A mosque grows in North Memphis
Malik Shaw, co-founder and executive director of Midtown Mosque, is working to make life better for the residents of the Klondike neighborhood in North Memphis. He regularly walks the neighborhood to get to know residents. (Karen Pulfer Focht/Special to the Daily Memphian)
Mosque member Salahudeen Abdul-Malik (right) and his family moved into the Klondike neighborhood after relocating to Memphis. “I really like living here,” says Abdul-Malik, a recent Morehouse College graduate. “It feels very neighborly. ... You hear some loud cars without mufflers or with music blaring sometimes, but it’s surprisingly quiet. ...” (Karen Pulfer Focht/Special to the Daily Memphian)
Midtown Mosque members pray during evening prayer on Sept. 3, in the Klondike neighborhood of North Memphis. (Karen Pulfer Focht/Special to the Daily Memphian)
Salahudeen Abdul-Malik walks to evening prayer at Midtown Mosque on Sept. 3. (Karen Pulfer Focht/Special to the Daily Memphian)
Property owner Mable Shaw, 84, is very invested in the Klondike neighborhood of North Memphis. Malik Shaw checks in with her occasionally when he walks the neighborhood. (Karen Pulfer Focht/Special to the Daily Memphian)
Abu Hamzah Abdul-Malik keeps bees and helps grow food in the community garden for the food bank at the Midtown Mosque. (Karen Pulfer Focht/Special to the Daily Memphian)
Building a park is one of the improvements made by Malik Shaw, who is working to make life better for the residents of the Klondike neighborhood. His daughter Miriam painted the signs that hang on the fence in front. (Karen Pulfer Focht/Special to the Daily Memphian)
Malik Shaw greets mosque members outside Midtown Mosque on Aug. 26. (Karen Pulfer Focht/Special to the Daily Memphian)
Malik Shaw reads his Quran inside the Midtown Mosque. (Karen Pulfer Focht/Special to the Daily Memphian)
Midtown Mosque member Salahudeen Abdul-Malik (left) and Malik Shaw attend evening prayer on Sept. 3. (Karen Pulfer Focht/Special to the Daily Memphian)
Malik Shaw moved his wife, Lettia, and children from Cordova to the Klondike neighborhood of North Memphis. (Karen Pulfer Focht/Special to the Daily Memphian)
Over the past 30 years, Klondike’s population has declined by more than half, from about 3,100 in 1990 to about 1,300 now. About one in five residents has moved in within the past year. Three-quarters are renters. (Karen Pulfer Focht/Special to the Daily Memphian)
Malik Shaw and Midtown Mosque members are working to improve the Klondike neighborhood of North Memphis. (Karen Pulfer Focht/Special to the Daily Memphian)
Klondike was one of the first neighborhoods in Memphis where African Americans could own their own homes. (Karen Pulfer Focht/Special to the Daily Memphian)
Prayer rugs are set out before Friday evening worship at the Midtown Mosque. (Karen Pulfer Focht/Special to the Daily Memphian)
In partnership with
The Institute for Public Service Reporting
The Institute for Public Service Reporting is based at the University of Memphis and supported financially by U of M, private grants and donations made through the University Foundation. Its work is published by The Daily Memphian through a paid-use agreement.
“This is where the poor are. This is where the Prophet would be. So this is where we need to be.”
Topics
Midtown Mosque North Memphis Klondike Klondike-Smokey City CDCIn partnership with
The Institute for Public Service Reporting is based at the University of Memphis and supported financially by U of M, private grants and donations made through the University Foundation. Its work is published by The Daily Memphian through a paid-use agreement.
David Waters
David Waters is Distinguished Journalist in Residence and assistant director of the Institute for Public Service Reporting at the University of Memphis.
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