Guyana 'arrests Farrakhan aide' in drugs, terrorism probe

ocal media identified the man as Akbar Muhammad, who is a longtime top aide to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan (AFP/File, Nicholas Kamm)

 

(AFP) – 6 hours ago

GEORGETOWN, Guyana — A Muslim cleric was arrested Thursday on suspicion of drug trafficking and terrorism in Guyana, authorities in the South American country said.

Local media identified the man as Akbar Muhammad, who is a longtime top aide to Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

Muhammad is the Nation of Islam's international representative with offices in Ghana and the United States, according to a Nation of Islam website.

Muhammad was arrested at the Princess Hotel and Casino, assistant police commissioner Seelall Persaud told AFP.

Persaud would not comment on whether US authorities were involved in the investigation.

The Nation of Islam, founded in Detroit, Michigan, in the 1930s, is comprised of African-Americans. It gained prominence under the leadership of Malcolm X in the 1960s. It is now based in Chicago.

Muhammad has been "a top aide to Minister Louis Farrakhan from 1965 to present," according to his biography posted on the website of the Truth Establishment Institute, operated by the Nation of Islam.
The Nation of Islam and the Truth Establishment Institute did not immediately return calls for comment to AFP.

Muhammad was in Guyana to conduct lectures, appear on television and hold public meetings with the Muslim and African Guyanese communities. He has previously visited Guyana in the 1970s and 1980s.



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Muslim Attackers Kill Fifteen Christians in Nigeria

Washington -- International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that today Muslim attackers killed 17 Christians, including the wife and three children of a pastor, and burned down several Christian homes in the village of Kurum, Bauchi State, Nigeria.

"It is not right for anyone to kill another person. Life is precious and a gift from God. Since 1999 in Bauchi state, several Christians have been killed but no one has been brought before justice. The government has to intervene. The government has to be fair to all its citizens," said Reverend Turbe Ngodem in an interview with ICC. Reverend Ngodem is the General Secretary of Christian Association of Nigeria in Bauchi State.

Since the introduction of Sharia law in northern Nigeria in 1999, thousands of Christians have been killed by Muslim radicals in an unrelenting series of regular attacks. The local Muslim government officials have failed to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Jonathan Racho, ICC's Regional Manager for Africa, said, "We are extremely concerned with this latest killing of Christians by Muslim attackers. We once again urge Nigerian officials to prevent the bloodshed of innocent Christians in northern Nigeria. Nigeria must end impunity for the perpetrators of these heinous crimes."

International Christian Concern