Mosque to mosque march unifies Muslim, Black community in St. Louis

Muslim residents in the area gathered on Saturday to march from one mosque to another in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Muslim residents in the area gathered on Saturday to march from one mosque to another in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

Between 75 and 100 people marched a mile and a half from Masjid Bilal, 3843 West Pine Street, to Masjid Al-Mu’minun, 1435 North Grand Boulevard.

The march was organized by the Muslims of Greater St. Louis. Marilyn Aleem-Shamikh, one of the march’s organizers, said various Muslim communities were planning individual protests here and there, and the group wanted to bring them all together. 

Muslims of Greater St. Louis wanted to highlight the issue of police brutality, Aleem-Shamikh said, and she hopes to see the Muslim community continue to unite around this cause and others, such as feeding the homeless here.

Asif Umar, imam of Daar-Ul-Islam mosque in Manchester, was one of the speakers featured before the march began. He talked about America living with a pandemic — not COVID-19, but one that started 400 years ago — “the pandemic of police brutality,” Umar said. “And there’s still no vaccine.” 

“We cannot give up this fight,” he said. 

Umar Lee, 45, is a fixture at St. Louis Black Lives Matter protests — when he’s in town, anyway. Lee splits his time between St. Louis and a home in Texas. But Saturday’s march took on special meaning for Lee, who’s been a practicing Muslim since 1992. 

“Muslims stand for justice — as our prophet Muhammad did,” Lee said. “We stand in solidarity with Black lives.”