00/00/2007
IWDM Study Library
CPC Banquet

By Imam W. Deen Mohammed
Speaker 1:
Thank you for joining us this evening for the first annual National Collective Purchasing Conference Products and Services awards banquet. To begin our program this evening, we will open with Al Fatiha. Bismillah Ar Rahman Nir Raheem. Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Al Amin, Ar Rahma Nir Raheem, Maliki Yawmideen. Iyaka Na'budu Wa Iyaka Nastaeen. Ihdina Siratal Mustaqeem. Siratal Ladheena An Amta Alahim Gharil Maghdoobi Alahim Wa Lad Daaaleen. Ameen. With Allah's Name, the Merciful Benefactor, the Merciful Redeemer. The Thanks and Praise are due to Allah. Lord of all the Systems of knowledge, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Master of the day of Judgment. Thee alone do we worship. And thine aid we seek. Show us the straight way, The way of those on whom You have bestowed Your grace, Not the way of those who earn Your anger and go astray. Ameen.
Speaker 1:
This evening we would also like to recite a Qur'anic verse for us to reflect on that fits in with the theme of the program. And that is the theme of business excellence. The Ayat of the Qur'an that we will recite is from Surah Al Qasis or The Narration. "And seek with the wealth that Allah has bestowed on you, the home of the destiny, the hereafter. However, do not forget your share of this material world and seek to perform at your best. Be excellent as Allah has been excellent to you and seek not mischief in the land, for Allah loves not those who do mischief. Surely Allah has been most Generous and kind of His truthful word." At this time we'll have Sister Rhonda Muhammed give us a welcome.
Sister Rhonda Muhammad:
Before I can say anything, I have to clear my throat because I got hoarse. As Salaam Alaikum. Bismillah Ar Rahman Nir Raheem. With Allah's Name, the Merciful Benefactor, the Merciful Redeemer. We are indeed extremely happy, extremely honored and extremely humble to be hosting this first Annual Business Conference for the Collective Purchasing Conference. So welcome to our state believers from all over the country and especially our beloved Imam WD Mohammed. This is a conference that is very important for many reasons. Those of us who are business people and especially those of us who are educators, know that education has to be supported by our businesses. So, we take an extreme interest in business development.
Sister Rhonda Muhammad:
This was a concerted effort by everyone in the state of North Carolina. It is said that members of a band do not play the same tune by accident. So, this was no accident. We are very honored and we are extremely proud as well because this Conference is being held and it is being held in an area, in a facility that has used the collective efforts of the believers here in this state. This facility, this meal, this program has been orchestrated by none other than the believers here in North Carolina. We own this humble facility. It is a part of our community and we have tremendous resources here in this state. So, I'm going to put a plug in. If you're thinking about relocating, come south.

Some of us are from different parts of the state and some of us are even transplants here in the state. But the one thing that we all have in common is that we love calling North Carolina home. We experienced a beautiful culture evening with fashions last night and we will proceed today. The model for North Carolina is to be rather than seen. So, what you see here is what you get. There's no pretentiousness here. We are real down home southern folk. The great George Washington Carver once said, "Service is the rent we pay for being here." We hope that we have been of service and we have paid our rent since you've been here. We have a small token of our appreciation from what we call the back of the house in restaurant business and the front of the house. So, Imam Mohammed and yes, we have put together something for your eyes. I'm a visual learner so we learn a lot by seeing. So, enjoy this small video clip.
Sister Suad El Amin:
Song Presentation: CPC
Sister Rhonda Muhammad:
Please focus your attention to that brother over there in the video camera. That's my Congolese son, adopted son from the Congo. Indalo, thank you so much.
Speaker 1:
Thank you. This has indeed been a tremendous weekend. We started yesterday with Jumu'ah prayer. The Katib was Imam Khalil Abar from Charlotte, North Carolina, and yesterday evening we had a fashion show and talent show. And today we had workshops and also later on in the evening a panel discussion that I wanted to highlight before we get to the awards presentation. And that panel discussion was featuring the awardees that you have listed before you. Brother Alan Omar, Dr. Douglas Eman, Brother Lawrence Shamsideen, Sister Margaret Muhammad and Brother Ronald Rasool Malik. And during this panel discussion, each member shared with us what has made them successful in business and what has contributed to their success and what motivates them. But more importantly the underlying theme was G-d's Mercy and embracing the religion of Al Islam and projecting a balanced life. At this time, we'll bring Brother David Hasan forward to present the awards.
Brother David Hasan:
With G-d's Name the Merciful Benefactor, the Merciful Redeemer. As Salaam Alaikum. Praises be to G-d, Cherisher and Sustainer of all the Worlds. We certainly thank the Imam for the invitation. Thank you Brother Imam for being with us. We know you have a busy schedule. To get a person like the Imam, nationally and internationally known, to have him come here is a blessing. He was with President Jimmy Carter, former President Jimmy Carter a couple of days ago in Atlanta. G-d is Great. Then his scheduled other appointments. Then he just came back a week ago from Turkey. Then to Detroit. I mean listen. He called me on the phone and said, "Brother, I'm pretty tired." I said I'll be tired myself and I'm a young man. And he exceed me and a lot of you. He got a secret and I'm letting you know exactly what that secret is. Have y'all been taking them nutrition products? He showed me in his rules room, "I got something for this, something for that. Something for that." I see why you got so much energy. We thank Allah for our leader Imam WD Mohammed. Thank you Brother Imam for being here. We're going to get right on our program. Come forth Sister Karen. Sister Karen is going to give the award.
Brother David Hasan:
This award goes to Brother Ronald Rasool in Recognition of your outstanding leadership in Business. Go forward whether lightly or heavy equipped and strive hard with you and your persons and your possessions and your persons in the cause of G-d. Now brothers and sisters, this brother here in Miami has been in business for a number of years. And he has demonstrated what we should be doing as business persons. Shopping center with a Masjid there. Clothing store, many other investments. Creating jobs and putting the impact in this community, and showing excellent leadership and rank among the best in terms of business when it comes to the Jews, when it comes to the Christian and exceed some of the Muslims in the business line. The award goes to my standing brother Ronald Rasool.
Brother Ronald Rasool:
I want to thank David Hassan and I want to thank Brother Imam. When I heard from Dust to Industry, I was fired up about doing something, kept me motivated. So, I want to thank everybody for this award. I'm going to keep on striving in business. Brother Sharif, he got a beautiful program that's going to be in Miami the next month, around the 28th. So, if you see it in the Muslim Journal, we want you to come down and see some of our works. As Salaam Alaikum.
Brother David Hasan:
Next award goes to my sister. That's my mother, you name it.
Sister Sharifa:
I stop and I think about the fact that this award is shared with someone whom I spent three fourths of life. My husband. Oh, it's a tremendous physical loss but his spirit is so alive, the spirit of truth. I was sharing with a sister from New Jersey on the wall in the foyer he was actually the Chairman of the chaplaincy division of the North Carolina's Department of Corrections. And he had the responsibility of really checking out chaplains who were coming from all different places. And the main thing he wanted to know from them was are you going to treat all of the men and women incarcerated fairly and justly? And he had this truth saying that said, "Those who are not afraid of the truth are welcome."
Sister Sharifa:
And so, when you go out there and see his picture, a beautiful man inside. He was blessed to be a beautiful man outside but he was certainly truly more beautiful inside. And so, if you're not afraid of the truth, you are welcome here. And Imam, you are truly welcome. You are not afraid of the truth. And brothers and sisters you are too. This is indeed a labor of love what we've done. My husband came here to North Carolina with $20 in his pocket in the middle 1950s. Left his family in Baltimore because he was asked to do so. He had the faith and he said "Mom, Allah is going to bless me with what I need to do this work. And he and I were truly blessed. The three children and I we came down here and we worked. And we tried to understand the needs of our people in the south because you know what the south is like in the fifties. And I'm very grateful that G-d blessed us both to be a team, to be partners in business, partners in life, partners through this community and really partners in the glorifying of Allah. So, when I thank you for this recognition of us, I not only thank the Muslim community but I thank our outer community, all of the religious communities.
Sister Sharifa:
So I say to us, let's be strong brothers and sisters. Have faith as it is said here. Goyen forth whether equipped lightly or heavily, whether you have a whole lot of it or not, whether you have a whole lot of this or not. But just please go with your goods and your persons. That is best for you if you but knew.
Brother David Hasan:
Thank you for those words of encouragement. Every time you actually say something to us it is very encouraging. I was 19 years old, very young. Very young. 19, second year in college. Dropped out and said, hey, I want to help the society. Alright, Praise be to Allah. Thank you Lawrence Shamsideen. My man. In recognition of your outstanding leadership in business, come forward.
Lawrence Shamsideen:
Thank you very much. First let us first give Praise and thanks to Allah for the progress I made. I want to thank my wife. Please stand. My brother asked early in the seminar we had, the workshop we had earlier today where the wives of these brothers and we were concerned about them. So, I was telling them about my wife, she's been supporting me the last 45 years. She's there. You may not see her, may see me in the front but she's there supporting me and I want to thank her. I want to thank the leadership of Imam Mohammed. Without his leadership, I don't know where I'll be today. Probably still be with the Nation Of Islam selling 300 papers. My wife would be concerned about it. She's so happy that Imam Mohammed came into office that day. She just so pleased, because during the Nation of Islam time I was never home. I was in the Temple as many of you all were seven days a week, helping build a nation. So thank you all again in North Carolina.
Brother David Hasan:
Certainly, you don't run no Mom and Pop operation. We talking about over 20 and some stores, restaurants in Atlanta, almost 30 Brother Imam said, almost 30 restaurants in Atlanta. Owned, controlled, employed. Aint no small potatoes there. And what makes it so bad he's our friend, a part of our community. And he's there to serve the community humanity, and that's a wonderful thing. Some people say, well the only thing y'all think about is the Muslims. And here African employees or more than employees are Christians. About 98%. I don't know if he like me but 99% of my employees is Christians. Praise be to Allah. Brothers and sisters, we just having a wonderful time. We just here to serve and help and do G-d's pleasure. Next awardee. Dr. Douglas Diab. We award you this plaque for your outstanding leadership and service in business.
Dr. Douglas Diab:
As Salaam Alaikum. With the name of Allah, the Merciful Benefactor, the Merciful Redeemer. First I would like to say it is good to receive an award for doing something you enjoy doing. I'd like to thank Imam Mohammed for having that sha butter imported. You know I often wonder what I'm going to do later on when I get tired of looking down people's throats. That question has been answered. I really enjoy working with Shea Butter, going to the lab, coming up with product. But I'm happy in a sense but not so happy because we got tons of Shea Butter. I mean tons, I got tons. I know some is in Chicago and I just have to make an appeal to the community. Don't wait until I get so old where I can't work. Right now. The product is being processed by me and my son. It's not that we can't do it but we got to get our community involved in moving these products. The CPC imported Shea Butter. As I said earlier, my thing is not marketing it's selling, but I enjoy producing products with it. So let's step in the ring and get rid of this Shea Butter. This is a product that you make a hundred percent profit on. Thank very much for the award David and appreciate it. And I would like to invite everyone to participate in this Shea Butter venture.
Brother David Hasan:
Thank you Dr. Diab. We talk about Shea Butter. CPC, the Collective Purchase products. I mean I've used Shea Butter religiously every day. Sometimes I keep one with me in my Jeep for times I need it. When I wash my hands I come back and use Shea Butter.
Brother David Hasan:
And I'm hoping that in everybody's home and bathroom is using Shea Butter. But let me see the hands for people that use Shea Butter regular. I'm not talking to this crowd. This a Shea Butter crowd here. Brothers and Sisters, Dr Diab has a manufacturing company in Durham, North Carolina that process Shea Butter. And hopefully Inshallah we going to get together and we going to start marketing and trying to help get the Shea Butter where it needs to go. And we got people whose qualified and be able to come to the table and help us get the market and get in the marketplace where it needs to go. You know, the Imam can only do so much. He can be able to direct us where we should go. For a good example, the Shea Butter. His idea, his concept that we should come together. We didn't have no products years ago, couldn't see feel, touch anything. And he brought all these products about. Now the only thing we need to do brothers and sisters is to take the products in the marketplace. And we don't have to have 50 products, just one product to get millions and millions of dollars if you market it right.
Brother David Hasan:
That's one product and it can be a winner. Just think about it, we holding ourselves back. If we be able to come together like we've done this program Brother Imam, let's work together. You've seen everybody working together on the video. And if we do that on one product and whatever products we have, brothers and sisters, we can get out of the situation we are in and we can have that financial independence overnight. We can see the schools, we can see homes, we can see shopping centers, we can see everything the other folks are seeing and enjoying if we come together. Alright, next award.
Brother David Hasan:
Alan Omar. In recognition of your outstanding leadership service in business.
Alan Omar:
As Salaam Alaikum I too would like to share this award in the spirit of my father who many of you knew. Yes, I'm still learning from him. As a son of this community, I'd like to thank everyone who's here. I would ask us all to recommit ourselves to the work that the Imam has laid out before us. The first 10 years of his leadership taught us so much. I went to work. He taught me enough in the first 10 years to work for 20. And Allah blessed us to be in 40 markets around the country, blessed us to now enter into a joint venture in Kenya. Speaking with Muslims who some of which who understood their obligation and their desires, some of which didn't. Blessed us to be from this community. Which is a real blessing. If you don't know that, like the kids say "Ask somebody." It's important for us to work harder together, it's important for us to listen to the teacher. He doesn't need to be there when you're doing good. A principal told me not long ago, she said, "Omar, if a good teacher is teaching, what they want to do is give the students the tools that they need and get out of the way." And the Imam has given us more tools than we need. He gave us the hammer, the sledge hammer, the axe, the screwdriver. Some of us just keep looking at the tools.
Alan Omar:
Let's go to work brothers and sisters. Let's stop asking who's to blame. Let's ask what's missing. Because that's a different question. It requires a different answer. It doesn't point fingers at anybody. It says, if I got this and I got this and I don't have this, what do I need to do to put that in place? Sometimes that's a recognition that we don't know. Sometimes that's a recognition that we are leading with our ego and we know we need to check that. We manufactured juice. That's the business we're in. My father would say things like, "Just do the work boy, you'll get it done." He would say things to his workers. He ran young men's tongues out working. And they would say, "Brother Omar, when we going to do this, when we going to do that?" He'd say brother, there's no mystery G-d.

And I'm still learning from him. So, I say these things because as I said, I accept to be a son of this community. Many of you watched me grow up. I've evolved. Praise be to Allah. And Brother Imam, one of the things you said in the early years was if I could just get 10 men to just do what I asked them to do, I can turn this thing around pretty quickly. So, I want you to know that there are a number teams for you and that we are ready to do the work. And we're ready to pick up those tools that you've already given us and go to work. So, I would ask each of you as you go back home, these awards are nice, they're wonderful. It's good to be recognized by your community. It's heart feeling. My father would be proud. We got the third generation outside of my son selling juice.

So, I ask to you to go home and redouble your efforts. Make sure that we learn how to come to the table with the spirit of cooperation. Stop fighting with yourself. It makes no sense and it won't get us anywhere. The last thing I would say I read recently, a gentleman wrote that if you live in the past, and I'm not talking about not appreciating the past or having a great appreciation for the history that we should have for ourselves and our people. But if you live in the past, we paralyze the present and can bankrupt the future. So, if we learn that Allah has blessed us with leadership, with guidance. We did things in the first in triple darkness that we are attempting to do now. So, we got the light. The light is with us. Allah has blessed us with it. Let's go to work. Let's stop giving the Ima our job, let's stop giving the Imam our job. He's doing his job. We got to do ours. And so locally people know me. Brother Imam, your father taught me once as a young man. He said, son, you don't go places where you're not invited.

And I was 18 or 19 years old. I looked at that. It was a political gathering. I said, should I go to this meeting? He said, well, if your weren't invited, don't go. But we've been invited. We've been called to go to work. CPC has given us an opportunity and we got a lot of work to do with CPC. But Allah has blessed us to have that opportunity. So let's go to work and thanks again Brother Hasan.
Brother David Hasan:
Thank you, Omar and brothers and sisters, you should be drinking this drink at this point. Another man whose drinks all over the place. Sure make me feel good when I go in the store and pick up a six pack. The right six pack. Sure make me feel good brother. My brother. Go in and purchase. Suits. Look at that suit here. CPC suit. So, look at this suit. And you tell me we are not doing what? What you talking about. We wearing suits, shirts, drinking Omar on the Nile. What yall waiting on, that mystery G-d? Brothers and sisters, I'm just trying to point out to you and trying to point out to us that Allah has blessed us. We have to take advantage of the blessing. And if we don't take advantage of the blessing, He gonna take it from us. I mean that's what Allah says in the Qur'an. If He said if you do not do the work and do not go forth, He'll put others in your place. Alright, one more. Special one here. Yes sir. Praise be to Allah. Don't that look good? That's got to be a special man to receive this one. No question. Imam WD Mohammed. Yes sir. You got it. You the President and CEO. You got it. Brothers and sisters, are you having a wonderful time? Don't it feel good. I'm going to go ahead and say it. Black folk sitting down at the table enjoying themselves in excellence. I mean piano music. Doing professional singing.



