SUMMER CAMP

The Sister Clara Muhammad Summer Camp at Historic Masjid Wali Muhammad provides a safe, engaging, and faith-centered environment where children can learn, grow, and build lifelong friendships during the summer months. Inspired by the legacy of Sister Clara Muhammad—an educator who believed that every child deserves an education rooted in knowledge, character, and self-worth—our camp is designed to nurture the whole child: spiritually, intellectually, socially, and physically.

Sister Clara Muhammad was a pioneering educator, institution builder, and community leader whose work laid the foundation for independent Muslim and Black education in the United States. At a time when Black children were systematically underserved and disrespected in public schools, she recognized that education had to be controlled by the community it was meant to uplift. 

Though widely known as the wife of Elijah Muhammad, Sister Clara Muhammad’s legacy stands on its own. She was the principal architect of a school system designed to nurture knowledge, character, discipline, and identity—not simply academic credentials.

Sister Clara Muhammad founded the Muhammad University of Islam (M.U.I.) in the early 1930s. These schools operated in cities across the country and were among the earliest sustained independent Black school systems in American history.
The purpose of the Muhammad University of Islam was to:

• Provide high-quality academic education in reading, writing, mathematics, and science
• Teach true history and self-knowledge, affirming Black dignity and identity
• Instill moral discipline, self-respect, and responsibility
• Shield children from racism, neglect, and low expectations in segregated public schools
• Prepare students to become leaders, thinkers, and contributors to their communities

Her work proved that education is liberation when a community controls its values, curriculum, and vision.