05/09/1999
IWDM Study Library
Muslims, Christians Together for Better Life 
Los Angeles CA

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
[music]
Narrator: Once in a millennium, history reveals a special person that spearheads the charge for a new chapter in mans life on earth. A man who seemingly defies all the odds, whose message is universal and transcends all racial and cultural barriers. Although many people could arguably fit this description, only one man could lay claim to leading the largest mass religious conversion of the 20th century while propagating the world's fastest growing religion. His name is W. Deen Mohammed or as his, nearly 2.5 million followers call him, simply Imam Mohammed.
Imam Mohammed: Time is out for asking for more change in them, on us. Muslims in America have plans. It's not just a thinking anymore. We have plans to contribute to the cultural life of America, to the business life of America and certainly to the religious life of America. G-d is not only the Lord of these worlds, these physical bodies, but He's the Lord of the system of knowledge. Not just the system of material, the system you're looking at is the system of material. He is not just Lord of that, He's Lord of the system of knowledge. He created you, man, to benefit from His system of knowledge and favored you above all His creation. With a mind to benefit from His system of knowledge.
Narrator: Imam W. Deen Mohammed is the spiritual leader for the Muslim American Society, a large community of people who practice the faith of Al-Islam as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad nearly 1,400 years ago. Imam Mohammed is son of Elijah Muhammad, former leader of the Nation of Islam. After his father's death in 1975, he was elected to leadership of the Nation of Islam and immediately began a transformation to align his followers with the true religion of Islam as it is practiced by more than one billion people around the globe. Muslim News Magazine caught up with Imam Mohammed during an interview with the Los Angeles Times where he discusses the origins of the Nation of Islam.
Imam Mohammed: When this was a really a kind of deformity in Islam created by the teacher of my father Mr. Fard, who came from overseas, came from Pakistan, I believe, what was called India then. It wasn't Pakistan when he came over. He came over before 1947. I believe he came from that part of the world and he came to really attract poor lost blacks who had no hope in their future in this country, didn't believe that this society would ever give us respect.
He came and he attracted them to join him, so they can have their separate world, their separate nation. He attracted many of them and his plan was to attract the most illiterate of them, but to teach them to become educated, give them a sense of greatness, a sense of divine greatness, so that in time their children will become better educated. They would then look for help from sources that respected their intellects.
The only material he left back with us that respects our intellect as it should be respected is the Holy Book Quran that he showed great respect for the Holy Book. The only picture they have of him is a picture of him looking piously at the Holy Book like this. His creation of Nation of Islam was really a scheme. It was a scheme to attract African-Americans who he felt never would want to be accepted or established in the Caucasian Society of America or under the Caucasian rule, but will always want to have some of their own or they would just deny it.
They refused to assimilate, to mix with them like many American-Indians, the Native people, the Native Americans should know. They don't accept the mix and they stated themselves on a reservation. They are not making time with the West. He felt that these people were the people that could be used to build our true Islamic society. He prayed to G-d hard. He prayed very hard to G-d to do away with his lies in time and guide the people to the truth. That was his hope. He took a risk, he took a gamble. He was successful because I'm a product of that [laughs]
[music]
Narrator: Although it is not widely known, the membership of the Muslim American Society under the leadership of W. Deen Mohammed dwarfs that of today's Nation of Islam whose leader Louis Farrakhan still receives the majority of media attention in America. During the interview, Imam Mohammed discussed the effect of today's Nation of Islam.
Imam Mohammed: There's a kind of black supremacy promoted by the teachings of the Nation of Islam. It's dangerous because if the idea catch on to many disgruntled people in African- in the black community of the world, it can find enough dissatisfied, discontented souls to become another threat like white supremacy became. We are not in situation to really do the world in like Western powers were and are, they like the Western powers are, but in time who knows what could happen.
It is dangerous, really, it's a real threat, but not only that. The Nation of Islam condemns in its original teachings, in its early teaching, it condemned Christianity as a devil religion, as a religion that was fabricated by the devil himself. It condemns the white race as race that was grafted not a true race, but a race grafted from the genes of black people and a devil race, you see?
These ideas are very damaging. I think, most of the Americans haven't heard what I've just shared with you, but what they have heard very clearly is that the Nation of Islam is a separatist idea, a separatist belief and they don't want friendship with white people. They want to be separated from white people. That's what I think is negative, this contribution to the negative image of Muslims in America, but long before the Nation of Islam, the image was badly damaged already.
Before I learned of really Islam from the true sources and I saw Muslims in the world as what you call Bedouins, migrant people, harem keepers, drunks, wine drinkers, et cetera and cheap people who just did a lot of quarreling and took advantage of women, mistreated women. This was the image of Muslims in my eyes as a citizen of Chicago, Illinois. I remember reading in some books things about Prophet Muhammad that wouldn't attract me to him at all, turned me away from him.
The image of Islam was already badly hurt by Western society, but Western society has become better educated and more refined. I said today, this model society we called the America's experimental model and it had great goals put before us as Americans to reach. It had taken us two centuries to get where we are now and we still have a long ways to go but a lot of progress has been made.
Then, one lady, she asked me, she said, "How was things in America?" I was overseas. I said, "Things are pretty good there." She said, "Really?" I said, "Yes." "How's racism?" I said, "Much better." I said, "Okay, in fact, I don't experience anything that makes me think there's racism anymore." I said, "Maybe it is, but I don't see it." She said, "So, Americans have become better educated?" I said, "Hey, you got it." [laughs]
[music]
Narrator: Over the years, Imam Mohammed's service for the promotion of universal human excellence is well documented as he has established genuine dialogue between leaders of Islam, Christianity and Judaism. His clear and appreciable representation of the religion of Al-Islam and unparalleled contribution towards building respect for Islamic life in America has merited him countless awards and many unprecedented acknowledgments. Among the many publications he has authored are Evolution of a Community and Islam's Climate for Business Success.
He also hosted a nationally syndicated television program called W. Deen Mohammed and Guest and is heard weekly on radio stations throughout the United States, Canada and the Caribbean. Imam Mohammed is a leader in the cause of peace and justice throughout the world.
During his LA Times interviews, he discussed the conflict in Kosovo.
Interviewer: What about for instance there has been a lot of community fund raising for the Kosovo victims, their fellow Muslims--
Imam Mohammed: Yes.
Interviewer: Yet, I know some local Muslims here have questioned, "How can you raise millions of dollars for Kosovo refugees across the world when you can't even put money into the communities here in LA or in the United States?"
Imam Mohammed: To me, the situation is not comparable. There you have people who are being slaughtered. They are being killed. They are being denied the have the life that they have chosen. There's danger that they don't get support. They'll be maybe exterminated or at least they will be denied freedom of expression to have the religion and the life that they want, the culture that they want. I think, this is the situation that demands that our nation do something about it. All citizens of America should, if they understand that, they should be in support of the President of the government. To go and give help to those people.
I'm not saying that there is no justifying- pardon me, no complaint from the enemy's side that I wouldn't respect. Maybe it is. To slaughter people and deny them their life can't be accepted by civilized nations, in my opinion. We owe our support to our nation for going there. The money that they are spending there is temporary. The money they spend on poverty in this country, on better education in this country, better neighborhoods in this country will be going on when that's long and forgotten.
Interviewer: Despite the fact that innocent civilians are being killed, most recently with the Chinese Embassy, you do support the NATO operation?
Imam Mohammed: Yes. Yes, I do.
Narrator: This LA Times interview was conducted during a recent trip to Los Angeles by Imam Mohammed, where he was being honored by the Islamic Information Service for his works in America and abroad.
Imam Mohammed: Assalaamu alaikum.
Audience: Wa alaikum salaam.
Imam Mohammed: Alhamdulillahi rabbil alamin. We praise and thank G-d, the Lord and Cherisher of the worlds. We witness that He is one and one alone. That He needs nothing of His creation. No one comes to Him except as a servant. We witness that Muhammad, to whom the Quran was revealed, is His servant and His messenger, the best of creation, the best of created things. Muhammad [Arabic language]. We congratulate you for your great work that you have done. Islamic Information Service congratulates you for the great work that you've done over the period of about 15 years here in America, a very special place, a very important place for the world.
We think Allah has blessed us to be in this country in this time, when the whole world is seeing itself as one world. Realizing that we can't escape from each other. We can't escape from our obligation to ourselves, to our families, to our nations, but also to each other in the global community of man. That we have to respect each other in this big earth and work together for the good future of all people. Islam more than any other information has informed me and prepared me to be with you, working for the betterment of all of us in this day and time.
I used to be attracted to many ideologies. I came from an ideology that left my mind confused. I respected the good intentions of the Nation of Islam, as it was called in America under my father. May G-d forgive him his errors, his sins. It left me with too many questions unanswered and too much confusion in my mind. I turned even to Marxism. Looking to see if there was anything there that could satisfy my soul. At the same time, I was reading Quran and reading all of the old teachings of the Nation of Islam. Doing both and reading the Bible, too.
You see how desperate I was? I came to the conclusion after reading the Bible twice from Genesis to Revelation and from reading other things, even myths, world myths. I came to the conclusion that none of these ideologies and none of these bodies of knowledge respected the soul and intellect of the human being like the Quran and Muhammad the Prophet, the teacher of Islam. The first teacher of Islam on this earth. That endeared me so much to our prophet and so much to the word of G-d, the Quran, that I made [Arabic language] on the floor. I tried to put everything in my being down on the floor. Everything in my being down on the floor for G-d.
I still do that. I would do that until I'm gone from this earth, insha Allah. Because I realized that Islam is a beautiful religion. Islam is a pure religion. Islam is a religion that respects the excellence of the human being. His brain, his [Arabic language] his heart, his soul, all that is good in the human being is respected by the Word of G-d, the Quran and Muhammad, model example for us.
Tonight, I would like to really congratulate Islamic Information Media, the TV- the television program that you have and your hard-working people, who've kept the program beautiful for us and kept it very informative and have brought to us very important personalities. I am very proud for myself in this community that I have been your guest twice, I believe. I expect to be interviewed before leaving. Returning back to my home, I will be interviewed again perhaps. You will view me- see me on the television again, Islamic Information Service Television again.
We are experiencing better times in this world because of contributions that are made by Islamic Information Service and others throughout the world like you, who are thinking for the present, but more importantly, thinking also for the future. To prepare a better world for our children to inherit. We're enjoying a much better time now. Never was a time I don't believe on the earth, when representatives of the highest caliber and of the greatest influence, meeting together from the Christian faith community and the Muslim faith community and the Jewish faith community and others, Buddhists, Hindus and others.
Meeting together to see what can we do to make this world better for the generations to come. Respecting each other. Wanting to know each other better, so they can respect each other more. I'm meeting with these leaders myself in many parts of the world. Not just here in America, but in many parts of the world, we meet and we are discussing how can we know each other better, so we can respect each other more and sincerely work for the good future of all of us here on this earth. I don't think there was a time like this, people who stayed to themselves or they were fighting each other.
They kept away from each other or they were fighting each other except for very rare exceptions, except for the very rare exceptions. Today the Catholic Church its Pope John Paul and the Christian Protestant churches have representatives sitting with Muslims and trying to work out their differences or at least respect each others differences and work for the common good of all the people of faith. We have enough enemies who don't care for G-d who don't care for G-d, who don't care to respect the Word of G-d. We need friends who love G-d, respect the Word of G-d, we need them.
I'm making a plea to you tonight to rethink our positions, our dispositions, our attitudes toward people of other religions. Let's build on the good, build on the strength, build on what is strong and healthy. Build on the good whether it belongs to us or not. Let's recognize it, make a contribution to it, build upon it. That's what I believe is a great diplomacy and great strategy of the Prophet Muhammad. He didn't come tearing down anything that was good. He came to respect the things that were good and to build on all that is good. G-d does not overburden us.
G-d wants us to do our best, but G-d excuses our shortcomings, He excuses our sins even. I heard Imam recently say- he was from Africa and he was given a lecture in America and this Imam spoke for a long time on G-d's capacity to forgive. That it's an endless capacity except for shirk, except for denying that he's G-d and making some false G-d. He forgives all sins.
This Imam said there is a hadith where G-d is mentioned saying if the human race that He created committed no sins, He would bring in another creation that would commit sin because He is a forgiving G-d. If there is no one to ask for forgiveness, how can He exercise that power that He has to forgive? I said,"I can't recall reading that in hadith," I said, "But, I like it," so, I bought it.
[laughter]
Yes, G-d is a wonderful G-d. Let us now, we will burden ourselves too much. Sometimes we punish ourselves too much. Do good and know that G-d is merciful and forgiving as He says over and over again in Quran so many thousands of times. He is merciful and forgiving, a forgiving and merciful G-d. Thank you for this great honor tonight. I thank you for myself and I thank you for the many people in our association that is black, but it's turning a little bit brown and even a little bit white. Thank you, Assalaamu alaikum.
[applause]
Narrator: The following day Imam Mohammed electrified the Los Angeles community during a public address at the Lao Islamic Center. Here is a large portion of that powerful presentation.
Imam Mohammed: Allah says, "See how the same rain falls from the sky on the same ground, but some things come up cheap and worthless while others come up beautiful and lustrous with great value." Yes, we don't need all of you, "Yes, you need us, they need us." No, we don't need you all. We need you one or two. One or two of you from this gathering here today can join the one or two from other gatherings in different places and we will have a good number, a sufficient number to do what the model leaders of Muhammad the Prophet did with him, change the whole world.
You don't need a lot of people, you only need a few determined people. They can change the whole world for the multitudes. Let's get out of this idea that we got to convert everybody. What must be done to remove the rusty lock- to remove the rust from the rusty locks, we intend to save every one of the 17 million, impossible. You should know it by now, after 60 years of that.
You should know it by now that it can't be done. You let the water fall on everybody, the rain from the heavens is for everybody, so let it fall down on everybody. Don't worry if a damn thorn come up over there, crap grass came up over there. Do you see anything that you wanted, that you were hoping for? Harvest it and go on to make progress, go on atfter progress. Yes, because they're always going to be crab grass coming up and thorn bushes, et cetera. Always going to be those things, they aren't going to stop it. He'll let them have a little rain now and then brother.
Because G-d made the rain for all the living things. Community pride, a sense of community. We can't get anywhere if we want to be Shia more than we want to follow G-d, more than we want to follow the example of Muhammad the prophet. If we want to be Sunni, more than we want to follow the Word of G-d in Quran, more than we want to follow the example of Muhammad, we aren't going anywhere, we are not going anywhere, we won't be successful.
If we want to be members of the Nation of Islam, more than we want to follow the Quran, more than we want to be like Muhammad and in human excellence, then we're not going anywhere, we're not going to be successful. If we want to be the friend of the establishment, more than we want to be followers of the Word of G-d and the leadership of Muhammad we're not going to be successful. You want friendship with the Christians, with the church leaders, more than you want to see the proper dawah for the masjid, you're not going to be successful.
Community pride, that's what we want. We want to fulfill the natural need in us for community pride. Bill Cosby, he's gotten more wealth than maybe 90% of the whites could ever get in their lifetime. Not many whites can get the wealth that he had been able to get, very few. Is he really satisfied with his life in America? No, he's not. You go to him and ask him, he'll say “No." Why? Because when he looks at himself as an individual, he's very successful, but when he looked at himself as a member of a community, he's terribly deficient, terribly deficient, way behind, not advanced.
You know what makes us feel that way more than anything else? The knowledge that we have not been singled out for abuses, for denials. We have been all lumped together for abuses and for denials. It has gone into our souls since we all were denied together, we all were abused together, it has gone into our souls by the will of G-d to make none of us be satisfied until the whole of the people is in a better state of condition. That's G-d’s way of helping all the people by causing them all to carry the burden of what affected them all and what was planned for them all and what was executed upon them all or against them all. Now, you know some of us, we enjoy our little freedom and our little achievements in life, like the cocaine sniffer and we are not even aware that we belong to the African American people. I’m not saying that as the exception. Everybody is not feeling like Bill Cosby. There is the exception. As far as I’m concerned those poor niggas don’t exist.
[laughter]
My buddy's are rich. That’s the only world that I’m concerned about. There are some of us like that, but they are on drugs, heavy drugs.
[laughter]
None of the normal minded people or natural minded people would be thinking that way. Life in America is a very special life. I want you to understand that. If it wasn't a very special life, I wouldn’t be your leader. G-d knows I wouldn’t be your leader, I'd be living somewhere else. I would. It's a very special life here. America in its concept, political concept, political ideology, governmental concept, societal concept, whatever you want to call it, in its design, in its construction, in its plan, America is an experimental model. I'm not saying, - this is what the wisest of the American builders of this American society say.
It is the experimental model. They call it a living constitution, means that is subject to mature more, is subject to develop more, is subject to even change itself. Get rid of something that's there, to improve its form. This is the nature of American ideology, American political ideology, American governmental concept. This is the nature of it, it's experimental. What does that mean for us as citizens of this country? Any citizen of this country can dream of a better America. You can share with the American public your dream and you can compete with those who are in power. If you get more of the good people on your side, you can change America and make America the America you’re dreaming of. This is America. This is what make you so special, make this place so special.
I am not a naive person who's got a lot of ideas that can't be realized. No, I'm not. I'm looking at facts and reality and I am responding to facts and reality. I am saying to you that we have as much rights as any American to plan our Islamic future. Our Islamic future is not just planning to have a place to make sujda. Our Islamic future is not just planning an elementary school, a high school or even a college or even a university. That's not the whole life. That is the aspect. That’s a little facet, that’s an aspect of our life. We will never have the light to satisfy our souls until we concentrate on having community life.
Then, see these other things as steps towards the completion of community life. Masjid is first, yes, worship of G-d is first. We must have a place to pray. We must have a place for Jumu'ah. Jumu'ah as an obligation on all Muslims, we must have a place--
[commercial]
-- groups of mystics are created, He said, "You are the best community." Evolved for the good of all people. Evolve for the good of all people. Are you going to hold on to that crazy stuff in the past? You’re going to keep on looking and see what scars got left from the plantation? "Yes, that looked like whiplash back there."
[laughter]
Dirty devil slave master, Yacub's grafted skunk.
[laughter]
Look what he did to my back. He hadn’t put me on all those shoes that were big enough to fit my foot, forced us to wear small shoes, I wouldn’t had this nigga toe.
[laughter]
Yes, he's a Yacub grafted devil, the skunk of the planet earth. Realize that today is a new world, new time and new world. You could get into the shoe that fit you now.
[laughter]
Yes, you could wear the shoes that fit you, now or go barefooted. Not in Chicago in January though, but you can go barefooted now, too. Nobody to blame for your condition as the Hon. Elijah Muhammad said. He said, "Nobody to blame for your condition, now that you have been free and invited to truth." There's no one to blame for your condition, but you. That's what the Hon. Elijah Muhammad said. Are you going to stand still. Stand still and wait for the mothership to come and save us. Are we going to stand still and wait for the Muslim police to be on every corner saying, "Go that way to the mothership. Assalamu alaikum"
[laughter]
Go to Culver City the mothership is there waiting for you.
[laughter]
You going to wait for that foolishness? It was good in its time. Powerful psychology, to hold you. I’m telling you that’s some stuff that I watch every now and then. I’m from super power, I just make my own screen.
[laughter]
I sit there and I put all that stuff on a white wall I have white walls in my house, too. I put all this stuff on a white wall and I study it and say, wow, what a terrific piece of work.
[laughter]
But I ain't going to get in the picture anymore.
[laughter]
You can bet your life on that. I may project it once in a while, but I am not going to get into the picture not ever again because I'm free at last.
Audience: Free at last.
Imam Mohammed: Thank G-d almighty I'm free at last.
[background conversation]
Imam Mohammed: Community pride. A sense of community. G-d didn't make any one man to live alone. G-d didn't make anyone man so limited in his potential, so limited in his resources that he can do nothing but take care one person. G-d made every man with the capacity, with the resources, with the potential to take care of many people. The more we exercise that great power and property that G-d has given us, the more freedom we enjoy.
The more of the good life we embrace. Praise be to Allah. You're invited to grow. Allah says that He has given you this religion that you may grow. He don’t want you to stand still, He don't want you to be stunted. Don't want you to be a little small midget forever. He want you to grow. Grow in your ability to support community life. You are community.
He wants you to grow in your ability to support community life.
The more you grow to accept responsibility for community life and the more you contribute to the life of the whole community, some of you have no desire to be well, you have no desire to be industrious, you have no desire to do anything perhaps, but just draw beautiful pictures, make beautiful designs, do beautiful artwork. Make your contribution. If it satisfies no more than you, nobody but you, you are a freak artist. Yes. Any artist that draws beautiful things and don’t want anybody else to see it?
[laughter]
That's a freakish artist.
[laughter]
Exercise your talents, increase your talents. You're going to better the society because your contributions, if they’re worthwhile, they're not going to stay just with you. They’re going to be accepted by others and the whole community as a result of your contribution will be better. Some of you are singing and you send me your music and I'm sorry I'm so busy that I can't always respond to most of you.
You send me CDs even now. Yes, it is. They didn't to all men. They’ve really stepped up their program. They make CDs. I'm wondering if you have been having candles in the dark when you were composing it because it sounds like a seance going on.
[music]
[laughter]
Wait a minute, I’m not ready to go to sleep, I’m trying to wake up.
[laughter]
So what is this, a sedative you sent to me. On a CD.
[laughter]
Long playing sedative on a CD.
[laughter]
Go back to Africa and learn some rhythm.
[laughter]
[music]
[laughter]
Just do that and say takbir. (beating a rhythm on the podium)
Interviewer: Allahu Akbar.
[laughter]
Imam Mohammed: Takbir.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
[laughter]
Imam Mohammed: Takbir.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Imam Mohammed: Takbir.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Imam Mohammed: I'll buy it and play it.
[laughter]
Allah says that He has made us the best community. It means best in its use to supply the members of society with the good things that G-d created them for, that's what it means, [Arabic language]. G-d says, "Who have said to my devoted, worshipers that they are forbidding the [Arabic language]," He says, "These things are for them. In this life." This is what G-d says in Quran. These things are for them in this life. "And, exclusively for them in the hereafter." What does that mean?
That means that in this life there will be those who do not respect G-d, enjoying His things, but in hereafter, those who now share in the enjoyment of these things will be cut out of those things. Only the believers who are faithful to G-d will be enjoy those things, the [Arabic language]. Goods and services that benefit and prosper humanity as G-d wants humanity to be benefited and prosper, that's what it means.
G-d says, "Seek with the means He have made possible or availed you with, the hereafter, the afterlife," but don't forget your share in this world. Don't forget your share in this world. How are we going to have a model community if we don't want to have industry and be responsible for industry. If we don't want to have industry, commerce, thriving businesses et cetera and be responsible ourselves for that, be the generators of that ourselves, how can we answer that obligation to respect our responsibility for this present world, to respect our share in it?
Now, there's a logic for that statement of G-d. G-d, what he says is not only revelation of what G-d says, there's a logic for that. All of you whether you're Christian, Muslim no matter what you are. Believe me just because you dress like a Muslim, don't you think I believe all of you are Muslims, some of you are Christian.
[laughter]
Some of you are Christian, but you've been caught into a Muslim portrait and you've been known in that portrait for so long that you're just ashamed to tell them, "This is the wrong picture."
[laughter]
No matter what religion you are, all of us believe in religion, we believe that one G-d did all of this and He made the earth for all His creatures. If He made the earth for all His creatures then that means I am a shareholder. I am a part owner in this earth, at least in terms of my ability to utilize it, to make use of it. I am a shareholder, I'm a part owner, I'm one of the owners. That's the logic. When G-d says, “Do not forget your share of this world.” G-d is saying just that, that, "I made you just like I made all other people and when I see you in the Judgment and you have done nothing with what I gave you, I'm going to treat you accordingly." That’s what G-d is telling us.
“I'm going to treat you accordingly.” Do we have any support for that in the teachings of Muhammad the prophet? Yes. Some people brought Muhammad the prophet a man they thought to be a holy man and they said, “We wanted you to present this man to you, this servant of G-d because he is so good. He prays all the prayers, he fasts all the fasting.” Muhammad the prophet said, “Who takes care of him?” I guess, Prophet Muhammad knew if he says all those prayers and everything he did more than Muhammad was doing, [Arabic language]-
[laughter]
Muhammad says I'm a busy man. I can't pray a fadjr and sunnah and nafl and nafl and made-up nafl.
[laughter]
Our prophet said, “Who takes care of him? Who provides him with his sustenance, for his livelihood?” They said, “We do.” Said, "Then, you are better than he."
Audience: Right.
Imam Mohammed: He said, "Then, you are better than he." It there any more support for that? He said the hand like this, asking for something to be put in it, is not equal to the hand like this, putting something in the hand that's asking. The dignity of the poor is never poverty, the dignity of the poor is the spirit in the poor to get out of poverty. That's why the prophet was giving us an incentive, giving us help for that spirit that we have in us to get out of poverty by telling us a hand like this is never equal in value to the hand that's like this, putting something in that hand. Praise be to Allah. Then, we have G-d revealing to us the prayer of the best of his followers, of the best of his devotees. Rabbana atina fee alddunya hasanatan wafee alakhirati hasanatan waqina athaba alnnari.
Our Lord give us of this world, the best to good things. Hassana means excellence, best. In the hereafter, after this world, the good excellent things, the best and save us from the punishment of the fire. That's the prayer of the best of G-d's devotees. Do you pray to have the best in this life? Do you think it was great on your soul, on your beautiful mystic soul to hear me praying for the excellence of this world? It shouldn't, because G-d has the best of his devotees revealed in the Quran asking for the best of this world. The term didn't change, fee alddunya. The Arabs made a song, some of the performers, the singers made up song about 40 years ago or so.
[singing Arabic language] alddunya heeya heeya, alddunya heeya heeya, alddunya heeya heeya
It's still the same language, hasn’t changed. 13 or 14 centuries later, they still know what dunya is. They say the dunya, the world is what it is, is what it is and life is what it is, is what it is.
[laughter]
It’s not changing and I want to get a piece of what it is, what it is.
[laughter]
Because G-d told me to get a piece of what it is, what it is.
[laughter]
That I have a share in it and I want my share of what it is, what it is. Whatever it is.
[laughter]
Allahu akbar. Yes, so you know they call us spooks, that's another name for black people. In case some of you Muslims who came over lately as a visitor, joined us as citizens recently. Black ain't the only name we got, spooks. Spooks. There’s another name we got, spooks. They call us spooks and when you look at Soul Train, that’s what they are saying, spook people. Soul Train, they're blowing off steam.
[laughter]
They've upgraded and progress it, the locomotive. It's not a steam engine any more, it's not ran by coal or steam anymore, it's diesel. Soul Train still have a steam puffer. [laughs] [coughs] Soul people. What are they saying when they call us soul people? They mean you live for nothing, concrete, you live for no community establishment. You’re like people with no house. Spirits with no room to live in. Spirits with no body. Soul folks, spirits with no body and we buy their language. We take pride in calling each other soul brother. "Hey, soul brother." "Hey, soul brother."
[laughter]
One of our leaders, a writer he wrote about us. I guess that was 40 years or more ago. He’s a novelist, he put it in his own language. Explaining his misery, he said, "Seeing that somewhere behind me I got separated from my social responsibility."
He’s explaining the bad situation of the race. The bad spiritual situation of the race. That we're in a bad spiritual state, we are not happy, we’re not fulfilled, we're not free. What’s the reason is we haven’t accepted our social responsibility. Somewhere in that struggle, in the freedom struggle, up from the plantations along the way to the present time, we got separated from our social responsibility. Our responsibility to our families, our responsibility to African-American neighborhoods, our responsibility to African-American community life, we got separated from it.
Now, here comes Islam. Voice of Islam, the voice of the Qur'an. The appeal of Muhammad the prophet and his excellent model. It touches us and it touches us and a lot of us don't know why we just love Islam so much. There are many reasons for this, but there are few really important reasons for this. One important reason is that we can't trust the society that reduced us to less than a human being. To give us or show us the path to G-d. When Islam comes independent of America, we embrace it. Here is something that my slave master has not given me. Here is something that the country that denied me is not giving me.
Here is something that's coming from the outside, so we embrace it. That's a tendency in us to grab and embrace and adapt that that's coming from the outside. I remember long before our people got acquainted with Islam long before the Nation of Islam got popular in America. I used to see African Americans dressing like an old Spanish Medieval time captain of the ship and things. Yes, they’d be dressed like that.
Another one dressing like Napoleon Bonaparte. That was their dress they were so proud of. Another one, one carried an easel in his hand, but he looked like a French artist who was in a French tam, just like a French artist and in every way, he was imitating the French artist. Anything but America, anything but this. Just want to get away from what was forced on them, what was forced on us.
Yes. Now, I believe that part of the reasons of us embracing Islam, coming to the Nation of Islam coming to- even now, coming to the Islam now is that we want something that doesn't say to us, "You got this from the same hand that pushed you down." Now, that's a problem for our leaders, to look at, to address and work on it until we get that thing out of us. You can't keep living in the past. You got to travel, you've got to prosper, you've got to grow, you’ve got to make progress in the path.
Don’t keep living in the past, but walk the path and make progress every day. To do that, you can't be remembering that, yes, the white man this, the white man that, and this is the white man’s thing and this is a white man's world. We aren't going to get nowhere in a white man's world. When the man first was put on his earth, it was the animal's world.
Suppose he had said, "This is the animal's world. We are getting nowhere on the animal's world."
Believe me, in Western society, mostly what you're looking at who's holding power is the animal. Again, rise up, human being and say, "Yes, this is the animal world, but it wasn't made for the animals. G-d made this for human being." Advance your life over the life of the animals [laughs]. They will live in their inferior quarters and you live in your superior quarters. That's the way G-d wants it. Yes, I don’t care how high you are up in this society, up in the establishment, politically or otherwise.
If they are not the human person that G-d created us to be, G-d does not want them there. If you sincerely go after them to unseat them, to un-establish them with your establishment, not with your mouth. With your establishment, that’s how you un-establish them, with your establishment. You know how come animals are not ruling this area we're in right now? Because too many houses built here, too many streets are all around here, too many vehicles are running up and down the roads.
They don't want that, they can’t live in this kind of environment [laughs]. That's the way you un-establish them, establish yourself. The natural spirit in you for community pride, if you just obey and respect it and do something every day to make a contribution to the betterment of your household and the betterment of your neighborhood, the betterment of your town, we'll be successful.
It's as simple as that. Do it in cooperation with the best of your people. Let the weaker be supported by the stronger. Let those who see better see the way for those who can’t see. This is the way of G-d for all time. That's the way of G-d. Don't be so proud of your little vision, that you don't want to have a help with a bigger vision. Well, I know what Imam W. Deen Mohammed is talking about. He’s talking about revitalizing the neighborhoods, opened up new business, creating retail stores overnight. It sounds good, but I got my own plan. Now, I had mine before he told you all about this. In fact I had mine in 1971. [laughter]
When you’re living in a society as a minority and more dependent group, or community, it's wise for you to study how can you work with the bigger establishment, the bigger numbers for a better future for all of you. It is not their job to look you up. It's not the job of 200 million to come and look for 35 million and say 35 million scattered all about and doing without. We would like to have you included and we want you to put your heads with ours, put the best your leaders with the best of our leaders so we can have a better society, a better country for all of us. That's not their job. The obligation is more on you.
You should authorize the best of your leaders to go and make contact with the best of their leaders to let them know that we all have the same life, that G-d did not create us with different human lives, he created us with the same human life, the same human emotionality, the same human passions, the same human nervous system that breaks down under extreme pressures and sends us to the hospital crazy and helpless.
He made us all the same. We all are the same human make, and we all want essentially the same human future. A future that will put us to rest that we can go to bed and rest or to go to our grave at peace knowing that our children will fare well in the world we have left them. All people want the same, so how come we can't go to them and our best leaders, send your best leaders to them and tell them that.
You don't need any great wisdom, tell them just that. Tell them plainly like that, that is the wisdom. Sometimes the things that are put in the simplest terms are the wisest expressions. Yes, especially when it's coming from somebody in a circumstance that tells others, looking at them in that circumstance, "They'll never send people to us to join us in our efforts, they are too small minded." Think about it, brothers and sisters.
That's what I’m doing for you. I'm doing it on my own, and I've been doing it for a long time, and many of your leaders have joined me now, so we're doing it. But we want to see more of you supporting it. We want to know that the members of this community, the members of this mosque-- masjid here, and the members of the other centers and masjids throughout this nation are supporting my leadership. That you believe in what I'm doing. That you see a great future in what I'm doing and you're well wishing me and you are praying to Allah for my success.
That's what we want to know. We want to know that. We want you to give this support to your leader who will stand up and take the stand that I’ve taken. Join me in the stand and work for what I'm working for. We want you to give him the love that you would show me if I was here. Give me the support that you would-- Give him the support that you would give me if I was here. That's normal and natural.
Participant: Allahu Akbar.
Imam Mohammed: Allahu Akbar. This is what we want. I guarantee you that the way has already been opened. I’ve sat with big, big power holders, I’ve set with some of the richest people in this country, and that they have permitted me, they’re interested in me. They marvel, they think it's a modern day miracle, that the son of Elijah Muhammad is now Wallace D. Mohammad in this day and time. That that man's son from back there is this man we're looking at today. They say that's a modern day miracle. No joke brother. Big powerful rich people, they invite me to come in and address the top of their people, their big leaders, and I address them. Do you know what I told them? It's almost the same thing that the Hon. Elijah Muhammad told them.
[laughter]
I say, really, we don't want a lot from you. All we want, we've got to plan. All we want you to do is not interfere with our plan, don’t hurt our plan. Don't bring your big machineries in the way of our little machinery. Do you know what they told me when I got through talking to them? That’s not all I told them to.
[laughter]
When I finished, do you know what they said? Their representative came back to the podium and he told them, he said, “Did you hear what he said? Did you hear what he wants? He's saying all he wants us to do is stay out of his way.”
[laughter]
Participant: Allahu Akbar.
Imam Mohammed: He didn't ask them for a response, but I looked at them, I looked at the audience when he was saying that and I saw that they were respecting everything. They were accepting and respecting what was said. When it was all over, he sat privately with me and he told me, he said, ”We are with you," he said, "and we will be quietly supporting you.”
Participant: Takbeer.
Participants: Allahu Akbar.
Imam Mohammed: Allahu Akbar. I know that he is, he and his group of capitalists, they are powerful capitalists, they are quietly supporting Imam Wallace D. Muhammad, they're watching our progress, they're watching what we're doing and seeing if there's opportunity for them to assist us quietly from out of sight, from behind the scenes, and that's the best way to support us. They don't want to alarm other big fellows.
[laughter]
That's not all the support that Islam has opened to me, Islam. Living, trying my best to live Islam and follow Mohammad the prophet has opened up so much to me, and when I say to me, it means to you because they wouldn't even want to hear me if I didn't represent a constituency, and I represent a very special and a very large constituency. Let us prepare ourselves and let the people, the congregation of Muslims everywhere support the best of our leaders, and if you don't have good leaders, give them some encouragement to be better leaders.
You can start by giving them a little more charity. Some of you all, you want the rent paid, you want a mosque to pray in, you want schools, and you want a man to lead the jumah and to be there on time and everything, and to be available to you when you want to discuss your marriage situation with him and et cetera, but you don't think you should look at your income and say here is the $10 out for this week for the masjid, $10 for the Imam. That’s not right.
Then some of you got undesirable characters over you.
[laughter]
You think that you are being good by coming to the Masjad to listen to that undesirable character every week, and you think that you and he are different. But in the judgment, you both are going to be in the same fire, because he was the undesirable character and you gave him your support.
The establishments of Christians in this country have always wanted to have more and better education. Education in this country was not always public education, it was private education, it was church supported education.
Those were the first schools, the first colleges, the first universities. Now it's public education, it has been that way for a long time, public education. The whole establishment is changing now, they're becoming more conscious of an authority over them, they're becoming more conscious of their neglect, them neglecting the good life to make contribution to the good moral life and ethical life of their society.
They're repenting a great period of sin behind us. They're repenting that now. The year 2000 is coming in, they’re preparing for the year 2000 to be in wudu and ablution. They're working hard to be in wudu and ablution when the year 2000 comes.
This is the best time for us to go and let them know that we are comrades in arms, that we are all fighting for the same moral cause, we’re all fighting for the same ethical future for our society, and we’re all fighting for the same justice for all people. Let them know that. Let people who are fighting the same war or the same battle acknowledge each other and then support each other so the war or the battle will not be so long and not be so hard on all of us, and we'll have support of the big ones, support of the many numbers, support of the big ones, and they will not be looking at us as outsiders, and looking at us as enemies.
You don't have to be a Christian to be accepted in, inclusion in the law in this land does not require you to be of any particular faith or religion, it requires you just to be of a certain standard of moral human excellence, that’s all. If you have that standard, then you have the rights to plan the future for the whole society. Let us go to them and embrace them and let them know we have so many common values, basic values in common, so many essential aspirations, things that we want.
Our hopes are so much alike for the good future of human life on this earth, that we should not be living separate from each other, not even knowing that the other exists. Let us know our numbers, let us know our strengths, let us know our combined numbers so we will know our combined strength so all of us will have of greater spirit to go forward for the great future that we want on this earth.
To go to them and talk to them like that. I'm showing you how to talk to them. Go to them and talk to them like that, they will embrace you, you'll be in. When you’re in the police department, will changes its attitude towards you. When you’re in the FBI, will change its attitude towards you, because the big boys on top, they hire the police department. The big boys on top, they hire the FBI. The big boys on top, they hire the president of United States. His salary is being paid by us, but who hires him? They hire him.
If one of us went to the White House leading President Bill Clinton by the hand and say okay son, go there and take your place, hold your hand up and take your oath. No. The big boys do that, they see that that’s done, so when you have them, your friend, they know you're not threatening the good order of the world, or the good order of the society, they will accept you as a friendly people, and they will work for your good when you're not even knowing that they're doing so.
I know what I was up against. I'm getting ready to conclude this.
Participant: Take your time.
Imam Mohammed: I know what I was up against. It's been the responsibility fell on me to lead the followers of Elijah Muhammad. I know what I was up against. We're going to have to come out of this prison. A lot of them aren't going to want to come out of this prison. I’m going to take the risk inviting them to come out of the prison, and once they’re out of the prison of the constructs that have held them, the Fruit of Islam, the MGT and other constructs, then I'm going to have the problem of freeing their minds. I said I know what I'm up against. And their leader, most of them are not going to be trusting my leadership enough to follow me comfortably and to keep pace with me. They say foot draggers, I think that’s what they call it. There is going be a lot of foot draggers. 98% foot draggers and 2% walking with me keeping pace.
I knew that, so I said what I have to do to preserve this, G-d blessed my intelligence. I said what I have to do to preserve this, I'm going to have to expose this to the public so they aren't the only ones knowing what's happening. I began to expose my plans and everything to the public, so the public knew what my leadership was, not just you, so in case I fell dead of a heart attack looking at your faces telling me you will never make it, you will never get there, No they won't say it with the mouth, the eyes I said it.
You will never make it, you will never get there. I'm going to stay on your back and wear you down for ever. I will be dead waiting on you forever boy. You're not talking like Elijah Muhammad your father, the holy messenger of G-d, and I'm going to stay a dead weight on your back forever. I got looking at faces, right? I say yes, dead weight I’m preparing something for you that’s going to pick your little light tail up and throw you into the universe, but they didn't know it. I won't tell them what I was planning. But I just went on about doing it. I exposed my leadership to the public society, and some of the church leaders were so happy and so proud of my own leadership that they began to come to me and invite me to come to them and telling me of how happy and how proud they were. You think Muslim leaders didn’t come? Muslim leaders came from Egypt, came from Turkey, came from Pakistan, came from many places around the Muslim world. Came to me to tell me how proud they were and how happy they were that the change had been made, and praying for my success. You don't know how many Muslims would be praying. Thousands of Muslims would be praying for your success all the time.
That's what they told me. This was a uplift, this was an encouragement for me. This was a security for me, I felt more secure, all right. I had to keep on working that. To work you out of the prison. Now you're out of the prison. You can't even put yourself back in.
[laughter]
You’re out of the prison and you can’t put yourself back in that prison again. Thank Allah for Islam and Muhammad, the best of all creatures. Yes, thank Allah.
We join the Christian leadership who are moral and ethical and believe in G-d and hold G-d above all authorities. We join them as friends, we join them as coworkers for the better future for all American people. We want to make our effort now mainly to establish community life, and all the other items on the agenda must come under that heading.
Our effort is to establish community life, Muslim community life, education, better schools, number one, a place to pray, it's the Earth itself. I know this might sound ridiculous to some of you, but I think the situation is so critical for us as poor people, we should forget about making us a mosque, make a school, build good excellent schools, and we can pray on the gym floor, we could pray on the kitchen floor, dormitory floor, we can put a minbar in any part, any the corner, set the minbar in the direction of the Qibla, and make our prayers.
Once we had the good school completed, then we're going to build a separate structure as a beautiful mosque to accommodate the people's Friday prayers et cetera. But until then, let us pray on the ground. Pray on the ground. The earth is G-d’s mosque. [Arabic language]. That's what Allah says in Quran. Pray on the ground. Yes. Wouldn’t that be beautiful? I think that's what we need to do in America. More of us need to pray on the ground, even in the winter time. They’ll say, hell those people really believe in G-d.
[laughter]
You get into enough trouble, you pray in Chicago on the ground in January and February. I know it because I did. Daddy put me out. He already messed me up by telling me my name was Wallace D. Mahmud, and later I learned from and Arab, a man from Jerusalem that it's supposed to be called Muhammad. I'm calling it Mahmud and I'm 13 or 14 years old telling people my name was Wallace D. Mahmud.
[laughter]
Pronouncing Muhammad, Mahmud. Turks pronounce it Mahmed
We in America pronounce it Mahmud. They didn't know who we were.
[laughter]
They couldn't even call us Muhammadans. They said Mahmud can't be pronounced Muhammadan. Yes, and told me I wasn't supposed to work for anybody but the Nation of Islam, so I don't have a job record.
[laughter]
"You want a job? What's your last employer?", "Shabazz restaurant.", "Shabazz restaurant? Do you have any other employment?", "Yes, Shabazz clothing store."
[laughter]
"Any other employment?", "Yes, Muhammad Speaks salesman."
[laughter]
"Well, we'll call you."
[laughter].
Here I am knocking on the door for a job, daddy had put me out because I said I didn't believe in his idol god anymore, so I'm in trouble. Some of you all would have prayed to Fard.
[laughter]
"Oh forgive me Fard”. I'm going back home." I had a wife and a child too. One child, one girl, Leila. Her name means beauty of the night or darkness or something, and that's exactly what I had at that time.
[laughter]
I'm telling you. I said, "I'm going to get me a job." It was in the winter time, G-d is my witness. I wouldn't share this with you if I didn't think you could take it.
[laughter]
I got down in that snow, and I made sudja and I prayed, and I went into that factory Bethlehem Steel, and they gave me a job, yes. We don't have to build a lot of Masjids. Let us build life. Let us concentrate on building life, community life. It's more important for us to have a good school facility than for us to have a mosque, right now. We can pray in the school facility in the area that's not being used during the school days, and on the weekend, the school is not going on anyway. You can have the gym for the Jumuah. After Jumuah time, you can have the gym for Jumuah.
Sunday, the outreach program that you have. You can have that on Sunday in the gym, and constantly working to build the school like you want it, and constantly raising money to do the mosque later. You give so much to the mosque. Hour to the mosque, hour to planning work in the neighborhood. Planning to have business in your neighborhood. Planning to have strong business in your neighborhood. Planning to give business life to the African-American quarters, basically, where Muslims are living, and you'll be very successful. G-d is with that because G-d made all of us honorable.
G-d says in Quran, that he made all the descendants of Adam honorable. [Arabic language]. He made every descendant of Adam honorable. Moorish Americans, they had a leader called Noble Drew Ali. I guess if he can hear this message in his grave, he'd say, "Oh, I should've told all of them they were noble." Because G-d says every human being is created noble. That means you're created for the highest position that any man can aspire to. You just have to work for it, and if you can't get it, let your life have it. Your life is not just in your immediate body and your immediate presence. Your life is in the presence of your people you associate with and identify with. Feel your success also in their success. When you see one achieving, encourage them all. Give him support, and when he becomes the leader or the president, or the industrialist who's industrializing your neighborhood, you will have a sense of fulfillment in him because he is you, and you supported him. Your achievement is his achievement. His achievement is your achievement, and we will be successful, G-d will love us and give us help always.
Now, in concluding this, G-d revealed to Muhammad to say to those people who didn't want to see him successful, who didn't want to see him free, to bring the better life to them from G-d, to say to them, "I am a free man in this town." Who authorize citizens to be free? G-d. All of us are supposed to be serving G-d. The nation is suppose to be serving G-d. All of us are supposed to be serving G-d who made all these things possible, made us and all the things possible for us. The claim to freedom is based upon the fact that G-d made the world and made us to aspire to freedom.
He gave us this spirit, so nobody has the right to deny us the fulfillment of the life that G-d created us for, in that town in Mecca or any town, Los Angeles or any other town on this earth. If you believe that and respect the guidance of G-d, the wisdom of the Quran, the logic of the Quran, the plain sense teachings of the Quran, and the wisdom and logic and plain sense teachings of Muhammad the Prophet and his human excellence, and his respect for everybody. Muhammad respected women. Muhammad respected children. Muhammad respected animals.
Followers were walking down the road, and a dog was coming to them walking the same road. What did he put in them inspiring them respect for the right of animals to walk this earth too? What did they do? They said, "Give the dog his right too to walk the road.". We have a great modern society with much money given to animal welfare, protection of animals et cetera, and we don't know the first to do that, the first to ask people to respect the rights of everything. Was Muhammad the Prophet following the guidance of G-d, the Quran? Yes.
We are really the leaders on this earth, but we don't have our own equipment. We don't even know our own equipment. If we knew our equipment and picked it up from the book of G-d, and picked it up from the life examples of Muhammad the prophet, and pledged ourselves to follow it and be true to it, be loyal -- Another thing slavery did to us, in my conclusion, it killed loyalty in us. It made us feel we have no one to be loyal to but G-d, and that's how a lot of you are now Your loyalty is only to G-d. If Allah tell me I'll do it.
[laughter]
I'm going to wait. We've been disappointed so many times. They're saying he's that and he's this. I'm going to wait. That's what slavery had done to us. Made us not have faith in other people. Let us get rid of these old damages that were done to us. Let us heal these wombs from slavery. Heal so that we can really be functional and successful in a real practical world, and we can be if you only put those petty things aside, put the petty soreness aside. I can't ask you to do what I do, but I do it with no burden on me. G-d is my witness.
I live for your children just like I live for my own, and if I plan a future for my children, it would be a future the same for your children. If I save 10 hundred dollars to have a better school for my child, that's going to be also your school for your child, and if your child come there and get a score above mine, and I'm the principal of that school, your child will get the place it deserves in that school, and I will not put my child before my child. G-d has made me that way, with Islam and with Muhammad, and I'm so thankful to G-d.
Yes, I'm so thankful to G-d, and I love my children. I have the same love for my children you have for yours, yes, but I love G-d more. I love Muhammad more. I love the Quran more. I love obedience to Allah more, so I'm happy doing the right thing. That's what makes me happy. Thank you.
Let us pray to G-d for forgiveness for our errors, our sins, our mistake, and let us all ask G-d to put our minds on the more important things, obedience to him, not as individuals, but as a community, and let us work for community establishment. Let us work to hear adhan called from the mosque, and I'm sleeping in my house, I’m renting from a Muslim, or I own my house and I'm looking at other houses across the street that a Muslim developer put up, and I'm hearing, Allahu Akbar Allahu Akbar, ringing out over the neighborhood, and I see cars running up and down the street owned by us. I go out there and ride down to the big shopping plaza and I get some things and come back home, knowing that shopping plaza is a Muslim responsibility. I go to the docks and look at the ships coming in with huge sums of goods coming in from many parts of the world, coming into my neighborhood. Muslims are in charge of it. That's what we want.
Then your child will come up with a spirit to make a “A” where he was making a “C”. To make a “C” where he was failing. Yes. Don’t you know success depends on circumstances to a great extent? Yes. Until we have those physical circumstances supporting our encouragement or our faith to be successful, at least do what the honorable Elijah Mohammad did. He was a powerful psychologist. He didn't have nothing much but words, but those words were powerful. He said we’re the owners. You weren't the owners. You didn't own nothing.
[laughter]
If you went to the temple and if you weren't careful, you'll stumble over a drunk. That's the kind of neighborhoods we we're living in but, he said we’re the owners, it all belongs to us. Believe me, old folks, middle age folks, even children heard him say those things. It went inside of us and it changed the way we thought of ourselves. Be positive and be brave like the honorable Elijah Muhammad, be courageous like the honorable Elijah Muhammad, be daring like the honorable Elijah Mohammad.
Don't be afraid to tell the world I'm here to stay and I'm here to get a piece of what you got, and I'm going to get it. Don’t forget to pray Rabbana atina fee alddunya hasanatan, our Lord, give us in this world the good and excellent things, wafee alakhirati hasanatan, and in the latter life those good and excellent things waqina athaba alnnari and protect us and save us from the fires of sin. Pray that and be successful. Amin. Assalamualaikum.
Participants: Allahu akbar.
Participant: Taqdir.
Participants: Allahu akbar.
Participant: Taqdir.
Participants: Allahu akbar.
Narrator: After his address, is when Imam Mohammad spoke with the Los Angeles Times. Here is the rest of that interview.
Interviewer: In the broader American Muslim community, I know some Muslims have criticized the immigrant Muslim leaders for spending millions of dollars on fancy mosques and ignoring their Muslim brothers and sisters in need. Do you think that that is a problem in the coming years?
Imam Mohammed: No, I don't. It would seem that way for the average person. I sympathize with them. If I knew no more than what the average person knew, yes, I would have the same opinion of those people who building the very elaborate structures or mosque. I know that for the purpose of gaining respect to our religion in this country, the wealthy people of this country, they will look to wealthy Muslims and say how come they don't build better their houses of worship, you see. They have that pressure on them and they have to not only work for the dignity of the common people, but they have to also work to get respect from the affluent people of this society.
Interviewer: Then just to follow up. Do you believe however that there should be more support of the local Muslim community by Islamic countries, organizations or individuals with access to financial resources?
Imam Mohammed: Yes, I do, and I look at myself. I think I'm a decent person, and if I had great wealth like many individuals have in Islamic world, much more than I need for myself, my family, my friends, I would be looking for opportunities to invest in better conditions for Muslims all over the world. I have to acknowledge at this point that Saudi Arabia, the king of Saudi Arabia, have been doing that. They have been doing that. And some other countries, they are very charitable, but when it comes to non-citizens of their country, the non-citizens are not treated like their citizens. In my opinion, their better investment would be in the indigenous people here. If I had the money, I would put $10 to $1, $10 for the indigenous people and $1 for my own native group.
Interviewer: However, when nations like Saudi Arabia give money to mosques, do they also try to control the agenda? Is that a problem that one needs to be careful about?
Imam Mohammed: Well, these people in every society, in Africa is the Maliki school of thought, in Saudi Arabia, Wahhabi school of thought. If you are a Muslim and they say we’re going to give you our money, then we want you to respect our school of thought, and we want you to prefer our school of thought. That's in them whether they say it or not. That's in them. There is a problem receiving gifts that seems to have no attachment, no strings attached. [laughs]
Interviewer: Do you receive that kind of money?
Imam Mohammed: Well, I don't receive any money now, but I have received some, and I lost it. I think I lost it because I suspected some strings were attached [laughs].
Interviewer: And you said you don't accept strings attached.
Imam Mohammed: I said no, I said I can’t accept this kind of relationship.
Interviewer: I see. Just the changes of-- I'm sorry. Go on.
Imam Mohammed: They were choosing my friends, choosing my friends for me too.
Interviewer: They were choosing your friends?
Imam Mohammed: Yes. The enemy of the prince who was giving me the money and has to be my enemy too. My friend, Dr. Turabi of Sudan. I met him. I like him very much. They learned that I was going to see him, so they put some pressure on me.
Interviewer: What did you tell them?
Imam Mohammed: All right, I didn't tell them I wasn't going to see him. I told them that I was going to see him and I thought he was a very good man and I would like to see them giving him support [laughs].
Interviewer: As a result, you don't get money from Saudi Arabia anymore?
Imam Mohammed: No. I ended the relationship myself.
Interviewer: I see.
Imam Mohammed: Yes, and because I got an insult from one of the Princes. He's not the kingdom. A kingdom is different. Their local people don't always represent the family, the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. This individual was the problem and he said to me, he said, "Well, we just can't talk to you alone." I said, "Well, I never asked you to talk to me alone." I said, "I always preferred that you talk to me with the other representative of my community." He said, "Well, in Arabia, Saudi Arabia, we say we don't let brothers talk to us for the father."
Interviewer: Islam is said to be one of the fastest growing religions in the world today. What do you think is the reason behind that growth?
Imam Mohammed: Material progress, as Dr. King said other of our visionaries have told us. Material progress has gone way ahead of spiritual progress in the western world, and the Souls are the crying for spiritual peace. Islam is a new idea, so the shoppers are looking at Islam [laughs].
Interviewer: I see. You spoke today about Christian and Muslim understanding a local Reverend Fredrick Jesse Price have riled some Muslims with a series of lectures that they say distort Islam. I'm wondering, are you aware of these lectures?
Imam Mohammed: Yes I am, and I'm greatly disappointed. I used to live in Rialto, California. I lived in Oakland California for three years, I lived in Rialto for three years, so I spent six years of my life in California. I used to watch Reverend Price, and I liked him. I used to watch him, how he would come and walk among the converts and their seats. He talked to them individual one on one, and then he addressed the big numbers and he looked like to me he was telling them you have to think, and I like encouraging religious people congregations to think on their own. I liked him. I used to watch him and I really am ashamed of him. A man that I admired I'm now very ashamed of him that he would seek advantages and seek to gain at the expense of really distorting the truth of another people and making his following, Christians, think that Islam is a terrible thing that he presents it to be.
Interviewer: Do you think that there's any hope that the followers of Louis Farrakhan Nation's of Islam will eventually move to Orthodox Islam after Farrakhan passes from the scene?
Imam Mohammed: Yes. They may not see this as moving toward Orthodox Islam but really you'd be surprised I had embraced the Quran, and I think I was a true Muslim and the universal Muslim long before I could accept that I was embracing Orthodox Islam. If there was nothing but the preaching of immigrants in my life, I would never be a Muslim. I hate to say it but that's truth, because they want to show you Muhammad the Prophet, peace be upon him, the man that I follow and realize is the greatest human being on earth, ever was on earth, in my opinion. They compete with the Christian society in building him up and making him that powerful so that he will look more powerful than Christ Jesus. They think that's the way to get people to accept Islam and not to accept Christianity.
They're pitting Muhammad against- Muhammad the Prophet against Christ Jesus as the Christians perceive him. I don't think they're doing it knowingly. I think beknowing to themselves they're doing this when they come to teach us Islam, they say, "Do you know Muhammad the Prophet? You know him and Muhammad did this and Muhammad did that?" and his companions they were such excellent shining brilliant stars in the heavens and so on and so on. We can get more of that enchantment by going to church next door down the streets [laughs]. They missed the mark. They could never have gotten me. I'm sorry to say it, but they could have never got me.
Interviewer: It was your father who got you?
Imam Mohammed: It was Fard's trick that got me.
Interviewer: Fard's trick?
Imam Mohammed: His teacher. The teacher of my father. His trick got me to make me feel good about myself until my mind could wake up and follow the Quran.
[laughter]
Interviewer: That's great. I'm just realizing when I asked you about Farrakhan's positives, we didn't finish that part of. Are there any positive?
Imam Mohammed: Yes, a lot of positive. Farrakhan still represents the message of the Nation of Islam to the poor irresponsible black men of black community, urging them to clean up themselves, to stay away from drugs, stay away from gambling and destructive things, and to accept responsibility for their families, to earn honest income et cetera, all that's very good, and to have a sense of social responsibility, to not just build your family up, but embrace your brother next door, and look at the stores down the street and see how you can be loyal to those businesses, black businesses. If you have the aspirations to be a businessman, aspire, become a good businessman and give your people good products and good service. All that's very good, that's very positive
Another thing is very positive too, the discipline the followers are taught to make good use of their time. Do something constructive from daybreak to retire, to the time they retire at night, to dress neatly and behave, let your tongue be clean, let your speech be respectful et cetera. A Life of discipline. Be at work on time, don't be late. All that's the teaching of Nation of Islam.
Interviewer: Just a follow-up on Pastor Price, he had said that many African-Americans particularly young men seem to have decided that Christianity is the white man's religion and Islam is the black man's religion. That is why so many young African-American males are converting. Do you agree with this perception?
Imam Mohammed: Yes. There's something-- there is an unspoken message that will never reach a white man because he's not black, but it certainly would reach a black man that was once the slave of the white world, of the white establishment. That message is that Jesus is a white man, and that the angels are white, and that heaven is occupied by white people [laughs], and the white man died for our sins and the white man is the son of G-d. Black man must not be a son cause white people don't bear black children.
[laughter]
Interviewer: He has a point there?
Imam Mohammed: He has a point there.
Interviewer: Is this perception the Africa-American community does comprise the largest group of Muslim Americans, and you had said today in your remarks that the freed slaves would never trust the people who oppress them to show them the path of G-d. Is the racial reasons? Do you think the major reasons?
Imam Mohammed: It has something to do with it. It has a lot to do with it. I do believe that. Believe me, I hate to say these things but I have to be truthful, honest and open. Most churches that I've attended, black churches, and most black preachers that I meet, is show business. It's not the real life. The real life is something different [laughs]. When they get out of church, there's a different language altogether. Don't trust the white man, don't trust him [laughs]. That's their language. When they're in church its G-d, love, and everything. Out of church, - I don't trust that white man. You can't trust him. You can't trust white.
[laughter]
Interviewer: Are there other things that Islam does for the community besides not having an image of white G-d or white Savior?
Imam Mohammed: Well, the Nation of Islam really, it was a powerful piece of psychology because it told us the white man was the devil and the black man is G-d. That gave us Fard and he looks like white to me.
[laughter]
Interviewer: Right. Now, tell me a little bit about the progress of your collective purchasing agreement project?
Imam Mohammed: So far, I think it's very successful. We are not in terms of timetable, we're behind time. We haven't been able to put the responsible people in places for everything. We don't want to just get money and go do things without having people to protect our investments. Now, we do have people in place. We're about to make the first big purchase from overseas, Bangladesh, and perhaps Mexico and some other places. We'll soon be making big purchases from Africa too. Ghana has shea butter we're going to be buying. There's something called shea butter.
Interviewer: What's that?
Imam Mohammed: By the way, you know Alex Haley roots on page 16, chapter 2 of Roots? He mentioned shea butter. The mother putting shea tree butter on her child from head to toe. It's good for the skin, it protects the skin against dryness. It has supposed to have other healing powers too, but I'm not sure of the healing powers but I know it's good for dry skin. I use it on myself. I got it on now and my children. My children use-
[laughter]
Interviewer: That's why your skin is so youthful?
Imam Mohammed: My children-- I don't know. It helps.
[laughter]
Interviewer: Maybe you could just quickly define for our readers what is the Collective Purchasing Agreement?
Imam Mohammed: It's the same concept my father had before him, Drew Ali and other black leaders who wanted to see the material conditions of black neighborhood improved as a result of our own self-help program. It's very much the same, only this time is freer. We are trusting individuals to have responsibility for their own businesses and for the leaders to meet together have conferences and meet together so that more experienced people give benefit to the ones who have less experience. The more knowledgeable assist those who are less knowledgeable. The more resourceful assist those who are less resourceful. Everybody will be respected as independent, business people, free enterprise American way. That's the way we going. But it is a collective effort. We have now purchasing power of over $2 million, it come from about maybe 500 investors.
Interviewer: The idea is to get reduced prices by-
Imam Mohammed: Yes.
Interviewer: - by promising to purchase from one dealer?
Imam Mohammed: Yes, we can purchase. By ourselves we can't compete but together we can compete because we can purchase now as a rich man. Many rich people won't spend more than a million dollars overseas to bring back some commodity to sell in the US.
Interviewer: What kind of discount did you [unintelligible 01:49:25] [crosstalk]
Imam Mohammed: And we buy also from the US. We're buying both from US. and outside.
Interviewer: I see. What's sort of discount did you get for your shea butter? Did you get a better price?
Imam Mohammed: Well, we respect the market. We respect the way American way, the shea butter is retailing for $10. It will still retail for $10. We will get at least four times the gain that we got before when we were purchasing small.
Interviewer: Terrific.
Imam Mohammed: At least four times the gain.
Interviewer: Wow. I know time is probably short. Can you just give me a rundown on other major projects or initiatives that you're leading right now?
Imam Mohammed: The schools are a priority with us. We want to invest more in our schools. But the big project we have that I'm going to accept if I get it, assistance from rich Muslims overseas from the private sector, not the government. We want to avoid any obligation to government's if we can. In fact, we will avoid all obligations to any government. We want to build a model for our community, for our neighborhood. We intend to build in Chicago on about 29 acres of land that we are already negotiating the purchase of that land, a school, preschool, elementary school and high school, and a social Center where we'll have weddings, celebrating childbirths et cetera, and banquets when we are not having that kind of formal ceremony. We have banquets there to raise money and to give opportunities for our people to come and socialize and meet each other and socialize. Entertainment, we hope to have our own stage, our own movies in time and to show other the movies too, select movies to show. We hope to have our own theater, we hope to have our own ballparks and tennis courts et cetera, and low and medium income housing, retail and wholesale businesses and some manufacturing, all in the same plan.
Interviewer: When is that going to be kicked off?
Imam Mohammed: We hope in one year the school will be up, and some housing will be up. We hope in five years to complete the whole project.
Interviewer: What is the price tag on the whole thing?
Imam Mohammed: We're just at the first phase. We're doing in phases. The first phase we're looking at five million. We're not worried about the cost for the homes, it'll done by individual businessmen, developers, individual businessmen. We have some in Chicago but they're going to come from Atlanta and different part. Even from California. We got some members from here who say they want to help come there and the build the small nucleus for the neighborhood.
Interviewer: Is the area of the community economic development the area where you as the leader of Muslim American Council wants to take the community right now?
Imam Mohammed: Yes. We have our spiritual eyes clear now. In order to have expression for our spiritual life, we have to build material edifice.
Interviewer: Do you think that this will be duplicated in areas outside of Chicago from this model?
Imam Mohammed: Yes, it is. It, in fact, some of the other areas are ahead of us. They're ahead over us here. They'll soon be building the school. They're going to be building on this property very soon. In Atlanta, they already have a small nucleus developing there. They have stores, they have mosques, they have excellent school all the way throughout the 12-year high school. They're thinking about having a junior college soon or a teachers college, very soon in Atlanta. The business development there is very, very visible. You go there you can see it.
They have a sense of neighborhood already. I've gone there and watched the children walking down the road going to different schools, the elementary school, out of high school and coming to shop in the businesses. A sense of neighborhood, a sense of responsibility for neighborhood. That's what we need, to be satisfied in our souls.
Interviewer: You're talking a lot about the need for community in your talk.
Imam Mohammed: Yes, that's the message of Islam. And the Christian message too. I didn't tell them that today, but Genesis said that the world was not populated [laughs] and G-d charged the man with the responsibility. Right?
Interviewer: Right.
Imam Mohammed: [laughs]
Interviewer: Just few other very quick questions. The Muslim American community as you know has been polarized recently by Sheikh Hisham Kabbani's statements that most of the mosque leaders were religious extremists failing to teach the path [unintelligible 01:54:24]. I understand that you join a lot of condemnation. Do you believe that those remarks were completely out of hand or do you think that there was any truth in his assertion that there is a need for more training in [unintelligible 01:54:41]?
Imam Mohammed: The statement he made is alarming. I do think that it had the power. At least the risk is there that it could excite the Intelligence Department to take the possibility of dangerous elements being in the Muslim centers and masjids more serious. I imagine that there are some members of the Intelligence Department who would like to see more done to stamp out bad elements or dangerous elements or to bring them to justice or to get them out of this country and deport them. He unwisely used language that would put us at risk more than we are now. I'm one of those who signed asking him to apologize for his statement.
Interviewer: I understand that there are some innocent Muslims who are being questioned by the FBI these days in connection with the Osama bin Laden counter terrorism investigations.
Imam Mohammed: Oh yes. Well, I don't know about now but I know about a couple of years ago, there was a lot of interrogation going on in Illinois. I believe that there's justification for the intelligence department to keep some surveillance on certain persons in this country.
Interviewer: There's a need for that?
Imam Mohammed: Yes, I think so.
Interviewer: I see. One question that I know you that you've been asked about but then I just wanted to find out what the real story is. That there was a story going around the you were actually initiated into the Naqshbandi order by the Grand Mufti of Syria. Is that true?
Imam Mohammed: If it happened, I was completely out of my mind. I can't recall it.
[laughter]
Interviewer: You can't recall it?
Imam Mohammed: I can't recall it ever happening.
Interviewer: Where did the story get-
Imam Mohammed: No, he's a wonderful man and he seems to be very happy and satisfied with me. In my own mind, and in my own position as leader of this community. He have never asked me to join them and anything. He would just welcome me. That's all.
Interviewer: You've initiated into the Naqshbandi order...
Imam Mohammed: No, and I wouldn't. I don't need it.
Interviewer: You don't need it.
Imam Mohammed: I don't. Even if it's good and beautiful and everything, I got too much to occupy me already.
Interviewer: Great. Are there any other final thoughts that you want to make about either global Islam or Islam in America?
Imam Mohammed: Yes, well, my thoughts about global Islam is that we need more moral courage.
Interviewer: We need more moral courage.
Imam Mohammed: More moral courage. If the leaders who know that leaders are really doing a disservice to Islam, a disservice to humankind, they should not be silent. They should go to those leaders and try to get them to change their ways. They should be active in the world, more active in the Islamic world than the State Department of Bill Clinton, and trying to get Muslims to show their best image and do the right things and help justice and help civilization, help charity, help kindness, help justice in the world. I don't think they're doing that as with the moral courage that they should be showing.
Interviewer: Who's not doing this?
Imam Mohammed: All the leaders. The Islamic world, the Islamic nations, their leaders. Those persons responsible for Islamic nations, governments are not doing enough, in my opinion, to put pressure on bad leaders in the Islamic world and to do what Muhammad did. Liberate people who are denied freedom of expression, who denied the rights of their religion to practice their religion openly and freely, to liberate those societies oppressed societies if you cannot convert those leaders to a better disposition.
[music]
[01:59:59] [END OF AUDIO]

