بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ، وَبَعْد

For many Black American Muslims, the idea of building civil governance across communities feels new, overwhelming, unprecedented, or unreachable. But in truth, Muslims have always created order out of disorder. Across every region and every era, Muslim communities, large or small, powerful or marginalized, have organized themselves, established leadership, and developed mechanisms to manage their internal affairs. What we are discussing today is not new. It is only new to us. 

Governance Is a Universal Muslim Practice 

There is no Muslim population on earth, past or present, that has not addressed the question of governance. Whether under empires, in minority contexts, or in small local communities, Muslims have always identified people of integrity and influence to handle communal affairs. This includes: 

• Ahl al‑ḥall wa’l‑ʿaqd — respected decision‑makers 

• Imams and scholars — moral and legal anchors 

• Trusted business owners and elders — people known for accountability 

• Families with long-standing reputations for service 

This pattern exists today across the United States among immigrant Muslim communities. They have internal leadership structures, dispute‑resolution mechanisms, marriage and divorce procedures, and systems of accountability. None of this required state power. It required organization, continuity, and shared norms. 

The Challenge and Opportunity for Black American Muslims 

For Black American Muslims—descendants of enslaved Africans—the path is more difficult. Our communities have endured historical disruption, institutional instability, and the long-term effects of systemic exclusion. Building governance structures will take time, patience, and collective commitment. 

But the task is not impossible. In fact, it aligns with our own history of resilience and institution‑building. What we need is not a new invention, or a new madhhab, but a reconnection to a method Muslims everywhere have used for centuries. 

A Proven Method Exists 

Islamic governance is not theoretical. It is a well‑documented, historically practiced system. One of the clearest articulations of this tradition is found in Al‑Aḥkām al‑Sulṭāniyyah (The Laws of Islamic Governance) by Imam Abu al‑Ḥasan al‑Mawardi (d. 450 AH). The text outlines how Muslims have structured leadership, accountability, and communal decision‑making. Reading it does not mean recreating a medieval political system. It means understanding the principles Muslims have always used to organize themselves—principles that can be adapted to our context as a minority community in America. But governance didn’t start with Abu Hasan al-Mawardi.

Throughout Islamic history, there are countless examples of Muslim leadership coming together in consultation to preserve order, continuity, and communal stability—beginning with the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ themselves. When the Prophet (SAWS) passed away, the very first act of the Muslim community was not military, devotional, or economic; it was shura—a collective consultation at Saqīfah to determine leadership and prevent disorder. That pattern continued throughout the era of the Rightly Guided Caliphs, who regularly convened councils of senior Companions to deliberate on matters of law, governance, public welfare, and conflict resolution. Later Muslim civilizations—from the Umayyads and Abbasids to West African, Andalusian, Ottoman, and Southeast Asian Muslim societies—developed formal and informal systems of consultation involving scholars, jurists, tribal leaders, merchants, and community elders. Whether facing political transitions, social crises, or questions of public policy, Muslims historically understood that collective decision‑making was essential to maintaining unity, legitimacy, and continuity. This long tradition demonstrates that governance through consultation is not an innovation; it is one of the oldest and most consistent features of Muslim civilization.

It’s Not New—It’s Just New to Us 

Building governance is like building anything else. Constructing a building is not new, but it feels new to someone who has never built one. Likewise, civil governance is not new to the Muslim world, but it feels new to Black American Muslims because we are only now beginning to reclaim what historical circumstances interrupted. 

Why Previous Attempts at Unity Failed—and Why This Moment Must Be Different 

This is not the first time Black American Muslim leaders have attempted to unify. Several major efforts were made over the last forty years. Each carried tremendous promise. Each collapsed for reasons unrelated to Islam, scholarship, or the needs of the people. Understanding those failures is essential if we want to avoid repeating them. 

The 1980s: A Moment of Hope Undone by Personality 

In the 1980s, respected Imams from across the country—Imam Siraj Wahhaj, Imam Luqman Abdullah of Detroit, Imam Dawud from Cleveland, and roughly two dozen others—attempted to build a unified national body. 

The effort collapsed not because the vision was flawed, but because personalities, ego, and performative leadership got in the way. The work required humility, discipline, and shared purpose. Instead, personal rivalries and unnecessary competition undermined the project before it could mature. 

The Early 2000s: MANA and the Weight of Internal Obstacles 

In the early 2000s, the Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA) emerged as another attempt to unify Black American Muslims. The idea was strong. The need was real. The leadership was respected. 

But again, internal obstacles resurfaced: 

• Ego and fear of being overshadowed 

• Lack of professional standards 

• External influence from immigrant‑dominated institutions 

• Internalized inferiority and historical trauma 

• Reluctance to submit to shared structure or accountability 

These were not theological problems. They were cultural and emotional ones. 

The Closed‑Door Summit in Philadelphia: A Missed Turning Point 

At a closed‑door summit in Philadelphia, in the early 2000’s, nearly every major American Ima, Black and non‑Black, was present: Imam Siraj Wahhaj, Imam Zaid Shakir, Shaykh Hamza Yusuf, Muhammad Shareef, Amir al‑Islam, the late Imam Talib, Dr. Sherman Jackson, Dr. Umar Abdullah, Dr. Mukhtar Curtis, Shaykh Anwar Muhaimin, leaders from Darul Islam, Imams from the W.D Muhammad commmunity, and more than a hundred others. 

It was a historic gathering. 

And yet, the effort collapsed for the same reasons as before. Not because the issues were too complex, but because the interpersonal maturity, the discipline, and the shared governance norms simply were not there. The topic of governance didn’t even make it onto the table. 

We were not ready. 

A New Time, a New Responsibility 

Today, we are in a different era. The stakes are higher. The fragmentation is deeper. The consequences of disunity are more visible. And the need for serious, structured governance is no longer optional—it is existential. 

This moment requires: 

• Respect for elders and those who have walked this road before 

• A refusal to center any one personality 

• Professional standards and transparent processes 

• Humility and shared leadership 

• A willingness to learn from past failures 

We cannot afford to treat this work as a stage for ego, competition, or personal branding. The community is too vulnerable, the challenges are too great, there is too much going on in the world around us, and the future too important. 

Moving Forward With Maturity 

If Black American Muslims are going to build real civil governance across our communities in America, systems for marriage, divorce, mediation, inheritance, conflict resolution, leadership standards, and inter‑masjid cooperation—we must approach the work with seriousness, discipline, and historical awareness. 

We have tried personality‑driven unity. It failed. 

We have tried charisma‑driven unity. It failed. 

We have tried informal networks of influence. They failed. 

What remains is the only path that has ever worked for Muslims anywhere in the world: structured governance rooted in scholarship, accountability, and shared responsibility. 

This time, it cannot be about individuals. It must be about institutions, continuity, and the long-term well‑being of Black Muslim communities across America. 

The Path Ahead 

The path toward unified governance among Black American Muslims will require: 

• Identifying trustworthy, accountable leaders 

• Establishing shared norms across communities 

• Creating mechanisms for marriage, divorce, mediation, and dispute resolution 

• Building continuity across masājid and organizations 

• Learning from the global and historical Muslim experience 

In my view, Black American Muslim descendants of enslaved people constitute the newest Muslim civilization on the planet. That being the case, there is nothing wrong with benefitting from the trials, errors, successes, and failures of Muslim civilizations throughout history. It is only prudent to do so. We are not starting from zero. We are stepping back into a tradition that has   always been ours. And Allah knows best. Imam Luqman Ahmad 

Shaykh Luqman Ahmad, born and raised in Philadelphia Pa, and son of American converts to Islam, is an American Muslim thinker, scholar, writer, educator, and community leader with more than four decades of service. A graduate of the Islamic University of Omdurman, with time spent at Umm al-Qura University, and in classes at the Haram in Mecca. Imam was first introduced to Islamic learning by his parents. He studied with numerous scholars, most notably the late “Sayyid Sabiq”, author of the book “Fiqh as-Sunnah”.  For a list of his teachers, consult his blog at imamluqman.wordpress.com. He served as the Imam of Masjid Ibrahim Islamic Center in California for 20 years, guiding one of the region’s most diverse Muslim communities with a blend of classical Sunni scholarship and deep awareness of American social realities. Over the course of his career, he has also served as an Imam and or resident scholar at several masaajid across the country, including in Philadelphia, Toledo, Sacramento, and Folsom, California.  

He is the author of several books, most notably The Devil’s Deception of the Modern-Day Salafi Sect, a widely discussed critique of contemporary Salafism, and Double Edged Slavery, an original work examining the mentality, history, and lived experience of Black Sunni Muslims in America. His writings, lectures, and community work continue to influence conversations on Islamic law, identity, leadership, and the future of American Muslim communities. Currently, he writes, conducts research, and serves as a guest khateeb at the Quba Institute in Philadelphia. He can be reached at: imamabulaith@yahoo.com