04/21/1998
IWDM Study Library 
Race and Religion that Affects Only the First Societal Fabric of America

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
The following lecture titled, Race and Religion that affects only the first societal fabric of America, was recorded Tuesday, April the 21st, 1998 at the Dobelman theater on the campus of the University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio. The lecturer is Imam W. Deen Muhammad, Muslim American spokesman and now Imam Muhammad.
IWDM:
Takbir, Allahu Akbar. Peace be unto you. That's the greeting of Muslims. We say assalamu alaikum. We praise G-d In His name we do everything. We trust all of our good results to our Lord, the creator of all people. The creator of the heavens and the earth. We say Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alamin, which means the praise and thanks is for G-d. The Lord, keeper and cherisher of all the worlds. And we wish peace. We say. Peace be upon the messengers, the prophets. The messengers of G-d. And upon Muhammad the servant, the honorable and noble servant of G-d mentioned in the Bible, the old and New Testament and also the Prophet of Qur'an. The Prophet of Muslims and Prophet of the Qur'an.
We are thankful and honored to be here on this campus of this great university in Toledo, Ohio to speak on diversity, community, religion, and race. We like to at this time recognize those who have supported this event. Made possible this engagement for us on this campus. The president of the Muslim students, brother Adil Mathee and his supporters. The local Imam. Imam Talib-ddin and the other young men who work with Adil to make this event possible for us. And we thank the University and the department here for their allowing us or supporting this meeting here today.
The effect the issue of race and religion has on democratic America, this democratic society of ours. It's an interest for all Muslims. If we understand our religion, especially for Muslims living and these United States. We have gotten a lot of good help for understanding race. But I don't think most of us in a situation to appreciate it. I remember in the middle fifties there was an author of a book, the book was titled Race in a Democratic Society by Harrison Palmer. And I as a young man at that time I was young, now I'm a senior citizen getting all the goodness in Georgia.
And I was impressed very much by this author who treated the subject of the issue of race as a prejudice, prejudice and also as an issue that should be looked at or viewed scientifically as much as possible. And later I came to understand upon studying the Qur'an, reading it by our holy book, the Qur'an is the holy book of Muslims. Upon reading it very carefully, searching for understanding on the issue of race. Acting to understand that the Qur'an, the revealed words of God in the last book of Revelation. The last book of revealed book pardon me of Muhammad the Prophet, that God is also inviting the readers, inviting the enquirers to look at the objective world and see in the objective world the real understanding of our differences.
And G-d mentions the colors that are in creation. The colors of flower. How colors differ in the past in the flowers, in animals. And G-d directs our attention in the Qur'an our holy book, also to stones in the mountains. How the mountains are formed and the stones in the top of the mountains. How their colors vary from white to black and red, all in the top of the mountain. And G-d has said to us in the Qur'an that when we think of our own differences, we should think of them in connection with the objective reality that we get out. Because our differences just as everything else in creation got his color or got his difference. And this was the position taken by Harry Frome, in his book Race and the Democratic Society.
I would like to mention at this point too, that I have received a lot of support and comfort from knowing that the desire of this democracy, the founding fathers of this great democratic society that we call the American democracy, that among them were those who had some knowledge, or at least a meeting of some kind of meeting about Islam. And I believe from what I've read in notes regarding it, that they read the Qur'an and got somewhat familiar with the teachings of the Qur'an. Thomas Jefferson, James Madison is documented that these great men thought that Islam had a place in this country, and they wished that Islam would have a place in this country. That Muslims would come here too, to this great democracy. We must understand that the founding fathers, they perceived this democracy, they envisioned this great society that it would be a place where others like them was going to come and start life all over again.
The persons who came to this country and before this country was established as a society, they came here fleeing or running away from religious persecution and other problems of the society of their former land, Europe. Their former continent or Europe, a land Europe. They came here to get away from that to have an opportunity to start life all over again. So it is here in the United States that they found the faith to envision the life that they wanted, the freedom they wanted, the kind of society they wanted. And we who come here now, we come here because of them, because of the opportunity that they open for us. We come here because of them. We come to a land that invites us to have a new start. And this country now is made up of many, many religions and many, many ethnicities or cultural groups.
And we are welcome here. For the first time in my life I feel that America is sincerely and genuinely interested in all people having a good life in this country. That was not the case when I was a young man. It was a country that had two laws. One supporting the advancement of whites against blacks and the other one to hold us in our place. And that place was a place of slavery. A kind of slavery, a kind of servitude as second class citizens of this country. I thank G-d, that the good people in this country have worked to remove that evil from America. And it has been removed as far as the law is concerned and as far as the courts are concerned and as far as the intelligence establishment is concerned, that has gone.
It is a problem now that's left for human beings who are free, we can deal with and we can manage our own lives. Now, there are hardly ever any incidents that required us to go to Supreme Court with a case. Most of us human ignorance, human weaknesses, human oppressed themselves and their soul and spirit. And they let that trouble spill over on somebody else. That's what we've seen today, and we are calling it still the issue of race. Islam along with interest and progress for America's democracy in progressive society. Islam.
Islam is going along with the interest in progress for America's democratic progress in society. And I understand Islam. Islam is now an influence for progress in this country. An influence for progress that is working peacefully with other efforts to have even a better society for us in America. Today there are hundreds of languages and religious in these United States. Religions contribute to the cultural identities of the world's people, but these cultures have more to do with local regional life than they have to do with religion. Islam was meant not to be a supplanter of a people's culture.
The prayers and the peace be upon him. The Prophet of the Qur'an. Mohammad that is. Mohammad the son of Abdullah, who lived on the earth with us about 14 centuries ago. He said, "Leave them with their traditions. All people have their traditions." The Prophet said this when it was reported to him or brought to his attention, that the people greeting him, greeting him upon his arrival to their area were beating tambourines and making a kind of a chant or song. And this disturbed, or at least was looked upon as something that perhaps was not desired by one of the companions of the Prophet. Peace, pardon me, God be pleased with him and peace be upon the Prophet. And he brought this to attention of the Prophet and the Prophet's reply was, "Leave their tradition. All people have their traditions." And it is also given to us in Islamic knowledge, Islamic education that the Prophet instructed his missionaries of for want of a better term, his ambassadors.
His ambassadors. They were his ambassadors. I don't like the term missionary in this connection. His ambassadors, he instructed them when they go among other people to not try to erase their culture but to give them Islam. And Islam would be the purification for their culture. Not to erase their culture, get rid of their culture, but to accept their culture. That is their life, their identity in Islam. Leave them Islam and Islam would be the purifying agent for their culture or in their life to improve their culture. To make their culture more acceptable to the G-d who created us all.
I said that to say, we Muslims are to be comparable in a world of diverse cultures. This is a democratic pluralistic society. And that is why I believe many Muslims are saying, and I don't mean just people who profess Islam to be their religion. I mean people who are having a real meaningful role and presenting Islam in this country and representing it as it should be represented from the many ethnic groups. Pakistanis, Indians, Arabs, Egyptians, Palestinians I'm meeting them and they're all saying the same thing. And you'd be surprised what they're saying. Africans, Sudanese and others. They're saying that there is more freedom and opportunity to practice Islam in this country, in America than there is in their own homelands. That's what they're saying. Does the Qur'an leave Muslims comfortable to live with neighbors that are not Muslims? My answer is yes. Our holy book the Qur'an says, G-d says to us in our holy book, correct? "Let there be no promotion of hatred in religion. La Iqara Hafi deen in Qur'anic language. Let there be no promotion of hatred in religion." Translated also in English, translated some growth who translate into English. They say, "Let there be no compulsion in religion." The word comes from the term hatred. Kafraha- Means to hate somebody. Let there be no compulsion in religion or let there be no hatred in religion. The Qur'an last of the revealed books calls upon the religions of the world to promote understanding among religions or between religions. And avoid the sin of bigotry. Tawheed is perhaps the concept in Islam that every other idea or every other concept can be seen with or attached to. Tawheed come from a word which simply means, one.
Tawheed comes from word simply means one. And Tawheed then can be translated oneness, oneness, unity or oneness in Islam. It begins with the perception of reality. This objective world, it's reality as one system of matter. One system of matter. This is the Qur'an. No wonder with the coming of Islam in the eighth century, seventh and eighth century of our Christian calendar, there sprung up many great institutions of learning that served as attractions for scholarly, intellectual people all around the world. And eventually brought about what we know to be the renaissance. The Renaissance. The revival of science and the revival of the activity of the Scholars, the intellect. That's happened. And historians like Arnold Toynbee and many others. Great Western historian Arnold Toynbee has mentioned this in his works. And many great western historians have mentioned how Islam, the Qur'an and Muhammad's teaching, brought about the waking of the intellect, revival of sciences, of interest in sciences and eventually brought about what we call the revival of the West, or the Renaissance. The revival of that interest in the west are the renaissance.
Islam is the concept of a family of man, one system of matter and the human family is one family. This is how Islam deals with the problem of race and the problem of ethnic bigotry. If I can use that expression, ethnic bigotry. This is how it deals with it. It deals with it by getting us to open up our minds and use our common good senses, our rational minds and observe the reality that G-d made it. And G-d made us and our reality. G-d made our oneness. That's why I'm being called in Christianity of a family of man. We are called in Judaism, the family of man. We are called in this Islam, the family of man. That all people are one family. Our ancestor is Adam. Peace be upon him, the first man G-d made and his wife Eve. As Christian's father. Eve our mother.
We all came from the same father and from the same mother. This is Christianity, this is Judaism, this is Islam, the family of man. It's G-d that established the concept of the family of man, and inclusion and promotion of the common fundamental rights to life. Hope to life, liberty and pursuit confidence in hope. This is a language from the introduction to our constitution for these United States. And this language is very much compatible with the language of Islam. That we are one creation. G-d made us all. We are one human creation. Our essential humanity, our central human life is one and the same for all of us.
And this is G-d who created everything that created us for the life. For the best life, for the best life. The best life we can realize utilizing all of the great things that G-d has created to support this life, including this life itself. Many of us don't know that the utilizing of the death that G-d has created in us as human beings, as human persons is the human resources that we need to explore, cultivate so that we can have a much better person of ourselves. The people of earth are one community. There was a Buddhist religious leader, spiritual leader in a meeting that I attended with many other religions. It was a meeting of religions to promote peace, tolerance and acceptance of each other and our differences. And at this meeting there was a Buddhist who was very, very important in his country and therefore very important at this meeting.
But he couldn't speak English that well. His English was very poor. And a very educated man just couldn't speak English very well. And after we had had some discussions the next day came and the persons given the responsibility for putting in French the best that had come out of these discussions, they were trying to give the Buddhist representative from Buddhism to give a statement in English for the book. And when he was asked the question, his reply was, "We are one." And that I guess that wasn't enough to represent that great man in the publication. So, the person asked him again to respond and he said, "We are one." And then the enquirer understood what he meant, that that's all that he wanted to say. We are one. And that's a lot if we understand it. We are one. Government, business and the faith communities in America are seen more and more.
And the focus on inclusion, together and the focus on inclusion and peaceful relations for religions and race in America and abroad. I and those who support my ministry of peace, goodwill and prosperity are inviting friendships and alliances for more improved diversity for ourselves upon our inherent unity. And that inherent unity is our common human life that all of have. The reason why it is possible for us to have this unity, because we have this essential common human life the Qur'an focus on the human person, the concept of the human person as a sensitive person, that G-d have made morally sensitive, spiritually sensitive. But then it wants that sensitive person to know that G-d has created it to advance and have progress and achieve a more peaceful and productive world by using the intelligence, the human intelligence called in Islam the Aql the brain, the Aql, the intellect, by the way the president's name Aqil, which means intelligence.
Having the qualities of good Aql The brother himself served us a drink to show you how important a good brain is. A good healthy common sense brain is. The Prophet said that G-d didn't make peace be upon Muhammad the Prophet. He said that G-d didn't make anything more useful than the Aql, the intellect of man. And when we look all around us to see what don't, how does this help race relations? When we focus correctly, race problems vanishes. When we focus correctly, race problems, vanish and religious ignorance and prejudice also vanish, when we focus correctly. Does G-d say the opening up Qur'an.
Race is a problem. No, G-d says to us, here is reality. Look at reality and establish yourself upon truth and reality, righteousness, correctness et cetera. And that's how G-d solves all the problems of race for us. And every other kind of sick prejudice. G-d solves the problem by getting us the focus correctly on the objective world and ourselves as the creation in this objective world. So, when we accept our essential life as our unity, the human life in its purest description, we know the human is a free creature. We are spiritually free, and we are rationally free.
So, we can adapt to behavior that is really against our original sense of energy and become animal and also man. We can do this. We have freedom to become animal and also man. To become a germ and also man. To become a stone even and also man. Yes, we can become so hot to the sensitivities that we expect to be a human being, that we become like a stone. We can become whatever we want to because of this freedom that G-d has given us. To let our mind know where we want it to go and to die whatever we want it to die from. Conform to whatever we want to conform to. This freedom we have also.
But if we come back to our original nature and we don't have to look in the language of scientists, biologists, sociologists, psychologists, for the original nature. All we have to do is look in the arms of a mother, who has her newborn in her arms. And we see a newborn human life. We see a life willing to conform to the best human behavior, not rebellion. We see a life, peaceful, loving and that's our original nature. And when you look at the best of our human leaders who are calling us to respect our life and to respect the lives of others and to work to the good future of all people, we are looking at the original nature. The original human person that G-d created.
So, we define our unity there and upon that unity, we can build our diversity even better. I used to be in my mind and identity thinking of myself as a black man, an African American. I still do, but now I have a better picture of myself as an African American that I had to form. I have a picture of myself that is more in line with what G-d intended for me. That it is in line with the ideas of myself that I picked up as a child, a teenager, and a young man in these United States. So that is our contribution to raise a better understanding of the issue of race and religion or the issue of racial differences and religious differences in this country. And we hope that you appreciate it. We are sorry that we didn't have this place filled. There's only a very few people here and half of you looked like you were tired when you walked in the door. That's not good.
Pray G-d be with you and bless you with good life and the good future that G-d intended for all of us. That G-d forgive us, our errors, our sins, our mistakes, our prejudices. And get us to accept that many times when we are complaining that we are not getting the treatment we deserve. Or we complain against another people or putting down another people that we might be having difficulty expressing that inherent honor, that inherent nobility that G-d created each and every one of us with. So let us have more patience, even with the racists. Peace be upon you.
Speaker 1:
Assalamu alaikum At this time Imam Mohammed, has graciously considered to receive questions from you, from the audience. If you have questions you might proceed to one of the microphones at either end of the auditorium. No questions? Got one.
Frank Chaucher:
Brother Mohammed. My name is Frank Chaucher. I live in Toledo, Ohio. I had the pleasure to visit Chicago back in July. There was a conference held in Chicago under the auspices of the Nation of Islam and the World Islamic called society. And I had the honor to visit the big mosque in Chicago and meet your family. And your theme to today's talks about the unity of the Muslim and the homeland. And I asked that question when I went at the mosque and your brothers were there. I asked where is my brother Hamed? They said he was asked to come participate in the conference, but unfortunately he couldn't make it. How far are we trying to get together with an agent of Islam? Can you answer that question please?
IWDM:
Yes. Well I can answer yes. I think we are making progress. We can't join Minister Farrakhan. He has an image that wouldn't help us at all by joining him. We can't join him. And so far that's all he's been asking us to join him, not to meet on the neutral mutual ground of Islam and Islamic truth. He's asking us to just come in. That can't happen. Because his image has not been made good as a Muslim. He's still seen as a person who wants to divide whites and blacks. He's still seen as a person who will attack another people and their religion. He's making some progress correcting that or changing that. But not near enough progress for me to invite my association to go to him. But if he wants to meet us halfway and halfway means upon the Qur'an and upon the life of Muhammad the Prophet of that Qur’an, I'm ready right now. If there are no more questions, we are going to leave us all to be... Okay. I see. I see some of my good friends in the audience like that. Yes, your question please. Okay.
Speaker 4:
It seems that a very long time-
IWDM:
Speak close to the mic. I can't hear.
Speaker 4:
It seems that for a very long time, African Americans are perceived to be of two groups. The group of Warith Deen Mohammed and the group of Farrakhan. I don't know if you can again make it clear that we are not two groups of African-American Muslims. That we are one group of Muslims who are awaiting Farrakhan’s arrival.
IWDM:
Thank you very much. And that is clear and that is correct.
Speaker 5:
I want to know, do you feel that racism is higher than it is now? Higher now than it was back then in the fifties and sixties? Because at that time it was blatant that racism existed. And it seemed like in this day and time people are trying to undermine people. So you feel that have it gotten better or worse?
IWDM:
In my opinion, we don't have really a race issue in this country that can't be solved by individuals without the involvement of government. And we have to become better educated. I was talking to a sister, in fact, it was last week. I was visiting a town representing the Muslims and this sister was from Egypt. And she had trained many of our students in this town to recite Qur'an. And that performance was so beautiful and so impressive. So, after the performance, I spoke to this Muslim sister and thanked her personally for her service among us.
And without asking any pay, she works to help our children learn how to properly recite the Qur'an in its language in Qur'anic Arabic. And she said to me, "When I came here...." Because she could dress up like us and act like us and talk like us. And we would say in 1950 she's a negro. And we'll say in 1960, she's a black woman. We would say that. A lot of Egyptians, they're Africans. And a lot of them look no different than we look physically. Their physical appearance is no different than ours hardly. You can't distinguish. And she said, "I suffered." She said, "I suffered a lot in this country." She said, "I couldn't understand it. I didn't know why it was like that." She said, "I didn't know how to change it." She said, "But it's changed."
She said, "And education is bringing that about to change." She said, "Education is bringing about the change." Now, I don't think she mean just education in school, but I know education in public school system has accepted to address race problems in a very intelligent way. And that has been a great service and it is a great service deal. But also we have television that has its problems. But television also have many programs that help their educate us socially. Deliver each other socially. We have a new environment altogether in this country now. When we look at the old environment of the three civil rights demonstration ladies, we have a totally new environment. So, we have to recognize that. And I say that a lot of us are really feeling oppressed and can't move forward because we just won't open our eyes and see the truth.
We won't accept the advances that this society has made for better relations. And we have to understand that there are many troublemakers in the American society. They are troublemakers. They're sick inside. And a lot of them are Muslims. They say they're Muslim and they're Muslims I guess. But they're sick inside. They're troublemakers. They can't be happy with themselves and they don't want us to be happy with ourselves. And especially they don't want us be happy with whites. Be aware of that and don't let these sick people make you think, that because they say they're Muslims, you're supposed to open your ears to them.
Speaker 5:
Thank you.
IWDM:
You didn't ask for all that but I gave it to you. And you're welcome. Thank you for the question.
Speaker 6:
He wanted to know if you... He was born Muslim and he wanted to know, if you are born Muslim, do you still have to make the shahada after you become a certain age?
IWDM:
No. No, you do not. Because if you are born Muslim, then your life is your shahada. And your parents are your witnesses. And your relatives and friends are your witnesses. No. But if you want to it's good. I make shahada all the time. Every day.
Speaker 7:
I just wanted to say this because of what you said that you were sorry that the audience were few. And since 1975, Allah blessed you to bring us toward Qur'an and Sumna, you did a tremendous job-
IWDM:
And a good common sense too. Don't leave out that credit.
Speaker 7:
Got you Imam. Common sense. And like the Qur'an say it's not in the majority, it's going to be the minority. And you have a strong quality throughout this country that don't howl and rage, but at the same time trying to get behind this program and help you understood conversation.
IWDM:
Thank you so much.
Speaker 7:
So, we want to thank you as supporters.
IWDM:
Thank you so much. I appreciate that and I mean that.
Speaker 7:
Don't worry about it. Don't worry about the many, worry about the few.
IWDM:
Thank you. I appreciate that and I appreciate it.
Speaker 7:
Thank you very much.
IWDM:
There is a consolation though. We hope that the Muslim Student Association represented by President Aqil will make good use of this tape and circulate it for us. Distribute it and circulated for us. Especially on the campuses. Right. Because if we can get the intelligent students on this campus to support this movement for healing of the people on this earth, we'll have the help that we need. So, one more question and then I'm going to have to leave. Two more. I see. Yes.
Speaker 8:
I was wondering if you could elaborate or let us know about your recent trip to Jerusalem, and what positive things might have came out of it. And just basically what...
IWDM:
Yes, we are hoping to make another trip soon as the things can be in good shape for us financially and otherwise. We expect to make another trip. We want a growing relationship, a continued and growing relationship with the Palestinians. I fell in love with them. I've almost felt like just staying there and giving up my citizenship here and suffering with them until things can get better. That's how I felt in my soul, in my heart, my mind. And so we had hoped to have another meeting. And what I got out of that was really the painful truth of the evils of the Israeli government.
The Israeli government of allowing the worst people in their government order to have their freedom and to mistreat Palestinian, to vent their poisons and hostility on the Palestinian people. They insulted us as American citizens. They've humiliated us at the airports. Searching us and just to humiliate us. To make us explode and lock us up, I guess. So I saw the ugly truth over there, and that's something that will keep me moving always in my heart and my soul and spirit to get closer to the Palestinian people and to be an influence in the circles that I'm privileged to have to be in this country and in the world. To say a word or to do something to bring about some change.
Speaker 8:
Thank you.
IWDM:
Thank you. Okay. If that's all, then peace. G-d go with you and peace. G-d be with you.
Speaker 1:
The ministry of Imam W Deen Mohammed would like to give special thanks to the Muslim students associations and the Black Studies Department of the University of Toledo for the excellent help in arranging Imam Muhammad's visit. For more on the ministry of Imam W Deen Mohammed, call one seven oh eight eight six two five two two eight. All right. Post office Box 1061, Calumet City, Illinois, six oh four oh nine. For WDM Publications call one seven oh eight eight six two seven seven three three. Or write. Post office box 1944, Calumet City, Illinois 60409. For Muslim journal see local distributor. And thanks for listening.


