11/24/1996
IWDM Study Library
The Parable of Jonah
Pts 1-3

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
Lecture titled, The Parable of Jonah, was delivered Sunday, November the 24th, 1996, at the Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles, California. The lecturer is Imam W. Deen Mohammed, Muslim American spokesman and now Imam Mohammed.
We acknowledge that there is but one G-d. And we acknowledge that Muhammad, to whom Quran was revealed, is the seal of the prophets. The Prophet promised in the book of the people. That is the book of the Jews and the Christian. As one coming in time who would break the bond of slavery that take the human person away from obedience to G-d and worship of G-d, to obedience of worldly influences or worldly personalities or worldly powers.
G-d promised that a liberator would come, who would take these yokes of slavery or break these bands of slavery, or bondage. Take us from the bondage of slavery to freedom.
This movement to free this creation, this human creation began really with the creation of man, Adam himself. And G-d sent reformers, liberators time after time. And Muhammad is the universal prophet promised in the scripture of the Jews and the Christians. According to the revelation to Muhammad in the book of the Muslims followed by all Muslims. No matter where we are, how far we have gone or strayed from the truth and purity of this religion. All of us acknowledge the Quran as the book of Muslims, our holy book.
So, we salute, Muhammad the prophet with the traditional salute and we pray the prayer and peace be on him. Sallallahu Alayhi Wa Sallam, wa bai. We thank Allah for our presence here and we pray that Allah will make all of our good efforts contribute to the movement or the direction in our life that Allah wants for us. So that we will be the community of Muslims that Allah had sent Muhammad, the prophet, to guide us into. Ameen
I would like to make a few comments on the banquet last night. Those of you who were not at the banquet and we never expect that everybody will be at the banquet. But many of you were, and I'm sure that next year, for the 14th annual banquet, there will be many more of you joining the banquet, honoring persons who are outstanding in their service to the community, to the religiously community and to the Muslims community and to the general community.
We had a keynote speaker, Mr. Warren, whos a writer for the newspaper, for a newspaper. We also had a guest speaker, Imam Shuaib, from Oakland, California. And I'm telling you they were both superb.
Im very much moved by the words that I heard coming from you speakers last night at the banquet. And certainly, by the selection of honorees and their willingness to come and join the banquet as your honored guests for awards from the community, from the Muslim community here.
We were told by Imam Abdul Kareem Hassan that that was the first time. Last night, banquet was the first time that every honoree that was invited, notified that they had been selected and invited to come, came. That's a big first. That's not a small first. That's a big first. Because these people that you selected were not peanut people in terms of their mentality or in terms of their pockets. Congratulations again. A big congratulations and I hope that Allah bless me to be present again next year for the banquet.
I have one other comment and this one I just wrote down. Brother Imam was sharing with you, our concern that we don't have places that we call Masjid that just doesnt measure up to the great work that we place on ourselves as Muslims. We don't want to keep cheapening ourselves as Muslims by calling our places of worship, Masjid. And anyone who has appreciation for their standards wouldnt want to come to the place where we have our Masjid. Or the place we call our Masjid.
I know why we did this. This is in the tradition of the early efforts under the honorable Elijah Muhammad. He said that the great help is in those who have been denied the most. The poor, the culturally deprived, uneducated suffering African Americans.
So, because of that, the ministers, themselves, they represent those people, they came from such persons, most of them. Hardly ever we got an educated minister to join the honorable Elijah Muhammad. Most of them were uneducated. They represented that lot of people, not the middle class, not the upper class but the poorest and most deprived of our people. That's who they represent, but faith-loving people, faith-loving people.
I don't know any who joined the honorable Elijah Muhammad, there might have been a few but I don't know them, who weren't faith-loving people. Poor, culturally deprive, miserable in their community, but faith-loving people. They weren't crying the blues, they weren't hating anybody. But the honorable Elijah Muhammad said that the greatest promise was in those people.
He said, It's like going in the mud, or fishing around in the mud and finding a pearl. Something very precious of value. So, because of that, the ministers of the honorable Elijah Muhammad, they would look for the most financially or economically depressed areas. The areas where there were no jobs or very few jobs, liquor stores and bad neighborhood, poor housing et cetera. They would go to those areas and that's where they would open a Temple.
We understand that period of time; we salute that period of time but we are beyond that period of time.
Audience: Allahu Akbar.
Imam Mohammed: So, let us measure up to our own claim of worth. We claim a worth so let us measure up to that worth. But Let me caution those who think that we are saying is that we want to build big, elaborate, rich structures for Masjid. That's not our interest at all.
In My opinion, if we invest big money like hundreds of thousands or a few million dollars or millions of dollars into a structure that we are going to call mosque or masjid properly. Then that structure should not just be a masallah, a place of prayer. That structure has to serve the community need. That structure should be a community center.
So, let us begin to look at these building that we think automatically or are in the habit of calling mosque or masjid. Let us look at them as community centers. And inside the community center, will also be an accommodation for salat, the Masallah. This is in the tradition of Muhammad the prophet, our leader. Upon him be the prayers and the peace. There was no big building, big construction, big investments, and big, elaborate construction in the lifetime of our prophet. Even his mosque, the prophet's mosque in Medina, the city of enlightenment or the city of the light. Even the prophet's mosque was not just a Masallah. It was a community center and they prayed in that community center. After he passed away, they called that place where he preached, did his works and lead the prayer; they called it the Prophet's Mosque. And the prophet's home was there.
So, we when go to the prophet's mosque. They tell us an area of that mosque was actually his home where he lived with his wife, et cetera. They tell us that. When we build a mosque, are we going to have a home for the Imam right there, inside that mosque? So, actually, what we call the Mosque of Muhammad the prophet in Medina, accommodated the prophet, his home needs, the work of the community and a place for the prayer masallah, all of that.
I would like to see, and we already started planning it too. They ask me to return and be the resident Imam, in the Midwest or in Chicago, and Ive accepted that. I dont know how soon I will make the transition, but I have accepted to do that. They have agreed. They love the idea that we're going to build a building. It's not going to be a mosque, or masjid only. It's going to be a community center.
But when you look at it from the outer walls and outer construction or the outer structure. When you look at it, youre going to see a mosque picture in the tradition of Muslim mosque, in the international community of Muslims on this earth. You're going to see that kind of picture when you look at it. But when you go into it, you're going to see schools; you're going to see businesses, and business offices. You're going to see a place for cultural activities, a place for weddings, et cetera. And you're going to see a beautiful Mashallah. A masjid, inside, within the wall. This is our belief. This is our idea that a mosque-- we shouldn't just spend half a million dollars or $2 or $3 million or $5 or $10 million or more, just for a beautiful construction into this mosque and that's all that's happening there. To me, that's against Al-Islam. That's not Al-Islam, that's against Al-Islam.
You're wasting the poor people's money for just a show of devotion to G-d. The real devotion to G-d is carrying on our responsibilities as a community. To all the important critical needs and concerns of community, inshallah, hope that helps.
We are addressing Al-Islam in the future of America. I'm using as an introduction to tune the spirit, or sensitivities of the audience and myself right along with you. I want to have some comments on the story of Jonah. The prophet Jonah, upon him be peace.
The story that we are sharing is really one that is not limited to the scriptures of the Jew, the scriptures of the Christian, or the scriptures of the Muslim, the Quran. Not limited but you find it in all these scriptures. It's in the Old Testament, it's in the New Testament and it's in the Quran. The story of Jonah and Fish. As I just said, it is a story common to many religions of the world that are not Jewish, Christian, Muslim or Islamic.
I find this story to be universal. The story is a universal story that is told in different ways. The fish is prominent in all the stories that I am aware of. Of the cultures of the world. Did the Imam study that much? You bet I did. I find it common to all of these many cultures or many religions. The cultures inside the religions of the world. The story of the fish and the man, fish and the man. They give the story a little different but I'm sure that the stories are saying the same thing.
These other myths that I am aware of. I said myths, stories. Mythological stories, these other myths or stories that I'm aware of. They focus on the birth of the man out of the fish. The birth of the man out of the fish. And I think what we have in these scriptures of the people of the book, is an elaboration of that idea that addresses the problems of the people of the book as they experienced it or as they perceived it. Jews, Christians and now Muslims under the Quran, and Muhammad, the prophet.
I don't think I have to take a lot of time on this story. This is the introduction, setting and tuning the sensibilities for the subject. It shouldn't take a lot of time because I think I perceive it very clearly. Human beings with free mind, rational: can reason, can question things, can reject things, can select what their minds say is worthy of their intelligence and their nature; can improve upon things. This is an ability that Allah doesnt give any accept the human creation.
None but the human creation, not even the animals, not even the angels were given that ability. Not even the angels were given that ability. That shouldn't make you feel proud like that and say, "I'm better than the angels." No, you're not. You're not better than an angel; you're freer than an angel.
Now if this special make up, the thinkers in the communities of man, those who are straining their minds.
To understand why I am here on this ground, this land, this earth or whatever? And why I have been made different like this? This special ability of mine, it aged me, it puts me in a situation to compete and defeat the animal kingdom. Compete within and defeat the animal kingdom. But it also burdens me because I don't know why I have been selected for this great utility. The human rational mind, or intellect.
They began to strain to understand, why?
Then once they discover it, if theyre innocent and sincere and wants to do good by themselves and to others, then G-d responds to them. He hears all of His servants who are calling to Him. He responds to them and He began to show them their purpose in this vast universe. And when they discover it, they begin hurting in their hearts for the many that don't know their worth and their purpose.
So, one time or another in the history of this activity in the mind of a human being, someone used a fish as a picture to show man in his earliest development as an intellect or as a free thinker. If you notice the life and movement of fish. Fish is a creature as it seems to be moving by sensitivity of sense, a perception of sense, a perceptive sense. Vision and all that, eyes and all that, but even his eyes, if you look at the eyes of a fish, the fish seems to be moving by a perceptive sense and waiting to come upon something that will signal, for him, what the target should be.
He detects something in the water and his sensor says, "That's the target." He's going like this. There is no set direction in the mind of a fish except that he wants to start his family all over again.
It's only a few fish that have that set direction. The salmon and they're others. They begin going in a different direction to the mating ground or to the mating area. Right? But except for that time, when its time for mating again and having babies, they're doing the same thing.
So, Jonah was doing that. That's what Jonah was doing. Jonah was moving like that and G-d called him. And Jonah heard the call but he was so much in the habit that he forgot it. Jerky direction. Jerky. No planned direction. Jerky, unplanned movement. Don't eat too much jerk chicken. They burn it, its no good.
Anyway, yes. So, G-d called Jonah and Jonah forgot. Finally, his condition got worse and worse. Here he is, on a boat. He's not responsible for the engineering or the steering of the boat in the water. He's not responsible for it. He's not among the crewmen. He's like a stowaway. That's what he was, a stowaway. That's a name for him.
He aint supposed to be there. He had no ticket, no job. No ticket and no job. But he was there, sleeping in the hull or the belly of the boat upon the cargo. The boat runs into trouble. Bad weather out at sea. The boat is disturbed. Those in charge of the boat, they begin to fear that this boat is going to be wrecked, destroyed by the storm and the turbulence.
I imagine they were a little bit superstitious. Or at least had some superstitious people among them, or a few wise seers among them. Who knows? It could have been a superstitious person or a wise seer. Anyway, this person said, "Where is Jonah? Down in the hull of the boat. He's sleeping against the cargo. Throw him overboard and we'll get out of this trouble." Right away, they didn't hesitate, looked like they just automatically agreed with that person and they went and got Jonah out of there and threw him off the boat, overboard into a raging sea.
I don't know whether he woke up or not. I think he was sleeping so soundly that he didn't even wake up to see how he got in the water. And along comes a big fish and swallows him up. In the belly of this fish, he remembered that he was called. He's not resting up against any cargo anymore. He's not sleeping on somebody else's labor anymore. He's in the belly of a fish. He wakes up to his calling and remembered that G-d called him to go to Nineveh, a big city of the ruling powers. He had been called to go to Nineveh and to warn that city against its disobedience to G-d.
So, G-d responded to him. That's why Allah says in the Quran, Allah doesn't say, "Repent for your sins and I will come to your rescue only." G-d says, "Remember me and I will remember you." So, Jonah, all he did was remembered. We don't have anything in our scripture that says, "Jonah made dua in the belly of the whale." We don't have anything that he made dua in the belly of the fish. Were just told that he remembered that he had been called by G-d to do something and he hadnt done it. And G-d responded to him and G-d caused the fish to take Jonah to the land and spit him out on the bare land.
That much of the story is all I want to bring to you at this particular time. There is more. His fate on the bare land, on the shore, from that point, we don't want to go, just to where I stopped. Now. This story, I said it's a universal story, common to many people, cultures, religions all over the world. So, its talking about something that's in the makeup of the common person, all people. It's talking about our created potential to manage well, community life. G-d had created in every human person, male and female the ability to manage life in community, where you are no less respected than other people.
You can't be respected without other people. If you are not able to manage your community life as they are able to, if they have to supply you with everything except what G-d gave you in your physiology. The ability to have sex and have children, et cetera. If they have to supply you with everything else then how can you claim equality with them? So, there is a natural urge in the in the psyche, in the soul, of every human person that G-d has created. An urge to free that innate inborn created ability. To free that ability, call it potential.
To free that ability so that ability expresses itself in community life. So, that we are working to build better family life, working to build better homes, working to supply the family and the homes with their needs. Their needs of food, clothing, shelter, avenue, streets, roads, industry, et cetera. All of that, that's the community. I look at our plight since Emancipation Proclamation, freedom in America. And I see us as Jonah. I'm talking about the whole of the African American people in this country. In the world really, but particularly in America. This is a center stage, for the great drama, that reveals something very special about G-d and about man.
Yes, we were stripped of possession when we were made the property of slave masters. You didn't have your own life. Not even your own life belonged to you. Your own life belonged to your slave master. He bought you like you buy an animal, a dog or cat or a cow, whatever. He bought you. It's not funny. Maybe we can find humor in it. Sometimes thats good too, keep you from going crazy. But it's not a funny matter. This is not something for laughs. This is very serious, deeply, heavily serious.
We began, really, our so-called freedom or free life in America. You who didnt experience this with us, from the Pakistani community, or the Arab community, be patient. You are going to get a lot of this too, for your good too. You'll never catch me preaching anything or teaching anything or lecturing on anything that won't benefit everybody. I have all people in my mind when I'm talking. Allahu Akbar.
Now, the freedom of our people in its smallest dimension in its weakest beginning starts with them letting us go physically. They said, Okay, you don't have to stay here on this plantation. You don't have report here tomorrow, you can go anywhere you want to go. That's where it began, and when it began, we, most of us had nothing.
Now, every master was not the same in his treatment of his property. Some masters permitted their slaves or their properties to also have possessions. Some, they were in the minority did leave with some money. They tell me some even left with some slaves. They had managed to do so well financially, that they were slaves belonging to the slave master but also had some service that they bought. And the slave master was so benefited by them that they permitted even to have businesses. Have some business, do some business and protected their business. Any of the whites bothered them. They were getting words to the whites. Yes, thats my slaves but he is a good man, I trust him. And that was it. The situation from the great majority of us was that we left our slave masters penniless.
As the saying goes, they promised us, 40 acres and a mule. That was the saying that when they freed us, they promise us 40 acres and a mule that there is no record that we ever received it but that was a promise, 40 acres, and a mule. I say there is no record that we ever received it but we did get. We got it. We received 40 acres and a mule. We did get it but its metaphorical language. I'll talk to you about that later.
So, tell those preachers and those activists who said, When are we going to get our 40 acres and a mule? Tell them Imam W Deen Mohammed said you already got it.

We got it a long time to go too. 40 acres and a mule. All right, now, here we are, not possessing property and the voting system requires that you have property to vote. That was the voting law back then so we can't vote. Here we are in a system and we really can't really grow politically in the system because there is a condition for qualifying as a voter, is that you have property and we don't have property. So, here comes the political struggle. Here begins the political struggle, everything.
All right, Jonah, so I'm looking at this plight, the plight of our people. Obviously, Jonah didn't have anything. He didn't have any possession. There is nothing that tells us that he came upon that boat and asked somebody to help him with his luggage. Nothing was thrown overboard except him. So, i'm seeing us in this story. I'm reading our story and I'm seeing the parallel for that story and our story. I'm seeing that really that story is our story.
And too many of us right today, we are sleeping comfortably, on the strength and wealth and security that whites provide, who have responsibility for steering the ship, carrying the cargo, enlarging the economy, going from port to port. I think it's tuned up now. Let's get started on the subject. Praise be to Allah.
If we are able to see the darkness that has been in our way, that has affected us, it is only because Allah has forgiven our sins, shown mercy to us and has guided us. And you know it was the Quran that made the big difference in our leadership.
Al-Islam in the future of America. I want to invite you to go back with me, to the time, that is also given, its a time of a big change for the American society. But it's also the time that is given to us as the time of W. D. Fard, coming to America for us.
The 30s, the 1930s, most of us are not aware that big change had taken place in the world and was still taking place in the world, in the 30s. And a great setback came with the Great Depression. 1929, 1930, and it continued I think until 36, big suffering. And perhaps, a lot of people continued to suffer even up to the time of the beginning of it, the Second World War. 1941, I believe.
Many of us, we are not aware. We just talk about this time. We say our savior came in the year 1930 but we're not aware of the time. We're not aware of what was happening at that time. Really, we cant really appreciate what occurred, we cant really understand what occurred because we don't know the factors, the reality, the real happenings and conditions that influenced whatever happened at that time. Or prompted whatever happened at that time.
We were a people excluded from the benefit or kept out of the benefits of this country's democracy and justice. We were kept out of it and that remained up until the 60s. There were two laws, one in the South for us and one in the South for whites. And there were two attitudes towards the worth of man not only in the South but in the North and all over the white world, that a black man is inferior naturally to a white man.
The only difference between the North and South was that the South said you're different and stay out of here and the treatment's going to be different, the law is going to be applied differently. Whereas the North said you're the same but treated us as though they have the same mentality that the whites had in the south.
I know it because Im a citizen of the North. Born in Detroit, taken from Detroit at 11 months old, raised in Chicago, lived most of my life there, I know how were treated and regarded up North. Don't anybody try to claim that South and North were different in their estimation of the worth of black people. They were not different, they were the same. And perhaps the shrewder oppressor was really the Northern oppressor, not the Southern man. Theres a lot to be said there, I hope I can just pass that because Im tempted.
Here we are excluded, people excluded. Jonah was excluded on that boat, wasn't he? He was not a member of the crew and he was not a legal passenger, he was excluded. Here we are now in America excluded. The system excluded us. The movement now, the freedom movement is a movement from separation to integration. That movement was headed up by intellectuals among us. W.E.B Du Bois was the one who began an effort to bring about the inclusion of us in the political system that we may grow and have future under the law, supported by the law, and included in the system, W.E.B Du Bois.
His efforts came to be known as the NAACP. How many of you are aware of that, raise your hand? Don't lie to me or yourself. Good. W.E.B Du Bois; we shouldn't forget our great thinkers who made contributions, great contributions. All right, W.E.B Du Bois that was the man. I bet you if this was not a Muslim audience in the following of Imam W. Deen Mohammed you wouldn't have seen near that percentage of hands go up. Yes, let's clap to that. Praise be to Allah. We're thinkers.
The movement from exclusion to inclusion or exclusion to integration and that's what it came to be known in the end.
Racial superiority claimed by whites, so, here is now we have to claim the superiority too. I'm not putting down all these people they were desperate. I never put down Jonah. They were desperate. One of them that I know of pretty well was Father Divine. He had a big following of our people, poor people, desperate people but who still wanted to stay with G-d. They wanted to stay with G-d they wanted to be religious. He had a big following and he had social programs, programs to help families have food on the table. They are poor people but they educate themselves to have a better life in society Father Divine.
Just the title tells us about him. Father Divine. And he was telling his people that if they wanted to see G-d to look at him. This is a recorded fact. He was telling them that if they wanted to see G-d to look at him. He was trying to get them to stop looking at the white picture or idea of divine. I'm not going to say any more than that that's enough. He was trying to get them to stop looking at the white picture or the white depiction of a divine in European or American, Caucasian or white image. He told them, "If you want to see G-d look at me." He had a strong following who loved him very much. I'm sure that he still has some followers. He's been gone a long time ago but I'm sure you can find somewhere some. They appreciated him for his great effort to bring improvement, practical improvement for the better in their lives.
Mood change, here is a mood change. Before that time, we were just spiritual religious people belonging to the church, having faith that G-d is a righteous G-d. G-d is a just G-d. He is on our side, things are going to get better if we just be good people, please G-d with our behavior things are going to get better. Here comes the radical change the great change in the mood of our people caused by depression worrying about the future, material future how is bread going to be on the table? How is it no job? And mood change comes and we have thinkers in religion like Father Divine who is really responding to the white man's claim in his society that white is superior.
So, he is raising up black as superior, black is divine. And here comes Fard in the same time and he is responding too to the great mood change in the world. The setback, the hope for plenty, the hope for better conditions in the life of man, the setback for it, the great depression. He comes right in the great depression he come in the time of the great depression.
So, you know he found people who will listen to his voice. Garvey and Garveyites. Father Divine and I forget what his followers are called. I made a mistake and confused the two earlier they are not called Garveyites. And his followers.
These are new radical changes in the life of African-American people. A religious movement that's addressing the need in African-American people to turn their eyes and attention away from looking at white people as superior or divine. And here comes another movement a national movement headed by Marcus Garvey to change our minds from hoping for inclusion in the political system of America to the idea of having a nation of our own or at least a national disposition of our own that ties us to the nations Africa. Marcus Garvey and the Garveyites.
Father Divine was bringing social reform and better material conditions food charity et cetera. Father Divine was working on an economic program too that would help social life, strengthen the social life of his following or the African-American people. Here comes Fard, he comes resembling the Moorish American Science Temple that has been in existence a few years prior to the coming of Fard. He comes and he adds to that, he joins it. He joins this movement of those who are not anymore going for inclusion but accepting the reality that black people are not wanted as equals in the white man's establishment for saying, "Since this is the reality let us have an establishment of our own, or a nation of our own, or way of life of our own."
During that time also an entertainer a great singer African-American by the name Paul Robeson. He let it be known that he was favoring socialism. The pressures got to be so great on him his profession was even threatened, he went to the communist country. Paul Robeson great singer great dancer great actor. Now we can kind of get a better feel of what the world looked like, what kind of charges were in the air, what kind of air ways at the time, what was the heavy concerns in the air at that time we can see it better now, we get a sense of presence in that particular time.
Fard comes along and he studies what's happening. He studies our people. He studies our appetites and our hungers that are not for physical food or for material things. He studies the appetite for our souls. He studies the appetite of our body. And he says, "This is what they want: they want what they thought they would get when they left bad conditions in the South and came to the factories up north. They want that promise that was taken away from them by the great depression. They want more money, good homes, opportunities for friendly interactions with others. Cordial racial encounter. That's what they want, they want money, plenty money, good homes and friendship in all walks of life. I'm going to offer it to them and they are going to come to me."
After he had worked for so long less than three years in Detroit, Chicago too and had gone to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. In Detroit he wrote what the accomplishments in Detroit he said, "Our accomplishment is approximately 25,000."
25,000 what? 25,000 African Americans that had come from what they believed in before and signed up wrote letters saying, "Dear savior" And became followers. 25,000. How many of you-- how many of the followers of Farrakhans new Nation of Islam, how many of them know that? That Fard in his time had reached 25,000 approximately of our people. And have received in their own hand writing that they accepted what he brought to them.
That's a fact, I saw the huge boxes of letters that were left of my father from that time. Letters signed by people saying Dear Savior and have signed their name. During that time also, the time of the Great Depression, I don't know if you understand this kind of language, the expectation that the end of the world is near or has come. That was in the air too. The Jehovah witnesses they still have it in their writings that 1914 was the end of the world. 1914 was the end of the world and it just took time, for those causes to manifest themselves outwardly. And they saw the Great Depression and the beginning of the Communist Party, the Great Depression, and all the other things that disturbed the life as it was designed, they saw these things as all signs of the end of the world as they had known it, as we know it.
There are many preachers in Christianity and some of them weren't in Christianity, preaching the end of the world. So, Mr. Fard didn't come in as just one of, the end of the world. No, he came in on the bandwagon of others or he joined the voices of others, the apocalyptic voices of others. And he came with his own language explaining why the doom is near or why the end must come or has come. He came with his own language. If you are familiar with the book called Revelation, the last book of the bible. That book tells of a time that's coming, that's going to bring about darkness and trouble and destruction and poisoning of the atmosphere and everything, the end of the world, great trouble coming.
In that book called Revelation, you will find the apocalyptic teachings. The teachings of how all the bad forces will come to the forefront and climax into the Armageddon and bring about the end of the world. Mr. W Fard came with his idea of how that is to be explained. And he came also to show how to deliver the promised relief to a suffering people but he chose to limit his work among the black so called, Negro African American people. He came not as a communist, or a Marxist and not as a capitalist. But he came, showing by his language that he found good in both those ideas, the socialist idea and the capitalist idea.
So, he began to talk to his following to condition them to have a new life. But alarmed leaders, suffering the great changes in the world, setback for plenty and job opportunities et cetera. They began to change really the emphasis on obedience to G-d and began to occupy the people in a mission or struggle or something for better material conditions in their lives. Black nationalism and NAACP idea or the movement of civil rights. Political movement. Spiritual movement. The black nationalists had among them, one who wanted to build the identity and better image for the African American people. He recognized that the psychology of the African American people under white rule was really disrespecting the reality or the real life of the black people. This is W. D. Fard or W. Fard Muhammad.
This man, introduced ideas that he knew would quietly change the way we think, change the way we behave, change our picture of ourselves, change even our cultural life. How we respond to pleasures, our choice of food, our choice of clothing or dress style. He came and he began to quietly change and affect all of that. Because he saw that here are a people taken away from and lost from their identity that evolved very naturally on the earth. And now they don't have it anymore. They don't have any more connection with their natural evolved life traditions. And now this hunger in their souls, in their psyche that has that since restored in them.
So, here is a man with a perception of the needs of not only the black man's body and his rational mind, but he has the perception, a pretty good grasp of the needs in the psyche, in the psychology, in the soul of the African American people. So, he began to give food to that hunger too. Never were there a black man drawn to a person than my father was to that man called W. Fard, W. D. Fard, W. F. Muhammad. Never! This man came with a magnetism that we had never known or experienced. Black nationalism.
An all-star among the black nationalist W. F. Muhammad. This man had no problem using other peoples material. Sometimes an arrogant intellectual person whos proud of his mind, he would reject something that he knows can work. It might be just what he needs. But because its going to give a different picture to his mind, to him as an intellect, hell reject it. He wants to keep his picture. "This may make me look a little different. This may make them not see this idea as mine. Theyll see it as a contribution to me. I dont want them to see any contributions to me. I want them to see everything I got is mine. Originally and solely."
There are intellectuals like that. But Fard had no problem because he was not truly an intellectual. He had no problem taking on other peoples ideas and contributions. So, Fard looked at what Booker T. Washington was doing to bring about reform, re-orientation in the life and behavior and nature of black people. So, he said, I think Ill adopt that military drill that he has. He introduced military drill into the F.O.I. And the M.G.T. too. He looked at Drew Alis Moorish Science Temple. "I think Ill put them in uniform." Shirt, tie, and fez. That was the original dress of the F.O.I. In the 30s with the black tassel hanging down. In the late 60s, it was in the early 60s and middle 60s. A Nigerian student came to study the following of the honorable Elijah Muhammad. The Nation of Islam in America. The honorable Elijah Muhammad was convinced of his sincerity and gave him the permission to go around and interview the following, the leaders and followers. His name was Essien Essien-Odom. And he did his work and published it under the name; Nationalism: an attempt to establish or have a culture for African American or for Black people. This was the theme of his book.
And he was showing how the honorable Elijah Muhammad was not doing so much political change in our lives but he was trying to satisfy the need for us to have new identity. And was actually making significant, important contributions to a new identity, cultural identity. He mentioned the mannerisms, the new mannerisms, the new mentality, the new way of thinking, the new way of dressing, the new appreciation for dress and the change in the dress habit. And he mentioned change in the diet, the selection of food and everything.
He didnt see these as just changes to meet the dietary requirements as a Muslim, he saw these as changes to give new identity to his people. A new sense of identity. A new sense of cultural life. And he was very much correct, in my opinion. Now, he was successful then in bringing about the emptying out of the Christian mind. Emptying it out. Destruction to the Christian mental makeup. Fard was successfully in bringing that about. And he was successful in establishing a new and independent leadership for African American people.
New, independent leadership with their own mentality. A new, completely new mental make-up. A new sense of identity and a new sense of where we should be going with our lives. So, he actually came into America, and created another Black man. Destroyed the old Black man and created a new, another Black man. He was successful in doing that. Now behind all of these movements comes W. D Mohammed. Dont get excited. Behind all these movements comes W. D Mohammed, Wallace Deen Mohammed, the son of Elijah Muhammad. Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar. The son of Elijah Muhammad. Yes, the son of Elijah Muhammad.
And certain things had happened in his personal life development or experience, that had made very profound impressions on him that he didnt really understand. He absorbed the influences but didnt really understand it. I never saw myself as different from any other Muslim following Elijah Muhammad. Never. Until I was older and had to look at what I was thinking that causing trouble. Then I realized that I was different. But I wasnt thinking of myself as different though they were claiming that I was different. They were predicting that I was going to be different. They were saying things of me that I couldnt hardly understand myself. Didnt want to even think about. It was to much needed thinking about.
Finally, the times comes for Imam W. D Mohammed, Minister Wallace Mohammed, Imam W Mohammed. Finally, the time comes for me. And here I am now, finding myself like Jonah, in the belly of the whale. Ive never was in the cargo. I dont share that history with Jonah. I never was in the cargo, sleeping on the cargo. But I was with him when he was in the belly of the whale. Yes, I was with him at that point in his life. I was with him in the belly. Now here I am finding myself Jonah in the belly of the whale. And there is an urge in me saying, something important you need to find, something that you missed while youve been searching for understanding. Something very important. And G-d bless me to find it.
And finding it I acknowledged the Lord of the world. I said, Oh, this man is not my G-d, hes too small. He was born of a woman. She had to change his diapers or wipe up behind him the spills that he left. I dont know, that cant be my G-d. My G-d is the G-d of the heavens and the earth. The one who created everything and never existed in any situation that made him dependent or weak or helpless. That has to be my G-d. So, in remembering that, I was also remembering that I was created for more than this. Im not here for this small interest. G-d has created me for bigger interest than this. Just remembering, G-d responded.
I remembered Him and He remembered me. And the fish went straight for the land. And there I was, out there by myself. I say, I got a three days journey. Thats what Jonah said. He was found out on the land according to the Bible report. When he finally stepped out there on the barren land, he said, I got a three-day journey. All right. Now G-d bless me to understand the plight of our people from bondage in the struggle to be free. G-d is blessed me to understand that. The greatest energizer and the greatest drive, is not to have equality in America with the white man. Its not to have political freedom. Its not to have good material life with the white man, that is not the greatest drive.
I can live in poverty now. I can live happily in poverty now. I can live happily on an island not having this great country as the good circumstance for me. But as long as I seek what God has shown me in my heart, in my mind, I will be in a good situation. I will tell them, "I'm here now with nothing, not even a country, but I'm going to pass on to my associates and they're going to pass it on to their children. And in a few generations, we're going to be a country greater than you.
Yes. In a few generations we're going to have a nation greater than yours. Because I know that 
G-d has driven us to come and embrace the great design of us that He designed. G-d want us to see ourselves not as Negros, not as black people. G-d want us to see ourselves as Khalifa that He created; created to carry, upon our shoulders, the responsibility of not only the individual life, as family life, Negro life, but to carry upon our shoulder the responsibility of our community life internationally. International.
In my conclusion to put it very simply, G-d has shown me the community drive. G-d created men and women for the community drive. And we will not have our needs fulfilled until we roll up our sleeves and go to the job of building community in the best fashion for the good of human life.
Congregation: Allahu akbar.
That's what we are and we're going to achieve with Allahs help. Allahs help is certain and true, guaranteed and present. We pray to Allah always that He guide us to forgiveness and show us mercy. Amin.
Congregation: Amin.
IWDM: Thank you very much. Did you understand what I give you?
[congregation cheers]
IWDM: Well, thats all I want to say.
[congregation cheers]
Male Speaker: Takbir.
Congregation: Allahu akbar.
Male Speaker: Takbir.
Congregation: Allahu akbar.
IWDM: Allahu akbar. Allahu akbar. Allahu akbar.
Congregation: Allahu akbar.
IWDM: Yes. Did I fulfill the requirement of the subject? Did I answer what the subject asks for?
Congregation: Yes.
IWDM: If you dont know it, then I did. Think about it. Assalamu alaykum.


