A civil rights success story: the case of Imam Khalifa Islam
by the volunteer staff of Justice for All

Imagine being at Friday prayer, when suddenly a group of police officers burst into the mosque, viciously attack your Imam, throwing him down on the floor to arrest him.

The case of Imam Khalifa Islam is a Muslim's nightmare. But it is also a great success story of Muslims fighting for and winning the battle for civil rights and dignity in America.

Imam Khalifa dragged out of the mosque

The mosque of this Muslim African-American Imam, Masjid Al-Latif in Chicago, was raided in 1996 by over 20 white police officers. They literally dragged Imam Khalifa out of the mosque while he was giving a Khutba (sermon).

"They forced me face down to the floor of the mosque choking me from behind with a nightstick. Some of them kneeled on my back and legs. One of them stepped on my head forcing my face into the carpet. I could barely move my mouth or breathe," he recounts in his account of the incident in the book Chicago Police Attack A House Of Allah.

Imam Khalifa was taken to jail and falsely charged with resisting arrest and assaulting students of Madrasa tu Nur Muslim Academy. This is the full-time school run by the mosque. The Imam is the principal of this school, which is tuition-free for Muslim children from low-income families.

Muslims defend the Imam

Two Muslim lawyers of Pakistani heritage, Junaid Afeef and Arifa Majeed, represented Imam Khalifa in court. A jury composed entirely of non-Muslims found him not guilty of all charges.

The Imam is now suing the Chicago police officers involved in the raid on his mosque. At present, according to Chicago-based lawyer Kamran Memon, Imam Khalifa and the police officers are exchanging information via written questions and depositions. It is still not certain when exactly the case will be called to trial.

Police brutality statistics

According to a 1998 Human Rights Watch report on police brutality in the United States, between 1992 and 1997, the city of Chicago reportedly paid more than $29 million to settle over 1600 lawsuits involving excessive force, false arrest, and improper search allegations.

Some links about this case and the issue of police brutality in general:

1. From MSA news-"Chicago Mosque files lawsuit against city for 1996 police raid on Jumuah prayer"

2. The Human Rights Watch Report: "Shielded from Justice Police Brutality and Accountability in the United States"

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