Nearly one year after his imprisonment for the shooting death of an Atlanta area sheriff's deputy, support for Imam Jamil Al-Amin still remains unwavering among a small number of Muslim activists.

By soliciting donations for his defense fund and by meeting with members of Atlanta's media, supporters of Imam Jamil Al-Amin hope to win public support and his eventual release.

But in order to succeed, his proponents say they must first conquer the hearts, minds and even checkbooks of America's increasingly vocal and influential Muslim community.

At a preliminary hearing in January, more than 70 supporters packed a Fulton County courtroom to hear Al-Amin formerly submit a not guilty plea. Afterward, they organized a meeting with Atlanta's Muslim leadership urging for more help with Al-Amin's case. A participant described the meeting as ending on a "high note".

But others have become increasingly critical of the slow response from other Muslims, particularly national organizations, in assisting Al-Amin who once served as the vice president of the American Muslim Council.

Calling it a case of the "immigrant mentality trap" El-Hajj Mauri' Saalakhan, director of the Peace and Justice Foundation said he was displeased with the "all too familiar inaction of Muslims and Muslim organizations".

"I have (in the past) requested material assistance from other large, well organized, and well funded Muslim organizations. To date, those organizations that we have approached have yet to respond affirmatively, and this is very sad," said Saalakhan.

Still Al-Amin's supporters say they are fueled with hope following several widely publicized media reports that cast further doubt on the prosecution's case.

Inconsistencies in eyewitness reports and statements among law enforcement at the scene of the shooting has created a swirl of controversy in the case and has further bolstered the defense argument that Al-Amin was not the shooter.

Al Amin is so far the only suspect in the shooting death of Deputy Ricky Kinchen and the wounding of another, but according to a sheriff's radio room dispatch tape recorded during the gun battle, a second possible suspect was wounded.

In addition to the tape, the wounded deputy has said he was certain he shot the assailant, but when Al Amin was apprehended, he was not injured.

Witnesses also say they saw a wounded man five blocks from the scene begging for a ride just minutes after the shooting, and a 911 call was made by another witness reporting an injured man in the vicinity.

Evidence at the scene also supports the second suspect theory. An Atlanta officer had reportedly discovered blood drops at an abandoned house near the shooting. Police are said to have even searched the area for a possible second suspect, but produced no arrests. Al Amin's defense attorneys say they are searching for this man.

More recently, his defenders recently circulated an FBI report in which another man confessed to the crime. The man later recanted his story, but advocates believe he was pressured by law enforcement to do so.

Meanwhile, Al-Amin, who has maintained his innocence since the time of his arrest, released a statement through supporters earlier this month lashing out at those he felt were responsible for his imprisonment.

"I have been maliciously maligned, scandalized and vilified in the press by the police establishment before the court of world opinion even before I was charged with any crime," wrote Al-Amin.

"They have sought to marginalize my humanity and humiliate my family. They have done their level best to reduce me to a one-dimensional monster that is a composite of a Black Panther with a negative connotation, a cop killer, and the fictional character of the Godfather," he wrote.

For the past several decades, Al-Amin has emerged as one of the most widely respected African-American Muslim activists.

In 1994, he wrote Revolution by the Book and is credited by his non-Muslim neighbors for successfully eradicating drug-related activity in his neighborhood.