Source: The Washington Post
Yahya Abdullah, an imam from Masjid Muhammad in Jacksonville, Fla., sells books and other items at an annual retreat at New Medinah. (William Widmer/For The Washington Post)
AT NEW MEDINAH, Miss. — When Abdul Hakim Shareef looks out on these hills, this mosque — this perfect embodiment of a Muslim ideal — he hopes it won’t all end with him.
Shareef, 86, was three decades younger when he pooled his money with a small group of fellow Muslims here in Mississippi and founded this community 25 miles west of Hattiesburg. The dream was to be able to feed themselves, educate themselves and live an Islamic life in a community all their own.
But Shareef’s grandchildren have largely moved away, and he knows New Medinah is going to need people — young people — to keep it going after he is gone.