The Final Call

Ultimate sacrifice and resolve for a New Year

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At this time of year, it is typical that media outlets do tributes to those who have passed and assign such designations as Person of the Year, political winners and losers, most controversial figure and highlight those who have had the greatest impact as the year ends.

Brother Wali Muhammad proudly presents a copy of The Final Call newspaper.

This is one way of bringing the year into perspective. It reminds viewers and readers of what has transpired and the imprint that people and events had on the country and the world. For The Final Call newspaper, this time of year always brings a reminder about the true cost of liberation and the sacrifices made to bring forth new realities and full freedom. That reminder is the killing and passing of our former illustrious editor Abdul Wali Muhammad on December 26, 1991.

Brother Wali, as he was called, was a driving force in the development of the newspaper and a devoted follower and helper of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan. It could have been said that ink was in his blood: His father was Simeon Booker, an award-winning journalist and longtime Washington Bureau chief for Jet magazine. One of his ancestors was among the founders of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity at Cornell University. It was at Cornell that this young warrior had a significant brush with an aspect of the teachings of the Hon. Elijah Muhammad. As he sat in a classroom, a classmate had a book and written on the textbook was the name “Karim God.” “So you are god, huh?” said young James Booker as the future editor was called at the time. “Yes, sir, Black man,” the classmate replied, “and so are you.” The classmate was part of the Nation of Gods and Earths, also known as the Five Percenters, who are part of the branches of the tree that is the Nation of Islam. James became a Five Percenter.

Brother Wali with Islamic Scholar Ahmad Deedat in Mosque Maryam in Chicago. Photos: Final Call Archives

Eventually James Booker found his way to the rebuilding work of Min. Farrakhan and joined fledgling reestablishment efforts, going on to become the Fruit of Islam captain in Washington, D.C. at Muhammad Mosque No. 4. His blistering typing speed at the time was among qualities that attracted the Minister’s attention and the Muslim brother was asked to move to headquarters in Chicago to help. He became a minister and was given the name Abdul Wali Muhammad, which means servant of the Protecting Friend and is an attribute of Allah God. After assisting others with the newspaper, he became editor-in-chief in 1984. His visionary leadership included a commitment to use of computer technology and communication, which was rare for a Black newspaper at the time. But above all Brother Wali loved his God, his Christ, his Minister, his people and demonstrated that love through his devotion to the newspaper. He and helpers, like his managing editor and successor James G. Muhammad, took The Final Call from an intermittent journal to a monthly, and then weekly newspaper. Under James G. Muhammad, the paper transitioned from bi-weekly to weekly.

Vital to Brother Wali’s life were his loving and faithful wife Zenobia, his sons Akmal, Luqman and Farrakhan and daughters Crescent, Amira and Zainab. He was a devoted son to his mother and loved his siblings, a brother and a sister.

Brother Wali was relentless in his pursuit of progress and excellence for The Final Call and defense of Min. Farrakhan. He was plainspoken, direct and demanding. His manner wasn’t loved by all. It didn’t matter. He was committed to the cause of Islam and Black liberation and progress was the only acceptable outcome. Brother Wali also had a sharp sense of humor, a hearty laugh and would be a big brother, harsh task master and inspiring giant to another young man who would join the Nation in Washington, D.C., and offered this writer the opportunity to work for The Final Call. I never dreamed a day would come when he would not be around to guide and correct me.

But after a workout at a Chicagoland area health club, Brother Wali had a heart attack and passed away Dec. 26. He was 37-years-old. An autopsy would reveal that he had been slowly poisoned over time through something added to his coffee. His death was a shock and a blow, and was followed in August 1992 by the death of Abdul Wazir Muhammad, who served as national accountant and national secretary of the Nation of Islam.

“The Nation mourns the passing of one of its brightest stars, Minister Abdul Wali Muhammad,” Minister Farrakhan said at funeral services for Brother Wali on December 31, 1991. “His brilliant mind reflected in his speech and in his pen will be greatly missed among us. I personally have lost a brother, a companion, a friend and a son in the most difficult of all endeavors, the transformation of the lives of our people here and throughout the world. I thank Allah (God) for the privilege and honor of having known him. His memory shall be with me to my dying day and his work shall endure in the history of the Nation of Islam.”

As the year 2012 marked the 21st anniversary of the death of Abdul Wali Muhammad, our charge is to honor his memory through continued work and dedication and to tell his story. Those who give the ultimate sacrifice in the defense of our Nation must never be reduced to a picture on a wall or an entity or institution whose name is recognized but whose history is unknown.

As stars are fixed points of light in the sky that can provide direction, the passing of this star must be remembered as an example of the price of freedom and the cunning, vile, wickedness of our enemies.

The passing of Abdul Wali Muhammad must also be remembered as an example of a patriot’s death fueling the struggle for the liberation of the Black Nation and an example of the life of a dedicated servant.

We don’t plan to forget his life, his loss or his sacrifice and we know Allah God does not waste the work of any worker, so we pray for his family and we pray that Allah will not deprive us of his reward.

We also pray for a portion of his spirit as we go forward in a new year and work to overcome new challenges.

Lastly, we pray that the enemy and murderers of our brother understand that their efforts cannot stop progress and only bring the wrath of God Himself. Let us continue to attempt the uphill road and as the Holy Qur’an says, may Satan and his instruments die in their rage.