Michael "Mikal" Saahir has been the Imam (Islamic Minister) of the Nur-Allah Islamic Center since 1992. His duties include serving as the Director for the Clara Muhammad Weekend School, leading the Jumah (Friday) prayer service, and attending to the community needs of the Islamic center. He is a student of Imam W. Deen Mohammed.

 

Since 1992 he has written a regular column for The Indianapolis Recorder newspaper titled Al-Islam in America that addresses issues that Muslims and Americans in general may have about Islam. Michael also writes for Muslim Journal, a national Islamic newspaper.

Twice Imam Saahir has completed the Islamic Hajj (pilgrimage) to the holy sites in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. He has made numerous visits to Rome, Italy and Vatican City in support of interfaith efforts between Muslims and Focolare Catholics. In 2008 Michael traveled to Jordan with the International Interfaith Initiative to build a Habit for Humanity home called the House of Abraham, in collaboration with Jews and Christians. In December 2009 he traveled to the Philippines and Thailand on a comparative study of Muslims as minorities in the United States and these two countries. Saahir was honored by the Center for Interfaith cooperation as the 2019 Interfaith Ambassador of the Year.

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In January 2003 Michael graduated from Martin University Summa Cum Laude earning a BA Degree in Humane Exchange; lessons that has enlarged his work as an imam, activist and a human being. He is the husband of Carolyn since 1980 and the father of one daughter, Aline (Kita) and three sons, Mikal, Hamid, and Muhammed. In 2017 he retired from the Indianapolis Fire Department having served 38 years.

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Imam Michael Saahir has written a 340 page book titled The Honorable Elijah Muhammad: The Man Behind the Men, currently in its second edition. An account of Mr. Elijah Muhammad’s life that seeks to show many of the positive contributions of the leader of the Nation of Islam, particularly his leadership as lived out through Minister Malcolm X. Boxing Champion Muhammad Ali, Minister Louis Farrakhan, and Imam W. Deen Mohammed. Saahir was awarded the "2011 Author of the Year" by "Family Matters," of New York City. Saahir also has written a heart-warming fiction book By Winter and Summer” – 32 pages of a family-centered book that is trans-generational.

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 For interviews please call 317 704-4862 or email request to wordsmakepeople@gmx.com