Thousands of African-American Muslims from across the United States are gathering in Detroit this weekend for an annual convention that's returning to Michigan for the first time in more than a decade.

They are followers of Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, a Hamtramck native who now lives in Chicago. He is the son of Elijah Muhammad, the former leader of the Nation of Islam, founded in Detroit almost 80 years ago. Given metro Detroit's sizable Muslim and African-American communities, the convention has special significance for many locally.

After Elijah Muhammad's death in 1975, Mohammed took over and reformed the black nationalist organization into a group that preached a more orthodox Islam that opposed any racial or ethnic divisions. A few years later, Minister Louis Farrakhan broke off and formed a new Nation of Islam he felt was more in line with Elijah Muhammad's teachings.

While Farrakhan is the leader who gets more media attention and is most often associated with Islam among African Americans, Mohammed is thought to have more followers. In contrast to Farrakhan, Mohammed is low-key and speaks more like a scholar than a preacher.

"He's a superb leader," said Nadir Ahmad, 58, of Detroit. "He has a sober message of good morals, but also a commonsense approach to life and religion."

On Friday in the Cobo Center, the imam spoke to a packed crowd at the start of the three-day convention. He urged personal responsibility and praised Jesus and Muhammad, Islam's founder, saying both were great teachers.

He stood on the podium slightly hunched over, a compact man with glasses and a modest brown suit who spoke in measured tones.

"We all ... should be trying to be Christlike," he said.

Ahmad said Mohammed "has always called for cooperation between faiths."

Imam Gary Alkasib of Detroit was eager to hear his words and glad that the convention is in Detroit this year. "It's the return of a native son," he said.

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