IMAM JAMIL AL-AMIN IS SERVING A LIFE SENTENCE FOR A CRIME HE DID NOT COMMIT

Imam Jamil Al-Amin laid the foundation for the Black Lives Matter movement and for current National Muslim Organizations; yet, he remains incarcerated in some of the worst prisons in America for a crime he did not commit. He has been far removed from family, given limited access to his legal team, been medically neglected to the extent that he is now blind, had several of his Constitutional Rights violated both during his trial and in his treatment while incarcerated. Imam Jamil has been left to be tortured and subjected to cruel and unusual punishment for the past 21 years while we essentially have forgotten him.

Imam Jamil’s case is extremely active. There is an active case in Federal Court demanding that he receive the necessary cataract surgery such that he may regain his vision. We must advocate for his transfer back to the State of Georgia, and we must continue to actively demand justice in that he must be released. Otis Jackson has consistently confessed to the crime for which Imam Jamil is serving a life sentence and there is extensive evidence corroborating this confession.

Imam Jamil’s case is also under review by the Fulton County Conviction Integrity Unit wherein they have the power to completely exonerate him and free him. Time is of the essence and we must fearlessly speak out against this injustice and advocate for Imam Jamil NOW. Imam Jamil is now 77 years of age and his health is not well. He needs our voices. He needs us to advocate for him the way he advocated for us throughout his lifetime. Imam Jamil sacrificed everything to be Allah’s servant and to speak truth to power. It is now our turn.

If we were outraged about the killing of Fred Hampton, we should be outraged by the wrongful life imprisonment of Imam Jamil Al-Amin. We must advocate for him during his life rather than wait for his death to celebrate him after we have wrongfully abandoned him.

WHO IS IMAM JAMIL ABDULLAH AL-AMIN?

Jamil Abdullah Al-Amin (né Hubert Giroir Brown) was born on October 9, 1943 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He became known as H. Rap Brown in the early 1960s. Imam Jamil was the fifth chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee in the 1960s and in 1968 was the Minister of Justice between SNCC and the Black Panther Party. As the chairman of SNCC, he attended a contentious civil rights meeting at the White House with President Lyndon Johnson during the Selma Crisis of 1965. In 1966, he organized for black voter registration and enforcement of the Voting Rights Act in Alabama. Al-Amin continued Stokely Carmichael’s support for Black Power in 1967 wherein he toured the nation calling for the black community to organize. Imam Jamil was heavily involved in the fight against Jim Crow Segregation. Imam Jamil is the historic foundation of the Black Lives Matter Movement.

In the 1970s, Imam Jamil reverted to Islam. His work thereafter focused on advocating for justice irrespective of race or cultural difference. Imam Jamil went on to create his own Muslim community in the West End of Atlanta, Georgia. In 1987, Imam Jamil was a national participant of the “Stop the Killing Movement” which produced community empowerment drug patrols. In 1991, Imam Jamil was a member of peace envoys to Chicago, Los Angeles, and other major cities to engage in truce and cease fire negotiations among street gang organizations. By 1992, he was a member of the peace envoy that ultimately produced a national truce and peace treaty signed by major street gangs. In 1993, Imam Jamil became the Co-convener or the first National Urban Peace and Justice Summit in Kansas City that developed an Urban Peace Treaty and Policy Initiative. Imam Jamil committed his life to the upliftment of his community.

The work of Imam Jamil Al-Amin (formerly known as H. Rap Brown) during the late 1960s, 1980s and ‘90s, with community-based and gang organization leaders and the development of an urban peace treaty and policy initiative resulted in a 10% drop in crime nationally and a 25% reduction in homicides among Black and Brown youth in the 1990s. Imam Jamil Al-Amin’s work in this area also gave him the opportunity to assist in initiating the national hip hop peace treaty and rappers pledge signed in Chicago which created peace between east coast and west coast rappers.

The work of the urban peace and justice movement has continued in many cities throughout the country. Imam Al-Amin was one of the architects and sustaining influences of this movement. Community organizers relate that Imam Al-Amin’s dedication to bringing peace is attributed to “saving thousands of lives.”

HOW IMAM JAMIL AL-AMIN LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR THE CURRENT NATIONAL MUSLIM ORGANIZATIONS:

In November 1976, Imam Jamil traveled to Saudi Arabia for his hajj and returned to Atlanta, Georgia to organize a Muslim community in the southwest part (West End) of Atlanta. Between 1977 – 2000, Imam Jamil organized and maintained a neighborhood cleanup of drugs, prostitution and crime; worked with youth and street organizations; participated in initiating the establishment of the “National Jamaat”(Al Ummah) comprised of approximately 40 masajids in various cities in the United States and the Caribbean.

In 1983 Imam Jamil was the Convenor of the first Annual Riyaadah, a national annual sports competition, held in Atlanta, Georgia. By 1987, Imam Jamil Al-Amin became the Founder and Co-convener of the National Majlis Ash-Shura of North America, a council of Muslim leaders representing the majority of Muslims in the United States. It was comprised of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), the Ministry of W.D. Mohamed, and the “National Jamaat” led by Imam Jamil. Imam Jamil served as the first Amir (leader) beginning in 1993. In the 1990s, he was involved in the Bosnian Taskforce against the Bosnian Genocide and was very outspoken on the liberation of the Palestinian People.

In 1993, Imam Jamil led the first and largest rally in Washington, D.C. (50,000+) at the Washington Mall to demand that they stop the genocide in Bosnia. In 1994, he led a U.S. Delegation to the Arabic and Islamic Conference in Khartoum. In the 1990s, Imam Jamil was also Vice President and then President of the American Muslim Council, the first Muslim organization based in Washington DC to promote Muslim issues. It established innovative programs, such as the Military Muslim Chaplaincy, Muslim Census, National Prison Chaplaincy, Organizer of the National Community Hajj Project responsible for coordinating hajj for hundreds of Muslims from the U.S. and traveling with the groups.

CURRENT SITUATION:

Imam Jamil Al-Amin’s is serving a life sentence for a crime he did not commit. His case is currently under review by the Fulton County Conviction Integrity Unit. There is no evidence placing Imam Jamil at the scene of the crime: no fingerprints, no gun residue, no DNA. In fact, Otis Jackson has been consistent in his confession of the crime for which Imam Jamil is serving a life sentence (giving multiple written sworn statements and testifying in another trial under oath), and evidence corroborates Otis Jackson’s confession. Despite Imam Jamil serving a life sentence for a Georgia State offense, he is being housed by the United States Penitentiary in Tucson, Arizona away from his family and his attorneys. Imam Jamil is categorized as needing a level 4 facility due to his extensive medical needs; however, the Federal Prison System has kept him at a level 3 and has completely failed to provide him with necessary medical treatment. They have essentially intentionally blinded Imam Jamil.

The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals addresses the gross misconduct by the prosecutors in this case, specifically stating “We regret that we cannot provide Mr. Al-Amin relief in the face of the prosecutorial misconduct that occurred at his trial. A prosecutor’s duty in a criminal proceeding is not to secure a conviction by any means, but to ensure that justice will prevail. The prosecutor at Al-Amin’s trial failed to live up to that duty.”

There is currently an undocumented gag order on Imam Jamil wherein historians and the media have been completely denied access to him in prison. He is deliberately being erased from history.

What Can Your Organization Do to Help?

Action 1- Contact the Georgia Fulton County District Attorney and Attorney General

We need all national organizations to contact the Fulton County District Attorney and the Georgia Attorney General and be clear that the American Muslim community supports Imam Jamil and demands the following:

Exonerate Imam Jamil:Imam Jamil’s constitutional rights have been consistently violated. He is serving a life sentence for a crime that another man has consistently confessed to committing. The government has been derelict in its duty to properly investigate that confession and the enormous amount of evidence supporting Imam Jamil’s innocence.

Request for Transfer back to GA:Imam Jamil is a Georgia State Prisoner being held by the Federal Government in Tucson, Arizona, far away from his family and his attorneys, making it extremely difficult for him to be actively involved in his defense.

Demand Proper Medical Treatment:Imam Jamil has been deprived of proper medical treatment and been held in some of the worst prisons in this country. Although the Federal Prison system has identified that Imam Jamil should be housed in a level 4 facility to receive proper medical treatment, they continue to house him in a level 3 facility wherein his medical needs are not being properly met to the extent that he is now blind in both eyes and has been awaiting cataract surgery since 2018.

Action 2- Media Coverage

Issue a public statement to the media.

Identify Media Outlets to cover Imam Jamil Al-Amin’s story

What media connections does your organization have that can facilitate this?

Identify people who will act when we schedule dates to send out requests to identified media outlets (CNN; Trevor Noah; etc) pressuring them to cover this story.

Podcast – Assist in the funding and support of an ongoing podcast wherein Kairi Al-Amin can interview leaders from all the major national organizations and from the community at large re Imam Jamil’s impact on their lives and on the history of this country.

Action 3- Consistent Public Outrage

It is absolutely critical that the Community be aware of the ongoing issues relating to Imam Jamil’s case. Each Muslim organization must have an action plan as to how it will consistently make public statements pertaining to Imam Jamil. We must be proactive, very public, and consistent in the demand for him to be treated with dignity and basic human rights and for his case to be reassessed. Allowing him to go blind and preventing proper medical treatment is a violation of his 8th Amendment right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. There must be an ongoing monitoring of his well-being while incarcerated. The issue of Imam Jamil must be discussed more frequently and there should not be a Muslim community in this country who does not know who he is; what has happened to him; and what they can do to continuously advocate for him. The Muslim community must be made familiar with the case history (whathappened2rap.com) and the action items (freeimamjamil.com) which are updated as the case progresses. (More information re Imam Jamil can be found in his book Revolution by the Book. More information pertaining to the case history is available in Al-Hajj Mauri Salaakhan’s book The Imprisonment of Imam Jamil Abdullah Al Amin).

Urge Congressional Representatives to support H.R.2998, by Representative Bobby Rush – To require the public disclosure of COINTELPRO records, to establish a COINTELPRO Records Collection, and to establish the COINTELPRO Records Review Board, and for other purposes.

Imam Jamil, formerly known as H. Rap Brown, was a top target of COINTELPRO, a series of covert and illegal projects aimed at surveilling, infiltrating, discrediting, and disrupting domestic political organizations, including the Black Panther Party.

Action 4- Political Involvement

Some of you are aware that the government was initially seeking the death penalty for this case. Thankfully, former Mayor and U.S. Ambassador Andrew Young was a character witness during the sentencing phase of the trial. We believe this was a critical factor in Imam Jamil receiving a life sentence rather than the death penalty. We are asking that Organizations identify any politicians for whom they have an established relationship and inform them of the importance of bringing light to this situation. We need politicians to make public statements pertaining to the aforementioned.

Action 5- Involvement in national planning with other national organizations: We urge organizations to coordinate efforts in bringing this critical time-sensitive matter to light. (monthly calls to be arranged).