Professor Muhammad Elzadeen and his connections to Ahmadiyya? What was his motivation?

Intro
James Lomax (1886-1957) was born on October 14, 1886, in Abbeville, South Carolina. After attending school in Columbia, South Carolina, he traveled north to Chicago, where he was an early member of the Moorish Science Temple of America (MST) in 1926. He was appointed to lead the MST temple in Detroit. In this era, he was also known as Lomax Bey and Ali Mohammed Bey and became a regional governor of the group, but in 1929, after some doubt about the veracity of the MST teachings, he left to pursue authentic religious knowledge (See Bowen).

It is unknown if Professor Muhammad Elzadeen (aka Lomax Bey, Ali Mohammed Bey, Mehmat Ali, Ali Mehmet Bey, Ez Al Deen and James Lomax) interacted with the Qadiani-Ahmadi’s in the 1920’s.

In 1925, he became the “Sheik of the Chicago Grand Temple” (p. 19) on 1 October (See Fathie Abdat).

In 1927, Lomax Bey was made in-charge of the Detroit Temple.

In 1928, a photo appeared wherein Professor Ezzeldeen can be seen.

In 1930 (May 26), the Reno Gazette-Journal of Mon, May 26, 1930 ·Page 4 reported that a Detroit area Negro named James Lummax was telling his fellow Negro’s to leave America for Turkey.

In 1930 (May-31), The Chicago Defender of Sat, May 31, 1930 ·Page 1 alleged that Negro American’s were seeking a homeland in Turkey, led by James Lummax, aka Ali Mehmed Bey is the leader of this delegation.

In 1930 (June-30), Mehmet Ali was in Instanbul Turkey, he was called a “Moslem Moses”. Mehmat Ali begged to the President of Turkey, Mustepha Kamal Pasha to give black people in America some free land so that they can resettle. Mehmat Ali specifically asked for land on the shores of the Bosphorus and alleged that there was already an American community therein (See The Macon Telegraph of Mon, Jun 30, 1930 ·Page 11 and 10+ newspapers)(See also “The Chicago Defender” of Sat, May 31, 1930 ·Page 1).

In 1930, he traveled to Turkey under the name Ali Mohammed Bey to deliver a petition to Turkish leader Kemal Ataturk on behalf of African Americans facing Jim Crow, lynchings and legal segregation in the United States. 1 The petition included a proposal to relocate a group of his followers to Turkey to settle on any underpopulated farming land. He had the idea that African Americans could be free only by owning and farming their own land. A concept with deep roots in American and African American history. For him, land was the key to the liberation. In the end, his hopes to relocate to Turkey did not materialize, but was advised that his efforts to gain higher religious knowledge would best be realized in Egypt where there many Islamic scholars and teachers. With some financial assistance from the Turks, he was able to travel to Egypt where he arrived in 1931.

In 1937 he moved to Philadelphia and made his first convert in Nasir Ahmed (Walter Smith-Bey), whom Abdat describes as “a triple apostate having renounced Christianity, Moorish Science Islam and Ahmadiyya Islam” (p. 96). Ezaldeen incorporated the “Addeynu Allahe-Universal Arabic Association, Inc (AAUAA) unit on August 16, 1938” (p. 99) in Camden, New Jersey, but that organization remained very small. Ezaldeen moved to Buffalo in late 1938 and found a more receptive audience for the AAUAA (See Fathie).

In 1939 (Jan-31), Professor Muhammed Ez Al Deen is announced as the leader of the Negro Moslem Mission at 155 Madison St, NY (See the Buffalo Courier Express of Tue, Jan 31, 1939 ·Page 18). In 1939 (Feb-1), Prof. Muhammed Ez Al Deen objected to the phrase “Negro Moslem” which was reported in the Buffalo Courier of Jan-31-1939. Prof. Muhammed Ez Al Deen said that they should be called “Arab Moslem” and anyone who is from the blood of Muhammad (Saw) is an Arab, color doesn’t matter (See Buffalo Courier Express of Wed, Feb 01, 1939 ·Page 18).

In 1957, Muhammad Elzadeen aka Lomax Bey, Ali Mohammed Bey, Mehmat Ali, Ali Mehmet Bey, Ez Al Deen and James Lomax died.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
1886
https://www.mountmedina.com/presidentbio-1

James Lomax (1886-1957) was born on October 14, 1886, in Abbeville, South Carolina.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
1925

In 1925, he became the “Sheik of the Chicago Grand Temple” (p. 19) on 1 October (See Fathie).
______________________________________________________________________________________________
1926

After attending school in Columbia, South Carolina, he traveled north to Chicago, where he was an early member of the Moorish Science Temple of America (MST) in 1926. He was appointed to lead the MST temple in Detroit. In this era, he was also known as Lomax Bey and Ali Mohammed Bey and became a regional governor of the group.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
1927
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jRZKqyJXu34&t=1311s

In 1927, Lomax Bey was made in-charge of the Detroit Temple.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
1928
https://youtu.be/jRZKqyJXu34?si=C4cHSldHPdzddP-z

In 1928, a photo appeared wherein Professor Ezzeldeen can be seen.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
1929
https://youtu.be/jRZKqyJXu34?si=VjMQBeLMl4sXcU-s

In 1929 (Feb-15), Lomax Bey allegedly violated some rules and was called a traitor. Lomax-Bey broke with the MSTA and founded the short-lived Mohammedan Church Temple/Mohammedan Temple of America in Lansing, Michigan. Abdat presents this as a sign of his increasing identification with Sunni Islam. After a gun battle on 12 March 1929, Drew Ali expelled Lomax-Bey from the MSTA.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
1930
May-26
Reno Gazette-Journal of Mon, May 26, 1930 ·Page 4
https://www.newspapers.com/image/147110875/?match=3&clipping_id=new

In 1930 (May 26), the Reno Gazette-Journal of Mon, May 26, 1930 ·Page 4 reported that a Detroit area Negro named James Lummax was telling his fellow Negro’s to leave America for Turkey.

______________________________________________________________________________________________
1930
May-31
The Chicago Defender of Sat, May 31, 1930 ·Page 1
https://www.newspapers.com/image/1138032117/?match=1&clipping_id=new

In 1930 (May-31), The Chicago Defender of Sat, May 31, 1930 ·Page 1 alleged that Negro American’s were seeking a homeland in Turkey, led by James Lummax, aka Ali Mehmed Bey is the leader of this delegation.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
1930
July
The Macon Telegraph of Mon, Jun 30, 1930 ·Page 11
https://www.newspapers.com/image/826203950/?match=1&terms=Moslem%20Moses

______________________________________________________________________________________________1930-1931
https://www.mountmedina.com/presidentbio-1

He remained there as a student of Islamic orthodoxy and Egyptian culture until 1936. During his tenure there he gained broad knowledge of the Arabic language and Islamic religious traditions under the auspices of the General Centre World Young Men Muslim Association. It was there embraced al-Islām and stayed in the hospitality and good care of the General Centre for five years.” According to other reports, he also studied, although to a lesser extent, ancient Egyptian culture and history and was trained to be a tour guide of the historical sites. He also may have studied with learned scholars (‘ulemaa) of al-Azhar University, one of the oldest continuously operating universities in the world.
______________________________________________________________________________________________
1937
https://www.mountmedina.com/presidentbio-1

Upon his return to the United States, the Professor put his training to use by establishing an organization devoted to community development and the teaching of the Qur’an and the sunnah (traditions) of Prophet Muhammad (sAa). Between 1936 to 1938, he lived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where his attempts to establish the Addeynu Allahe Universal Arabic Association (AA-UAA) were unsuccessful.

Click to access Dannin2002black-pilgrimage-to-islam.pdf

Who is Sheikh Nasir Ahmad? Aka Walter Smith Bey, another Ex-Ahmadi – ahmadiyyafactcheckblog
https://ahmadiyyafactcheckblog.com/2024/02/25/who-is-sheikh-nasir-ahmad-aka-walter-smith-bey/

In 1938, Wali Akram contacted Sheikh Nasir Ahmad who was then in Philadelphia working with Muhammad Ezaldeen’s aauaa. Knowing that the aauaa was expanding from Newark and Philadelphia to Rochester, Syracuse, and Jacksonville, Akram solicited its participation in a unified national organization. To that end he also contacted representatives of several other Muslim groups whose agenda focused on Arabic pedagogy.

In 1938, Sheikh Nasir Ahmad was working with Muhammad Ezaldeen’s aauaa. Knowing that the aauaa was expanding from Newark and Philadelphia to Rochester, Syracuse, and Jacksonville, Akram solicited its participation in a unified national organization. Nasir Ahmad became a central character in efforts to unite the diverse Muslim American coalitions and communities. He worked with Ezzeldeen, the prominent Moorish Science Temple leader-turned-Sunni leader, in creating the Black Sunni group Addeynu Allahe Universal Arabic Association in New Jersey.

In 1938, Ezaldeen led his followers in Buffalo to incorporate the community of Jabul Arabiyya in West Valley, New York. Another aauaa “unit” soon migrated to a rural area of New Jersey outside Philadelphia (now called Ezaldeen Village). Other prominent “units” of the aauaa were located in Youngstown, Ohio; Rochester, New York; Philadelphia; Jacksonville, Florida; and Detroit. The goal of each unit was to follow precedent by purchasing rural acreage to create an autonomous Muslim community living under the sharia. Ezaldeen’s principal collaborator, Sheik Nasir Ahmad, was a mercurial personality who invested his energy in several different organizations: the former Walter Smith Bey was originally a Christian preacher who had joined the Moorish Science Temple of Islam.

______________________________________________________________________________________________
1939
Buffalo Courier Express of Tue, Jan 31, 1939 ·Page 18
https://www.newspapers.com/image/976367863/?match=1&terms=Ez%20Al%20Deen

In 1939 (Jan-31), Professor Muhammed Ez Al Deen is announced as the leader of the Negro Moslem Mission at 155 Madison St, NY (See the Buffalo Courier Express of Tue, Jan 31, 1939 ·Page 18).

______________________________________________________________________________________________
1939
Buffalo Courier Express of Wed, Feb 01, 1939 ·Page 18
https://www.newspapers.com/image/976368368/?match=1&clipping_id=new

In 1939 (Feb-1), Prof. Muhammed Ez Al Deen objected to the phrase “Negro Moslem” which was reported in the Buffalo Courier of Jan-31-1939. Prof. Muhammed Ez Al Deen said that they should be called “Arab Moslem” and anyone who is from the blood of Muhammad (Saw) is an Arab, color doesn’t matter (See Buffalo Courier Express of Wed, Feb 01, 1939 ·Page 18).

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
1939-1942
https://www.mountmedina.com/presidentbio-1

He was invited to visit Buffalo, New York shortly after this by Muslims who were seeking to learn more about al-Islām and the Arabic language. According to Emam Hasson they had classes at 155 Madison street which is where he met the Professor and later a school was established at 269 Clinton Avenue in Buffalo.

Professor Ezaldeen, after being elected President and Emam, (leader) of the fledgling community of Muslims in Buffalo, is one of the original incorporators of the AA-UAA as a national organization with its headquarters located in Buffalo, New York. Names of the other original were Ali Mohammad Shakoor, Kasim Ahmad, Ali Kasim and Loutfy Hameed.

Over the next five years, he and his community located a parcel of land in Ashford, New York which after some time they were able to purchase the property which they called Jabul Arabiyya, or the “Mountain of Arabic-Speaking People,” as a rural, farming community. Jabul Arabiyya thus became an offshoot or extension of the first headquarters of the AA-UAA in New York State in Buffalo. Professor Ezaldeen was a very effective leader, instructed members to build homes, a masjid, stores, and a jail so that they could establish their community life and govern themselves according to shari’ah, or Islamic “law and ethics.” Financial and social challenges brought hardship, but a 1946 article in the Buffalo Courier-Express pictured a vibrant, if poor, farming community that tended to livestock and educated children in a small house on the farm. Another land-based community of the AA-UAA soon emerged in Hammonton, New Jersey, outside the city of Newark which was called Ezaldeen Village.”
______________________________________________________________________________________________
1943
https://ahmadiyyafactcheckblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Dannin2002black-pilgrimage-to-islam.pdf

In 1943, Sheikh Nasir Ahmad and Sheikh Wali Akram collaborated to hold the First All Moslem and Arab Convention in Philadelphia, a watershed movement in U.S. Islam. Both men were black Muslim leaders who had joined the Qadiani Ahmadiyya movement and recieved religious credentials, but ultimately left (largely over discontentment with discredited missionary Muhammad Yusuf Khan’s spiritual and financial exploitation of members), but continued to hold onto the more universalist and less discrete Lahori theology as they lead broader “Sunni” movements. The first meeting of the Uniting Islamic Society of America convened at Philadelphia in . Handbills announced: The First All Moslem and Arab Convention, August , . This meeting will consist of four organizations for Al-Islam, namely, the Muslim Ten Year Plan, Moslems of America, the Academy of Islam and the Adenu Allahe Universal Arabic Association. It is held for the purpose of all uniting together as one great organization working in accord with the teaching of Al Quran. The aauaa hosted this event, which featured Professor Ezaldeen as the prayer leader and Sheik Nasir Ahmad, who delivered the opening sermon, as master of ceremonies. Wali Akram sermonized on the second day, and Sheik Omar Ali of Harlem’s Academy of Islam at the third session. In the course of the fourth day, the conferees toured a farm in nearby New Jersey called Ezaldeen Village, which was the aauaa project for a self-sufficient Muslim community. A young Adenu Allahe sheik, Yusuf Hameed, gave the final day’s first khutbah, followed by Professor Ezaldeen’s message of adjournment (See Dannin).
______________________________________________________________________________________________
1946

Click to access Dannin2002black-pilgrimage-to-islam.pdf

In 1946, the third and last meeting of the uisa convened in Cleveland beginning August 30, 1946. It was a subdued affair with representation from only five organizations Professor Ezaldeen did not personally attend, nor did any representative from the Academy of Islam in Harlem. Sheik Nasir and Wali Akram opened the conference with a summary of the efforts to unify Muslims in America, mentioning that the lack of internal cooperation had theretofore stymied progress. They put forward a suggestion to reorganize the association, adding that changing its name might contribute to a fresh start. The delegates included Sisters Khaleel from Pittsburgh and Habeebah Rasaq of Cleveland. Kareema Akram also assumed a prominent role in the second day’s proceedings with a speech about unity (See Dannin).
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
1957

In 1957, Muhammad Elzadeen aka Lomax Bey, Ali Mohammed Bey, Mehmat Ali, Ali Mehmet Bey, Ez Al Deen and James Lomax died.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Links and Related Essay’s

Click to access Dannin2002black-pilgrimage-to-islam.pdf

Moorish Science Temple of America – Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moorish_Science_Temple_of_America

Who is Sheikh Nasir Ahmad? Aka Walter Smith Bey, another Ex-Ahmadi – ahmadiyyafactcheckblog

https://ahmadiyyafactcheckblog.com/2024/02/25/who-is-sheikh-nasir-ahmad-aka-walter-smith-bey/
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Tags

#ahmadiyya #ahmadiyyafactcheckblog #messiahhascome #ahmadiyyat #trueislam #mirzaghulamahmad

ahmadiyyafactcheckblog

Thorough research work on the Ahmadiyya Movement, #ahmadiyya #ahmadiyyat #ahmadiyyafactcheckblog #messiahhascome