07/16/1985
IWDM Study Library
Radio Interview

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
Dr. Morton: The Morton Downey Jr show are those of the participants and not necessarily those of W/E/R/E of management or sponsors. Our in-studio guest tonight, my friends and you'll be able to call and talk to the gentleman yourself is the Honorable Imam Mohammed. Our telephone number is 578-1300 but before you start blabbing, let me blab a little bit and ask him some questions. All right? Then your chance comes. Good evening and welcome to our second hour as W/E/R/E present its award-winning hotline to the world. Dr. Morton Downey Jr. broadcasting live from his downtown Cleveland, headquarters at W/E/R/E.
You are asked to participate in this program and share the microphone with local, national and international guests by dialing 578-1300, and now to connect you to the world. Here is Dr. Morton Downey Jr. Some people years ago refer to it as the Black Muslims. The Black Muslims were said to look upon the white man, the blue-eyed white man as the devils on this earth but time changes and hopefully attitudes between people change. Tonight, our guests in the studio is Imam Mohammed, who is a-- Let me see if I get the title right. Is it the American Muslim Mission or is it the World Community of Al-Islam in the western part of the world?
IWDM: We have been known by both those names.
Dr. Morton: How do you prefer?
IWDM: We're not known by any organizational name anymore. We just call ourselves American Muslims.
Dr. Morton: American Muslims.
IWDM: Yes.
Dr. Morton: How are the American Muslims Imam perceived in this country? Are they perceived as being super nationalistic for the blacks alone or are they perceived now among themselves as being super nationalistic for a unified nation of the United States?
IWDM: Yes, my acquaintance is with the religion started when I was born, in fact. I can't recall not knowing about it. It started out being a kind of a black nationalistic movement. It was religious, but because of the emphasis was race-based on movement and the emphasis on race, made it nationalistic but when we came to know the true concepts of our religion, the holy book, we became to understand what our holy book requires of us as Muslims. We saw our life very much like the life of good Americans and we decided that that nationalistic posture was not correct for us as Muslims. Now, we have taken on a new interest in national life but it is our interest in national life as citizens of America.
Dr. Morton: Did you come to this feeling through further studies and analysis of your book or did you come to this new posture, Imam, because of the fact that the world being what it is, the United States being what it is, it was better to play ball with the so-called, White Masters?
IWDM: Dr. Martin I think was a combination of those but the role of the holy book, I think was one that was really deciding factor.
Dr. Morton: What is the role of the holy book? What does the holy books state? 
IWDM: We believed, we were religious, in spite of the things that we believe in that were in conflict with the holy book. We were a religious movement. Most of the members who join the nation, the Black Nation of Islam, they were converts from church life and had Christian backgrounds. Poor people, perhaps the most deprived of the American blacks, our membership was the membership of poor people and uneducated people, for the most part. Hardly anybody was in our community until maybe the last 10 to 15 years. The movement goes back in its history, maybe 50 some years. We didn't have educated people in the movement, so I would say that our main concern was religious, and it's still the same.
Our main concern is religion. We are people who fear G-d, and because of that, the holy book, decides matters for us, not how we will fare in America. Because I'm sure many of us will be willing to go to jail again. Many of us went to jail because we had the wrong idea about this country. We refuse to go to war, we refused to join the army but I'm sure many of us will go to jail now if we thought our religion would be persecuted by this country. It was G-d, it has always been G-d. And it’s still G-d.
Dr. Morton: Did your holy book, Imam Mohammed, at any point ever say that the white man was a devil?
IWDM: We in ignorance, interpreted the English translation to say that. In English the translation of one translator, there are several translators of the Quran, that's in English now. One translation says, “And on that day, the Day of Judgment, G-d will gather the guilty blue-eyed." The ignorance of the translator translated blue-eye. Actually, the word means, glaucoma. It is a condition of the eye; a sickness of the eye and it doesn't mean that those people actually have that sickness.
Dr. Morton: These people who see.
IWDM: Yes, that's right. The people who have sickness in their hearts and it blinds their vision. It refers to anybody no matter what color you are, the guilty party in the Quran means anybody who has that sickness of vision in the heart that it impairs the vision.
Dr. Morton: Now, let me ask you, a lot of people will confuse the Muslim movement in this country with Reverend Louis Farrakhan’s movement. Is there a compatibility in those two movements? Is there an alliance of any sort?
IWDM: Yes, it’s like one life was there, and the life divided. Part of the community was drawn toward purity of the religion. And Farrakhan’s group was drawn toward the nationalistic idea and the emphasis on business, getting jobs, owning businesses. So, his movement, though they still, they’re religious still, I think it's still race-based, race centered and I still think it's too materialistic.
Dr. Morton: Are there any white members that you know of in Louis Farrakhan’s movement?
IWDM: No, I don't believe they would accept white. Because they hold on to that old idea of what a Muslim community should be.
Dr. Morton: Are there any white members in your end of the movement?
IWDM: There are a few.
Dr. Morton: There are a few?
IWDM: Yes.
Dr. Morton: What we are talking about is we're talking about a religion, we're not talking about a racist-based religion, we're talking about a religion of men.
IWDM: Exactly.
Dr. Morton: It is my understanding that in the last four months, that there was some kind of an agreement made between your group and Louis Farrakhan’s group, is that true?
IWDM: I know what you're referring to. Farrakhan's Lieutenant, he came to me and I asked that I meet with Farrakhan in the interest of peace and good relations between us. I met with them and I was asked to accept that we end hostilities. I told him I say, “Well, I will accept that but I know of no problem for me. I don't have any hostility that would represent a problem for me but if you want me to agree that we will end hostility, I say I will” and I said, “But don't think that that means now that if I see something that should be criticized, that I won't criticize it, but I will not feed hostilities, but I will speak in the defense of my religion."
Dr. Morton: There is information, however, true or however untrue, that Louis Farrakhan has received upwards to $30 million from the Libyan Government. There was also information that your branch of the religion has received numerous grants from the Saudi Arabian government. Is there any truth in that?
IWDM: No. That's not true because that would suggest that we have received millions of dollars and that's not true. We have received very, very little. When it comes to money from Saudi Arabia, very little. We have received donations of books from Rabita, which is a religion propagation office, the Saudi's International Movement. We have received a building, a building was given to us, a small building, a library on the south side of Chicago, it was given to us, but the cost of that building is nothing; it's insignificant when you think about the millions that we-- The billions that we associate with Saudi Arabia. It's a small humble building there. We could have done it ourselves but they wanted to give us that, so they gave us a small building, we use it for the library.
All the money that has come to us, since I've been the leader from outside the country, from Islamic communities, and most of it has not come from Saudi Arabia it has come from the Emirates. They used to be the Gulf States from Sharjah and Abu Dhabi amounts to no more than about two and three quarter-million dollars.
Dr. Morton: Total.
IWDM: Total.
Dr. Morton: That's over the 10 years that you have been the leader of the organization?
IWDM: Yes. Some assistance has been given to the local Imam, local leaders a few thousand dollars but no big sums of money. No.
Dr. Morton: Now to educate some of our folks, and we are going to go to our telephones in just a few minutes my friends. 578-1300 is the telephone number if you'd like to speak to this religious gentleman in our studio tonight. When we say Imam, what does that mean?
IWDM: Simply, the one who leads the service, leads prayers and addresses the community, give lectures, religious talks.
Dr. Morton: Same as a priest, and Roman Catholic Church, we have a minister.
IWDM: Exactly. A minister, right.
Dr. Morton: A Rabbi.
IWDM: Yes.
Dr. Morton: Who decides who becomes the head Imam or chief Imam or how that's expressed?
IWDM: Well, really there's no head Imam or chief Imam. That language for some of the old ideas, and we don't have anymore, just Imams. The local people decide to whom they want for an Imam. They see the qualifications of an Imam in the person and they think he's trustworthy and he has good intentions and he's the kind of person that they would like to see be their leader, they can choose him. The majority rules.
Dr. Morton: How many followers do you have in this country?
IWDM: Well, I don't think them as my followers now, but we believe that there's well over three and a half million Muslims in America. They are immigrant Muslims and Native Muslims. We represent maybe half of that.
Dr. Morton: How many would Louis Farrakhan represent?
IWDM: I don't know, but I wouldn't think he represents a half a million people.
Dr. Morton: Half million people.
IWDM: Not even that.
Dr. Morton: Of course, most people would think that was really stretching it.
IWDM: It's really stretching it. I'm talking about people that he influences, not people that he leads.
Dr. Morton: People that he leads, most people were closer to 3,000 to 5,000.
IWDM: Yes.
Dr. Morton: People that he influences are, I think he influences a number of people in this very community in which you are in right now in the Cleveland area?
IWDM: Yes.
Dr. Morton: This might not be good news for people to hear this, but it's said that the Imam Mohammed is a very patriotic and a very loving member of the American community. Is that true?
IWDM: Yes, but with some clarification.
Dr. Morton: All right, let's clarify.
IWDM: The America that I patronize is America that is noblest and cleanest in mind and G-d-fearing Americans conceived in the founding of this country and those Americans that have continued to back that kind of idea of America. I identify with them and I'll go to war with them if I have to.
Dr. Morton: You would go to war with them.
IWDM: Certainly, and I'm an old man almost.
Dr. Morton: You're young, good looking young guy like him say he is an old man. Don't you believe that, my friend?
IWDM: My back and my troubles, make me think I'm old sometimes.
Dr. Morton: The Imam Mohammed with us tonight. My friends, it's 21 minutes past nine o'clock in W/E/R/E. We're going to go to our telephones after we take a break for some important messages. Imam Mohammed is our in-studio guest tonight my friends, and we're going to open up those telephones’ lines for you right now, 578-1300. Obviously, we'll have a few more questions for Imam and I want to give you an opportunity to talk with him also. So, Cleveland, open your hearts, open your microphones and open your telephones and speak with the Imam. Good evening Arthur, this Mark. You're on the air.
Arthur: Good evening Mark, good evening Imam. How are you?
Dr. Morton: Imam, I'm sorry. I meant to tell you to put your headsets on. Art, let me get the Imam so he has his headsets on and we're all set. Now, good evening Arthur.
Arthur: Good evening Mark, good evening Imam.
IWDM: Good evening.
Arthur: I have a question for you. What do you think the black Muslims are going to have in this country? What kind of things are they going to have in this country in the future?
IWDM: I would hope that we would be an influence for giving more minorities a chance to look at poor people, striving people, with a sense of community life, and responsibility for community life, doing great things and not depending so heavily upon assistance, whether it be from government or from private enterprise to manage their own life. I would hope that our community life will become so successful that we would be an inspiration and encouragement to other minorities.
Dr. Morton: Would you say, and Arthur I'm going to jump in on your question here, would you say Imam that what you were looking for would be a situation where your religion could be to its people, the same thing sociologically that the Mormons have been to each other as a unified group in supporting each other.
IWDM: Yes. We have the same sense of community responsibility. We have the same sense of, I would say, independence as a community. We take pride in doing things as much as we can for ourselves.
Dr. Morton: Go ahead Arthur.
Arthur: One more question. What do the black Muslims think about this African situation and sending money over there?
IWDM: Well, we have ourselves made a contribution. We feel obligated as sensitive human beings to do something. Again, we know what we're doing, we know it's not a final solution, we know the solution is going to come when Africa is able to do more for themselves.
Dr. Morton: The solution Arthur, as you've heard me say on this program 100,000 times is not for us to be sending food and grain over to a country that can't distribute it through the country because they don't have ports, because they don't have roads, because they can't grow their own, because they don't have irrigation systems. While we're spending all of these so-called humanitarian billions, which is a lot of crap, all right, because it's not humanitarian, it's intended to keep Africa in slavery, and we can keep them that way as long as we feed them during every drought year. As long as we don't build roads, as long as we don't help them build the ports and as long as we don't help them put in the irrigation so that they can feed themselves and they don't have to turn to western civilizations to be fed.
Arthur: Imam, I want to wish you the best of luck within your future plans.
IWDM: Thank you very much.
Arthur: Take care.
Dr. Morton: Thanks Arthur for calling us here at WERE. Let's go to- is this Jenny?
Arthur: You're speaking to me Mark.
Dr. Morton: I'm sorry, I'll go to Jenny then. Jenny, you're on the air at W/E/R/E.
Jenny: I'd like to make a comparison, but before I do, I'd like to the Imam something maybe he is not aware of. Maybe it's because a lot of people don't admit it because Farrakhan is criticized so heavily, people don't admit that they follow him or listen to him, but if he would have been in Cleveland or even in Detroit. Whenever Farrakhan came at Cleveland down Cleveland State or any other Baptist churches to always have turn people away. There is more Christians in the church, especially to this past year when Jackson campaign came to Cleveland, they had to turn people away and most of the people in the church were Christians, not Muslims. So, I think he has more of a large following of Baptist people and Christians, maybe then you do actually members. So, like if some program ever took off the ground or something like that from that movement, was made a lot of people would be suppressed because they seem to underestimate people who they disagree with strongly or don't believe then they do this, something like that.
Dr. Morton: I understand what you're saying, but you got to remember there's a lot of people who go see or a lot of people in town here who went to see Madonna, who could care less about Madonna's music or anything that she does but it was an interesting thing to see. It was an auditee, and that's what happens with Louis Farrakhan. Anyone who's going to go see someone-- I can make a personal-
Jenny: This is before even the Jackson campaign, before the--
Dr. Morton: Sure.
Jenny: America even-- The comparison that I'd like to make is that I know whenever a white male whether they- or black male who seem to be very strong in their views on things a lot of blacks then view them as racist. If you take for example George Waldo even Ronald Reagan. A lot of whites admire these men because they stand up for what people think speak their mind. And when the blacks do it, also the males do it, they seem to think then is being racist, white racist or black racist.
Dr. Morton: Sure, that's human nature Jenny you know that.
Jenny: Yes, and there is just a lot of people I know that Farrakhan, because I'm a Baptist, is because of his strong views on familyhood and the men taking on responsibilities of that into his fatherhood.
Dr. Morton: Well Farrakhan got himself in trouble when he started talking about Adolf Hitler being a great man, all right?
Jenny: They misinterpreted that whole thing.
Dr. Morton: No, I've read the entire speech. I know exactly what it said. There was no room for misinterpretation in that speech whatsoever.
Jenny: The Imam said that he don't-- He has very little following, these people that I see every now and then to come almost every time he here down in Cleveland State too.
Dr. Morton: Okay, Jenny did you have a question for us tonight?
Jenny: Yes, I would like to know here in Cleveland. They have a Masjid on Euclid, and I was wondering do they have to report to him now? Do they have to send money to local masjid here down on 75th and Euclid?
IWDM: No.
Jenny: Temple in Chicago.
IWDM: No, they didn't have to do it even before. But since I've been the leader that wasn't required. They don't have to do that. No indeed.
Jenny: Okay, what about the newspaper? When sales of the newspaper do, they have to send the profit to Chicago?
Speaker 3: No, they do not.
Jenny: Okay, that's good.
Dr. Morton: That's good news, isn't its Jenny? That's just what you wanted to hear. I know that, Ahmed.
Ahmed: Yes sir.
Dr. Morton: How are you my friend? Good to talk to you.
Ahmed: Yes sir.
Dr. Morton: You're on the air with Imam.
Ahmed: Okay. I would like to welcome the Imam to Cleveland Ohio. We are always honored to have him here to do Jumu'ah prayer with us.
IWDM: Yes, thank you. I'm happy to be here too.
Ahmed: My question to Imam, could you describe briefly why it was necessary to introduce another means of expressing human concern as in the contents of the monthly magazine progression, and would you urge Muslims and non-muslims to read this magazine and why? I'll hang up and listen.
Dr. Morton: All right. Did you understand the question Imam?
IWDM: Yes, I did.
Dr. Morton: All right go-ahead Ahmed, we'll take up so we free up the line for someone else to call in. Yes, sir.
IWDM: Yes, we feel that the life of people of America or any big industrial society like ours. A complex society like ours, pardon me, is going to become more burdensome for the uninformed or misinformed individual as time goes on. The greater population get, the more the problems increase for the country, the more demand for productivity on the part of the country puts more demand on the life of the individual and we believe that the only way we can survive in the future, now and in the future is to keep this sense of respect for the human person, the human life but also a sense of respect for the community life and that includes the national life.
Dr. Morton: Imam a question from this side of the microphone. Have you found in your studies and I know you have spent a lot of time studying, have you found in those studies any type of chicanery or real benefit, I guess, is the word I'm looking for, to the poor people in this country? I'm not going to designate Black or Hispanic, I'm just going to designate poor, in the welfare system as it is constituted now. Is this a benefit or a detriment the way it's constituted now?
IWDM: It's a benefit, it's a necessity on the one hand, but when we look at the degree of the dependency in African Blacks on that kind of help and how it has just destroyed the family role, the man role in the household and the women.
Dr. Morton: Very cleverly contrived, isn't it? The way it's called.
IWDM: Yes, it demoralized. It has demoralized many blacks. When I look at all the danger and that's my opinion that's the way I'm looking at it. When I look at all of the detriment, I say that on the whole is detrimental and not good.
Dr. Morton: Folks if you're thinking about the welfare system in this country, think about this for a minute. Think about how much easier it is to get welfare if the man is not in the house and how much easier it is to break up the family when the man is not in the house. And in breaking up the family, how you break up the very, very initial unit of government in this country which is the family that is where it starts. A family and then the neighborhood then the community then the town and the city then the state then the nation.
You have just destroyed the first molecule that goes into making up the American family. And I think that is what is so unfair about our welfare system and it makes people dependent on something and puts them in a position where they can never really attain the greatness that is waiting for them. We're going to go back to our telephones in just a minute here in W/E/R/E, Imam Mohammed with us tonight my friends on the Mark Downey Junior program, right here at W/E/R/E in Cleveland, stand by.
Dr. Morton Downey Junior, Imam Wallace Mohammed. Religious leader, political leader, nationalist, patriarch all of those things have been said. Some of them agreed to some of them disagreed to. Tonight an opportunity for you to speak to this holy man as he is a guest in our studio here at W/E/R/E on Morton Downey show and you're sitting back and saying, "My G-d, I never thought I'd hear this on the Morton Downey Junior program." What do you think you were getting here? Huh? Of course, you'll hear this on this program. You'll hear anything that's righteous on this program. Even me when I feel righteous and you know damn well a lot of times I do. I made a mistake once in 1950s, no it wasn't 19-- No that was right. I made a mistake somewhere down the line. I don't know how my mother made a mistake having me a lot of people say, Kenneth how are you. You're on the air. Kenneth. Kenneth.
Kenneth: Well, yes.
Dr. Morton: Well you're on the air partner.
Kenneth: Okay. I'd like to say hello to you Mr. Downey.
Dr. Morton: Hello to you sir.
Kenneth: I would like to say As-Salamu Alaykum to Imam Mohammed.
IWDM: Alaikum-Salaam.
Kenneth: Imam Mohamed, I want to thank you very much you had a strong impact on my life. And presently here in Cleveland I'm the chairman of Crime and Safety Committee 21st Congressional District.
IWDM: Very happy to hear that.
Kenneth: We've been working trying to get them to- some of the radio stations here to take some of the obscene lyrics off.
Dr. Morton: Take some of the what off Kenneth?
Kenneth: The obscene lyrics such as Marvin Gay's.
Dr. Morton: Good for you and such as Princess if you heard my show the other night, I did one on it.
Kenneth: Yes sir, I've been working on that also and it's been because Imam Warith Deen Mohammed, because back in 1975 when he first came into what was then still the nation of Islam, he made a strong statement that he had a very strong impact on my life. And he said the words shaped people. And he said some folks’ minds are like wet clay and words stick to them like wet clay. And it was because of those words embedded in my mind that I took on the crusade to try to do something about this and all praises due to Allah that I have been successful, at least I have made some kind of success towards that, I have got WZAK to form a community advisory board. Where they have a cross-section of the community come in and screen records and lyrics before they're played.
Dr. Morton: You got a wild-eyed conservative right-winger to do a show for you, didn't you?

Kenneth: That's true but I would just like to once again say thank you, Imam Mohammed, I pray for you and I pray for you to have a safe return home to Chicago. And I have one question, could you just elaborate on the five pillars of Al-Islam and thank you, Mr. Downey.
Dr. Morton: Thank you very much. Kenneth.
IWDM: Yes, the prophet of our religion Muhammad the last Prophet, peace be upon him. He gave us what our religion was in five simple principles or essentials. He said it is to witness that there is but one G-d and Muhammad is His messenger. It is to pray to that G-d five times a day. And it is to fast the month of Ramadan, which is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. And to give charity to near relatives and to the needy for the love of G-d. And to visit the holy house of G-d once in your life in Mecca the holy house in Mecca built by Prophet Abraham and his son Ishmael peace be upon them, once in your lifetime. Those are the five essentials that represent the structure of our religion.
Dr. Morton: Have you visited that house?
IWDM: Yes, I have.
Dr. Morton: Would you visit it more than once in your lifetime.
IWDM: You're not required to.
Dr. Morton: I know.
IWDM: But many do if you can afford it, if I was rich perhaps, I would go again.
Dr. Morton: That is an expensive trip.
IWDM: It's expensive, yes. Especially from the United States. Particularly from the United States is expensive or from distant places, so we are not required to do it once in our life. I hope to visit once more before I die.
Dr. Morton: Kenneth pointed out something very interesting that I'd like to go into for just a moment before we go to our next caller, and that is that you have gone to the forefront in talking about pornographic lyrics. That's what I refer to pornography. Your religious organization is being a driving force in trying to eliminate this from our society just as, I must say with great pride that the Mormons, which I am not one but of which I have many friends, have taken good to the forefront in trying to eliminate abortion. I think you're to be commended on that. A lot of people call it censorship. I don't call it censorship. I call it responsibility of human beings to respect other human beings.
IWDM: Thank you very much.
Dr. Morton: Thank you very much. Let's go to Jowanza. Jowanza, this is Morton at W/E/R/E. You are on the air with the Imam.
Jowanza: Good evening. Peace be on to both of you.
Dr. Morton: Thank you.
IWDM: Good evening.
Jowanza: Mr. Muhammad, in retrospect, I'm sure that you look on the days prior to and directly after the assassination of Malcolm X.
[sound cut]
IWDM: -Arabic language in Islamic knowledge. I think he would have had perhaps a less desperate strategy, political strategy if he had become more grounded in the Islamic knowledge. But that's water under the bridge, as they say, but I love him and I still love him and I pray G-d for his soul, even now. We have named a Masjid in New York where he was most popular after him. I think our respect for him is the same. If you can pass on my wish for our future relationship to those who follow him, please do so. I pray G-d that we come together because we're the same people.
IWDM: Now, the other part of the question about these people. I'm glad to know that you are aware that these cultist groups and secret groups did infiltrate the following of the honorable Elijah Muhammad. Because he himself invited that kind of infiltration with the language. Some of the language that he used, symbolic language. That is a danger and I think bringing about Islamic democracy and Islamizing the community and giving responsibility to the local people will make our community unattractive to such people. I don't think their presence is that important now.
Dr. Morton: I wanted to ask both of you gentleman, and pardon my ignorance but I'm allowed that ignorance, the difference between Moslem and Muslim.
IWDM: No difference.
Dr. Morton: No difference?
IWDM: Pronunciation.
Dr. Morton: Is it strictly pronunciation?
IWDM: It's strictly pronunciation, but some people make the mistake of thinking that Moslem meant historic Muslims, and that Muslims meant black Muslims.
Dr. Morton: That's exactly right.
IWDM: That's a misconception.
Dr. Morton: That's why I asked that to be clarified for my white listeners tonight.
Jowanza: Mr. Downey?
Dr. Morton: Yes, sir?
Jowanza: I did have a question in reference to some things that I've been made aware of. I don't know if you came across the information. I know you talk about some of the intrigues of the Bilderberg’s and what have you. Were you aware that some of the shredded intelligence material that has been found by the Iranians have been weaved by some of the great Persian rug weavers, and that as a result of that, there has been some exposés in relation to the high-level KGB and CIA content?
Dr. Morton: Yes sir. I was and I recognize that some of our own forces were involved in that.
Jowanza: Okay, I was just wondering. I know you usually made aware of that through some of your contacts. That's good to hear that the information is steadily flowing out.
Dr. Morton: It is steadily flowing out and, Jowanza, if you have an opportunity to listen to the show, I have an executive intelligence report every night where I try to get that information out. Unfortunately, a lot of times the lines get-- If you listen, you'll see the lines get cut off. Depending on which country my agents are reporting from, they sometimes take their life on their own hands making those calls. I appreciate you listening.
Jowanza: Okay.
Dr. Morton: Thank you, my friend. We are going to take a break here for some important messages. At W/E/R/E, my friends, it's nine minutes before ten o'clock. Imam Mohammed in the studio with us tonight.
Woman: I want to feel good about everything in my life.
Announcer: Cleveland's hotline to the world. Join us. Let the world know what you think. Call 578-1300. Now, your hotline to the world. Dr. Morton Downey Jr.
Dr. Morton: Imam Wallace Mohammed in the studio with us tonight, my friends, doing Cleveland honor by visiting Cleveland for the meeting of the Imams in the Cleveland area. He was kind enough to join us tonight for some time on the program to talk to the people of Cleveland. Now, I think we have time for one more call. Let's go to that call. Ken, this is Morton Downey, you're on W/E/R/E.
Ken: Yes, Mr. Downey.
Dr. Morton: How are you?
Ken: Fine, and you?
Dr. Morton: Good, sir.
Ken: Good, good. I have a question for Mr. Wallace D. Mohammed.
Dr. Morton: All right, sir.
Ken: I'd like to know what the ideological differences are between Mr. Mohammed and the Minister Louis Farrakhan, please. I will hang up on this.
Dr. Morton: You can hang on because I might want to ask you a question, okay?
Ken: Okay, no problem.
Dr. Morton: Okay.
Ken: But I'll hang up instead.
Dr. Morton: Okay, Ken. 
Ken: Thank you.
IWDM: The ideological differences are essentially fundamental religious ideas, the way we see G-d. We see G-d the same way that the great religions see G-d. We put heavy emphasis on the importance of seeing G-d as only one G-d. But there is no real difference between the way we relate to G-d or see G-d and the way that good Christians or good Jews or the people of the great religions do.
Whereas, with the old organization under the late leader, Elijah Muhammad, who's my father, pray G-d, forgive him his sins and admit him into Paradise, but those ideas were very much distant from the kind of ideas that we should have as Muslims. We used to believe that G-d was a G-d who presented himself in the personal image or the body of a man, and that G-d was a black man and if G-d materialized, G-d was to be seen in person or in essence or something like that, we had to see him as a black person. We were given that kind of counter belief, that kind of counter white supremacist belief of a white G-d.
That idea is not acceptable for Muslims according to the teachings of the holy book, the Quran. Again, our belief in man, we believe that man is one and man has become different because of 
G-d's design for man's creation. We have become different races, different nations, but G-d made us one people. Whereas the old belief says that there were “two people, one G-d-made and another one was made artificially. And the white man was that artificial creation”. That's fantasy, some kind of myth concocted by the teacher who came and taught my father in the early '30s. It's nowhere accepted, nowhere known nor accepted by Muslims in the world.
There are great, great ideological differences between what Farrakhan and his group essentially believe in and what we essentially believe.
Dr. Morton: I thank you very much, Imam, for being with us tonight. What you just said brings up the fact that there was a joke going around. I know G-d will forgive me because he's got a sense of humor. He put a lot of us on the face of the earth that are a kind of whacko. But there was a joke going around years ago when your father was alive, that G-d came down to Earth and He appeared at the Mayflower Hotel, and there was a group of reporters out there and only one reporter was allowed in. They let the reporter in to see what G-d was like and when he came out, the group of reporters said the reporter, "Tell me, tell me, please, what is G-d like?" The reporter said, "Well, first of all, she's black." 
Thank you very much. G-d bless all of us, G-d bless Cleveland and our crusade continues here at Cleveland to make Cleveland a better place for people to live, and a better place for G-d to visit. Thank you for being with us tonight.
IWDM: Thank you so much.
Dr. Morton: Thank you all very much. This is Morton Downey at W/E/R/E in Cleveland, my friends. Jim Mack coming in with Mack Attack, and we'll be back as we had to rush up for another report on the executive intelligence report tonight at the Morton Downey Jr. program.


