02/01/2004
IWDM Study Library
Ta’aleem
Chicago IL

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
IWDM:
G-d is great. Allahu Akbar. That's correct. Alhamdulillah Ar-Rahmaan Ar-Raheem. Peace to you, to all of you. As we say in Islam, "As Salaam Alaikum." You know what I said, "As we say in Islam..." You don't have to be Arabs to say that. In fact, it didn't start with the Arabs. It started for a people, and it first won the hearts of people outside of the home of Muhammad the Prophet. Then finally victory was won for his mission and message of Islam in his own city, Mecca. But that city rejected him at first, and he had to go to a neighboring city called Medina. That is where G-d blessed him to establish the mission, the mission of promoting the good life for human beings as missions, or in the religion of Islam it is translated "Religion of peaceful surrender to G-d, a peaceful submission to G-d Almighty." It is a peace that brings us to be at peace with G-d and at peace with this world that he made, his world of goodness. That certainly include all human beings, all good people. We are to be at peace with G-d, at peace with all good people.
IWDM:
Muhammad the Prophet was a friend to people who did not accept him to be the prophet. He didn't stop being their friend. He saw that they were good people. They meant well. They continued to be his friend, so why should he stop being their friend because they didn't accept the religion? He kept friendship with them as long as they kept friendship with him. This is just good sense. It makes good sense to be at peace with people and appreciate friends whether they belong to your religious persuasion or not. Keep good friends with them because you can fare better in this world with friends than you can with too many enemies. You don't want to invite enemies. Have good friends. For that is my opening word to you today.
IWDM:
Now, I want to talk a little bit, today is the Eid day for Muslims, and it has meaning for all people just like the new destiny or new Jerusalem idea of Christians who came to this part of the world for a chance to live the life of their choosing in their own countries. Most of them couldn't live the life of their own choosing. Their life was being dictated. Some big, political bosses were deciding how they were to live, denying them religious freedom, etc. So they came to this country. The pilgrims on the Mayflower and others behind them came here to have the life of their choice, a religious life of their choice under G-d. The Constitution of these United States recognized that. The introduction to the Constitution, "We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal and are endowed by their creator," there is recognition of G-d right there, their creator, "with certain inalienable rights," rights that you can't take away from them, neither persons nor governments can take away those rights, "among these life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."
IWDM:
I was being a student at the time in high school, private school, established by the honorable Elijah Mohammad and his faithful workers and promoted by my mother, Claire Muhammad, faithfully. I was a student in high school, and our teacher was Professor Jamil Diab who's still living. He's in Tempe, Arizona, now. His son and him, they run the Masjid. I think his son is the imam there now because of the age of Professor, who's also a doctor. He later got a doctor degree too, Jamil Diab.
IWDM:
Anyway, Jamil Diab was teaching us one day, and he mentioned that statement describing our government, the kind of government we support. He said, "There's nothing in that statement that a Muslim should have any problem with." That's all he said. But later on I studied as a student, I continued, pardon me... I was a student not only of Jamil Diab at that time. I was a student of many things. I wanted to understand the world. My father gave me a belief that made me want to understand the world, so even in my earlier years, much earlier than that, I wanted to understand the world. So I was studying the world, I continued to study the world, and the more I studied the world and studied our holy scripture, the Qur'an, our book, the book of the Muslims, the Holy Qur'an, and Bible and other things, the more I came to understand those words, "We hold these truths to be self-evident," the more I came to understand those words.
IWDM:
Today, I believe that those words are perfectly suitable for Jew, Muslim, Christian, or any good people who believe in G-d. That's why this country has attracted people from all religions, all persuasions, all colors, all nationalities. This country has attracted them because we see... I put myself with them now, although I wasn't attracted to come here. I got here by some accident, I think. You understand that. I think the accident happened in our land, homeland first. There was an accident in our homeland, and then somebody came and salvaged what was left of that accident, and it got us over here, got me here. I'm happy. I didn't know it was going to turn out like this. So G-d was overseeing everything, wasn't he? Yeah. G-d was overseeing everything. G-d of justice.
IWDM:
Anyway, I have come to believe that... Now, this is going to be a little serious word for you here, I promise you. There won't be anything I'll say later more serious than this. So if you can take this one, you can take the rest. I'm talking to the Muslims. I believe that G-d has permitted the United States to progress and become strong and stronger and influence, if nothing else, and it has much else going for it, to become the leader of the world today as a government. There's no government capable of leading the world today more so than the United States of America. And Most of the governments are not given the United States of America hardly anything, but they are looking to the United States of America for much.
IWDM:
Now, I believe that this has happened because the Christian people had good intention, the good Christian. Just like Muslims, there are good Christians and bad Christians. There are good Muslims and bad Muslims. If you don't know who are bad, you don't need to be told who a bad Muslim is because they've been in the news a lot lately. But if you forgot who bad Christians are, they are racists who believe in white supremacy. That's who they are. Firstly, those are the bad Christians I recognize, bad Christians. Christ didn't pick out a black man and say he wasn't deserving of justice in a kindness, a kind treatment. That's not Christ-like to do that. So they were not Christ followers who established that idea of white supremacy that deny blacks their human rights, etc. Those are not Christ followers, but they certainly called themselves Christians. They called themselves Christians when they started their thing, and they still call themselves Christians. So there are good Christians and bad Christians.
IWDM:
The murders that take place, the dope that's sold, you think they're communists doing that? Well, we know who it is doing that. So let us not be stupid and shut our eyes to our own problems in our own backyard. Just be aware of it. Muslims, we can't afford to shut our eyes to the problem that we have with bad characters calling themselves Muslims, and the Christians should not close their eyes to their bad characters calling themselves Christians. Hitler called himself a Christian. I guess he thought he was a true Christian, but look what he did and look what he advocated against Jews, against Catholics, against blacks, etc.
IWDM:
So this is wake up time. We can't be sleeping on important matters. We got to wake up. We are all in the same boat, and we are no better than each other. That's right. But determine how good you are is really G-d's mercy. G-d's mercy sure gave me a good mother and a father who was well-meaning, who meant well. They put me in the situation to be the man I am today. But I have others who were put in the same situation, they didn't turn out so nicely. So it depends on your circumstances and your own choice after you're given good circumstances, depend on your own choice. That's what ultimately determined who was good and who's bad. Your religious label doesn't matter very much because you can be favored to have good circumstances and, in spite of your religion, you go bad. We know many go bad in spite of their religion. In spite of having a good religious environment to support their life, they go bad.
IWDM:
So much said for that. Now getting back to my point. The Christian people were looking for a land, a place where they could have their freedom to practice their religion as they choose to practice it. This was a new land opened up to them for that. We know there were a lot of problems, and there was a lot of wrongdoing, but the good stayed, the good stayed. Slavery was one of those wrongdoings. It's gone. The rule of the mighty was another bad thing, perhaps the first in magnitude, the rule of the mighty whether they're good or bad people, the rule of the mighty. Those who had money and power, they ruled. That's gone too. Just like G-d eventually caused the beasts that were on the Earth, huge beasts, dinosaurs and other creatures.... Yes, so we are free to continue now I hope, I believe so, and if not, we'll have to stop again, and start again. If this is all the difficulty we going to have, we should be happy.
IWDM:
Think of the price the pilgrims paid to come over here and establish their life again, how they suffered, how they lost so many lives, how they were persecuted and murdered in their own lands, and think how we have suffered. So this is really a great time not to have trouble anymore, I don't think. I believe society is going to continue to move and more and more toward peace for everybody. I have strong faith in that. But when the people are through with war, they should begin then to work at serving human life better, taking care of their families, taking care of their properties, taking care of their cities in ruin. They are to go back to work to make their life good for the human beings again, you see?
IWDM:
After this great, long troubled period we've had with religious prejudice and other forms of prejudice and cruelties to innocent people and war, unnecessary war sometimes, all of that ending now, I do believe it's ending, we have to go to work to build up our families, first our own selves. By that I mean build up decency in your own life individually, build up decency for yourself in your own life, do for good for your families, step up in your families, help your families get out of trouble they're in no matter what kind of trouble it is. And poverty is trouble. That's not a good situation being poor and can't have the little necessities, the little necessities of life. There's no good situation to be in, so we have to help our families and then help the effort, the community effort. Help your neighborhoods, help the community effort so we'll all have better life.
IWDM:
That's how we should be spending our energies now. We shouldn't be out spending our energies with a lot of foolishness, partying and all the time and just working for a paycheck just to have a couple of nights on the weekend of what we call fun, and that fun leaves us with no funds, and we have to work against it. We have to work against that. Don't go to these extremes. Extremes deny us to good life. Any extreme is bad. Don't become so holy that you're the only person in the world. That's right. The extremes, they make us bad.
IWDM:
Yes, getting back to my point. I recall a saying of Mohammed the Prophet that I think is appropriate, very appropriate for me to go back to my point with. That saying is, quote, "Matters are judged by intention." He left us with this information that in Islam, matters are judged by intentions. He was addressing a particular situation. Some people were discussing or having gossip going on, and they were questioning the worth of each other and the struggle for Islam during the time of Prophet Muhammad, things beyond him. He answered their question for them and cleared the situation, cleared the problem. He said, "Those who came from Mecca," the city that was persecuting him and his followers, "to Medina and struggle for the religion and their migration was for the religion." He said, "But those who came to have a wife or other things, then their migration was for those things." He said, "Matters are judged by intention."
IWDM:
So if you carry that principle or that logic to other situations, and we should because Islam is a religion of the universal truth, the religion of universal logic, not a logic that will work here and won't work in Mexico. It's a logic that will work anywhere. It's universal logic. That's what it's meant by universal. It stands up as well on one side of the world and stands up on another side of the Earth. It stands up all over the world. It's strong everything. The logic never is weakened by changed circumstances. The logic is always strong, universal logic.
IWDM:
Applying that logic now to Christians who left their homes in Europe to come to the new world that was opened up, America, as it came to be called, North America, Canada, other places they came, they came so they could better serve G-d, so they'd be free to serve G-d as they thought they should serve G-d. Those are good intentions. G-d would have to accept them, and G-d would have to be their friend and their protector when they did not have... In situations where they would not have friends and protection, G-d would be their friend and protector. Yes, those who had good intentions. Now, the Founding Fathers who wrote the plan for our government, obviously they had good intentions. The people who have accepted their vision of government for the new world and have defended it with their lives and have tried to serve its best ideas, principles, hopes, etc., they deserve, too, G-d's friendship and his protection for often there was a need for a friend in their life and a protector for them. G-d was obligated to answer that need, and he has.
IWDM:
Now, the Muslims too. I have studied this religion most of my life, and you can see I'm not a young man. I've applied for benefits, and I'm overdue, just late applying, but I applied for other benefits, Social Security, whatever, all this coming to me, I hope. I intend to work and enjoy it. I'm not retiring. If you love your work, to retire is to invite a early death. If you love your work, stay with your work. Your work is your life. I have over these many years studied the religions, not one religion, studied the religions. I have come to the conclusion that for Islam and Christianity the idea of society, morally speaking and ethically speaking, in terms of ethics, what should be the ethics for these society, it's the same.
IWDM:
It's the same except for one principle operating in the culture of America, not the government, not the politics necessarily, not the church, but in the culture of the plan for the West. The plan for the West includes a plan for the culture of the West. In this plan for the culture of the West, there is something that Islam cannot associate itself with. We're not believers in that. That is, we don't accept that society should be operated like that. What am I referring to? This pendulum principle in the life of our culture that swings us all the way to holiness and back to Satanism. It swings us all the way to holiness, to G-d, and then back to Satan. There's a principle. At certain times our society is encouraged to be morally strong, to be decent and human by each other, at certain times in the culture of America. Then at certain times G-d is discredited publicly by the media, by Hollywood, by entertainers, by the popular culture. G-d is discredited, taken away from G-d to cause us, the public, not to fear G-d and not to practice reverence and respect for G-d. It's taken away. Respect for parents, taken away. Even respect for human life, taken away by the culture.
IWDM:
So this principle that they may call the key that Peter inherited or got and passed it on to bind Satan for a thousand years and then let him out when they want to, we can't accept that. No, if we ever found the key to lock up Satan, we're going to lock him up and keep somebody at the door and make sure you don't have any trouble anymore. No, if G-d gives us the power to lock him up, we going to lock him up forever. But G-d gave nobody the power to lock up Satan. That's a lot of talk. Nobody has the power to lock up Satan. G-d only has the power to lock up Satan. G-d permitted him to take whoever he wants to take. But G-d says, "You cannot take anybody but somebody that wants to give themselves to you." Remember that, people. Satan cannot get anybody but somebody that has a weakness for him. If you don't have any weakness for him, he can't get you. So G-d says when the judgment comes, don't think you going to have an excuse to tell G-d, "I wouldn't have been this bad if Satan hadn't taken over. Satan just took me over." G-d going to say to say to that person, "Satan had no power accept to invite you. He invited you, and you answered his invitation, so you will be punished, not excused." This is religion.
IWDM:
Getting back to my point now, I'm saying that those who had good intentions, they would be protected by G-d, and G-d would be their friend when they needed him. I'm saying that those who envision a democratic society where all people would have the same rights accorded them by the law of the land, we know it took a long time coming, but it was there, and the good finally prevailed over the attempts of bad people to make that good and that good vision have no effect. They finally lost. We had to pay a big price. Minorities in this country had to pay a big price, and majorities, too, suffered. The ones who tolerates us, they suffered too. The ones who are the perpetrators, they suffer. They don't know it, but they suffer, while they're doing wrong. They're suffering at the same time, suffering at the works of their own hands. And the victims, the minorities, the blacks, number one, African Americans, number one, and those others that were persecuted, Jews and others, women are still being persecuted. You all don't know it, but women are still being persecuted, not being respected. The commercial world use eminent appeal, sex appeal, etc., to make billions of dollars. That's not decent by women to do that, but they know that they're getting money that way so they do it. But it's not right.
IWDM:
Yes, times have changed, and we know the nature of this world now. I'm making it short. I'm bringing it, closing that point out so we can continue the main point. We know that this world, how it operates, and we know Satan should be given his freedom, but G-d never said give him help. But this culture helps Satan. Gives Satan big help. Muslims as I was saying, Muslims are obligated to promote the same good interests, no different. We, too, should be working for an ethical society, a society that works to have right win over wrong on all levels of society, a society that will hold the smallest in money, in knowledge, in wealth or whatever, and power to the smallest citizen accountable to keep him from injury or hurting the rights of others. But that applies also on the highest level, a society with laws that'll bring the bosses of society to court and hold them accountable, too. So a ethical society is a society that have rules of conduct that touch all classes at all levels of the society
IWDM:
So you have a ethics committee for the government that question how members of Congress and members of the Senate conduct their business and their affairs. They don't conduct them in a court with what is right, good conduct for them. They can be brought to justice. This is the kind of government we have. This is the kind of government Islam works for, the same vision as in Islam.
IWDM:
We have a saying from Muhammad, the Prophet, "Peace be upon him." It says, "If a tyrant can order you something, don't obey him." So this is not a religion that tells you just take crap off anybody. Mm-mm (negative). This is a religion that asks you to struggle for what's right, struggle to have what's right and be willing to pay a price if you have to, to at least tell wrong, "I don't support you." And that means a lot. Maybe the effort of the small person it won't be seen affecting the order of the society, but just the fact that that small person stood up against the big evil, the big wrong is going to feed strength to others who have been negligent in their duty, who have been ignorant and unmindful of their duties. They'll hear what that little, small person did and perhaps lost his life, it'll touch their souls. It'll touch their heartstrings and make them determined to do something in his name if not for any other reason. Yes.
IWDM:
So this is the way life is. This is the way G-d designed life. As I said, Muslims are obligated to do the same. We're obligated to have that promise of Abraham, the promise of Abraham that spiritual matters can also be expressed and communicated rationally so the common people can understand the difficult things in spiritual matters or in spiritual life. He was the one that wanted to simplify the spiritual life and the spiritual communication in religion so that the average person can hear these things that a pious man got up in the sky somewhere. He understood it in the sky, but when he came back down here on Earth with us, he didn't know how to tell us about it. But Abraham, the father of us all after Adam, G-d blessed him with the knowledge and power and insight to see how to communicate these difficult ideas in the common life of the people. He is the father of ethical life, of ethical communities, Abraham, Father Abraham. He comes from the seventh heaven, the highest of the heavens where the purity is the best, the purest and the greatest, the vision is the widest and the most complete, so the seven heavens. He was blessed to be up there in the seven heavens, and he's blessed to be the leader of all nations, all the leaders, the leader of mankind after Adam, Father Adam, our Father Abraham. Praise be to Allah.
IWDM:
Now, Jews also, they were given the covenant before the Christians, not to mention the Muslims, so Jews also, they have this knowledge. A party of the Jews, not all of them, a party of the Jews, not all Christians either, there's a party of each of these religions that work hard to do what Allah, what G-d Almighty, our creator, inspired the great prophets and messengers to do. They work hard to make that happen. But the majority of the people don't. So Allah revealed in Qur'an that there's a party of the Christians, the Jews, pardon me, firstly, there are a party of them that work for justice and fair dealings among people. It says also, the same language, no different, so there's a few Christians, there's a party among them who works for justice and fair dealings among people. Then G-d said to us, not in the same text but a different part of the Qur'an, Allah says to us, "Be you a people working for justice and fair dealings among people."
IWDM:
So Allah has told us clearly then in the words of the Qur'an to Muhammad the Prophet, who was a medium for communication to us, he has told us clearly that Jews, Christians, and Muslims have the same obligation and the same commitment that Jews... they had leaders that committed themselves, Moses was one of them, to work for justice and fair dealings among people. [foreign language 00:36:16]. This word is rich in meaning, this word "islah," rich in meaning. It carries the meaning of righteousness, moral purity, and also kindness, kindness. You need all that to be fair by people. You have to be moved by human kindness not just by your idea of what purity is or righteousness is, but you have to be moved by love for people, care about people. We have the same obligation to bring the world to be a world of peace and justice that benefit all citizens of the world. We have the same mission.
IWDM:
Now, G-d says, I'm getting close to this, and I'm going to drop on you Muslims. This is one of those three-stage bombs that Elijah Muhammad told you about, with that drill on there that will penetrate the hardest material on Earth, and it will continue to drill until it gets one-mile deep into the earth, and then it'll explode. It's timed to not explode until it gets one-mile deep. When it gets one-mile deep, it explodes, it sends up a mountain a mile high. That's what's coming right now. A mountain is not a bad message. Sending up a mountain is a good message. The explosion was bad, but the mountain that was left standing a mile high, that's good because I'm going to tell you it wasn't a little hill standing a hundred feet high in Detroit, Michigan, in the ghetto for when Mr. Farad Came there. But I guarantee you, we got some mountains now. Yeah, we got some high mountains. Black being almost standing tall as a white man. Thank G-d. Now, a siren again, wasn't it? A lot of you all don't remember that teaching on the sirens. I do. I don't know if we lied to Muhammad. There will be great sirens. The laws will be so severe it'd crack glasses, break glasses. Glass is fragile too, isn't it? It wouldn't necessarily break flesh, break glasses. A lot of us, that's all we are, glass.
IWDM:
Now getting back to the point here. Here we share the same vision for an ethical society. They have rules of conduct that apply to all, small and big, rich and poor, etc. That's more important than the other things that we have. Don't you know there's a saying that Muhammad said, "G-d's control is on the multitude, not on the individual, on the multitude." Ij'ma'a means "on the whole people." G-d's control is on the whole people not on individuals. What it means by that is G-d's protection to keep the world, life good is not dependent on Imam W. Deen Mohammed. No matter how good the person or how big the person is, it's not dependent on Dr. Martin Luther King, not dependent even on Jesus Christ if you understand. But the whole people is where G-d places responsibility. Muhammad the Prophet, before he died, he placed responsibility on the public not on any one person. He never said, "Abu Bakr is your leader, and I will obey him." He didn't. But he did, in his farewell speech, obligate all Muslims not only presence but he obligated the Muslims to come from [inaudible 00:41:04]. They're having fun, I guess, but they don't know they're helping me. Really, I'm a student of psychology. This is just making you more determined to hear what I have to say.
IWDM:
Now, yes. The hand or the control of G-d is on the whole people, on the whole people. We are not to believe that G-d is dependent upon some individual. No, the whole people belong to G-d, and he will protect his way with the whole people. The whole people will give birth to new leaders. The whole people will give birth to new leaders. The leader may come up from my line. It may come up from your line. It may come up from your race. It may come up from another race. G-d's hand or control is on the whole of mankind, and he will save mankind no matter what bad situations we get into.
IWDM:
So here we are now, struggling to have, as servants of G-d, understanding his purpose for us on this Earth. We're struggling to have this wonderful life that's free for all, just by all. One of us fail Allah. One of us forget about the destiny. We forget about this destiny, not the destiny of all this permissiveness we have but the destiny of justice, justice, the destiny for justice and kindness. We forget about it, and we leave it to others. So what the Bible and the Qur'an tell us? What does G-d tell us in both books, Bible and Qur'an? What would happen to that person who forgets? He will fall into bad circumstances, and G-d will-
IWDM:
... involved in the efforts to work for world peace, for global peace. For justice to all the people, our ethical society, and ethical world. They're working for it, but what are their governments doing? Playing politics with it. Playing politics with that vision, or with that idea, or that goal, for mankind. They're playing politics with it. They're not even establishing at home, for their own people, in their own cities, or in their own neighborhoods. Muslim countries are not doing this for their own people. So, why should they be blessed by G-d, to have G-d's friendship, and protection?
IWDM:
G-d's friendship and protection is off the Muslim world, and been off the Muslim world for a long time. And we have to struggle hard, to do more good, and to correct their own societies, so G-d ... And starting right at the top, with the rulers, because that's where the big problem is. It's in their rulers. They have to correct their own world, and then Allah will accept them as His friends. He will befriend them, and He will be their protector.
IWDM:
But right now, I think it's hunting time, hunting season, and anybody want to hunt down the Muslims can do it. Yeah, because you've been too negligent. You have grown just the opposite way. You're supposed to be in the defense of mankind. You're supposed to be working for justice on all levels of society. But instead of that, you're just looking for opportunities to take advantage of an ignorant person, and get the money he's spending with your enemy to come your way. You got your eyes on money. That's no good.
IWDM:
But, what am I saying, brothers and sisters? I am saying that we should not look to the Muslim world anymore. Embrace our good brothers and sisters all over the world, wherever we find them. And stand with our good, struggling believers, wherever we find them.
IWDM:
No matter what part of this Islamic world they're in, or here in America. Let us be their brothers and their friends, but let us not look to their land for any hope. The hope is not in Muslim lands. The hope is not there.
IWDM:
Don't expect anything from these governments but more disappointment, until they repent. They have to repent their wrong. And we'll know it when they repent. The world will know it. And I'm sure we'll hear the news over here, in the United States. We'll read it in our newspapers. We'll see it on television, and hear it over the radio, if that happens. But until then, don't expect it from them. Don't expect it from them.
IWDM:
Now, I've got two points to make, here. This is one of them, that the Islamic world of government have failed their responsibility that Allah left to them, when he left the message of Muhammad and the Qur'an with them. They have failed it. That should obligate us, as people who've recently come into Islam, in this part of the world. The big effort started with the holy light of Muhammad, to have us identify ourselves as Muslims, and want to be right. It started with the holy light of Muhammad.
IWDM:
But, we know there were some efforts that didn't take on, that didn't find as much ground as his efforts. Before him, Drew Ali, Noble Drew Ali, and a few others. Don't separate yourself from them. Noble Drew Ali and his followers were promoting Islam for Blacks, or for African-Americans. Those were your brothers that preceded you in this work, though you differ with them in your language and in how you see things. But you don't differ them in intent. "Matters are just thy intentions in Islam," so said the prophet, prayers and peace be upon him.
IWDM:
You don't differ with them in intent. The intent is to have good established. To have good rule over there. Win out over bad. And to have dignity, justice, and righteousness, for our people, or for black people. And Islam, with other people, of many colors. Their intent is the same. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, the names of Islam, Marcus Garvey, and the Science Temple. The Moorish Science Temple, of Drew Ali. Yes.
IWDM:
So now, we know the effort. Black man, taken from his homeland, brought to America, trying to find his way again, into a life of his own. Not a life imposed upon him, and not a life that he finds himself in because of circumstances that were beyond his control. But he wants a life of his own choosing. Marcus Garvey wanted it, and followers. The honorable Elijah Muhammad wanted it, and his followers. We want it, together, right now. All of us want that. We'd be foolish if we didn't want it. We'd be sick. Mentally sick, and morally sick, if we didn't want that.
IWDM:
So now, we find ourselves surviving. All of the bad history behind us. We have survived it. And now, we're choosing, of our own accord, we are calling ourselves Muslims. And we see the world of Islam in this condition that it's in. That should make us more spirited. More courageous. More determined to establish a beautiful society of Muslims, in America, the highest mountain on Earth, in terms of government. The highest mountain on Earth.
IWDM:
So, if we establish it on this mountain, everybody would know it and see it, because it towers above every other government mountain on this planet Earth. So, we are blessed for this fortunate situation. We should be thinking more seriously about having our Islamic light progress in the way that we know it should progress. And, that means progress in the way that would make life better for all members, big or small, ignorant and educated, rich and poor. We know that's our obligation. We should be more determined to do it.
IWDM:
Look. A real fighter, who is on a team. And, the team is fighting, have to deal with another team, that's brutal, unfair, et cetera. A good person... Oh, they're having fun, I guess. I think they're sick, really. The good person will work hard. Harder. Knowing, seeing his teammate fall, die, knocked out of the battle. He will fight harder. But really, he's supposed to have teammates. This effort to establish a righteous society, a good society for all people.
IWDM:
We should have teammates in Africa. In every Muslim land. In Asia. Every Muslim land. Everywhere there's a Muslim government, we should have someone on our team, shouldn't we? But we know we don't. We know we don't. So, shouldn't that make us more enthusiastic? More determined to win this battle, since we have lost so many helpers? Now the big responsibility is on the few. So, that few can't be relaxed at all, because there's nothing any more. The few can't be relaxed at all. They have to exert their most, their utmost, to make victory. To bring the victory home.
IWDM:
Now, that's my first point. My second point is this. This is the last. I'll close out with this. African-Americans. Called, "Black," before. Now, "African-American," is more popular than, "Black," for us, thanks to Reverend Jesse Jackson, and others, who used their influence to get it accepted, right away. White people accepted it before we got to understand it. They were ready to accept. Isn't that wonderful? White people say, "Yeah, well they shouldn't be calling themselves, 'Black.' They should be out there, defining with their homeland, like we do." We are Irish Americans, and Spanish Americans, and Polish Americans. They should be African-Americans. Whites understood that logic, because it's the logic they live by. Oh, they did live and die. But, we can't relate with it. African Americans. We're Africans, really. In America. But to recognize America, too, we should say, because this is our homeland, the only homeland that we have grown up in and understand.
IWDM:
We lost connection with the other one, to Africa. But to acknowledge our homeland, we should say Africa. But to acknowledge also that now we have become Americans, indigenous Americans, meaning we have formed our life from this soil, here we are African Americans. So what is wrong with Afro-Americans? He was saying to accept the whole word, African. Every Afro does. I'm Afro-American. Say, what's wrong with you buddy? You can't accept the whole expression? African American. Not Afro, African American.
IWDM:
Okay. Afro now is not the people. Afro is that big bushel. All that wool on your head. Continuing the second point. We are free in this country and have equal opportunity now under the law, we go through the Court. We have the same protection everybody else has. And you don't have to have money, either. There are lawyers that if they see you denied your right, there are lawyers that will take up your case for nothing. They'll do it for charity, do it for nothing. Yes, so don't say, "Oh well, we don't have the same equal rights because we poor, we go, we can't even get a good lawyer." Yes, you can. If you have a good case, a good lawyer will find you if he knows about you. He will find you and say, "Look I want to take your case. I know you don't have any money. Don't worry." They'll do that. They have done it, and they will do it.
IWDM:
And the NAACP will come to your rescue to, you don't have to tell them, yes, you don't have to have money. NAACP, yes that's right. It is still existing, isn't it? Yeah, I thought so. The NAACP will come to your rescue, too. Yes. All right. Was I joking? I think so. Yeah, because I just got a request in the mail five days ago for money, a donation to NAACP. I'm sorry. Here we are now. In these much better circumstances for us, for the people. And we have forgotten that we had parents before us who put their life on the line, then loss their lives, swamp hung, set a fire. What were these troubles for, what were they dying for?
IWDM:
For one, they have what you got not. What would they want to have, what you've got now, for? So they could worship same as a Pilgrim, same as a [inaudible 00:14:22] and the good pilgrim. So they would have a chance to worship G-d as they choose to worship G-d and have the life that G-d promises every human being, just like all other people, free people have that right. And they wanted to be free to be... in religion, not our religion. They wanted to be free to be Christians. To have that right if they want it. And to be free Christians, to enjoy the benefits of America, the land, with other citizens of the land. That' what they wanted.
IWDM:
They wanted to have education. They were deprived of education. They wanted to have education. They wanted to one day be responsible for establishing schools that the white folks and others wanted. That's what they wanted. We should remember the best hope for our people who paid a great price and died, and had hoped it would continue in their children to come, in the generations to come. You don't have any sense of debt to them? You have no sense of indebtedness to them? Well you're going to have to be awakened to your sense of indebtedness to those great freedom fighters who paid that great price. Excuse me. This is my point.
IWDM:
Now. You seem to think that change by the government from letting you be lynched and mistreated to coming to your defense says it's all over now. It's all over now. It's in the hands of the White House. It's in the house of the Congress and the Senate. It's in their hands. You don't have to do any more. It's party time. What do I mean by party time? I don't mean just going out drinking this weekend. Or going to a dance. Getting a little high, or whatever you enjoy. Laughing and enjoying, dancing and whatever, and going back to work Monday. I don't mean that kind of party. When you're thinking about nothing but your little small needs. When you're satisfied to go to sleep and you did nothing today but thought about yourself and worked for yourself and fed your gut. You're having a party.
IWDM:
At the expense of the vision of our dead parents who died hoping that if we got in this good situation, we would establish the life they hoped for. How do you think those parents would feel coming to our cities now? And not finding hardly any retail stores owned by us. How do you think they'd feel if they could wake up and come to our cities now and see us with all this freedom and all these clothes, clothes coming out of the closet, clothes on the basement steps, you'll fall down the basement steps because of clothes all covered up the stairs.
IWDM:
Material things that keep just, money all just laying everywhere, not even you, because it's too much. How do you think they would feel coming and seeing you wasting your income, wasting your labor like that? And your neighborhoods have no material strength that you have established. You haven't established any material strength for your neighborhood. Most of the things in your neighborhood are still owned by others, not you. Those are the structures of your neighborhood, built by others, maintained by others, not you. You go to the big chain stores owned by others, not you. There might be some rare exception, but if you tell me there is one grain of sugar, then five pounds of salt, I don't want you telling me that, because it's immaterial. It makes no sense for you to even tell me that. Thank you very much. Let's wake up to our duties and achieve what we're supposed to achieve as a people. Let's change these neighborhoods and put our stakes in the ground. All right? Thank you. Peace As Salaam Alaikum
Speaker:
IWDM is going to Come back to the microphone in a few minutes, a few moments, and make some comments about a program today. If you have also any questions that you'd like to ask him, there's a microphone here in the middle. So just line up there at the microphone, and he will answer your questions. While we're waiting, someone lost his cell phone. Nextel Motorola cell phone. So if you lost your cell phone, see me up here. Or see one of us up here.
IWDM:
As Salaam Alaikum I want to lend my support and invite you to this affair that will be sponsored by the Mosque Cares. It will be the Mosque Cares 3rd Annual African American History Month. Family and Friends Dinner, coming up in February. Sunday, February the 3rd. Pardon me. It says here Sunday, February the 3rd. That's today. So it's not happening today, is it? It's happening today? All right. Well, a lot's happening today. Even in the morning, now major Eid of the year this morning, Eid prayers, this morning. Then the Citizens Market they have going on, too, is going on here today. I hope you all going to miss that because they don't support African American business, Muslim business. We're not going to be able to finance our religious needs.
IWDM:
Our religious needs is a place to worship. Our religious needs is school, a decent school to teach our children our religion and our way of life and to help them get better grades in public school by giving them good teachers to tutor them in their weak areas so they get assistance. This is big responsibility. And we need money to do that. And so to have better situations for our elderly people, and better pay for our qualified people, where the Imams are teachers. There's a big responsibility. Financial responsibility for a religious community is big, big, big, big, big. All right. So the religious community will be absolutely derelict or irresponsible when it comes to what our duty is if we don't support our good business people. Please support our good business people.
IWDM:
And I'm supposed to have comments. I see. Qur'anic recitation I love this, I love this. Now, I don't know. Matters are just thy intentions. I have some other things that I've scheduled to do. We'll see what I can do, maybe get something changed in my program for the day, my schedule of activities for today. Comments, comments, comments.
IWDM:
This here is February already. Here's a way to start of the month all right. So let me tell you right now, I don't know what I'm going to do. But I would love to eat with our friends and relatives. I would love to do that. I would love to see these students recite. Enough to witness your whole program. Because you don't see me, even though I wanted to be with you. And matters are just thy intent. Okay.
IWDM:
I think that's all they have for me here. We got the best chicken you can find anywhere. I hear that someone wants to ask a question. Are you paying for this? Are you paying rent? Whoever's doing that. Are you paying for this. I thought we was paying for this. They heard me, too, believe me they heard me. They hear me come back to the mic, and they heard me, what I just said. They heard that, too.
IWDM:
Yes. There's one brother who had a question. I'm sorry to only accept one question today. Because they have so much planned for today, for today is so filled with so many activities.
Speaker 2:
Okay, Alhamdulillah.
IWDM:
Yes, may I hear your question brother?
Speaker 2:
As Salaam Alaikum. How are you today?
IWDM:
Well thank G-d, I'm doing great.
Speaker 2:
And everybody-
IWDM:
In fact, that signal that kept going off, that made me do better.
Speaker 2:
I know that's right. Well, the question that I want to ask is, in this day and time, as you said, everybody got something, some way that can identify, they said Irish American, or whatever, and then we identify ourselves by African American nowadays], but didn't that word African, did that come from Caucasians?
IWDM:
Africa, the word Africa.
Speaker 2:
Africa comes from Scipio and his brother when they ...
IWDM:
Yeah, Africa. The word Africa comes from non-Africans. The word Africa comes from non-Africans.
Speaker 2:
That's right.
IWDM:
That's important to know. Africans did not call themselves Africans. It was others outsiders. One was a world traveler from Europe. He traveled in Africa and he went back and told them what he discovered, so they named the land for him. They named it Africa. They called it Africa. To them, it was Africa. They didn't know anything else, they only knew that this man went there. So they named it Africa, and Africa is really after a mythical figure. You know what an aphrodisiac is? Aphrodisiac? Something to stimulate the sex. Your sex.
Speaker 2:
Okay.
IWDM:
Yeah. So, Scipio Africanus was his name. They named him Africanus because he traveled in that part of the world. And they called it Africanus because they saw us as sexual people. Sexual people. So they named us for the Roman female G-d...
Speaker 2:
Okay, I can go with that, but due to the fact that we were direct descendants from the Ethiopians, like Master Bilal, so we were at one time had named ourselves Bilalians. What was wrong with that name Bilalians?
IWDM:
It was too far from the United States of America. It didn't catch on. Couldn't catch on because it was too far from the United States of America.
Speaker 2:
Well it was no further than Africa. It was no further than Africa.
IWDM:
Yes, yes. Because Bilal's the name of an individual. Africa named the country of all of our people. So it's a little bit stronger in our life than the name of an individual. Though, I wanted that name. I'm the one who suggested it.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, but like you said, these brothers...
IWDM:
People came here from all directions. Our people weren't that enthusiastic about it. And leaders of Islam from the Pakistani groups and other groups, they misunderstood. We communicated something to them that we weren't trying to communicate. They said, "Well you all are just trying to say this is all black religion and you all are Bilalians now, you choose the one companion of the prophet because he's black to call yourself after him. So, it just caused a lot of confusion. It wasn't that important to me to hold on to it. I know what I am. I'm a human being.
Speaker 2:
Well, right. I understand that. But what I'm saying is this here. You are like...
IWDM:
I think it's important for us to remember the whole continent now. Because the continent needs a new picture of life.
Speaker 2:
Okay, well, before the ...
IWDM:
Given to it by African children, us, in America. And we're going to give them a new picture of life, insha'Allah. We're going to communicate that to the Motherland. Our work here will be communicated to the Motherland, Inshallah In fact, they feel it already. They're telling me they feel it already. They feel our communication already.
Speaker 2:
Well brother, my question to you, I know the brother had let me know that I only had one question, but my question was in part. Well I had some ideas I really wanted to ask you, because within the little pause, I wanted to try to get it all. I don't just like to really ask a lot of questions, myself. But anyway...
IWDM:
No, I understand. Let me say this to you, because I may not have a chance to say it to you again. I may miss you next time. I may not have a chance. You know the word Egypt came also from the outside. No Egyptian ever gave themselves that name, Egyptian. The ancient name that's in the Bible and the name they still call themselves by is Misri. Misri. Misri. "I'm an Egyptian," I say, "and I'm Misri. I am Egyptian. And we are Egyptians." "We are Egyptians." That's the way they speak. They don't say, "We Egypts." "We're Egyptians." They don't use that language at all. But the world uses it. So they let the world use it. So, let the world call us Africans, and we accept to be called Africans, at least until they put another name on that continent, how in the world are we going to let them know we still care about it if we don't use that name.
Speaker 2:
Yeah.
IWDM:
Africans.
Speaker 2:
Okay, well brother, well let me say this and I'll be done. Listen.
IWDM:
It is true, too. After our nation, right? We into sex more than we into anything else, right?
Speaker 2:
We...
IWDM:
Yeah we're the aphrodisiac for all the people of Earth.
Speaker 2:
Well listen-
IWDM:
We turn them on sexually.
Speaker 2:
Well, look here. Let me just try to give you a little clarity on this here. In this day and time, I see that the people of the world are still using the stereotype...
IWDM:
Have you heard that the sirens won't interrupt him?
Speaker 2:
Hallelujah.


