Columnist Dean Juipe: Muhammad devastated by tragedies

Dean Juipe

Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2001 | 9:50 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@lasvegassun.com or 259-4084.

At the absolute pinnacle of his professional career, Eddie Gregory changed his name.

It was March 31, 1980, and Gregory -- a light heavyweight from the Brownsville section of New York City -- had just defeated Marvin Johnson by 11th-round knockout in Knoxville to win the World Boxing Association championship. He marked the occasion by announcing his name change, to Eddie Mustafa Muhammad, in deference to the Islamic faith he had recently come to embrace.

For those who knew him then, or who came to know him during the remainder of his fighting career or later as one of the sport's top trainers, Muhammad has always been seen as a caring man with a straightforward view of life. It's neither condescending nor an exaggeration to categorize him as a legitimately nice guy.

He is, as you may or may not imagine, aghast at what happened a week ago today in his native New York and in Washington, D.C. And the fact that he remains a practicing Muslim has only accentuated his grief, given that the suspected perpetrators of those terrorist acts also claim to be Islamic.

"Osama bin Laden claims to be a Muslim, but he can't be," Muhammad said Monday at the Nevada Partners gym, where he was getting ready to work with his stable of fighters. "If he is (a Muslim), he committed a cardinal sin for the simple reason that in the Koran we are taught to take care of orphans.

"You don't take a life. You don't make orphans.

"The word 'Islam' means peace, and there is no justification for taking a life. It's against the Koran."

There are approximately 5.1 million Muslims in the United States and at least a few of them have already been targets of a sporadic and mindless retribution that has surfaced within the past week. FBI director Robert Mueller was quoted as saying there were "dozens of attacks" and "hate crimes" directed at Muslims over the weekend in America.

"I've tried to get on with my life, although at a much slower pace," Muhammad said. "I'm out of it mentally and it hurts. It's so sad.

"But people shouldn't be judgeful of others. Let God do the judging."

As we talked there was a glistening in Muhammad's eyes and it wasn't entirely the result of the warmish room temperature. As he put his thoughts into words, it was clear he -- like most of us -- remains devastated.

"Our best bet now is to leave everything to our government," he said. "Retribution (toward American Muslims) is stupid. I respect everyone and I want everyone to respect me, and I want them to know that it's against my religion to participate in senseless killings."

Now 49, Muhammad likened his mind-set to the days surrounding the death of his older brother, Saleem Muhammad, in 1990.

"I'm at that same level of mourning," he said. "It's like my life has been altered and things will never be the same."

He's also wrestling with how to explain the terrorist attacks within the context of religion to his nine children, including his 8-year-old twin girls.

"I've got to be strong for my kids, my family," he said. "But I've got to be real with them. I've got to convince them everything is in God's hands and I've got to teach them nothing but the right way."

Emphasizing that "I did some bad things" before converting to Islam, Muhammad is leery of being stereotyped or ethnically profiled in the aftermath of the tragedies.

"I'm an American Muslim, but I'm afraid there will be some people who don't see that," he said. "They see Muslims as radicals, and I hope I don't get into a situation where they classify me with those others.

"Islam brought me peace. I and millions and millions and millions of other Muslims are peaceful people."

Founded in 622 AD by Muhammad the prophet, Islam has a basic premise that God revealed the Koran to guide humans to the truth. Their reward for adhering to the Koran's principles is a place in paradise in the afterlife.

Mustafa Muhammad does not see bin Laden and his like on a preferred course.

"He and the people around him are fanatics," he said. "They're radicals and they've lost their minds.

"With me, what you see is what you get. I'm around positive Muslims who show me the correct way to go, even today.

"We put God first."

He does not discern between religions nor believe that those who do not follow Islam are infidels doomed to eternal persecution.

"No matter what you choose to call him, God is all around us," he remarked, hopeful that people of all persuasions will remain reasonable during these trying times.