conflict between my traditions, my lifestyle, and my faith. If Allah had wanted, He could have made us all the same, but I think that Islam is meant to dignify us in our own skins. My Lord made me from African American stock, and I have embraced Islam by His grace. I’m so thankful to be an African American Muslim woman.
I don’t get around now as much as I used to, but my heart is still in the work that I’ve been doing the last few decades. I pray that Allah continues blessing us on this path and opening doors for us to be in service to each other.
Arlene Nu’Man El-Amin, a resident of Minneapolis, MN since 1976, was born and raised in Chicago, IL. Her journey to Islam began in 1958, when she became a student at the Nation of Islam’s parochial school, Muhammad University of Islam in Chicago, IL. After graduating, Arlene worked for the Nation from 1963 until relocating to Minneapolis in 1976. In 1975, with the passing of the Hon. Elijah Muhammad, she transitioned from the Nation of Islam theology to the practice of Al-Islam, as practiced by over a billion Muslims worldwide. After moving to Minneapolis, she continued her service to the Muslim community. In 1996, she was director of the Muslim component of Congregations in Community, a volunteer initiative of the McKnight Foundation. Along with three Christian and one Jewish organizations, 10,000 persons volunteered in some capacity to service those impacted by government devolution program. This began her community outreach pursuits, which continue to this day. In 2009 she became a director of Al-Maa’uun (The Neighborly Needs) community outreach program. The theme of Al-Maa’uun is to provide services with dignity for those in need of food services, hot meals, work readiness, housing. Arlene and Charles El-Amin are parents of five children, 22 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren.