Imam Muhammad Ikhlas has served as a guest khatib for Masjid Freehaven since 2017 and became the resident Imam in July 2020.  Originally born in New York City, Muhammad grew up in South Jamaica, Queens with his parents and three sisters, where his mother worked as a school teacher and his father as an entrepreneur in the baking industry.  Both his mother and father were early active members of what is now Masjid Malcolm Shabazz (formerly Temple No. 7), where his mother led the sisters’ drill team and his father used to open up for Malcolm X before many of his speeches.  In Muhammad’s childhood home, education and Islam were paramount.  As a child, Muhammad was bussed from Queens to Staten Island, NY to study at Al-Madrasa Al-Islamiya, now located in Brooklyn, NY.  During that time, his parents were active members of Masjid Muhsi Khalifah in Brooklyn, NY, where Muhammad would attend Jumuʿah during the summer months. 

​

After high school, Muhammad served four years in the United States Marine Corps, where his duties included security detail for former President Bill Clinton's helicopter squadron. He simultaneously pursued undergraduate studies at the University of Maryland, graduating after his discharge and relocating to Washington D.C.  After college, Muhammad attended and graduated from Georgetown University Law Center, where he took coursework on Islamic Law.  Throughout his educational pursuits in the Washington D.C., Maryland/Virginia area, Muhammad was an active member of Masjid Muhammad in Washington, D.C., where he spent over a decade serving the community in various roles, including guest khatib and troop leader of the Boy Scouts of Masjid Muhammad (the “Nation's Mosque”), under the late Scoutmaster Mujahid Muhammad (may Allah forgive him his sins and grant him paradise).

​

Presently, Imam Muhammad is a practicing attorney specializing in real estate and litigation. He also teaches Arabic and Islamic Studies at Masjid Freehaven’s Clara Muhammad Sunday School. During his free time, he enjoys spending time with his wife and four children, studying Arabic under a learned teacher and keeping fit with several brothers from Masjid Freehaven.