Jamil Abdullah al-Amin, previously often known as H. Rap Brown, has handed away. He was 82.

Amin’s son introduced his father’s ardour in a video posted to Facebook.

“From Allah we come, surely to Allah is our return. I lost my father today. Ya Allah, please accept my father Imam Jamil Al-Amin as a shaheed, a martyr, a dedicated servant to You,” Kairi Al-Amin. “Ya Allah, please make his grave spacious and reserve for him the most beautiful spot in Your paradise, please grant him peace, Ameen. It’s no longer free, my father, my father is free.”

Kairi Al-Amin additionally requested for privateness throughout the household’s time of grief and shared a prayer for his father within the video caption.

Born Hubert Gerold Brown in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, he was a prominent figure in the Black Power movement of the 1960s. Brown was extensively recognized for his militant rhetoric. Famously, he mentioned that “Violence is as American as cherry pie.”

Brown finally succeeded Stokely Carmichael because the fifth nationwide chairman of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in 1967. As chairman, he eliminated “Nonviolent” from the group’s identify. He additionally served briefly because the Black Panther Party’s minister of justice. 

Brown was positioned on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted checklist earlier than he was apprehended. During his time in jail within the early Seventies, he transformed to Islam and altered his identify to Jamil Abdullah al-Amin. 

After his launch, he served as an Imam and group activist in Atlanta, Georgia, however was convicted for the 2000 taking pictures of two sheriff’s deputies. He was given a life sentence.

Imam Omar Suleiman, a famous Muslim scholar,  additionally paid tribute to  Al-Amin on Instagram. He shared that he tried to free him from jail.

“For years, we fought to free him. Today he is free,” Suleiman wrote. “From prison to paradise, God willing. He never lost his dignity, his voice never shook. His innocence was proven, but the system didn’t care. We cared and we loved. And InshaAllah, we will continue to move forward with his legacy.”