The leader of the Nation of Islam, credited with leading it towards mainstream Islamic practice, has passed away.

From his bio page at The Atlanta Jamaat:

Imam W. Deen Mohammed was born October 30, 1933, to the builder and leader of the Nation of Islam, the late Honorable Elijah (Poole) Muhammed and the late Clara (Evans) Muhammad. He is the leader of the largest identifiable consittuency of Muslim Americans and is recognized world wide as a leading Islamic Thinker and representative.

He succeeded his father in 1975 as the leader of the Nation of Islam with unanimous support of its followers and began its transformation to “Islam proper” as practiced by over 1 billion Muslims worldwide. He operned the Nation of Islam membership up to all races of Muslims and encouraged Muslim Americans to register to vote and become full participants in the politics and economics of America.

(via Koonj and Talk Islam)

Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun