Cincinnati, OH— The Musketeers Association is a nonprofit founded by Rukiye Z. Abdul-Mutakallim to end what they call “the man-made disease of trauma.” This organization believes that the cause of violence and crime starts from trauma passed down through families. Their goal is to end this trauma and bring an end to the pandemic of violence, not just Ohio but the whole world.

On June 29, 2015, Abdul-Mutakallim’s 39-year-old son, Suliman, a veteran of the Navy, was murdered and robbed by three young men while walking home with dinner for his family.  However, when she met with the youngest of the killers—who was only 14 years old at the time of the incident after he was sentenced—she did not seek revenge; all she wanted was to know, “what happened to those children.” She greeted the young man with a hug. 

“My son moved into a bad community to help people, that is why he was there. To help people.” Abdul-Mutakallim said. 

She said that South Cumminsville, OH is very different from other communities. “We know Costco, we know Sam’s Club, we figure everyone has been to a place like this once. Not this community,” said Abdul-Mutakallim. “We gathered these people, wonderful people and we took them to Costco and we paid for it.” 

The people they brought “were like kids in a candy store,” she said; her son’s mission was a success and he began to slowly but surely bring change into his community. Inspired to continue her son’s legacy of serving the community and fighting against a noticeable pandemic of violence, Abdul-Mutakallim founded The Musketeer Association.

Her claim that there is a “pandemic of violence” is not unfounded. In 2022, according to the latest crime data available from the FBI, there were over 1.23 million violent crimes reported in the United States. However, more recent data from the first quarter of this year suggest violent crime is decreasing. In search of a solution, The Musketeer Association is enacting a plan called the Flowerpot Project.

This project’s goal is to save “the Three Bs (Babies, Butterflies and Bees) directly, this project will establish a series of self-watering flower pots with QR codes as memorials where violent crimes took place. After scanning these QR codes, people will be directed to a website where the story of that memorial will be told. 

“People of all classes need to form a community and these flower pots are a way to accomplish that,” said Abdul-Mutakallim.

The organization believes this project will help build stronger communities of people from many different walks of life. By building this stronger community, Abdul-Mutakallim hopes it will help people realize the need to raise children in a way that showcases that violence is not the answer.

The Musketeers expect these pots to have such an immense impact on impoverished communities that Abdul-Mutakallim refers to the project as, “The Microsoft of the 21st Century.” The organization recently received a $50,000 grant for the project.

The Flowerpot Project is not the only cure for violence in low-income communities. Two months ago, The Musketeers established a call center “to help end this Man-Made Disease of Trauma,” said Abdul-Mutakallim. “The hope is that when people are angry and having arguments with their family, they can call and we can help families figure things out so that people do not have to resort to violence.” They have already been fielding calls and helping families all across Ohio.

Despite their success, The Musketeers Association has faced its fair share of issues. They are often left disenfranchised by politicians who do not believe in their plans and have had many struggles with funding, leading to most of the organization’s past endeavors being self-funded from Abdul-Mutakallim’s pocket.

When asked how the community can support her work, she said, “You can donate. 80% of every dime and dollar given to The Musketeer Association goes right back into the community” and  “We are always looking for volunteers.”

One for all and all for one. Despite their defeats, Abdul-Mutakallim remains confident in her organization’s impact, saying, “We are not giving up because they [public officials] will not help us,” and “we need to continue to inspire children to reach for the universe and catch their star. That is how we will solve violence.”