His plan is to find Muslim entrepreneurs and support them with loans
and other assistance. His followers operate a meat-processing plant
in Hazel Crest and an export/import business and other concerns across
the country.

Meanwhile, Mohammed fights the cult of personality every chance he gets.
It bothers him that people still want to know if the imam approves even
the smallest tasks before anything gets done

"That's from the old school," he says ruefully in an interview. "My
father had such control over the people. When he passed, a lot of
people were numb, dead almost."

He tells young Muslims at the annual convention not to put him on a
pedestal. He insists he's a little guy, and he rattles off some of
his I-don't-haves to prove it.

"I don't have a PhD," he says. "I don't have a master's degree. I
don't even have a BA. But I'm connected to something mighty great,"
he continues. "It makes me respectable, honorable in the company of
kings, queens and presidents."

What he has, he says, is the same thing the roomful of 250 teenagers
share with a billion people around the globe.

"That," he says, "is Islam."

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