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CELEBRATING HISTORIC CLEVELAND LEADERS: PART II Al-Hajj Wali Akram was an inventor, and a leader to a community who eventually would become one of the most influential people in Cleveland history. by David Christel
Imam Al-Hajj Wali Akram
then, was a lot of money.
Arabic Made Easy.
amily, community, and education. These were three of the primary areas of importance focused on by Imam Al-Hajj Wali Akram, founder of the First Cleveland Mosque in 1937 and first official home to Muslims in Cleveland. In 1937, Cleveland and the world were very different places. Due to Imam Akram’s influence and leadership, the Muslim community has grown immensely in numerous ways.
After attending Prairie View State College where he studied electrical engineering, Walter attended Lane Seminary in Nashville, Tennessee, along with several of his brothers. But, gifted with an inquisitive mind, the teachers didn’t take kindly to his pointed and probing questions, so he left the seminary. While in Tennessee, he discovered and became interested in Islam.
Then, in 1925, he married Kareema and over the years raised thirteen children. A family-oriented couple, everyone gravitated to them. Kareema was the backbone of the family and Wali eventually became the glue for the entire Muslim community.
Imam Akram was born in Bryan, Texas, in 1904. His name: Walter Reese Gregg. He and his brothers, all eight of them, were blessed with insatiable curiosity and inventiveness. Several inventors among them, Walter and one of his brothers invented and patented the Reese Hitch, the trailer hitch you’ll find used around the world. They sold the patent for $900, which back
St. Louis is where he headed next. While there, he saw a sign in a store window that said, “Change your name and become free.” The year was 1923. He converted to Islam and adopted his Islamic name, Wali Akram. He took to the religion and language quickly and was soon teaching Arabic. He eventually published a book in 1946,
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In that same year, Wali hosted and worked with visiting Muslim missionaries. Upon their departure, he became the leader of Cleveland’s young Muslim community. But it wasn’t until 1937, when he founded the First Cleveland Mosque, that he took on the mantle of Imam. The first mosque was located on Woodland Avenue with the Akram family living above the mosque. The
