Imam Abdul-Ali, also known as Avon Twitty, received the first ever Exemplary Community Service Award given by the Muslim Democratic Caucus at the 5th annual John A. Wilson Building Iftar on June 20, 2016. The award was given in recognition of the nature of his work, which occurs without any governmental support and because the communities he serves are the most underserved parts of the District of Columbia.
The event is held every year in collaboration with local politicians, who host the celebration. This year the chairperson of DC City Council, Phil Mendelson, and Mayor Muriel Bowser were co-hosts. “This event highlights the spirit of brotherhood in the month of the Ramadan, when the political leadership come together to recognize what people are doing to support Muslims in the District and vice versa,” stated Amin Muslim, the political advisor at the Muslim Democratic Caucus and the Director of Constituent Services at DC City Council Ward 7 in the office of Councilwoman Yvette Alexander.
“[Imam Abdul-Ali] has had a significant impact on ostracized communities,” said Muslim. Muslim is acutely aware of the issues as he is from some of the communities that Imam Abdul-Ali operates in. “I grew up in that community and I know what that community is like. That community doesn’t have a rec center; the elementary school was closed down; there is no grocery store or library— all these amenities are absent in this there,’ shared Muslim.
He presented the award to Imam Ali in the presence of the City councilman Robert White, and representatives from the office of Anita Barnes. Mamadou Samba, the Director of African Affairs as well as Mónica Palacio, the Director of Human Rights were present. Palacio’s office also organized a Ramadan event hastagged #FastWithDCMuslims, where she participated in fasting. “The Muslim community is frequently targeted for discrimination, and we want to show our Muslim neighbors that D.C. is united against such discrimination.” “The Muslim community indicated it felt left out of anti-discrimination work,” says Palacio, the human rights office’s director, said at the iftar, according to the office’s website.
In 2015, Imam Abdul-Ali held a combined iftar for youth from Kenilworth, Lincoln Heights, Benning Terrace and Congress Heights. Government officials are often too afraid to mix youth from different neighborhoods, as they fear that the situation is too volatile. “They stayed there and some spent the night there without incident. We mix them because we know that Muslim youth from that area are not gang bangers. They serve the people and give back to the community. These are the same young men that people are afraid of. “
“Imam Abdul-Ali has demonstrated that a lack of resources don’t inhibit you from going into communities and making a difference. He spearheaded a weekly iftar in the Bennington Terrace community. He went into that community and fed everyone who showed up. It was a tremendous show of brotherhood. Many people have had no previous contact with Muslims during Ramadan, so it was a wonderful opportunity. I can only imagine what he could do for our communities with adequate resources,” stated Amin Muslim.
The imam’s work started as overflow from his work in the federal penitentiary. “Lot of the young guys become Muslim in prison,” says Abdul-Ali. He thought that if we propagate Islam in the younger guys before they get to prison, maybe we could stop them from entering prison. With Imam Musa from Masjid Islam, he started giving dawah on Benning Road in Ward 7.
“In the heart of DC are people that need Islam the most,” says Imam Abdul-Ali.
The program he is best known for is called Feed the Hood. Every first Sunday of the month, Imam Abdul-Ali and his volunteers are and third Saturday of the month on Martin Luther King Ave and Malcolm X intersection South East Washington D.C. handing out canned and dry food to neighbors in need.
Another long-standing program is the Brothers’ Huddle Fish Fry in Woodland Terrance in South East D.C. every Friday night from 7-9 p.m. where they serve fish dinner to the neighbors. Ten volunteers carry the equipment in their cars.
The largest program run by Abdul-Ali is the 3-day Muslim Youth Summit with Abdur-Rasheed that takes place every year in a different masjid in D.C. Drugs, crime and importance of Deen are on the agenda, which ends with a basketball or flag football tournament. “We work with 25 down. The youngest guy in our program was 7 years old,” says Abdul-Ali.
On Wednesdays, you will find Imam Abdul-Ali teaching classes with youth worker Luqman As-Saboor (the Amir of this particular project) on 37th and Eli from 6-9 pm, engaged in seriously combating the K2 Spice drug in the area and running a youth center. “We pass out fliers and handouts, educating the youth about the dangers of this drug,” he said.
A prison service project, where books are sent to prisoners and aid is given when they get out, is one is that is close to Imam Abdul-Ali’s heart. A recent partnership with the National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms (NCPCF) on prisoner’s civil freedoms is also an important aspect of Imam Abdul-Ali’s work.
“I have been in free society since 2011. Starting out, we had almost no resources other than our own pockets. We just did community outreach. We started in the 49th Street Rec center. We would participate at events at that Rec center.” Then Imam Abdul-Ali worked with Daddy’s Corner, a public housing unit converted into a community center with a grant from the District of Columbia. He ran ‘Al Islam in the Circle’, a basic salah and Quran class for young men, keeping them off the streets. When the unit closed shop, Imam Abdul –Ali moved to the street and started teaching on the street. “This put us directly on the street- dealing with the youth,” added Imam Abdul-Ali.
“Ms. Tina Newman allowed us to use the community center from 2011-2013. We left from that area because we changed our program. We started focusing on the masjid,” says the imam. The masjid in South East became home to his work.
The Muslim community is greatly affected by the violence in that area. “We buried two young men in their twenties during Ramadan, another one is still in the hospital with a bullet in his head. They found one murdered in front of his children and other died in the hospital,” says the Imam.
“Gun violence does pertain to you. Islam is a solution to our problems.” Abdul-Ali wants to use Islam to change East of the River. “We need to bring Islam to the neighborhood out of the masjids and schools. They are not well enough to come to the masjid. Some of the places where we work some people don’t want to go there, not even government officials,” he said.
“Our greatest need is literature and material. I don’t have 9-5 job. We need financial support. I can’t get a donated van insured, because I don’t have finances for tags,” he says.
The Ar-Rashidoon Program is officially set to re-launch on 1605 Kenilworth Avenue: from a free clinic, an Islamic Community Center, GED training, job prep, to basic education, marital counseling, sex education, drug abuse counseling, alcohol abuse counseling, many programs are planned aimed at helping people get their lives back. “We need to teach little guys how to be fathers at 14, give them the Deen of Islam,” he says. In the plans are also offerings of free breakfast and lunch, especially during the holidays and vacation. This space is directly across from a public housing complex; on the border of a severely economically depressed site- places in dire need of attention and support.
Imam Abdul-Ali met with the leadership of the Department of Youth rehabilitation and Services, Linda K Harper and Director Clinton Lacey, who requested the services of Ar-Rashidoon.
“The Muslims are more successful than anyone else in this neighborhood —because we have no strings attached; we do it for Allah,” he says.
“We are talking to the guys in the public housing on Kenilworth, let them know that this is about Islam and the center will help everybody. Once he has their ‘in’ and support, the Islamic community center will make the announcement that this space is a non-territorial zone and will be open to all people from any area in Ward 7. Through this he hopes to break down the barriers of separation and division that breed violence in the city.
“You don’t have to be on the battlefield but giving from your means, whether it is talent or capital resources is just as commendable. It is honorable to support someone like Imam Abdul-Ali. Your contribution can be just as great,” says Amin Muslim, urging the DMV community to support the work of people like Imam Abdul-Ali.
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