THREE years after International Representative to Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam, Akbar Muhammad was arrested by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) here on allegations of being a “terrorist” and a “drug runner,” he is calling on the Guyana Government to compensate him for the stain on his character. 

At an early morning press conference at the Pegasus Hotel, Kingston, Muhammad who travelled from Jamaica on Monday gave life once again to an issue that for him has not been settled.
When contacted about the request made by Mr. Muhammad, Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee said that he has some vague recollection of the matter.
While confirming that he is the fittest person to pronounce on the matter, the Minister requested time to effectively review the case and make a pronouncement, which he said will be done over the weekend.
According to Minister Rohee’s knowledge, the issue had been fully ventilated but when asked whether compensation for Mr. Muhammad was ever considered, he responded in the negative.
In 2011, while Akbar Muhammad was in Guyana by the request of Islamic brother Phillip Simon Muhammad, Akbar recalled the events as they unfolded after a meeting in Buxton. He said that upon returning to his hotel room at the Princess International Hotel, Providence, he heard a banging at his door at 2:30 in the morning.
He disclosed that upon asking the persons on the other side of the door to state their business, they responded that they were from the CID and ordered him to open the door.
Akbar disclosed that he was reluctant, but the CID officials requested his identification to which he told them that he was Akbar Muhammad. The Nation of Islam representative further recalled that he was told “you’re the one we’re looking for!”
“They threatened to knock the door down,” he said, as they asked him to slip his identification under the door. After agreeing, Akbar said that they once again threatened to kick the door. However, he told them that was not necessary since he would open the door after he was fully clothed.
As he stood before them, Mr. Muhammad said that he was informed upon being apprehended that his arrest was due to “word [received] from the CIA [Central Intelligence Agency of the United States] that you are a terrorist and a drug runner.”
In an attempt to convince them that he was not the man they were looking for since his name is a popular one, he recalled that he was taken to the CID Headquarters at Eve Leary. The man recalled being questioned but “the questions were totally ridiculous.”
He explained to the CID officials: “I’m Akbar Muhammad, I’m Mr. Farrakhan’s representative in the Nation of Islam and I’ve spent the last 50 years of my life fighting against drugs, and the last thing I am is a terrorist.”
Muhammad was eventually detained along with Phillip Simon Muhammad and Tyrone Seymour after he had made contact with the two gentlemen to come to his aid.
He said that all three of them were taken to the lock-ups. Describing the condition of the area, he said “water was all over the floor, there was nowhere for you to sleep, it was open bathrooms, flies and mosquitoes everywhere, it was terrible.”
Muhammad said that he is demanding an apology and compensation from the Guyana Government since the actions of the CID in branding him a terrorist came “in a time when the world is fearing terrorists especially Muslims.”
He expressed further concern since some days after his arrest and release, the U.S. Embassy had revealed that they provided no such information to Guyana’s CID.
Muhammad said the actions of the CID and the subsequent CNN report has affected his standing as an academic since he usually lectures at colleges where students using Google will be provided with information that he was arrested in Guyana for allegations of terrorism and drug trafficking.

(By Derwayne Wills)