09/01/2002
IWDM Study Library
Islamic Convention - Peace is the Life Blood

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
[applause]
Imam: Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar. La Ilaha Illallah. Wa Lillahil Hamd. For G-d is the greatest ever. There is but one G-d. The Holy scriptures tells us to say to the people of book, that is Christians in particular, because there is a history there, for us and them, and what they believe in. Say to them our G-d and your G-d is one and the same, and I know that.
I've experienced friendship and togetherness for the common cause and that is thinking about peace on this earth for all people, under G-d, the one and only creator. I've experienced with the leaders of Christianity and other religions that oneness, that belief in the one G-d that is the creator, the cherisher of all the worlds.
I've experienced that with them, and I don't have any hesitations to embrace good Christians and trust them like I trust good Muslims.
[applause]
Peace is the greetings of Muslims, we say As-Salaam-Alaikum, peace be upon you. Actually, it has two messages. One is I'm extending to you a wish that you have peace. And, the other is even the stronger one, you are obligated to keep the peace. Alaikum means you are obligated to keep the peace. In the time of Muhammad the prophet, there was no police force. There was no police department.
The promise to the people of the book and to us, is the promise to all the people, is that there are come, peace, and security. And that the word of G-d, the law of G-d would be written upon the hearts of the people. And we have the guidance of G-d, His commandments, His law, in our hearts firstly before everything else that the world offers us as protection.
We don't need a police force. We don't need a police department. We'll be the police.
[applause]
I'm not telling you to stop calling 911. But I'm telling you that you are obligated, if youre a believer in G-d, you are obligated yourself to be a peacekeeper. And the first duty is to keep peace in your own soul by being right minded and having right behavior. Peace is in righteousness. There is no peace for the corrupt people until they repent. There is no peace for the troublemakers until they repent.
There is no peace for the liar who lies and give us pictures of things. False pictures of reality. False pictures of our human nature. There is no peace for the liars until they repent. Peace is not in confusion. Lies makes the biggest contribution to confusion. 
Peace is in truth. It's a big job for this world to come to peace, to work sincerely and openly. To achieve peace is a big job. I'll tell you right from the beginning of this speech, and I think I have some of my most, of my good Jewish friends, and they're still my friends. I dont know what Im looking like in their eyes now, but they're still my friends. I won't break my friendship with them because they don't like what Im saying nowadays. No, I wont.
Theres no peace for three who represent military power and might, who represent the choice to use military. Theres no hope that they will achieve peace. They're occupied with the thought that they can fight each other and achieve peace. That they can beat up on one another and achieve peace. The way to achieve peace is to not respond to a situation until you yourself in your soul is at peace with your decision.
I can't believe that President Bush, our president, that I respect, is at peace in his soul with what he is doing.
[applause]
I can't believe that the General Sharon is at peace with his soul with what he is doing, and Arafat the little guy that's being beat upon. I include him too, I don't believe that he is at peace with what he's doing. If I was him, I would refuse to use any material weapons. The Reverend Jesse Jackson went to him and gave him the best advice.
If I was him, I would refuse to use any material weapons. Long ago I would have told my people don't pick up any material weapons. Let the world see the big guy doing the bad thing. And the way that a little guy can show up the big guy is just take a whipping. Keep taking a whipping. Dont hit him back. The world is looking at what's going on. You can't defeat him. You can't whip him; He's too big for you.
Fighting with weapons that you all have. In fact, they came from him by some route. I liked when they were throwing stones. And I'll come over there and help you throw some stones. We want peace, but before we can have peace, we have to have peace in our own souls.
In our scripture, G-d says that He does not change or take the trouble off a people thats bothering them until they have changed of heart. They haven't changed what is bothering their souls. Then G-d will help them. Is it just the message of Christianity? Repent. First repent and then receive the help of G-d. You can't receive His help when you're not repenting your wrongs. There was reported in the saying of Muhammad the Prophet, peace be upon him, that there was a man seen in the distance, open area, with his hands stretched out up to the sky, pleading, begging G-d, and complaining, "How come you leave me in this misery?"
And the saying of the Prophet goes like this, it says, "His clothing was haram. His behavior was haram. His speech is haram. All the things, even all of the expression, haram." Haram means sinful, forbidden in Islam. Haram. How can he expect an answer from G-d when he is all haram?
[laughter]
That's the same point, the same logic. You have to repent first. Come with a repenting heart and then G-d will help you. This world is doing too much wrong to expect G-d 's help. We have to first repent our wrong. And I think the answer is not far from us. As Minister Farrakhan has said, "If we all be true to what we are invited to do, Judaism invites to righteousness; Christianity invites to righteousness; Islam invites to righteousness."
If we all be true to the invitation we are given in our religion, peace is easy. Achieving peace is easy because peace is the lifeblood of the great religions. Yes, it is. Peace is the lifeblood. There is a caption in the Qur'an, the caption is righteousness, and under that caption were told what righteousness is.
It says, "Righteousness is neither turning your faces east nor west." Frankly, righteousness, I'm explaining myself what I perceived this to mean. Righteousness is not or neither in the rational sciences nor in the spiritual sciences, but righteousness is in the doing of bringing G-d and in the doing of good by your fellow man. That's righteousness. We say the proof of the pudding is in the eating.
[applause] 
So, how can we say we are righteousness and we're allowing and contributing to the misery that my leader, Dr. William [unclear 00:13:55] has mentioned to us that's going on in Africa, and we know that that's not the only the one place for that misery. Sibling, misery is all over the world. In Asia, certainly in the Middle East where the conflict continues to go on there. With all these miseries and all the neglect.
Neglect of human life and all the wealth that exists in wealthy America, in wealthy Saudi Arabia and the few other very wealthy, powerful top nations in wealth. How come all the misery? Peace is in sharing so that all benefit and have a better life.
[applause]
This is Christianity, this is Islam. Peace is something that we can get from uninformed, uneducated human beings. Even from animals. There are animals that like to come to the rescue of a suffering animal. It had been reported that even an animal that can't even speak the language of the other animal, is not of that family, not of that species.
He sees an animal suffering, he has seen animal of another species, not that kind of animal, go and show sadness and try to do something to see if he can get response from that suffering animal; go to the aid of another animal. We can speak, we have the same human language. Black, white, yellow, no matter what our color. We can speak to each other, we can learn the language of the other, and we can speak to the others.
We can speak any language another human being speaks if we want to. So, we can communicate. We can have one language. And we see the misery all over the world and not move to do it, do something to change this ugly picture. We are not righteous, we're wicked, and there is no peace for the wicked. I think that's written in the Scripture.
G-d says in our Scripture, "Certainly, we have made honorable the sons of Adam." What does that mean? G-d said, "Every human person has been made honorable by his or her creator." G-d also said that He has created us for His mercy. All people are created for G-d 's mercy. Can we bring the world of nations, especially the leaders, to respect this? This is not only something that G-d has revealed in religion.
The secular world, our political leaders, the good ones, they press too for this kind of respect from the nations of the world. The wife of President Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt. The wife of Delano Roosevelt, Eleanor Roosevelt. She is known in the history of this nation for going throughout the world promoting respect for human rights.
She advanced the awareness of the need to support human rights in the international world. She did that. Its just our nature to want good treatment for human beings. It's in our nature to respect human life. So, a world that's not respecting human life, a public that is not respecting human life, it is really outside and distant from his own true nature.
Again, I want to say to you that we find this kind of compassion even in animals for a life that don't even belong to you. A human being can be suffering and a dog will come, and moan and try to get some adult to come and help this poor human being. A dog follows the sacred world of civilization. You should stop calling people dogs and monkeys.
[applause]
They are better than us. Dogs and monkeys are better than the world I live in. In our holy book, G-d says the universe exists to support fair and just conclusions. G-d didn't make this material thing, this vast universe of stars and suns and moons, et cetera, and this earth; He didn't make it so that it would support unfairness, support injustice. No.
G-d says he made it to support fairness and justice. And, we find that without religion being respected by most of our public, without religion being respected by most of our national leaders, that's a fact, the march of justice continues. The environment itself is making demands on our behavior. The world that G-d made is making demands on our behavior, and its making demands on the behavior of our national leaders. 
They didnt decide the population growth. Its not in their hands. So now the world is being mixed, people are all mixing, they are not separated by distances like they used to be. By oceans and vast stretches of land, no, they're all brought together. G-d promises what? That there's going to be a gathering of all of you. He promises a great gathering.
Well we may look at this spiritually, and look at this by interpretations of scripture, et cetera, and see it in many ways. But just look at the plain truth, reality, the plain common-sense truth of what's happening. The physical reality itself, we're feeding on it, we're multiplying in numbers, we're coming together because there's not enough room to stay apart.
That's the world that G-d made is marshaling in his place and driving us to his conclusion. He has conclusions, and He's driving us to those conclusions. There not enough room now to stay away from a black nigger.
[applause]
Theres not enough room on earth to get away from black nigger.
[applause]
So, don't give these civil rights activists, and everything, don't give them too much credit. Theyd be taking some and the credit away from G-d. A lot of them cant help themselves. Theres nothing they can do about it. Theyve got to come to grip with the issues, with the problems, no way to escape anymore. Muhammad the prophet told us that G-d has inscribed excellence upon everything. Excellence!
So, if we will live and that it is inherent, meaning that they were born with it, the world couldn't give it to them like our constitution says or like the introduction to the constitution says, "We're all endowed with inalienable rights, life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and we are equal under our G-d, the creator, created equal."
This is recognition of properties and value that no one, not even your government can deny you because you were born with it. You were born with it, G-d gave it to you. So, if the world of leaders can recognize the inherent honor and the inherent excellence of every human person, it doesnt mean you're performing in accord with the best that G-d has made for you. No. You adapt to it.
And the public world in the creation, mostly these spiritual thieves and liars, and with them are the [unclear] leaders that are driven by greed. They reach us with influences from pulpits and influences from commercial interests. And they give us the picture of ourselves that they want us to have.
Soon you don't even know your own self. You're completely out of touch with your inherent honor, you're completely out of touch with your inherent excellence. But you can be helped. You can be helped. The help is with G-d, both for Christian and for Muslims; the help is with G-d. In Islam G-d says, And taste the best thereof. 
Why don't we use just human intelligence? You don't have to believe in G-d even. Youve got human intelligence, you can read, you can think. So, if you have a choice to be an alley dog or a greyhound, what is your choice? Make better choices. You don't have to believe in G-d, just make better choices.
If you make better choices, then you will connect with the growth of human life, the historical growth of human life. A baby grows up to be adult, a baby society grows up to be adult, too. Grows up from behaving like a baby to behaving like an adult, a society. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, he showed us that we are the baby the Nation of Islam in America.
Meaning that we're not yet grown up. That we're still subject to baby behavior, that we are still subject to baby things. That we're still subject to baby dependency on men that are not black. And he wanted to get us to understand that reality and want to grow up to be adult Muslims, and an adult Muslim society or an adult Muslim nation, not a baby one.
[applause]
G-d is greater. As you said Allahu Akbar, that is correct. Allah want's not hardship for people, and if you find that life is so difficult. Well, G-d doesn't want all this hardship on us. Who is putting it on us?"
[laughter]
We're making more money and the hardship just keeps increasing.
[laughter]
It used to be that wed expect no one but a healthy bodied man to go out and work and pay the rent, pay for the food, pay for the clothing, take care of the wife and the children and everything. Now weve got to have the man, his wife, his babies, too.
[laughter]
Going out hustling to pay the bills. So, life gets harder and harder, harder and harder while we grow more and more. We say in science, technology, et cetera, greatest nation on earth, but life gets more burdensome with each day that passes because of something being terribly wrong in this society. But not just in this society, in the whole world, in the whole world.
Something is terribly wrong. We have to repent. Peace is being sincerity; peace is in righteousness; peace is in respect for that that is due respect. That which your intelligence tells you is due respect and you don't respect it, you can't have peace. There's so much disrespect now in the family.
You speak to your child, and it's been going on so long and they've so much support in the world for it, you accept it, "Okay, okay, all right, Im not gonna bother you anymore."
[laughter]
Your own eight-year-old child is kicking your butt, and youre telling them, " Im not gonna bother you anymore."
[laughter]
Something's wrong, something is very wrong. Allah wants not hardship for people. Rather Allah wants that we be purified. It is in human nature to want to be purified. A baby cries, the mother goes to check to see, "Why does my baby keep crying?" She goes and she finds filth on the baby. This baby is not old enough, not grown enough, not progressed enough in age to even know what nasty means. But it already knows that nasty shouldnt be on my buttocks. G-d gave it that sense.
G-d gave it that sense to want to be clean. So, what's wrong with grownups who want to be nasty? Get down, get down, get down. Why do you want to be nasty? Why do you want to appear to be nasty? Babies don't want to be nasty. They are born with enough sense to know that filth shouldn't be on them. Something is terribly wrong. It can all be changed almost like that.
But we first have to have that instant change in our own hearts. The Christians have a sign in Jesus Christ as the savior of all mankind. They have a sign in him. We have a sign in the house that we make pilgrimage too, once a year. G-d says of that house, that is a house built for all people. He didn't say for Muslims. He says the house is built for all people. He says again that house is full of blessings. Did you hear that?
That house is full of blessings for all mankind. And where that house is, it is a place of trust. It is the place of security. You can go there with your jewels. No one will bother you. Not the faithful. Now we know nowadays, you can get $2,000-$3,000 together, and you can carry your corrupt self over there pretending youre one of us. 
But to the great majority of us you can put your money, your wealth, we don't care how much it is, right down there, we sleep by it, and we're not going to touch it. A place of safety and security. Isn't this the promise in Christianity, too?
Christ Jesus in the nativity scene, as a little baby. He is in that scene with animals, to say that G-d did not only put this goodness in human beings, he also put it in animals. That there are animals that you can trust, that you can put your baby among those animals and the animals wont hurt your baby.
As I said earlier, that animals that will come to the rescue of man. And I read that the animals came to rescue the baby, and the animal was moaning and groaning, making sounds. Wanting somebody would come to help that baby because the animal did not know how to take care of the human baby. This is pointing to what? Pointing to the goodness of your G-d that created you. He made the world like that.
He put that goodness not only in man but in animals. So, that tells us that G-d is a good G-d. That G-d has made you rational. G-d has made you able to think and understand things. Why can't you think and understand that and then know that your life is in progression. And know that not only your life is in progression, but the community of mankind on this earth is in progression. 
Behind us, we had crusaders. Behind us, we had brutal barbarians. Behind us we had a world of human savages who loved violence and thought that it was a proof of their manhood just to be brutal and beat upon weaker nations.
But we have progressed all of that. You study the history or the evolution of animal life. You know that on this earth there used to roam huge creatures. Suppose they were here now to terrify us. Huge dinosaurs. You saw the movie. Suppose you had that passing by your back window. But G-d, didnt intend for that to stay. That's the message to an intelligent thinking person of earth.
That's the message to tell you, "I have put these bad things here to tell you that I don't want you like that. Now Ive done away with them, and Ive let the more peaceful survive." Isn't that a message to intelligent-minded people?
That the will in creation is against violence, is against the brute that has no respect for things? And now our youngsters are out there looking for something, knock down.
They wake up in the morning looking for something to knock down. If they don't find anything in their way to knock down they might knock down you. They might even knock down their old senior daddy, senior citizen, their own daddy. They might knock him down. Well Daddy stay the hell out of my way then if you don't want to get pushed.
We're losing our humanity. We're losing our original nature. We're losing our original character. We're losing our original excellence. We're losing it. Is it happening by accident? Dr. [unclear 00:36:45] Ibrahim. A man that I met at my father's house. He is a great man, a very popular man. A scholar. A very well-educated, respected in the Islamic world.
He is from Egypt. But hes more well-known now than even more now than he ever was. Well, he has lived and served governments, Islamic interests, et cetera. The Little City, a Focolare publication that I get, after becoming acquainted with the Focolare Movement, and their great leader, the blessed leader Chiara Lubich, I read in the Little City Magazine a few issues back  that they interviewed Dr. Ibrihim [unclear 00:37:36] and they were asking about problems of Muslim and Cristian relations about 9/11 and other things. He said, "Christians and Muslims would not be enemies, and would not be working against one another had it not been instigated. Instigated."
Now as I understand, in my conclusion, as I understand with the great beauty and the great mystery that are also great in beauty of Christianity, and in Islam. We have ours too. As I understand them. It is telling us that we should know the life that G-d created, and know that if anything has come into the picture, and is working against life as G-d created it, to take it out of the picture that G-d put it in, including your own human life.
And that life bonds. Life survives and continues by bonding. Bonding. If it shared with something, if it disconnects with something, it disconnects with that that is harming that bonding. Disease, filth, whatever. Life is good, the life that G-d created is good, and it bonds. It bonds. Our Kaba is a symbol of this bond. Life connects and bonds to become bigger and better.
Bigger and more useful. Bigger to render greater services under its Lord, its creator. This is life. Now, death works the opposite way. Death disconnects what life has connected. And the enemy of mankind, you call him Satan we call him Shaitan. It was said by Muhammad, the prophet, in one of the reports by Bukhari Muslim, may G-d bless them and give them paradise for their contribution. It is said that our prophet told- Pardon me, reported to his followers. He said G-d called the great angel, Gabriel, Jibril, in Islam, in the Quran. Jibril, Gabriel. He said, I want to show you my creation that I created. This was before earth and everything was made. And he saw it. He said, My lord, how can anyone go wrong in such a wonderful world? Then G-d just instantly caused the scene to change.
He showed the world after Shaitan, or Satan, as the Christians call him had his influence on it. He set allurements. He decorated for himself, for his own interest. Satan set allurements and he decorated the world for himself. When Gabriel saw, Jibril saw it, he said, My lord, how can anyone go straight in such a crooked world? We, who claim to be scholars and Islamic teachers, we shouldn't just give it like its some story for a baby, that youre going to put to bed, tonight. Read it to him and let him then go to sleep. Let me tell you a story. Its the story of the great angel, Gabriel and how G-d showed him the world before Satan.
You better look in your backyard and in your front yard. You better look down the street. You better look on the TV. You better look all over this world that youre living to see signs, maybe, e that this is still going on. Theyre still changing. The evil ones are still changing the picture of truth and reality so that you will be confused, and led wrong, and will never find way to your own self, not to mention G-d. And in my confusion, G-d has revealed that whoever comes upon a knowledge, a path to knowledge, and youre not selfish, you didnt go out and seek the knowledge because you want it for your personal self.
You did it because you wanted to make a better contribution to the society or to the world of mankind. The prophet has taught us that that person went out and entered, or stepped upon the pathway to G-d. The pathway to G-d. You cant just find G-d with your heart, especially with your eyes all confused. You have to start using your brain, the most productive tool G-d gave any living thing; the human brain. You have to start using your brain against the forces of this world that gives you hypnotic music, so that you are not under the rule of intelligence. You are under the rule of swing, sway, rhythm. Yes, so you have to resist that.
You have to use your brain. Use your brain. Use your good senses. Make intelligent choices and have a better life. Have a better life and support others. Muhammad, the prophet, when he came, he obligated those that were ignorant and illiterate that once they learned something he obligated to go and find another person in need like yourself, and teach that person. He made the public, public school teachers, he made them members of the public, public school teachers. Remember public education. How much more can we have public education than what the prophet Muhammad gave us? He said, Everyone thats taught go out and teach another one. He really wanted to send it the public, to everybody. 
And seek the best there of. Dont make poor, ignorant choices. Seek the best there of. Both religions invite to excellence, both religions invite to righteousness, both religions invite to peace. You cannot have peace if you have those things that reduce your worth as a good creation of G-d, as a creation of G-d. You cant have peace if you dont support justice. Justice is the doing of what is right. Justice is standing by what is right. If you dont stand by what is right, you cannot expect to have peace.
The Palestinians, if we just listen to whats in the air, or just read the headline or caption, and not the whole paper, we will think that the Palestinians are the bad guys, and they are alone in the doing of what is bad. You need to read everything. If you read everything, we talk about our press but our press is good. I think we have an excellent press, the American people. We have an excellent press. You take your daily paper, and dont just read what appears on the front page all the time.
Go and thumb through the whole paper, and you will find a writer, a columnist, or a writer or commentator, giving you the piece of the information that you missed by just looking at the headlines. You have to read the whole paper. The editors cant permit those who want to support Israel, and not also permit those who want to support Palestinians who have are being mistreated. They have to also let the writer who wants to give the Palestinian's side make some contribution and reach the readership. Thats fairness. The editors are excellent. Because I read, I am not going to name anyone in particular or a paper in particular but I read reports on whats going on over there. And Ive been reading for months and years. I have found that in my daily newspaper the truth about whats going on in Palestine. I have found writers plead, appealing to the American people to look at this sad picture for the Palestinians while youre also looking at the problems for Israel.
[applause]
I thank you for your presence here, and I thank G-d that Im present here.
[Foreign language]
[applause]
I am convinced, beyond any doubt, I am convinced of this that good Christians and good Muslims can work together and bring a much better world in than this one we live in now. I believe in the Christians hope for a new heaven and a new earth. And I hope a lot of our leaders will not be in there for long. Thank you, and let us live for peace.
We are Muslims by name, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ says "Blessed are the peace-makers." Thank you, peace be unto you. As-Salaam Alaikum.
[applause]
Facilitator: Dear brothers, sisters, Muslims, believers. For those who are leaving thank you for this global earth design. This is a special celebration for us, our heritage, religion. Imam Mohammed is going to take questions from dignitaries and prayers for a few minutes. I want to give you guys a minute for dignitaries and the prayers. We know that Imam Mohammed cares about [unintelligible 00:51:23] the country and for all he has allowed only in our community to ask questions. We will have an opportunity and [unintelligible 00:51:34] an opportunity as we're blissfully [unintelligible 00:51:37] to ask questions about our belief. On this occasion He is going to take questions from dignitaries and the prayers from you guys. For those who have questions if you would come close up to the stage so that they can hear your voice and repeat it more for our audience. As that is happening we want to acknowledge two dignitaries that are on the dais this afternoon. They were not able to make their remarks because of time constraints but they are leaders in their own right and worthy of recognition at this time. First, we want to recognize Joan McGuire.
[applause]
Joan, would you stand? She is with the Archdiocese of Chicago and we're glad that she is here. Also, Abdul Hamid Zargar, would you stand [unintelligible 00:52:45]? The new director of the Islamic Foundation in Bell Park, Illinois, and a good friend and supporter of our Imam Warith Deen Mohammed. Thanks to both of them as well to our other dignitaries of which we've heard. If there are any questions from any of the dignitaries, from the press-- Also, let me acknowledge Mr. Terry who is with the Chicago Reunion, been with us since Jumah prayer, and we're glad that he is here also.
[applause]
If there are any questions with the dignitaries, from the press, Imam Mohammed is going to take those questions at this time.
Malin: My question is this, I wanted to know--
Facilitator: Would you come forward? No, we don't have to, you can just come forward. Just say it loud so we can hear.
Malin: My name is Malin, I'm a reporter from the Milwaukee journal sector.
Facilitator: [unintelligible 00:54:14] from the Milwaukee?
Malin: Journal sector.
Facilitator: Journal sector, yes.
Malin: [unintelligible 00:54:20].
Facilitator: Okay the question for the Imam is he would like to hear your vision for the future of Islam in America, is that the question?
Malin: Right.
Imam: Malin, let me first tell you what is my perception of America the beautiful. My perception of America the beautiful is that this country was founded, built up by people who were persecuted in their own lands for their beliefs. Persecuting came mostly from governments, they were persecuted for their religions. There was rivalry, and a lot of governments were under pressure to persecute a group that was smaller, a group that was weaker, because the pressure of them from the larger group, the larger [unclear 00:55:45] came from, [unclear 00:55:55] lets just say the governments were bad because the people were bad; the citizens were bad too. They were persecuted. They came here to have a chance to have their life, to have their religious life. We know that the first freedom for the people of the United States is the freedom of religion. That's the first freedom, our first freedom, the freedom of religion. The freedom to have our religious life under G-d. Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu. All people are protected. Their right to practice their religion in the United States of America is protected by law. Protected by the law by the Constitution of the United States. Now that you see that picture, that's not all, the pictures of America are beautiful now, I'm just pointing to that one because that one served a purpose for what purpose I'm looking at.
We are Muslims and we know that there was a time in this country when ignorance was deciding how the American public looked at Muslims and Islam. But now that the truth of our Holy Book and Islam is being presented not only by Muslims but by Christians and many Christians in the powerful positions in the media, television, and et cetera permits. We are not looked upon anymore as people who are heathens. We used to be called "heathens". That used to be the way they looked at Muslim "Youre a heathen." That means that you don't have civilized spiritual life. You don't have civilized religious life. You have the religion and the life of savages. All that has changed. Now that I'm aware of this change, I'm enthusiastic. I'm excited about working for the future of my family, my personal family, myself, my children, my grandchildren. I have a few great-grandchildren now. And look at the language; child, grandchild, great-grandchild. That tells us that we expect generations to come to be better than us, not worse. Were a child. We expect the next generation will have a grandchild, and the one after that will have a great-grandchild. That's the way we should be thinking. And America invites us to think that way. America invites us to think for the future of our children, think for the progress of our lifetime, so that we have better, more useful, and more productive people coming from our loins for the future. Islam encourages us to invest in our life. If you don't invest in your own life, you will perish. This is Islam. Invest in your own life, if you don't, you will perish. You will be no more. In America we have this opportunity to build a community of Islam, community of Muslims for our children, their children and the children to come many generations down the road or up the road. We should not be ignorant of this freedom that we have in America. All I want to know is what the law says. Some of you said, "You know white folks ain't going to let you do that". I ain't worried about they going to let me do. Does the law protect me? That's all I want to know. The law does protect us. There is nothing that I see that will make me believe that there's a limit on how far we can go building our Islamic life.
[applause]
But you have to do it by doing mainly two things if you haven't done them. You have to study your own thinking and question it. You are in America, you've been here a long time, all your life. Your father's life, your brother's life, your father's life. So, youre in America; and this is called the Land of the Plenty. It's called the Land of the Free; it's called the Land of Opportunity. I don't care what the treatment of the attitude of people are I'm going by what the law says. That's what I'm going to go by. Okay well if this is the Land of the Free; I'm free. This is a Land of Opportunity, I want to get it. This is a Land of Plenty? Wheres me plenty?
[laughter]
I better get it. I don't have it I got to get it. And you can't get it now by separating yourself from the land. Aw America; it ain't my land. You're helping the people that don't want you to have a piece of it when you take that position, It ain't mine.
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If you want to succeed and achieve on this land for your psychological benefit, you need for your psychological benefit, for your mind's health and your spirits health you need to claim your rights to this land.
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And be prepared to do as much or more than other people to protect that right because you need more than they need, and you haven't enjoyed what they have enjoyed. You are hungry, you're deficient, you're without. They shouldn't be in the front of the line running after the blessings of America. Niggers and Negros, and black folks and African Americans, all of you all should be raging to get a big share of this blessed land, the United States of America.
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad he said, "The whole thing is doomed". He said all of this is going to be destroyed [chuckles]. He said get busy get you some land. Isnt that something. Hes telling us that G-d's going to destroy all of us and at the same hes telling us to get busy and get you some of this good land. And he was real. He formed a cooperation and named the cooperation Progressive Land Developers. Bought thousands of acres of farm land in Alabama and different places even in Michigan [unclear 01:04:33]. But at the same time, he was telling you G-d is going to destroy America.
[laughter]
Well I had the good sense to hear what he was saying that I couldn't understand, and also hear we was saying that I could understand. And I acted on that that I could understand, and that was get me some of this good earth while I live. 
[applause]
This is an excellent question. This is a very, very good question that [unclear 01:05:12]. What do we see in the future for the Muslim community? Follow the best that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad has given us as Muslims and obedience to G-d, the G-d revealed in the Quran. The G-d of all good people and the messenger prophet revealed in the Quran, Muhammad the prophet. Follow in obedience G-d and also the human model, Muhammad the prophet but [Arabic 01:05:46] don't forget this is Quran that is given in Arabic; Quranic Arabic; don't forget your share of this material world.
I said I don't see anything that's limiting us how far we can go on the road working for an Islamic Muslim community in America. I want to tell you that I have no problem agreeing with what the Minister Farrakhan said. But youve got to do it with love. Youve got to do with love for your G-d and your religion, your sisters, your brothers and also love your neighbors, Christians and all. Youve got to do it with love. Youve got to do it with love for the great history of the great American people for their good achievements.
They have achieved more civilization in America since the black man started fighting for his own dignity than they had ever achieved before in the road behind us hundreds of years. They have achieved more for mankind since the black man got in the picture and started fighting for his own dignity as a human-being. America has achieved more civilization, more humanity since we got in the picture than it did in all the centuries before us.
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I don't think white people will be all that upset if we take the lead. Now to tell you the truth I dont see that happening right now. Just looking at our situation right now I don't see that happening but in case it can happen I don't think white people will be all that upset. They'll say, "Look at these people that we brought here to this country and now they have taken their freedom and responsibility for their freedom and look how they have progressed. Look how they have built fine neighborhoods, safe neighborhoods, drug free neighborhoods. You can't even buy liquor in their neighborhoods". Theyll be saying, "These people they are Christ-like models.
I don't know much about a Muslim model but they look like Christ-like models to me." And when one of us campaigns for the presidency you might find more whites supporting that persons campaign than blacks. That could happen. And one of us, its time to become the president of the United States and well be able t choose our captain. The country might be so proud of us that non-Muslims will be coming up to us saying, "We want to be a part of this government; a part of this new government headed by a Muslim president." That could happen and if that happens many religious people, or spiritual people, and those know that are not religious, many of them will be so impressed by that they will get serious about religion.
And let me tell you something, we have more Americans without religion than we have with religion. And if Islam can get them, let's get them. But don't do it unfairly. Don't put down your Christian brother. Dont put down the Christian religion. That isn't the way to get there. You will not get there that way. Respect the good in everybody. Respect the value of everything, and be true, and welcome, like they did in Spain, welcome Christians and Muslims to work together for the good future of the country. In Spain, they welcomed the Jews and the Christians. Spain existed for 500 years under Muslim rule. Muslims, Christians, and Jews working together. So, this is not something that hasn't been done already in history. We're talking about something that's already been done in history. It can be done again, in the United States of America. But I'm not selfish. G-d knows I'm not even working too hard to make all Americans Muslims. I know you probably going to like me for that. I'm not. I want to first make Muslims Muslims. Thank you very much.
[applause]
[01:11:17] [END OF AUDIO]

