Khadijah Farrakhan, longtime wife of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, has died at age 90. The Nation of Islam announced “Mother Khadijah”'s death Saturday. The “first lady of the Nation of Islam” had worked alongside her provocative and charismatic husband for decades helping lead their Chicago-based religious and sociopolitical movement, which espouses Black self-reliance. Born Betsy Ross, Khadijah Farrakhan married her husband, then named Louis Walcott, in Boston on Sept. 12, 1953. She converted to Islam and changed her name in 1955. The two had nine children, two of whom have died. Her funeral services are to be announced.
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NABATIYEH, Lebanon (AP) — Shiite Muslims marked one of the most important days on their calendar Friday with large gatherings in Iran, Iraq, L…
Smoke rises from the site of an Israeli airstrike on the outskirts of Nabatiyeh during Ashoura, when Shiites commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, in Nabatiyeh, southern Lebanon, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
A woman watches as Lebanese Shiites beat their chests and bleed from self-inflicted ceremonial head wounds during Ashoura, when Shiites commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, amid buildings destroyed by Israeli strikes in Nabatiyeh, southern Lebanon, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
EDS NOTE: GRAPHIC CONTENT - A Lebanese Shiite weeps for a friend killed during the war as he bleeds from a self-inflicted ceremonial head wound during Ashoura, when Shiites commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad, in Nabatiyeh, southern Lebanon, Friday, June 26, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)
Shiite Muslims in the U.S. and worldwide have been observing a period of mourning leading to the day of Ashoura, which marks the seventh-century killing of Hussein, the grandson of Prophet Muhammad. To Shiites, the killing is deeply resonant and the annual commemorations during the Islamic month of Muharram symbolize the struggle against injustice. This year, Muharram and Ashoura follow the Iran war and an interim deal aiming to end it. Shiite communities worldwide mourn Hussein and commemorate his legacy through gatherings, processions, and various collective mourning rituals.
BEIRUT (AP) — Shiite Muslims around the world on Thursday marked Ashoura, a holy day symbolizing sacrifice and martyrdom that holds special si…
FILE - Displaced Palestinian children play on a swing at a tent camp as they mark the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr in Gaza City, Friday, March 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana, file)
Iranian mourners beat their heads and chests during a ceremony in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, prior to Ashoura, which commemorates the 7th-century martyrdom of Imam Hussein, one of Prophet Muhammad's grandsons and one of Shiite Islam's most beloved saints, and 72 of his companions, who were killed in a battle in Karbala in present-day Iraq. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iranians perform their evening prayers in a mourning ceremony in Tehran, Iran, Tuesday, June 23, 2026, prior to Ashoura, which commemorates the 7th-century martyrdom of Imam Hussein, one of Prophet Muhammad's grandsons and one of Shiite Islam's most beloved saints, and 72 of his companions, who were killed in a battle in Karbala in present-day Iraq. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)