2002 August 30
Youth Workshop
Chicago,IL

Speaker 1:
I agree that many people was confused when you said how Jinns come in the form of men. How is that possible? Does this take over their body?
Imam WD Mohammed:
Oh, it's getting to be very, very exciting. I love it. I love fiction. Yes. Body snatchers didn't come from Hollywood. Body snatchers were always around. Yes, somebody stole the body of a close friend of mine. Something happened to that dude and it wasn't him in that body anymore. Somebody else was in that body. Yes, they can possess bodies.
Speaker 3:
What do you think that your father would've said after all you have accomplished?
Imam WD Mohammed:
Yeah, I'll repeat it for you. She asked me what do I think my father would say if he was here and had witnessed all the things that have been accomplished for this community? Well, I'll let you hear him. I'm going to let you hear him. "I thank Allah for you son."
Speaker 4:
Christians and Muslims and Jews are so close in religion. How are they so different?
Imam WD Mohammed:
Excellent. Again, an excellent question that will be addressed in my presentation or in my address tomorrow. It will be addressed. That will be addressed. There are very serious differences. But if those differences were of the degree of seriousness that would prevent us from living together and working together for the health, welfare and good future of society, Muhammad the Prophet would not have permitted Jews to continue their religion in Arabia in his lifetime. And he wouldn't have permitted Christians to continue their religion in Islamic lands in his time. He himself, and this is established very clear, no scholar in Islam that's really a scholar, I mean he really studied, would disagree with what I'm telling you. Prophet Muhammad, Peace upon him, he made it law that Muslims not only live with Christians and with their churches and with Jews and their synagogues, but he obligated Muslims since we were in the majority and the nation was in Muslim control. He obligated Muslims to protect the sanctity, theholiness, the sacredness of the religious places, churches, synagogues, and et cetera. There was also another religion still existing in the world. I thought they had gone until I learned in recent years that it's not gone. It's still existence called in the Qur'an SabIans. They are people that Allah guided Muhammad to recognize as a people who believe in G-d and he also permitted them to remain and practice also their religion. So there are serious differences and he asked a very important question. There are serious differences. What's your name? Shaji asked a very important question and I said, we'll be addressing not only the sameness or the similarity, but also the differences for the two great religions Islam, Christianity and Islam tomorrow In Shallah. Yes. So I hope you understand Shaji, that there are real serious differences, but the things we have alike, the things we have alike are so much more important that we are guided in Islam to respect them as a people who believe in G-d just like we do, and respect that they can be responsible for their life and their society just like we have. And we have to live with them as citizens and neighbors and not as people apart from one another as enemies, and not ever to be enemies of good Christians or good people.
Speaker 4:
I was wondering, what did you think about America's plan to invade Iraq?
Imam WD Mohammed:
Let me first correct you. America is not planning to invade Iraq. Bush does not have the support of America yet to invade Iraq unless something happened in the news that I'm not aware of since yesterday. Bush is not getting the support of government to invade Iraq. I'm sure Sharon and Bush are in agrement, but not America. Not yet.
Speaker 5:
Question (Inaudible)
Imam WD Mohammed:
Very important question. But not only youth, but an old person like me too. Yeah. First for people desiring to mate sexually for pleasure, for children, for the future of whatever. We should understand this in Islam, there is no sex without marriage. But for the benefit of the audience, and what I say is going to be put it on tape and it's going to reach other people. Going to go beyond this audience right here. So first I want to say that sex in Islam, there's no sex in Islam without marriage. Now this is so strict that if it is known by the Muslim society that male and female had sex and they were not married, they have to accept each other as man and wife or husband and wife right away. They have to say, well, we didn't do this with the intention not to marry. I do love her. I do love him. I do want him for my husband. I do want her for my wife. If they say that, then a wise judge will say, you did the act while you were married. You were married, though you did not have a formal marriage witness, you were in spirit married when you did that. They say, now do you accept that we publish that you're married. If one of you say no, you're going to be flogged in the public, 80 lashes or a hundred lashes or more. You're going to be whipped in the public. I mean pain going to be put on you. Not stoned. That's not Islam. If you hear of any stoning that's Unislamic. The person who ordered the stoning should be stoned. That's savage. That's savagery, it's not Islamic. But the guilty ones should be flogged in the public. It'll be adultery. It'll be fornication or adultery if you do not accept that it was an act by you desiring one another forever, not just for that moment.
That's the first thing to realize. It's very important. Now, before you marry, you are not to even risk the temptation of getting sexually involved. You are not supposed to touch each other sexually. You're not supposed to touch each other with sex on your mind or from a sexual interest. You're not even to touch each other. You're not to kiss. No. No kissing, no touching, no expression from sexual interest at all. If you do, you're misbehaving as a Muslim. If you do that, you'll misbehaving at a Muslim. Now, if you would have all the brothers and sisters that's married, including me, go before judgment, all of us would be guilty.
All of us would be guilty. But I didn't know. I wasn't as informed back then in my younger years age as I am now. I won't do it now. I won't do that. But back then yes. And I guess you say you won't have much problems sexually anyway. Sex problems won't come into the picture anyway. And that might be true, but we can still dream. So for me, there's a risk and the danger just like it is for you young ones who are driven by life and are driven by the force of your life, and it's hard to resist. The urge in young life is very difficult. Very difficult. So all of our leaders should not jump to judgment, not rush to judgment, and try to judge youngsters, judge their behavior and be too hard on you all. Because the urge in young life is a much greater challenging test than it is for us in our forties and older, or for many in their thirties, much greater. You are in the worst time right now at puberty, teenage years, the worst time. So you have the greatest challenge and the greatest struggle right now. And you are our heroes right now. If you obey the laws, you are our giants.
Okay? And we thank Allah for your parents that encourage you to be chaste and not to invite temptation. The key is don't invite temptation. Don't let yourself be tricked into a risky situation where you are risking your purity. One slip can wreck your life for the rest of your life. One slip can wreck the life of your family. If you have a conscious, honorable family, it can wreck your family for the rest of your life. One slip. Be aware, be very aware that people come among us, young men and old men, not only among us, they go to church. They're perverted men, young and old, and unconscious. They just don't have any respect for anything.
I think it was Freddy Kruger, he said, "How sweet, fresh meat." So they will come to a religious congregation "How sweet, fresh meat." Just to use you and once they use you, they gone. Unless you invite 'em to come back and they were pleased. But they'll abuse you and be gone. So be aware of that. Be aware too if you were the son of an Imam or a daughter of an Imam, be aware that these same people, they like to hurt people that shame them. See our obedience, it annoys them. They wish you weren't that disciplined. So their mind will be free to just do the things and not be pricked by our presence. They chance that maybe this religion isn't true and we aren't going to hell for our bad life. They brave it because they think they're not going to have a whole lot coming. Usually when crowds get together, they do terrible things. Bad boys. You let the crowds get big with bad boys and they do terrible things.
Yes. I'm told that the time, we've going over time. So we have to stop now. This is the last question.
Speaker 5:
I want to know what are your feelings about September 11th.
Imam WD Mohammed:
Yes, my feelings about September 11th. To me, I'm still having trouble recalling that or seeing that as something real that really happened. I know it was real. I know it really happened. But when I think about it, the nature of it, the extreme departure from religious consciousness for Muslim, for Christians, for any religious person, the extreme departure from what be the mind and soul and thinking of a religious person is so much for me, that it is very difficult now for me to recall what happened and not have a feeling inside of me that this was something unreal, that something unreal happened. And that's the truth. My nature won't accept that something real happened. Something terribly unreal happened inhuman, worse than human. Insane.


