Imam Makram El-Amin
Imam Makram Nu’man El-Amin is a nationally recognized faith leader, community builder, and civic advocate whose work is rooted in the inherent dignity and worth of every human being. For more than three decades, he has served as Imam of Masjid An-Nur in Minneapolis, providing religious leadership while helping build institutions and initiatives that address some of the most pressing challenges facing communities locally and nationally.Imam El-Amin serves as Executive Director of Al-Maa’uun (Neighborly Needs) Community Outreach Services, a Minneapolis-based nonprofit addressing poverty and systemic inequities through food security, housing, workforce development, recovery services, youth mentoring, and community organizing.
A student of the late Imam W. Deen Mohammed, Imam El-Amin has long worked at the
intersection of faith, civic life, and social change. His leadership has taken him around the world,
including appearances with Archbishop Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama, participation in a
historic interfaith gathering in Rome with Pope John Paul II, and an interfaith clergy delegation
to the Holy Land. He has lectured and represented Muslim Americans throughout Europe,
Turkey, and the Middle East.
In Spring 2026, Imam El-Amin graduated from Bayan Islamic Graduate School at Chicago
Theological Seminary, earning his Master of Divinity in Islamic Chaplaincy.
His civic and nonprofit leadership includes serving as a member of the Cultural and Ethnic
Communities Leadership Council (CECLC) for the Minnesota Department of Human
Services since 2023, a board member of Metro Meals on Wheels since 2022, and a board
member of Faith in Public Life since 2024. From 2014 to 2022, he chaired the Minnesota
Muslim Leaders Coalition, helping strengthen collaboration and collective leadership among
Muslim institutions and leaders across the state.
Since August 2025, Imam El-Amin has led the National Black Muslim Stream Organizing
Cohort, a multi-city organizing initiative that includes Minneapolis, Chicago, Philadelphia,
Charlotte, and Houston. Through this work, he helps develop faith-rooted leaders, strengthen
local organizing capacity, and build collective power across Black Muslim communities in major
urban centers.
He also serves as a Co-Lead for Faith in Us, a national initiative focused on training multifaith,
multi-racial faith leaders in community organizing and advocacy. The initiative equips
clergy and faith leaders to translate their moral commitments into organized public action, build
durable relationships across race and religious traditions, and strengthen their capacity to
advocate for justice and democracy in their communities.
Imam El-Amin is also a former board chair of the Urban League Twin Cities and previously
served as a chaplain with the Minneapolis Police Department from 2014 to 2020.
He has been a longtime advisor to Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, the first Muslim
elected to the U.S. Congress, advising him on religious matters and accompanying him on
international delegations. In 2007, The New York Times described Imam El-Amin as the
“congressman’s imam” and an emerging voice for religious tolerance and Muslim participation
in the public square.
Whether speaking from the pulpit, organizing in the community, developing institutions, or
building bridges across faith and racial traditions, Imam El-Amin’s work centers on a simple
conviction: faith must move beyond belief into service, leadership, organized power, and
meaningful action that improves the lives of people.
Stay Connected with Imam Makram El-Amin
Follow Imam El-Amin’s reflections on faith, leadership, community organizing, justice, and
public life: @imammakram on all social media platforms
For speaking engagements, interviews, and organizational inquiries: makrame@almaauun.org
Get in touch with the Imam
Please contact me by email, I would love to hear from you.