02/18/1994
IWDM Study Library
Praire View, Texas

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
Announcer: This is the public broadcast of Imam W. D. Mohammed, Muslim American spokesman for human salvation. The following lecture by Imam W. Deen Mohammed was recorded February the 18th, 1994 at Prairie View A&M College in Prairie View, Texas.
Imam Mohammed: Praise be to Allah, that is praise be to G-d, the Lord of all the worlds. [clears throat] We witness that there is but one G-d and that Muhammad to whom the Quran was revealed is the last prophet. Prayers and peace be on him, and what follows from that traditional Muslim salute or Islamic salute to the last prophet.
[clears throat] First let me say we're very grateful for the opportunity to address you here on this campus. Campus that means something to all of us who have been in touch with African-American history, especially the history of our efforts as a people to be responsible for ourselves and for our own destiny. The best efforts that have been made have been made in politics, in the courts. And the overlooked effort I think is the effort that was made in education. We recall the story of the free slaves, who immediately after learning that they were free, they rushed to find some literature, some book, some newspaper, some article to read. There was a great hunger in the slaves for literacy.
Literacy that would permit them to expand their minds, develop their intellect, and move on down the road to real freedom. We must understand that when our fore-parents in slavery we're freed they all weren't celebrating the same kind of freedom or the same quality of freedom. For many of them, I'm sure that freedom meant not having to do hard physical work, not having to exert themselves and get up early before the sunrise and go out in the field and work all day long until sunset as they used to say from dusk to dark for their slave master.
I'm sure many of them were celebrating freedom from that toiling, from that burden that was imposed upon them by their slave-masters.
But freedom for the movement itself, freedom movement is freedom to pursue our excellence as a people. Slavery kept us from pursuing our excellence as a people. We were not able to pursue the excellence of the African-American people, the black people, the slaves at that time. We must understand too that all slaves were not subjected to the same severity.
Frederick Douglass tells in his own story of a master- his first master who was kind, considerate and interested in him developing his own mind. He facilitated the development of Frederick Douglass' mind or intellect. Because of that, Frederick Douglass while yet a slave was very articulate, very much qualified to speak for his people in bondage and to speak for his cause.
I think it's very important for us to go back and examine what transpired when we were freed, and what transpired immediately after and what has happened in the '70s till now, what has happened. In my opinion, majority of us we have been severed from our traditional line of progress, from our traditional line of growth, toward improvement, toward more progress for our people. We have been severed from that. We've been just taken and split, split, split off from that.
There's a reason, - our values changed. When we were following the early leaders of the freedom movement, we were following people, leaders who had moral ground supporting them. They were standing upon moral ground, moral ground supported them. They stood on strong moral ground. They appealed to the human beings of their time. They got help for their course from whites, and we know that we supported them, our people supported them. They couldn't have gotten that help if they had not stood upon moral ground. It had been tried. Their physical rebellion had been tried. It was unsuccessful.
The only successful way to improve our people, our tradition of our people was to stand upon moral grounds and appeal to the moral nature, to the moral sentiments of the human people in the society at that time. Today, I don't think we're doing that. I know we're not doing that. A few of us are but they're too few. The number is too few. We have most of us not standing up on moral ground, we're standing upon grievances, we're standing up on resentment, we're standing upon all negative things. We're trying to advance the African-American people, it won't work. It has never worked for a people.
Pretty soon, people will listen to you for a while, but pretty soon, they turn a deaf ear to you because they say, "All these people are just totally negative. They're just interested in nothing but complaining." We have to come back to that healthy disposition that we had in Frederick Douglass and those that were with him and in those that followed him in the line of leadership, the leadership for the freedom movement. Destiny is a big word, - destiny. Progress, prosperity, and destiny. I think all these words are big words, especially prosperity and even destiny. Destiny is bigger than all of those words.
Destiny for the person who only wanted to be left alone to sleep late and not worry about going in the field and work. I don't call that destiny, that's just relief from hardship. That's not destiny. When we say destiny, destiny suggests that the person using that term has some idea of where his life should be going. We had great minds in Frederick Douglass and many that followed him. We had great minds that knew where our life should be going. They knew what slavery had done to check the advancement of that life and hold it in a kind of prison cell so that it couldn't go anywhere. They wanted to have freedom for their intellect.
We're free physically now, but what is happening to the intellect of the masses of blacks in America? We're free now physically, but what is happening to the moral life of the majority of us in America? We're free physically, but we're not advancing ourselves as a mass of people intellectually and morally. Now, we know a lot of this is due to the moral decadence, the deterioration in the institutions of this country, we know that. We were talking earlier before I came here about the '60s and the '70s, how we were pushing hard in the '60s to get complete freedom, to get complete recognition, equal opportunity in America.
The '70s came in and we start pushing for more dollars. We got off-track. One thing has to be observed when we're looking at what has happened to us, we have to also observe what has happened to America. Not only did we get off-track, white leadership got off track. Not only did we fall down, white leadership in this country also fell down. Many of their greatest speakers, orators, their leaders have been bringing to the attention of their people, the bankruptcy, the intellectual and moral bankruptcy that set in for this country.
It would appear to me that a people who was held back by slavery and denied an opportunity to develop their minds, to develop their humanity, to reach their humanity, that when the oppressor society began to show weakness in their intellect, and weakness in their moral life, I would think that the subjected society would not go down that road with them but would say here is our chance. Here's our chance now to catch up with them, and even surpass them.
The Nation of Islam. What was the Nation of Islam all about? The Nation of Islam, under the leadership of Elijah Muhammad, our late leader, my father. It embodied all the strong forces or strong urges that were in our people. The urge for dignity, the urge for freedom, the urge for justice, the urge for equality, it embodied all of that. Along with something that's in us too, an urge to come into a comfortable identity or to have a comfortable identity for ourselves as a people. The Nation of Islam embodied all of that. When I study the teachings of the Nation of Islam, I can see the imprints of Booker T. Washington's work. I can see the influence of Frederick Douglass language that he used. When he said of America while we were yet, slaves. "That you claim democracy, the best democracy, and you claim Christ Jesus" He said, peace be upon Christ. He said, "But your behavior is such that it would shame a nation of savages".
When I read that, that cutting language, that direct real crisp sharp cutting language that he used to cut into the quick of white America, and read some of the things that the Nation of Islam gave us, condemning the white man, confronting him for his wrong. I can see the influence of Frederick Douglass.
I also can see the influence of Du Bois, I can see the influence of many of our great leaders of the past. When I look at what was put together and called, The Lost Found Nation of Islam in America. I see Noble Drew Ali, who founded the Moorish American Science Temple and introduced Islam, by way of that idea. I should say by way of that cover because I think, Drew Ali, Fard who taught I want to be like Muhammad. Both of them used the cover, under which they slipped in or they would slip Islam, past the recognition of the authorities in America, into the conscience of the subjected discriminated against, held down neglected black man. That's what I think, when I look at it.
In fact Fard, he did say that of himself. He said, "I come as a thief in the night", using language of Scriptures, that "I come as a thief in the night". He actually said that of himself. He said, "I come in disguise, I come in dyed garment". He used all of that language. He said to the followers back then in the beginning of the Nation of Islam history and the early '30s. He said, "You see me now in the cavey's clothing", he called the white man, the man a cavey, cave dweller. He used the term cavey. He said, "You say you see me now in the cavey's clothing, one day you'll see me in my raw robe".
He was always hinting that the person that he was introducing to them was not the real person, was not the person in his real image or in his real identity and so was his message. The message that he was introducing that he called Islam, was not in the real image of Islam. It was very, very strange to what is real Islam.
For a moment now, I want to concentrate on the identity problem. I do believe that it is just a natural requirement in the soul of the African-American people. I was at a meeting recently and a question was brought up. The person who asked the question, he said, "I believe, in a group soul, a collective soul. We're not only individual soul but we're also a collective soul". Well, they have that idea also in psychology, that's just science now. Science looks at the group of people, the community of people as a total life.
Just like we have one culture for all of us that we should, if we are one people, we have one core in our inner self that's the same for all of us. It registers what's happening for the group in the same way, so it's seen as one collective soul. In that one collective soul is the natural urge to arrive at what that soul or life is capable of realizing. For some of us, destiny will mean just having a job and being able to take care of our families, that's enough for us but that's not the destiny that history is concerned with. That's not the destiny that scripture is concerned with, that's not the destiny that classical freedom is concerned with.
The destiny that we should be, - our leaders, the students on this campus, and those that are interested in helping our people to get further on the road of progress. The density that we should have in mind is the destiny for moral life, the destiny for the spiritual life and even more importantly, the destiny for our mind, the destiny for our intellect.
When our leaders of the past was talking about lifting us up and lift yourself up, they were talking about lifting up the level of your intellectual sight. Raising your intellectual sight, raising your mind up so that the whole people will benefit from stronger leaders, better prepared leaders. When I say leaders, I'm not thinking of those in politics. I'm not thinking of those in religion, I'm thinking about those who have their people's interests at heart, that's what I'm thinking about.
You're among those leaders, you students on this campus you are among the leaders, you are a leader yourself. If you have your people's interest at heart, then you are leaders. You should be interested in re-studying the terrible life that we had as a slaves and re-studying what happened when we were emancipated, and re-studying what our leaders have suggested to us for our betterment.
They were no more than human just like you are. They did the best they could and their circumstances was much worse than our circumstances are now. They were not in a position to be as successful and coming up with better direction for us as we are now. The best help is yet to come. Thank you very much. Asalaam alaikum.
Audience Member 1: That's right. Great.
[applause]
Moderator: Is the mic working? It's not?
Imam Mohammed: Yes, mic is not working.
Audience Member : [unintelligible 00:20:11]
Moderator: It's on.
Audience Member 2: [unintelligible 00:20:15]
Imam Mohammed: Thank you.
Audience Member 2: I wonder if you could elaborate a little bit upon the [unintelligible 00:20:24]...any organizational work that you are doing.
Imam Mohammed: Yes. Well, I see us having really a fragmented effort. Some of us are concentrating on one concern, others political. Some are concentrating on money, economic. Some are concentrating on health, civil rights bill on health and civil rights. There are those that's concentrating on the spiritual life of our people. In my opinion, the best efforts are being done by people in education.
We have writers in California and on the east coast in different areas who are studying the condition of our people and trying to offer more vision and more direction to our people. The best help is coming from the institutions, colleges and university in my opinion. But we know we need all the help. We need all these diversified efforts. We need that. But we need to have an intelligentsia like we used to have. An intelligentsia, a group of intellectuals dedicated to advancing the mind and abilities of their people and making possible greater ability for our people.
In these circumstances that we live in, we need such an intelligentsia again. I don't think that there was any call for an intelligentsia, but they certainly had it in the days of Frederick Douglass, even there. It was an intellectual people that were coming forward to lead the people. Those people who followed them as foot soldiers and whatever other capacity, they followed them. They were not the leaders, they were followers. Today we need such leaders. We need leaders for our mind and for our moral life. We had it in the past. I don't think we have it today.
If I would say what is the status of the movement now? I would say it's in limbo at best. It's fragmented. We have a fragmented effort. We need to get some kind of sense of direction and sense of leadership. We have to identify those persons that should be leading all of us. Dr. King was an intellectual. He's a religious man, a spiritual leader. But he was an intellectual. Dr. King was an intellectual. He was looking more at our moral life and more at our mind than just at the physical things that were in our way. The wrong laws that were holding us back.
He was looking seeing those things because he had a vehicle that he was moving and those things were in the way of that vehicle. The vehicle that he was moving, was the moral life, the spiritual life and the intellect most importantly of his people. Those things just happened to be in the way. He had to address those things to get those things out of the way.
That's the kind of leaders we need now. Leaders like Frederick Douglass, leaders like Du Bois leaders like a Dr. King, leaders like the Hon. Elijah Muhammad.
He wasn't formally educated, but he was trying to do the same thing. Get the [unintelligible 00:24:11] off the white man was the main thing in the way. He was trying to get the white man out of the way, anyway he could. Get the white man out of the way so we can advance the best of our life which is our moral life, our spirit and our intellect.
I would say that we have hope for a better situation. That hope is mostly among the new black intellectuals that everybody wants to call conservative. Some of you want to call them uncle Tom. But they are the leaders of the future. They are not drunk with the Democratic party. They don't see it as Christ Jesus, peace be upon him. They are not drunk with a black consciousness. They see it as an extreme in us that is producing negative effects now more than positive effect on us. They are our future leaders. I hope I can help them. [pause 00:25:15]
Audience Member 3: Salaam alaikum.
Imam Mohammed: Wa alaikum as salaam.
Audience Member 3: [unintelligible 00:28:55]
Imam Mohammed: Thank you sir.
Audience Member 3: [unintelligible 00:28:59]. What role do you think the [unintelligible 00:29:23] play in the United States in the continuation of that [unintelligible 00:29:26]?
Imam Mohammed: Yes, thank you very much. I believe that we need persons like you brother with your knowledge and your concern to be more visible. We need you in the forefront of this effort. Because there are so many who are supported by and backed by the enemies of Islam. There are so many that's trying to ignore the contribution of Islam to Africa.
We only have to look at Africa today. We may say Muslims participated in the slave trade, they sold us into slavery. We can say all these things, but we know that we were slaves here in America, and we didn't see any Muslims holding us down here in America. If they had a hand in getting us to America, in the slave ship, then we have to acknowledge that.
As Muslims, we have to pray for the sinful souls of those persons who were involved in that, but we shouldn't let that set us back, we shouldn't let that cause us to close our eyes on the fact that Islam did result in many powerful, civilized communities or nation springing up on the continent of Africa, coming into their fruition on the continent of Africa. When we look at the map of Africa presently, we find more Islamic nations survive or surviving, than non-Islamic nations. The most powerful nations on the continent of Africa now, are not non-Islamic nation, but Islamic nations. This is what we have to realize.
At the same time, we have to be aware that the whole Muslim world came under the influence of Western power, of colonialism, the whole Muslim world. It's not only African Muslims, but all Muslims of the world are coming out from under the bad influences of colonialism, colonial domination, to realize that they must find themselves again for themselves and stand themselves up on their own Muslim feet again themselves. They’re just realizing that.
Don't think that Muslims in Africa are behind the West, no, all third world people. All people that were under Western domination are behind the West. But, the West is now losing its grip. We should exert ourselves and come into our own. Brother, thank you very much for asking the question.
Audience Member 4: Asalaam alaikum, Ramadhan Mubarak.
Imam Mohammed: Wa alaikum as-salaam, Ramadhan Mubarak.
Audience Member 4: [unintelligible 00:32:54] When you talk about leadership, [unintelligible 00:33:02] how can we keep our leaders more visible so that they can get the message out to the people and be a little bit more visible to the [unintelligible 00:33:16] people? We have a lot of brilliant brothers and some of them [unintelligible 00:33:20] We don't control the media but in things like this but [unintelligible 00:33:32]
Imam Mohammed: Your question is clear. We have to do what we did when we believed 100% in the Hon. Elijah Muhammad. When we were believing 100% in the Hon. Elijah Muhammad, we made our best efforts. We didn’t let the absence of a stage or visibility hold us back in the least. We worked hard as the dickens, and didn't care whether we were seen or not. If you do that now, believe me we will accomplish much more now than we ever accomplished in the past, if you do that now. Exert yourself and work hard, you are ready to be recruited for dawa, work, for good work, work hard like ants and beavers, bees. Work hard and believe me, the media will be begging you to let them cover your story, to let them have your story.
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad insisted upon building up his organization and doing it by himself without any help. He got so big. He got so popular in the neighborhood that the media felt the urgency to cover the Nation of Islam, to cover it before it got too big, for them to do anything about it. Now, the only thing when that day comes when they want to cover us because we are growing big quietly, the only thing that I advise you to do is this, please, realize that media attention is an intoxicant. It will make you drunk, it will make you addicted, and pretty soon, they will have your image in their hand as putty. They will be shaping you.
Don’t let that happen. Don't worry about the media right now. If you got an opening, get it. If you can get an opening in the news or in the media, get it. We need the media, media is powerful, but don't worry about it, build up your strength quietly, and work hard. 
We going to have to put a limit on the time now, because I just broke fast and a date and a bottle of water that ain't enough for me.
[laughter]
Imam Mohammed: I got to eat. I haven't eaten since yesterday. This is our fast month, the blessed month of Ramadan. We may take two more. Then we're going to have to leave. Wa alaykumu as-salam.
Audience Member 5: [unintelligible 00:36:37].
Imam Mohammed: I missed the as far as working with. I didn't get the what you said after as far as working with.
Audience Member 5: [unintelligible 00:37:09]
Imam Mohammed: Thank you. Well, let me answer the first question first. You asked what happened to the Nation of Islam? The same thing that happened to Marcus Garvey's movement. It was infiltrated. Intelligence department was afraid that if it fell into the hand of young new leaders who were radical and maybe not as balanced as Garvey, that they would have too much violence, too much trouble. The Nation of Islam was even more feared, so the Nation of Islam was infiltrated, and because of that infiltration, we had leaders over businesses and properties et cetera, that caused properties to be run in a non-profitable way.
There were only very few businesses that were run in a profitable way, and that was the Muhammad Speaks newspaper and the fish program, but even those businesses had big problems. They had a lot of problems. When the Honorable Elijah Muhammad became very sick ill, he couldn't stay on top of things himself. Those leaders that were working in the organization to bring about its demise upon the death of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad so if anybody inherit it, they don't inherit the economic plan. They began to work very feverishly, very hard and they were able to get wreck what was the strength of the Nation of Islam.
When I came in, I knew what was going on, I had been watching them from a distance so you can see better from a distance. I played along with them, and finally got all them out, but I couldn't stop them from wrecking the material structure of the Nation of Islam. I'm happy to say that I encourage the individuals in our community to support business people in our community, and not only in our community, but support business people in Muslim community, business people in the black community. We’re supposed to support people that we say we belong to first, and then support others after that.
I advocate that, and I'm happy to say that we have very good business showing for our association of Muslims in Atlanta and many other places. It's not near what we want to see, but we are making real progress. And as for, Minister Farrakhan, I'm getting to like him more and more.
Imam Mohammed: One day I think we're going to be right together side by side. Yes.
[applause]
Imam Mohammed: We came through the same experience. We have the same dedication to our people and we have almost the same knowledge I believe too. He's intelligent. He's not dumb. He's educated, an intelligent man. I do believe that when he has to do it, he's going to do what he has to do. He has other burdens on him right now that he has to I guess acknowledge and give attention to. But, in time we're going to see the two Islamic groups come closer and closer together. In fact, we are already closer together now than we were five years ago. I'm very proud of his statement that he made to the national press. Very proud of it.
Audience Member 7: Asalaam alaikum.
Speaker 1: Alaikum salaam.
Audience Member 7: [unintelligible 00:41:08]
Imam W.D. Mohammed: Yes, we all have to work. We all have to get busy and accept the share and the responsibility and I believe that's what you all are doing. You are doing that. We just need more. I wish more in my association was as busy and aggressive and hardworking as you all are. I tell them that. That don't talk about Minister Farrakhan and those who are with him get out there and be as aggressive as they are.
We have few but they're very few. We don't have the percentage of brothers and sisters that are, I would say as much determined as your percentage is, to get out there and change the life of our people around by going out there working with the down and out people.
We need more but let me tell you something else, at the same time, we must have leaders who are attending those that can do the most for us right now and don't ignore these people on the campus. I know you don't. You're very active on these campuses because the intellectual mind that African-American, once they learn what Islam is, they will be able to do more for the lot of our people than those that are down and out. But, at the same time, we have to visit the prisons. We have to work in needs of the neglected neighborhoods and do all we can for our people.
I have to say asalaam alaikum to you now. Blessed Ramadan
[applause]
[00:43:40] [END OF AUDIO]

