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Related Articles Is Kenny Gamble Building a Muslim-only Enclave in Philadelphia?
by Daniel Pipes http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2007/11/is-kenny-gamble-building-a-muslim-only An article in Philadelphia magazine, "King Kenny," looks at music producer efforts by Kenny Gamble, via a corporation called Universal Companies, to revitalize his community in South Philadelphia and mentions that "some people fear Gamble wants to build a black Muslim enclave." A look at how Universal Companies presents itself suggests this is not a far-fetched goal. Here are some extracts from a page titled "The Universal Plan: Universal Companies, Philadelphia, PA" on the website of the Muslim Alliance in North America. About the company's organization:
Kenny Gamble, or Luqman Abdul-Haqq, founder and chairman of Universal Companies.
Gamble's presence in the neighborhood serves as a form of da'wa, or proselytization:
Indeed, the whole of Universal Companies is a testament to faith:
To sum up, Gamble likes to tell listeners, "We are not just here for Universal, we are down here for Islam." Comment: This fits into a larger phenomenon that I document at "Permit Muslim-only Enclaves?" (November 1, 2007) Feb. 4, 2008 update: Kenny Gamble's plans for South Philadelphia allegedly have some very high-level, and perhaps even corrupt patronage – from U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson, a business friend of Gamble's. In an amended federal lawsuit filed against HUD by the Philadelphia Housing Authority, PHA Director Carl Greene claims that Jackson has threatened the agency's funding after PHA refused to award a vacant lot worth $2 million to Gamble.
Greene concludes: "The secretary was determined that we turn over this land to this specific developer. I refused. . . . He didn't have the ability to remove me. So he resorted to these extraordinary measures to extract what he wanted." Loss of federal funding, the PHA maintains, would raise rents for most of its 84,000 tenants and force the layoffs of 250 staffers. Comment: That the Bush administration might be party to developing a Muslim-only enclave staggers the imagination. Feb. 5, 2008 update: Jackson denies all. His spokesman sums up the response by noting that "The secretary is closer to Carl Greene than he is to Kenny Gamble." Mar. 3, 2008 update: According to an Associated Press report by Maryclaire Dale, "Jackson, forgoing protocol, toured the site with Gamble in September 2006 without inviting local officials to join them, and later personally called Philadelphia's mayor at the time [John F. Street] for help." PHA's Greene called this step "extraordinary." Jackson is "the president's representative, and he's personally coming out, on his own, to take a firsthand look into a contract dispute?" The result has been serious for PHA:
Also, ominously, we learn that Universal Companies "has government contracts to operate four charter and public schools and provides support services for welfare and public-housing recipients." Mar. 21, 2008 update: The Gamble caper is one instance of the cronyism that prompted two Democratic senators, Christopher Dodd of Connecticut and Patty Murray of Washington, to call for the resignation of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson, calling him unfit to run the department. Mar. 31, 2008 update: Alphonso Jackson resigned his position today. His statement did not acknowledge the Gamble problem but news accounts were full of it. Apr. 18, 2008 update: The Council on American-Islamic Relations, Philadelphia office, is convening its "Participation Workshop" at Gamble's "United Muslim Masjid." That certainly helps understand Gamble's political-religious orientation.Nov. 29, 2008 update: David J. Rusin gives Gamble a close look today at "Legendary Songwriter Now Marches to an Islamist Tune." His conclusion:
May 26, 2011 update: Unrelated to the Muslim-only enclave but indicative of who Gamble is, his Universal Companies partnered with the Philadelphia Mural Arts Program to produce a mural, the "Faces That Shape Us" at Uncle David's Universal Playground, 1504 Catherine Street, Philadelphia.
Not only does the mural feature Gamble himself looming over everyone else, but it also includes his wife Faatimah. Not surprisingly, Universal Companies staff and students at his Universal Institute Charter School had to appear for the unveiling. Gamble told the Philadelphia Tribune in reference to the mural, "This is a good thing. This really is a good thing to remind us of the struggles that have taken place to even get to the point where we are today." Always connected, Gamble managed to have Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter praise Rahim Islam (president and CEO of Universal Companies), himself, his wife, and Universal Companies: "The work that Rahim, Kenny and Faatimah and the entire Universal family is doing is transforming neighborhoods, changing lives, creating opportunity and showing that it can actually be done — neighborhood after neighborhood, block after block, house after house." Related Topics: African-American Muslims, Muslims in the United States receive the latest by email: subscribe to daniel pipes' free mailing list This text may be reposted or forwarded so long as it is presented as an integral whole with complete and accurate information provided about its author, date, place of publication, and original URL. Reader comments (8) on this item
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All materials by Daniel Pipes on this site: © 1968-2014 Daniel Pipes. daniel.pipes@gmail.com and @DanielPipes Support Daniel Pipes' work with a tax-deductible donation to the Middle East Forum. Daniel J. Pipes |
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