Some quote the African proverb, ‘a great tree has fallen,’ when a person of consequence passes away. Some people were so impactful in life that their contribution is deeply ingrained in others.
Such a person was Student Minister Abdul Karriem Muhammad. On May 30, a grateful Nation of Islam and wider public paid homage to his life and legacy of work at his memorial service and Janazah held in Plainfield, N.J.
This towering figure, born Agurs Linward Cathcart on December 8, 1937, departed this life on May 17, 2025. Owing to a lifetime of service to causes bigger than himself, he was remembered as a stalwart in the Black struggle for freedom, justice and equality overall, and an essential aide to the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan in the early rebuilding work of the Nation of Islam.
For his work in helping to rebuild the East Coast and New York City, Minister Farrakhan honored Bro. Karriem by a having his picture currently gracing the vestibule of Mosque No. 7 in Harlem.
“He is the only one that I’m aware of to be given such an honor,” said Student Minister Abdul Arif Muhammad, General Counsel and member of the Shura Executive Council of the Nation of Islam.
“The Nation was just coming through the period of the departure of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad (in 1975) and a change in direction. We called it the fall of the Nation,” said Student Min. Arif.
“In 1977, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, decided to reestablish the Teachings of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and rebuild the Nation of Islam,” he continued. “I was blessed to meet the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan in early 1979 and accepted the Teachings and decided to become one of his followers and helpers,” he said.
“In that very early period of time, Minister Farrakhan faced opposition against the rebuilding of the Nation of Islam, and strong leadership was needed to help steer the helm and guide this effort.
And Brother Karriem was that strong hand on the East Coast,” said Student Min. Arif. He said Bro. Karriem infused people he impacted with the spirit of the Nation of Islam Supreme Wisdom Lessons that teach: “Work cheerfully and fear not! You are the Righteous, the Best, and the Powerful.”
He touched many lives. People who encountered him either as “Agurs Linward Cathcart Sr.” or “Minister Abdul Karriem Muhammad” were deeply impacted by him.
“We just knew him as Bro. Karriem, Bro. Linward and of course, there’s information out there that he was very strong … very militant …,” said Bro. Abdul Haqq Muhammad (Bro. Ronald X Stewart from NY), who worked alongside Bro. Karriem in the early 80s as a student F.O.I. Captain and then a Student Minister.
He said although Bro. Karriem was “no-nonsense” and “relentless in his zeal,” he was a deeply religious man. “In our private moments, he would just talk about his belief in (Allah) God, his belief in what the Messenger (the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad) taught us. And he loved Minister Farrakhan,” said Bro. Haqq.
Others taught by him said he trained them on how to help Minister Farrakhan in the mission.
“He taught us how to work and don’t stop working,” said Abdul Khadir Muhammad, Student Regional Minister of the Mid-Atlantic Region. “He always referred to Minister Farrakhan as his ‘beloved,’” he added.
Bro. Karriem’s desire was to see Black people united and “worked to build an army of men and women for his Beloved,” said Student Min. Khadir, who began working with Bro. Karriem in 1979.
For Sister Dawn Muhammad, former Student East Coast Regional M.G.T. and G.C.C. Captain, who also worked with Bro. Karriem, in the early rebuilding years, said he was “unique,” and “strong” in his spirit and stature. “When you saw him, you knew this is a man,” she said.
“Brother Karriem taught a lot of unity. That was his main thing. We’ve got to come together … fight together … love each other,” said Sis. Dawn, reflecting on the principles shared by Bro. Karriem.
Bro. Karriem was introduced to Islam when “Brother James 5X took my father to Mosque No. 7. ” In the 60s it was called Temple No. 7. He joined the Nation of Islam and rose to become a lieutenant.
Brother Karriem was a man for that critical moment in history, in the latter part of the 1970s and early 1980s, when tensions were high against Minister Farrakhan’s desire to rebuild the Nation of Islam.
The antagonism toward Minister Farrakhan was so great in New York City, where his reputation was falsely tainted, that it took a courageous spirit to work there as his helper.
As the East Coast Regional Minister, Bro. Karriem was lauded for his tireless work in helping to establish mosques and study groups from Boston to the Carolinas, and also westward into Ohio.
While he was building up the East Coast, Bro. Karriem also built-up people and strong helpers in the cause of Islam. He was known for giving people the opportunity to work their talents and develop themselves. Those who came up under his wing are too many to name but reads like a “Who’s Who” in Nation of Islam.
“I’ve been under the tutelage and loving care and guidance and stringent training of Minister Abdul Karriem Muhammad for over 45 years,” said Bro. Jamil Muhammad, a longtime helper and Student Minister in the Nation of Islam. “Beside the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, he’s been perhaps the greatest presence and example in my whole walk as a Muslim,” he said.
He thanked God for his tenure as an example, a counselor, adviser, and encourager and described Bro. Karriem as a powerful brother filled with love and hospitality.
“I believe the Minister (Farrakhan) so beautifully and aptly gave him the name Abdul Karriem … the Noble, the Generous One, the prolific giver of gifts. That aspect of Allah’s character came out in Brother Karriem,” said Student Min. Jamil.
“He saw value in us when we didn’t see value in ourselves,” added Sister Shanasia Muhammad, Student M.G.T. and G.C.C. Captain at Mosque No. 38 in Columbia, South Carolina.
She told The Final Call that as a young Muslim joining the Nation in 1983, it was what Bro. Karriem infused his teaching and training of brothers and sisters with love for the mission of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the love for Minister Farrakhan that kept her through the test of time. “I think that I am the Muslim that I am because of the trainers he raised,” she said.
In the Nation of Islam and in the wider community, many brothers saw him as the father they never had and a pillar of strength.
“We always known him as the fiery warrior,” recalled Bro. Roland C. Muhammad. His family grew up with Bro. Karriem in Plainfield. “He always looked out for the youth,” said Bro. Roland. “The youth, we admired him, [as] somebody with strength,” he added.
Bro. Karriem was like a “father figure to me, to a lot of us, he just had a way with the youth,” said Bro Roland.
Bro. Karriem was known to have said: “Brother, without brotherhood what the hell have you got?”