01-27-1991
IWDM Study Library
Imams Meeting 
New Orleans

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
Host: Just a few brief words to let you know why we have the second part of this Imam meeting. This is the second part of the meeting as the host those people of business interests, educational interests, and political interests. In hopes of us establishing a national interest committee that will address those particular concerns for us. Imam WD Mohammed has expressed an interest to address those people with those concerns. And he is here to address those interests for us. I would like to bring him at this time to the rostrum without any further delay. Thank you very much, Assalamu Alaikum.
Congregation: Wa Alaykum as-salam.
Imam Warith Deen Mohammed: As salamu Alaikum.
Congregation: Wa Alaykum as-salam.
IWDM: Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem. Prayers and peace be upon the Prophet and what follows. There are some things that are happening now and in order for them to happen in the way that we want them to happen it's best that we inform you so we can get the benefit of your contribution. I'm meeting with a lot of people now in the country and out of the country. We're discussing our concerns and I'm, as you know, as you must be aware, I'm broadening my base quite a bit. I'm taking my activities; I call activities because I don't recognize any organization for myself. I don't identify with any organization. I don't have an organization and I don't identify in any organization for myself, that is, just like a masjid administration.
I don't identify an administration of any masjid or the school or any of these organizations. Those are organizations. I do that for many reasons. If you don't know and if it bothers you, please let me know, I'll tell you at a different situation so we won't take up too much time here today. There are many reasons. My suspicion that I had of certain kinds of organizational structures being a problem have proven to be true. And my method of avoiding the problem of those organizations have resulted in great progress for my activities and in great progress for your activities, speaking for the majority of you.
We thank Allah for that and we want to keep it that way. I think I can identify what I want to bring before you in two viewpoints, in two pictures. One is Shura. The benefit from having a Shura. That’s the way I want to put it right now. The benefits from having a Shura. We want the benefits of Shura. To get this benefit, we want to see you Imams locally developing Shura. Some of you already do it, you do it better than some of us. But we want to see you developing Shura. Shura, as you know, means participation by the most qualified person in the decision making and in making judgments and giving advice, all that.
As you know, Allah says. "The believers are those who conduct their affairs by Shura," and it's translated mutual consultation. That's exactly what I'm talking about just in case somebody here might not know. I think most of you know. I would think that all of you know. This is what we talk about when we say Shura. Now, for your purpose locally, Shura will be your Shura. That's not our concern. Our concern is just to have the benefits of your Shura, of your participation in a national Shura. I don't know how this is going to be done and how many persons will have to participate, but we should work to keep the burden down.
The burden of travel, transportation expenses, and all those things. Perhaps it will develop naturally and maybe in a whole state, there will be just one Shura sending one person or two persons to the national. We're going to use the term right now, committee. These committees will, inshallah, have conventions. These terms are chosen so that we can avoid any indication that we’re having some kind of organization that involve legal problems and et cetera. There is a need for us to join other Muslims outside of our race and outside of our Masjids, to form a lobby for Muslims of America.
I understand that there's a brother, Brother Sabir from Atlanta, Georgia, who is involved already in politics and has an association or represents an association. That's an example of a start right there. Perhaps in other places, there are similar efforts on the way. Let me take a few minutes and see can I find some information that I need. I'm sorry, I didn't come straight here prepared to with it. I don't want to take too much time to find it. I think I can recall everything. There's a term and this term is a nice term.
I'll give you the meaning of the letters later because I don't want to make a mistake, but the letters are M-A-P-S-A-I.
If you look at, it's map. You can get two words map and another word sai. You know sai? MAPSAI. Sai is effort, vigorous effort, sai. It means to struggle, to assert, to make strong effort, sai. Like running, like to run, and like the snake, yas’a. His movement is a struggle for him because he has no legs. Like yas’a, the snake yas’a. This word can be translated, strong effort. Assertive effort, to run with something or to run, et cetera, so it's good, MAPSAI. I'm thinking for us; it'd be nice for us to have some meaning of our own to these letters. We need to map our real strong efforts, don’t we?
We need to chart. Our best efforts should be mapped, planned, and charted. I like that MAPSAI. Anyway, I'll give you the meaning of those words and the words are plain and they identify exactly what we are about. There will be a committee, so everything will be done by committees and a convention. Locally, that’s your decision locally. But our association will be done by committees and convention. That way there’s no organization, no legal involvement, nothing. Even expenses, we don’t want any expenses on those meetings and those conventions. The expenses will be on the participants.
That way, we don’t even need accounts, we don’t need any central treasurer, anything, and the expenses will be on the participant. You have to get there some kind of way and the place has to be rented by us. We all have to chip in and rent the facility. We have no bank account, no legal ties, nothing. I'm seeing somebody appreciate what you’re doing here.

The second part of it will be connection with similar activities outside the country for the western hemisphere only. Right now, we’re only thinking of England and Canada. The people of England and Canada have similar kind of environment and similar kind of government, similar kind of problems that we have. And they have made a lot of progress in England, London. And they’ve made a lot of progress, they’ve been long established in Canada. And a lot of them, and I’ve found them to be very rational brothers, most of them I met from Canada. If we can let them know that we have forming this Shura. In fact, I’ve already let the brother know in London, he already knows.
He has very graciously and brotherly accepted to work with me directly. And inshallah, we’ll have one or two or more from Canada that will be working with me directly. This is what I mean by broadening my base. I’m going to be working with such persons as Tajjudin Shuaib of Los Angeles directly. We’ll be working on the problems directly, working with them in direct contact and cooperation with Tajjudin Shuaib of Los Angeles, California. Bnd with Brother Abdul Hayy, he’s here. Brother Abdul Hayy is right here of the Chicago area and with the brother from England. I’ll bring you his name later. And also, inshallah with two, I believe at least two persons from Canada.
I’ve asked that Brother Omar Shaheed, where is he? Omar Shaheed, is he here? Would you stand? There's Brother Imam Omar Shaheed. I’ve asked that he join me as public relations for me. He’s done such a good job for me in his visits overseas. Brother Imam Muhammad Abdul Aleem, I believe his name is. Abdul Aleem of Philadelphia. Of course, you know Brother Imam Nafis who works with me. He’ll continue to work close with me. And there are a few others that we will name. Right now, I want to introduce you to a brother that most of us have not known and he will be working with me as my public relations, also as my campaign manager.

I'm campaigning as a Muslim spokesman for human excellence. I’d like to introduce him now to you. And we hope that he can get with brothers like Brother Sabir of Atlanta and others. Because his interest and his experience are mostly in politics and helping very important people with their campaign. Brother Gaiz Askia, will you please come now and be introduced? I hope I don’t look like I’m still the Imam of a Masjid.

Gaiz Askia: As salam Alaikum.
Congregation: Wa alaikum Salam.
Gaiz: Some of you brothers know me from Ohio but I live in Chicago now. One of the reasons I moved to Chicago is to be closer to the Imam, but now he lives in Little Rock.
Anyhow, I just want to take a couple of minutes to tell you a little bit about myself and I think the most important thing which I have is loyalty, and that's to the Imam. When I was 16 years old, both my parents died at the same time. Then I became a Muslim at the age of 22 and Imam became my daddy. I didn’t know him personally, but everything he said I tried to live it. When I went out there into the world, I try to do things that would make him proud of me. I know that Allah has power over all things and I knew that one day he will recognize my work.
Not long ago, I didn’t ask him, he asked me to work for him and therefore you know that Allah is in your life. When you don’t ask for something and He knows that you have something to give, He puts you in a position to give it. Takbir.
Congregation: Allahu Akbar.
Gaiz: As far as my experience, as you know, at this past convention we had in Chicago, U.S Senator Paul Simon here on two occasions to meet the Imam. He came that Saturday night, the Imam wasn’t there and he had to get back to Washington. But I said, "It's important for you to meet my leader." He almost missed his flight to Washington to come back by to see the Imam again. That is why he left at such a short notice. He wasn’t being disrespectful to the Imam, but he just cut his plans short to come by and see the Imam. He called the Imam at his house and explained the situation.
That day earlier, the day before that, the attorney general of Illinois, Neil Hartigan, I had him at Jumua to meet the Imam. He’s running for the governor of Illinois. We have made a lot of inroads in political arena from former President Jimmy Carter knows me. I know a lot of senators, and congressmen, and governors and hopefully, they’ll be knowing the Imam. I have dedicated my life to the service of the Imam. Because I know that he serves Allah and his example is the Prophet and he’s my example. I just want you brothers to know that I respect all of you, but I get my direction from him.

If you talk to me, my ear is only for him. I don’t mean no disrespect to you. I want to close but I’m good at what I do and we'll show you all.
Attendant: Takbir.
Congregation: Allahu Akbar.
IWDM: Well, that's confidence, that's what we need. Lastly, the biggest thing that has happened to us in my opinion, though it’s kind of touchy now because of the war with Iraq. The biggest thing that happened to us is our direct communication line with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. With the top people in education and among the educators, the people who are responsible for the education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Direct communication line with the head of the dawah there, Sheik bin Baas and others. Direct community lines with the government people, with the minister of defense. I’m a religious man, what I’m doing meeting with the minister of the defense?
Why I’m meeting with the minister of defense is because the minister of defense, his main purpose is to defend Al-Islam. They don’t see the government in the land as their main interest. They see the religion, the sacred places and their obligations to the Muslims all over the world as their main interest. Allah has put us in a situation that, inshallah, in time will lift up the spirit of all African-Americans on this continent and perhaps even the Africans on the continent of Africa. Thank you very much and there’s much more we’d like to say. Still love you, still identify with you. But we've got to broaden the base. I got to pull my roots up and plant them in a bigger field.


