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IWDM Study Library
Let the Light Come On - Don't Fear the Light

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
00:00 IWDM: As-salaam alaykum. Dear Beloved Muslims. Over and over in the Qur'an, Allah call us to remembrance. And we know that a certain people went astray and brought upon them the wrath of Allah, the wrath of G-d, because they were thrown. They were just given to the habit of forgetting G-d. And G-d says to them, "Recall my favors on you, recall my favors on you." And we know that Allah tells us in Qur'an that he favored the people called Jews over all the people until they failed the trust put in them. And then we're told in Qur'an, that he favored the Christian people through Mary and made them to excel all the nations. Yes. This is what we're told in Qur'an. And his favor remains on a people, according to His Word in the Qur'an, for as long as they remember Him. But when they forget Him, then He cause them to forget themselves. And they lose their favored place in the world.
01:54 IWDM: Where are the Jews today? They're in trouble. That's where they are. They are in serious trouble, as a people. I'm not talking about individual Jews. Some individual Jews are doing very well. But as a people, the Jews are in serious trouble today. Every time they try to solve one problem another one breaks loose. You think the Arabs are in trouble? The Jews are in more trouble. That's why the Arabs are in trouble because the Jews have too much trouble to live with. So they torture other people. Yes, Jews are in trouble. They have an idea that they can't give up. Don't call this talk antisemitic. I'm Semitic myself. Yes, I descended from the Semites. I'm Semitic myself. This is anti-devil. And we're all supposed to be anti-devil. Praise be to Allah.
03:22 IWDM: They have an idea they can't give up. And that idea is this, that they are the favorite of G-d. Now, I don't need anybody to say, "Oh the Arabs have indoctrinated you. You are wrong." I learned the Jew for myself. I've been around them in the United States ever since I was a little boy. I recall meeting a Jew when I was a young teenager. And I used to wonder what were the Jews doing in our neighborhood? I used to wonder, really. What are they doing in our neighborhood? They didn't look like they were contributing anything to it, looked like they were just taking everything from it. So that made me wonder why are they in our neighborhood? Sell you liquor for your troubles.
04:26 IWDM: That's what they were doing in our neighborhood when I was a boy right here in Chicago. You don't have enough money to buy decent food, sell your garbage to suit your pocket. That's what I remember in our neighborhood. Okay. Wine has got to you now, the wine is a problem? You don't have no money, you lost your job? Okay. What do you have to pawn? He was there then, he was there to the last in our neighborhood, there to the last to take every drop of blood from the poor. Now that's what I recall. You call that antisemitic if you want. That was reality. Any black got a talent, he was there to make money on it. And if he couldn't make money on it, you didn't get no business. That's what I recall.
05:38 IWDM: Everybody always telling the beautiful side of the Jews. How about the side I know? When is somebody gonna tell the side that I know? Afraid they're gonna be called antisemitic. Believe me, whatever problems we have as Blacks in Christianity, it came from the Jews. It goes back to the Jews. The white man from Europe he wouldn't had the nerve to put G-d in a white man's image and claim that he has the right to do it on the Word of G-d, the Bible. He wouldn't have done it if he didn't see the Jew in the Bible making the claim that he is the chose one, he's the favorite of G-d.
06:35 IWDM: And that G-d dwell wherever the Jew is. Wherever the Jew is that's where you will find G-d. Yes. So he wouldn't have got that idea if somebody hadn't put it in there for him. Europe didn't have any Bibles. They got their Bibles from the Jews. Yes. So they inherited confusion from the Jew. Or adopted it from the Jew. Or the Jew adopted them and put them in the confusion. I don't know. We can figure it out later. But right now, let us get back to the point. And that is that they can't give up that idea that they are special people over everybody else. And when they say they are special people, they mean a people with special privileges. And that's what makes it so terrible. They believe that they are special people with special privileges. You come to my home, take my land. You require my country to spend billions of dollars for your local war while my country people are out of work, while the value system is going down because there is not enough subsidies. While the institutions are neglected because there is not enough money to give quality support to it. And you take the money of our citizens out, that come from the pockets of these poor people. Ignorance started, out of work. And give it to a man in the Middle East called Jew to fight his local war. Billions and billions.
08:48 IWDM: Because they are special people? Because they have special privileges? Special privileges with my money. And to the possessions of other people. I read it, I know. I read what they claim their prophets taught. "Behold what the heathens have, is for you. It shall come to you. The nations shall come and put their crowns at your feet and their treasures into your possession." This is what their scripture says. Now that's dangerous. Don't you know that's dangerous? What would they do to Blacks if Blacks had an idea like that? Why, they would bust in on our synagogues and destroy us overnight. We would live to see one night through if we had in our possession material that said, "The powers of the world shall give their crowns, submit their powers to us. And whatever treasures and wealth they have they shall lay them down at our feet for our disposal." This is what I have read in their so-called sacred doctrine.
10:20 IWDM: No Black would last two minutes on this planet, in the United States or anywhere among the white folks with that kind of stuff in his possession. Well, how come these people last? Shouldn't that make you wonder? Now we are not authorized to take the Jew from his religion, to take the Christian from his religion. Our religion tell us that we must tolerate people making choices even though those choices be wicked choices. Every man must be free to choose what he wants. But G-d says, "Who has authority over your personal life?" I don't have to accept it. I don't have to support it. I don't have to be a party to it. I can differ if I want to. I can promote my way that I believe to be right, even though it be against their way. That's my right too. Isn't it wonderful?
11:42 IWDM: So what I'm saying, we ought to let the light come on. Don't fear the light. It ain't easy for people who just yesterday, just flipped two or three pages of history and there we are. Slaves. Completely helpless in the power grip of white men. So it's not easy for a people who can go back just a couple of pages in the history book and find themselves without any power at all. Complete abject slaves in the hands of a brutal South, a brutal white man. Yes. And really, I hate to say South because that stuff was North too. There was a conspiracy going on. The northern man was hiding his part in it. Until his southern brother became a problem for him. Then he came against his brother in the name of liberty. But we know the truth. It's all just left on the pages of history.
12:49 IWDM: Praise be to Allah. So the Black people, it's not easy for us. But we have to have the strength. If we let the light come on, that's all we have to do. Slavery was darkness for the people. For all our people. Slavery was darkness. Fear of the white man, fear of any man is darkness. Fear of Allah is light. Oh yes.
13:31 IWDM: We need to break the grip of fear. Break the grip of fear and let the light come on. Let the light come one. Don't be afraid. Let the light come on. You don't even have to test the switch. The switch is strained. It wanna click on light. All you have to do is just relax, and stop being so uptight. And the light will come on just with you relaxing. Light will come on. Let the light come on and don't be afraid to be different. This world have a theme that keep you different in your senses, and you are afraid to be different morally. You are afraid to make a moral stand. Make a moral stand. Make a moral stand. Don't you know how dependency in this country, dependency on Washington D.C, dependency on a party to come in and help us. Right now, what do we got our mind on? The election. All the Blacks oughta be marshaled together for some kind of benefit from the election of the next president of the United States, are the same ones we have, right? Right now, you can feel it, you can feel it. That's why everything is moving. Everything is coming together, and everything is moving in that direction. To bring all Blacks together to bail on that situation, so that their choice, their man of their choice will be there, right?
15:40 S?: Right.
15:47 IWDM: Look how dismal, how dark and dreary and hopeless the situation looks. Who is showing any promise? Who is exciting our expectations? Reverend Jackson? Is he exciting our expectations? Yes, many African-Americans, their expectations are excited because the reverend, the preacher, the country preacher is in the race. They are excited. But what is the worth? What is the moral worth of the country preacher? Is he a firm person, morally speaking? Then what is he gonna do for this situation? This situation needs more fortitude, that's what this situation needs. A man who's not established as a man grounded upon solid morals. He'd finish before he'd get started. He's a joke? Yes, I agree, he is nothing but a joke. They don't care where he goes, because wherever he goes, he is not there. My expectations are up too, I'm excited too. I'm excited because the law is increasing the ranks of the Muslims in America. That's what's exciting me. That's what's kicking up my expectations, my hopes. Oh yes, because I see the ranks of the Muslims growing.
18:10 IWDM: And I know our problem is not as big as this globe. It's not even as big as the United States. Our problem is no bigger than the masses of African-Americans in this country. That's our problem. Now, I believe in charity too. I wanna help the whole problem, but when you talk about my problem, my problem is the image, the history and image of my race in this country. That's my problem. How come that's not my problem? Everytime I go out of my house, the reality out there in the streets tell me, "That's your problem, Warith. See how weak and insignificant you are? So that's your problem then." This is not you by yourself. This is about 30 million of your folks. Everytime I read a paper and read about a crime committed, I can't avoid it, it comes to my mind. The one who committed the crime might have been a Frenchman, or a Jew, or Italian, or Greek or Chinese.
19:42 IWDM: He might have been anybody. But every time crime comes to my mind, I see jail houses filled up with my people. 'Cause you can't think about crime without thinking about the system. And who fills up the system's jail houses? My folks. So I can't get away from it. It's impossible to get away from it. Every time I look at my personal situation to hear my family is, I don't know how we'll fare 10 years from now. We're gonna be at the mercy of the people.
20:24 IWDM: Yes? I got children who wanna go to school, children that have to have homes to stay in. Children that need a future. And so far I haven't done enough myself to rest in my grave. And I'm one of many. I'm one of many. So I can't get away from this. This is our problem. You notice another problem with us? Before we solve our problem, we wanna solve other people's problem. Yeah. What is that situation over there? What is the conflict in Israel? What is that conflict over there in the Middle East? How did that come about? Or why don't those Arabs just go since they can't do nothing with that situation in Lebanon, go and let the Jews give them prosperity? Why don't they let the Jews take it over since they didn't do nothing with it? We're quick to jump into somebody else's problem and tell them how to solve their problem. Oh yes. As soon as you mention Arabs or the Blacks, the Blacks, mostly the Blacks, are ready to tell us that the Arabs are wrong.
[background conversation]
21:57 IWDM: And America's right for supporting Israel. And I'll go over there myself to fight for what we believe in. You forgot? Don't you remember the Jew? In America? Teaching you the ropes? Agreeing to be your private manager? To show you how to get the United States government to give you justice? And as soon as he opened the door up, he disappeared. The traitor disappeared and there was no one to speak their language.
[background conversation]
23:05 IWDM: Didn't that happen?
[background conversation]
23:07 IWDM: Yeah it did happen. And we were so dependent on him, that as soon as they left our spirit just died. Can't do nothing with the African-American now. Can't get him to support anything together. I don't like to hold you along like this. But we got a few people here that came a long way just to be with us today. Yes. My lord, I dearly love Muslims. We have to recall that these people were the ones that excited our hope and got us to put our life on the line. And many lost their lives. And then pulled out quietly, pulled out so quietly. Gone. Now, some silly African-American will say, "Well, we should be grateful to the Jew, for their help. For they did stick with us until we got the law passed to end discrimination in this country." Don't you know you were nothing but cannon fodder? You were the pawns. Yes. You were sacrificed. Someone has to be sacrificed to open the way. Don't you know that the Jew was discriminated against in this country?
[background conversation]
25:21 IWDM: But who went out to end discrimination? How many Jews fell dead? How many Jews' necks were bitten by the wild dog? How many Jews' synagogues were bombed in the process of civil rights? But who got the benefit? Same law that protects you protects them. And now that the law protects them, they use the law to make sure that their children are not discriminated against when they wanna send them somewhere, to a special institution or any special place. No, you can't. The law says such and such. Well, look at our situation. In spite of the change in the law, our situation is unchanged. We are still the economic dependent society in America. Completely supported by outsiders. That's a fact. The situation is unchanged and where are our friends now?
00:03 Imam Warith Deen Mohammed: Youngsters killing themselves in gang crimes. Youth on youth, destroying each other. Parent life in a terrible shape, marriages just gone to nothing, become nothing but a word with no meaning. We still shop at the same stores, still run out of our neighborhoods to get quality food, quality goods, for decent price. What's the matter even if it is the law? The law has changed and the situation is the same. Still crying we don't have quality education. Our schools are a disappointment. What they offer is a disappointment. You don't have as good education in this city now as you had during Jim Crowe time. During Jim Crowe days, our children had a better chance to get an education in this city of Chicago than they have today. Where is our friend? Where is our friend, the Jew? Where is the savior? Yes. Where is he now? He's reaping the benefits of the law in which he used us as pawns, as spoilers, cannon fodder, sacrifices. That's the fact. That's the truth. And that's why you don't see me in the news.
[background conversation]
02:09 IWDM: Because I'm disrupting their thing. And those who they give media exposure to, complements their thing.
[background conversation]
02:25 IWDM: I don't belong. I thank Allah, thank Allah. I'll die a loner before I join satan.
[background conversation]
02:46 IWDM: That's right. But thanks be to Allah, the righteous are not lonely. Only thing they need is just to stand up. That's right. And their ranks increased and they find heaven, though hell be all around them. Isn't that wonderful? See this is something that we don't have to read from a book. This is something we experience. Praise be to Allah. As it says in the Quran...
[foreign language]
03:50 IWDM: It's not, it's time for the believers to come to the conclusion that if G-D so willed, he could guide all humanity. What is this telling us? Stop expecting all people to be right. Stop expecting all people to congratulate you for your moral strength. The African-American people, we have been isolated so long that we don't have the ability, it seems, to make an independent judgement. We can't believe that it's possible for us to make a judgement in the absence of the whole picture. That we, we're on the outside, we don't have the whole picture. So hey, can we get any sign from the white man? Can we get any sign from the Jew? He's white too but you know, he has a cover for his color. He has a cover for his color, while he tells us, "Remember your color, you are black people."
05:33 IWDM: Yet we look for a sign of approval from outside before we give our allegiance to something. We just can't make up our mind. We can't wholly commit ourselves to anything. We can't have an independent decision. We have inherited the slave's makeup. That's true. And we have to latch on to something stronger and have the daren't audacity to say, "Go to hell world, if you are not right." We got to have the world to approve us. You know, they say if you want to make a person helplessly dependent on you, get 'em while they're little as a baby. And then deny them affection. But keep them coming to you for help. You rescue 'em, but deny them affection. This is a psychology. Yes, this is a psychology. Get them while they're helpless, a baby's state, and then come to their rescue, when they're starving, give them some... Save them from starvation. When they're lonely, let them suffer till they can't bear it, at the breaking point Then you come right just before they die, you come and rescue them from loneliness.
07:12 IWDM: But never let them get their appetite... Satisfy their appetite on their relationship with you. Keep them hungry, keep their relationship with you in a state of starvation. And that will make them absolutely dependent on you. They can't break the attachment, 'cause they have too strong motive, for survival, "I need you, because you have come to my rescue in the desperate hour." You are my only help." You see? "And I would like to thank you for saving me and keeping me." That's a strong urge, gratitude is a strong urge in human nature. But every time I go to thank you, you push me away. What can I do to please you?" So it keeps you coming, "What can I do to please you? What can I do? I appreciate what you done, what can I do to please you?" Keeps you coming.
08:29 IWDM: They conditioned our forefathers for that kind of relationship with them. And they tell us on television what they think of us, but most of us can't read what they're saying. They have a program called, what is it? "Give Me a Break." I think that's the name of it. Where there's an African-American woman is in the household of white folks. That's her break. All she wanted was that break, "Give Me a Break." That's what they're saying to you. No, they ain't saying it to you, they saying it to each other, say, "Look, this is all our Negroes want." Remember when they used to call us that on the radio, on public radio? "Our Negroes, our Negroes." Spoke with ownership. The voice of ownership. "Our Negroes, we have to take care of our Negroes." That's the way they used to talk. And now they're not talking that way anymore because we done got sassy. And the law of the land has changed and they have to respect statutes. Right?
10:01 IWDM: Yeah. But they still, they still encourage the same kind of helplessness on the part of blacks. And then laugh at us with their own secret language. With metaphors, satire, in the form of television, entertainment. Yes, laughing at us. "See here, see what black folks want? They want a break, George, oh, they want a break. You know what that break is George? It sure ain't the break to be with each other, they running like hell to get away from each other. So the break they want, George, is just to be in our family. So just let 'em in. Hell, put a dress on 'em, feed 'em good, that's all they want, is a break. And let them take care of our weak ones. They ain't got the sanity to take care of their own weak ones, George. So give 'em a break, let 'em take care of our weak ones. They've been conditioned to love us and to pursue us." To chase us endlessly. For satisfaction. So give 'em a break, George. They don't hate us, let 'em all in to our family, let 'em take care of our children."
11:40 IWDM: And their children and any old weak, idle, perverted, white boy, or white girl, no matter what their age is. And who is ready to go out there and put their arm around a white bum, and comfort that white bum, and they have 30 million black bums. Who could be put off the earth in one decision from the white man. White man just say, "I'm through helping you, we're finished." Yes it is sad, yes it is sad... If you're ready to go out there and take care of that, my babies. As she exercise authority over 'em too and say, "What are you doin? I won't tolerate that." And the little white children they... What'd you call? Condescending. They say "Well, we know you have no authority at all, but we'll go along with you because we like you in the house. In your place." Watch that program don't just look at things look into things! And you see even the children have been trained by their director, who's directing the art, the drama. They have been trained to show a feeling of condescending on their part. Whenever she exerts authority, they show no fear of her at all.
13:36 IWDM: They don't have a real child's respect for her as an authority over them. They tolerate her, because she is a convenience in their house. Give me a break. We can go down the line naming the programs that feature us! And every one of them put us in a demeaning despicable picture! Despicable picture! A woman that has no place in our own society, give me a break. Her mother's somewhere way away, out of touch with her, have no desire to even communicate with her. Did you see the Christmas program, Give me a Break? Her mother called she hung up on her mother, the mother was calling her to wish her a merry Christmas. She said, "Mother I'm busy, I don't have no time to talk to you" and hung up on her. Christmas time! Give me a break, she don't have no sympathy for her own kind. Her break is in the house with the white folks. She represents us! Look at Arnold, he's happy too in a white man's household. Isn't the message loud and clear?
13:36 IWDM: Arnold, happy in a white man's household, oh he's just the happiest he could be! He ain't got no social problem. He's found his home, with the white folks. But the problem is Arnold will never be a full-sized person. Then they have the nerve to say, "Well, the niggers didn't get the message yet, let's rub it in their face twice George." He and another little cute fella, Wester. There he is, I think that's his name Wester. There he is in another white household, and he can't grow either. He got a problem too, he'll never be full-sized man. When are you all gonna wake up? Does Reverend Jesse Jackson talk to you this way? Your favorite preacher in Chicago, does he talk to you this way? Your friends you hang out with do they talk to you this way?
16:46 IWDM: Well shouldn't this be a sign that G-D is here with your Imam? Shouldn't that be a sign that G-D is here with your Imam? And they're just talking their own talk but your Imam is responding to G-D? You should be convinced, you should be convinced. But remember what Allah said, it's time for the believers to give up, hoping, that all people will respond. If it had been Allah's will, he could have made all people respond, he could have guided them all. That's what he says in the Quran! So don't you go around grieving and weeping in your heart, and feeling low in spirits, because people all around you are not even impressed when you tell 'em what you hear, tell 'em what you feel, tell 'em what excites you and they show no sign that their mood got touched by what you were telling them, Know that Allah has fitted them to what they have earned! Don't let it bother you, don't let it bother you.
18:16 IWDM: And seek your company in the circle or in the community of believers. That is what Allah tells us! Allah tells us... Do you want G-D to have a clear charge against you? That you take non-believers for friends over believers? Wake up, wake up! Every people know by nature what to do when it's cold outside. Everybody but us! When it's cold outside, we go outside! Other people come home. Isn't that a fact? See what the plantation life, what slavery has done to us. It has completely confounded our social senses. Yes. They gets torn all apart, shattered! Alienated, within ourselves. That's a fact. And it ain't no easy job, overcoming what this world has done to us. No easy job, believe me, no easy job. So dear beloved people, learn the common sense of nature, the common sense of time, the common sense of religion. They are all the same. They're all the same! Learn the common sense of life. When its cold outside, come home! Ain't there anyone of us... Tell me, are there any of us here out there who would say, "It's not cold outside"
20:36 IWDM: I live in Chicago, I went out there in Calumet City. And I've been all over this earth. I've been to England, I've been to France and I used to hear when I was a boy, that France was just waiting to kiss a black person. I went over there and I felt that I was gonna get shot, or lynched or something. And I was told that Frenchmen just... They just had a French tongue for everybody, excuse the expression. And I got off that plane in France, I said, "What! Good G-D, Almighty let me get on to the Hajj. I was on my way to Hajj.
21:25 IWDM: So don't tell me, if you have this color, that it ain't cold outside. It's cold outside. We gonna conclude in just a few minutes. I came out one day... A real cold day in Chicago here. And I said, "Wow, it's cold in Chicago. This is terrible" I said, "This is not for living creatures." That's how I felt. And what was giving me this message, it was the environment, but see I didn't know it until the thought came into my conscience. When the thought came into my conscious, then my eyes looked around, and I didn't see nothing moving, nothing. Trees done got too stiff to move. Nothing, the wind was blowing, nothing moving. And whenever I saw something moving, it was a crazy human being.
[laughter]
22:49 IWDM: The birds gone. Everything that wasn't held by a crazy human being, has gone. And then I stopped at a white man's service station to get me some gas and he was colder than that morning. In Chicago. And I said, "Boy oh boy", it's time to go home. Time to go home. I'm going home to my family. Dirty cold bastard, I'm going home to my family. I'm mad 'cause I'm out there struggling for a life. He thought the cold weather had locked up all niggers, no nigger be out trying to make a dollar, and he could tell that I wasn't out there playing. I had on a lumber jacket coat, blue jeans and my galoshes. Yeah, I wasn't dressed for pimping. So he knew I wasn't one of the slick boys that live on the poor and the establishment. He knew I wasn't that kind of fella, you see. He said, "Here is a working nigger, out here in this kind of cold!" Thought we had killed that kind of spirit in all of them. He hated to see me, business side, I got out of the car, sober and intelligent. If I'm out there I'm supposed to have a quarter of liquor in my belly. Yeah I'm supposed to be antifreezed up.
24:52 IWDM: And I wasn't. He didn't like that, he looked at me and got jealous and evil. "I thought everybody was in the house, I thought everybody was gone" I ignored him, I have a strong sensitivity, very strong sensitivity. I just pulled up there and filled in before he came out of his station. And my mind told me, "Get out of your car too, so you will be cold too, 'cause this is a dog, this is a bad dog, this is a mad dog, this is a poisoned dog." A poisoned animal is gonna come out of that station. So, I got out and...

