07/13/2003
IWDM Study Library
IWDM Speaks

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
Praise be to Allah, that is praise be to G-d. The Lord, Cherisher of all the worlds. We witness that He is one. He cares about all of His creation, and especially the best of His human creation, His servants, prophets and messengers. And those who follow as it given in our holy book in their excellence tradition that they left. Again, we are very happy to be present here on this occasion. An occasion like this in the city of Detroit, as my son-in-law was saying, the city of our beginning. This city will always have special meaning for us. And Chicago, the second place established for our association, called temple number two in those days. Chicago will always be special. And our spirit is still with that time, convention spirit, we call Saviors Day spirit.
It is still with us, and it will stay with us to give that city special attention and to give this city special attention, temple number one. These temples were named and numbered. And I'm sure before the naming and numbering was formed in the mind or on paper, that a lot of serious thought was given to Washington DC, temple number four. Milwaukee, temple number three, Washington DC, temple number four, and the numbers continued. And the temples went way up in numbers.
But the first maybe 12 temples that were named, I have studied the city and the naming, and I know critical thought went into that, not just something done at random. Real serious thought was put into it, so that the work of those who did it, reached the mind of special people in religion. And it gives the message to the mind of those special people in religion so that they would recognize the builder of the Lost-Found Nation of Islam in America for their wisdom, recognize the builders for their wisdom.
I have to say that because my growth as a religious student would never have started it if I hadn't been put in those circumstances, hadn't been the son of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, who built the Nation of Islam following the plan of his teacher was a foreigner outside of America, called W. D. Fard, or Mr. Fard, Mr. W. F. Muhammad, Mr. W. Fard Muhammad, called by different names.
If it had not been for them and their work, and my circumstances as the son of Elijah Muhammad, and the favorite son of Honorable Elijah Muhammad, favored to be named after the leader, his teacher, Mr. W. D. Fard. My name was given to me before I was born. My mother was pregnant with me and his teacher had already given him a name. He said, "When the baby is born, give him this name." He said, "Give him my name." And his name was Wallace D. Fard, another one of his names. He was Wallace D. Fard, then given in brief, W.D. Fard. He was also called W. Fard Muhammad, and also Wali Fard. These are several names that he used.
My connection with that, and you may be surprised, I never bothered. It never bothered me as a child to give any thought to it at all. In fact, I wouldn't be thinking about how I was named or anything. They had to remind me. They will be reminding me. "Do you know you were named for this? You were named for this and such and such and such thing happened." But as a child, nothing registered, but as I grew older and saw problems, and saw that my father needed help and wanted help and had helpers too, I joined the helpers. With his encouragement I joined to helpers, and then I'd began to think about those things, but before I did not.
And now I see that there was a lot of thought put into the work of what we call the Lost-Found Nation of Islam in America, a lot of thought was put into it, and study. I believe somebody really searched scriptures and searched knowledge and wisdom for help to do what they wanted to do.
Let me say I'm happy to see you again, you Muslim believers of Detroit and the surrounding area here, the state of Michigan. And those who come from Chicago and other places even more distant, very happy to see you here. And we’re very happy to be accommodated so nicely here and we’re thankful to Allah for the good work that you've done in the support of W D Ministry, or in the support of our representative, Abdul-Malik Mohammed. Congratulations to all of you on your good work that you've done to make this occasion a good one for us, for all of us. And special greetings also to our friends and admirers from the Christian public. We welcome you and appreciate your being here with us on this day and on this occasion.
We have a whole new reality that we're looking at now in these times. When I was a young man, a young minister for my father in Chicago, a student minister. Then he authorized me to be responsible for the temple in Philadelphia, and I became a representative minister, as the minister of Philadelphia. In those days, circumstances were quite different for all of us. Different for us as African-Americans, but that was before things got better for us as a people in America. There was still discrimination, segregation in the South. When we say discrimination, discrimination was everywhere. You didn't have to go south to experience discrimination, there was plenty of it in Chicago where I lived, plenty ugly discrimination in Chicago. Those circumstances are behind us for the most part now.
And also, the awareness of Al-Islam is so great now. When we were struggling to be upright, as we would say in Al-Islam, to be upright. Muslims weren't popular, Al-Islam was not popular in these United States. But now with the increased numbers of citizens that have recently come from their land and established their citizenship in the United States of America, we have a popular Muslim public in America now. Cities like Los Angeles, Chicago and I'm sure Detroit for a long time. You have a Press that is aware that it has Muslims, a significant number of Muslims in its citizenry. And that's true of Los Angeles, Chicago and some other cities.
These Muslims who come here of other parts of the world, the Islamic world, the world, they come here, some of them, for different reasons. The majority come here, I believe, for the same reason the Christians came to this new discovered part of the world. They came here from traditions that were bad for them in their countries, in their land that they came from, Europe. And they came here to have a better situation for themselves, or to at least have the opportunity to work themselves into a better situation.
Because this was a wilderness here. It wasn't easy to come here. There was a disease that they had to meet here. They had to face diseases that they were not used to in their country. They had to face other hardships of discovering the land and mapping out where to live. And opening the wilderness for life that they wanted to have here. It wasn't easy, but it was attractive because they were told and invited to come here, and they would be given the freedom to practice their religion as they wish to. They were invited to come to a land that offers protection for the freedom of religion.
I'm sure that many of the immigrants that come here, they come here believing that their rights to have their own religion, and their own way of life is protected in this great country, great land that we live in called the United States of America. And that's true. But we know as African-Americans, as well as anybody or more so than anybody, that the invitation can be, but it doesn't mean you’re going to have the opportunity. You're going to have to struggle and work, and constantly struggle and work to make sure that you have a good situation in these United States of America. Because there's always somebody that wants to get over on you, or want to progress at your expense. And this is the way of the world really, it’s just some places that are worse than others. And I do think we have a good situation here, where you can go take people to court, and you can have your rights heard, and most likely, respected in the court of these United States.
Getting back to what brings them here, opportunity to have your own life. This is what we want. We are indigenous Muslims. That is, we don't have any way to connect back with Africa where we came from. Most of us don't know what part of Africa we came from, so it's hopeless for us. We can't go back to Africa. We just have to accept that we are Africans, or African-Americans, and we came from Africa. But we can't start in Africa because we've been completely separated from that history and that lifeline. Our lifelines were completely severed with slavery.
So, we have to understand that our lifeline starts for us in every practical sense, here in these United States of America. So, we are more than just indigenous. We use that word; I'm not satisfied with it. We are native Americans, along with the Indians. They were here physically before us, but we didn't have any human presence until we got it right here in this country, the past, considerate it lost. And we are wasting time trying to find it. We should want to know Africa, know the land, the motherland. And what to stay in touch with it. And as the Honorable Elijah Muhammad advised us, we should have some meaningful ties with our people in Africa. Economic or Business would be a good one, as the Honorable Elijah Muhammad advised us. And we have started. You're looking at me right now. It's Saturday, you know. I hope you all will excuse me for not having on a shirt and tie and a nice jacket and everything. I said its Saturday, on Saturday I normally dress like this. I'm sorry. I wouldn't have come up here like this if I didn't want to show you this shirt and pants.
Made in our factory in Senegal.
I met with the sister who heads the factory. I told her, "We need to put one or two small pockets here and put two large pockets in the front." They just have the two. I talked and discussed with her and one of the brothers who worked in the factory in Senegal. And we think that we can retail what you're looking at, somewhere between $25 and $30.
It's 100% linen. It feels good.
Yes, so we want to continue now. We have to, as Muslim Americans, we have to realize that it would be absolutely stupid on our part if we try to plan our life in America without recognizing the big numbers that we have in the United States now, who have come from other lands and have become citizens of the United States. So, we have many other citizens of the United States now who are Muslim. They are from Pakistan, India, they are from different parts of Africa. They are from different parts of the world. They're from Lebanon, they're from the Middle East, they're from Europe, and we're all here.
And really, for the immigrant Muslims too, we can say that Detroit is number one. Because the people of Yemen were here before my father met his teacher and they got something started for us here in the city. The Muslims from Yemen were already here. I was born on Yemen street, a street named for them. Yes, 3600 block. I wish my sister was here, she knows all the pass. She is older than I am, she really recorded things mentally. Yes, I was born on Yemen street. That's where I was born in Hamtramck, Michigan. That's right here, yes.
We have to recognize a great number of American citizens that we have now who are Muslims, who came from abroad. And we as Muslims should not plan our future in America without at least having a communication line connecting us with them so that at certain times, we meet with their planners. Or what we call Shura, consultative body of knowledgeable experience people. We meet with them and discuss the future of not just one of us but all of us in America. This is what we're working for, this is what we hope to get. And we'll never be satisfied until we have that; where Muslims in America will be working to have better conditions for our children to come, many, many generations in the future. We have to think that way and we have to make it that way. And we will, Insha’Allah.
Now, so with us situated there, now let me continue this address. You know, when you don't have a presence, you don't feel so good in your heart or in your soul. You need a presence. When you have a nice home on the block in the neighborhood, you see that home, that home does you good inside. And that’s a sign of your presence in that neighborhood. If you live in a neighborhood, you have no home on your own or what you have looks so bad, it brings your spirit down rather than lifts it up, then you don't feel so good in that neighborhood or on that block.
The whole of the United States is like a neighborhood. And if you don't have any presence on the landscape of this great nation that makes you feel good inside. We can talk about all the advances and progress we have but it's not going to change that bad feeling inside. People come to the land, they come to a new land, they come here to drive their stake into the ground and build something with their own hands that they can leave to their children, that they value and that their children value and that will inspire their children to come to work for even more and better.
First thing we need to know is this, for psychological support. No matter how much you dislike your life in a country, as long as you going to be living in that country and you're not going to leave that country, if that's your situation, then you have to come up with a psychology that will support your industry. You cannot be investors and build on something that you don't have faith in. You can't invest in the United States, better home, better neighborhood, factories, et cetera, if you don't have faith in your own life that you'll be protected there. You have to have faith.
Now, if the situation is so bad that you can't have that kind of faith, you have to have the power of psychology working with you. You have to realize that, "I'm not going anywhere. These are my circumstance and I have to live with it until I can change it or maybe have it better." “This ain’t “Whittie’s” land, this is my land," that's the psychology you need. You need a psychology to support your industry. Now, truthfully, it is your land. And when you look at what you have, and that's nothing basically, and the white man got everything, in a real sense, it's not your land.
But at least, politically speaking, it's your land. Industrially speaking, maybe it's not your land. Politically speaking, it's your land, so begin from that principle and use a psychology to support you being industrious. You can't work for a wife that you think is a misery in your life. How can you work for a wife and you go out planning to get her a better home and everything and plan for her future and her children’s future and you think she ain't nothing but a misery in your life? It takes the industry out of you. Hey, you feel what I'm feeling? He feels what I'm feeling?"
Al-Islam prepares us to be successful in all circumstances. Let me give it to you.
Now, you say this is “Whittie’s land”. Allah says the earth belongs to G-d. He goes even further, He said the earth is a mosque, the whole earth is a mosque, a place of worship. Now, don't say, "Hey, the church here, the earth is a mosque." Don't be stupid. It's to tell you that the whole earth belongs to G-d and He made the whole earth for His worshipers. You don't need a certain area to pray in, pray anywhere you want. The whole earth, G-d made it for His worshipers. You make your prayer in your mosque, anywhere on this planet, G-d has authorized you to do that, but other circumstances limit your action.
Now, the Christians will say, “the same G-d you say, who says, “the whole earth is a mosque. I say He says the whole earth is a church. I believe He made the whole earth for the Christian worshipers too." It's made for His worshipers. And you have to respect the rights of others to worship the same G-d, and can't take their area, but find your area of your own.
And thanks be to G-d, that in the United States, we all have the freedom to establish our houses of worship and build our future. So, let's be positive for the sake of having something going for us in the way of psychology so that we will be able to work and work with enthusiasm. When you're as far behind as Black folk are in America, you would need to work with enthusiasm, and let those who have already got it made, let them work just ordinarily. But you work with enthusiasm because you so far behind. The quality of our citizenship improved as we began to achieve more for our life. The achievements, political, we have a lot of political achievements for our life. But there are achievements also in the way of industry. And that's where we're behind. We're not owning the sources of material. We're not owning land, not even as much as we did 50 years ago. We've lost a lot of land that black people had, especially in the south. We're not owners anymore of land. We have become awful owners of structures that we put up on the land. It's a shame when you go to anybody’s neighborhood…. To be continued!


