Adam Shakoor (born Adam Caddell; 1947 – March 20, 2022) was an American lawyer, jurist and activist. Born in the northeast Detroit area and raised in the Sojourner Truth public housing complex, Shakoor studied law at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

, where he converted to Islam and changed his surname to Shakoor. Following his activism in the 1960s, Shakoor became an attorney. In 1979, he led two successful cases: the defense of the right of Masjid Wali Muhammad, a Detroit mosque, to issue

Adhan Adhan ( ar, أَذَان ; also variously transliterated as athan, adhane (in French), azan/azaan (in South Asia), adzan (in Southeast Asia), and ezan (in Turkish), among other languages) is the Islamic call to public prayer (salah) in a mos ...

s over a loudspeaker, and a lawsuit against the

Michigan Department of Corrections The Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) oversees prisons and the parole and probation population in the state of Michigan, United States. It has 31 prison facilities, and a Special Alternative Incarceration program, together composing appr ...

to push for religious accommodations for inmates, leading to the appointment of the Department's first Islamic chaplain. For his efforts, he was subsequently appointed Chief Judge of the 36th District Court by Governor

William Milliken William Grawn Milliken (March 26, 1922 – October 18, 2019) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 44th governor of Michigan. A member of the Republican Party, he is the longest-serving governor in Michigan history, serv ...

in 1981. He was the first Muslim ever appointed to an American judgeship. After serving two terms, Shakoor retired from the bench in 1989 and served as deputy mayor under Detroit mayor

Coleman Young Coleman Alexander Young (May 24, 1918 – November 29, 1997) was an American politician who served as mayor of Detroit, Michigan, from 1974 to 1994. Young was the first African-American mayor of Detroit. Young had emerged from the far-left ele ...

until 1993. After his time as deputy mayor, Shakoor worked as a managing partner for a local law firm from 1994 to 1997, when he joined the firm Shakoor, Grubba & Miller. He launched his own firm, Adam Shakoor & Associates in 2004. He was retained as counsel by

Rosa Parks Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4, 1913 – October 24, 2005) was an American activist in the civil rights movement best known for her pivotal role in the Montgomery bus boycott. The United States Congress has honored her as "the ...

from 1995 until her death in 2005. Shakoor was married to Gail Lawrence-Shakoor. He had a prior marriage with whom he had eight children.

References

1947 births 2022 deaths Lawyers from Detroit American Muslims Michigan state court judges Wayne State University Law School alumni {{US-law-bio-stub