1991-January-4

Muslim Journal

"Islam": The Promotion of Business & Race; How the Conflict is Resolved: Part 4

Imam W. Deen Mohammed

(NOTE: This Public Address was delivered by Imam W. Deen Mohammed, in Atlanta, GA, on September 2, 1990. This article has now been prepared from this address for publication.)

THE COMMON IDENTITY

There is hardly a temptation to worship a human as God after seeing the Great Mercy of God in the whole scheme of creation. Before I came into a better understanding of religion which the Qur'an brought me to, I didn't think that man was even worthy of being called Prophet or Messenger of Allah (The Creator). When I came to understand better the work of the Creator, I did not think that man was fit to speak or to address for Allah. Only the repeated reading of the Qur'an served my hunger for an appreciation of concepts of Allah (Creator), creation, and man, Foremost in my renewed interest was an eagerness to know the person Muhammed the Last Prophet on whom is the prayers and the peace.

Al-Islam makes the family of man the common identity. Allah makes the common identity the identity for all: I am Wallace Deen Mohammed, and you are somebody else. I am African-American or "black", and you may be different. But we all are human. What we have to understand about the human identity is that the human identity is the first identity and must rise to be the last.

The common identity is the cornerstone and the identity validating all other relationships. To be accepted, a relative must first be human. Allah has created all of us and gave us separate descriptions.. Those descriptions of color, features, language, etc., are small imprints upon that basic structure, the human design. In "Islam" the family of man is the common identity and the test for the social maturity of separate groups.

"THE "BLACK" FAMILY

The "black" people have something to feel especially good about, and a lot to weep. When we look at popular racism in the world, the "black" family is more in the clear than anybody else. We are not the builders of racism. Just recently race as a claim of superiority was injected into us. Many of us did not like it. However, for many that dislike was not cause for us to dislike Elijah Muhammad. Most of his followers are not racists in their actions.

Today, most of those who admired him and benefited by him are "going for self”.
Some of us left the mystic enchanter behind—praise be to Allah. W. Fard Mohammed (also called W.D. Fard), "the satirist in the wilderness" is rejected for misguiding us.

We can feel particularly good about our thus far immunity against racism. We are not the supporters of racism's claim to superiority for a particular race. Being a racial family of our sentiments and our social make up and our cultural traits that we owe to our mothers and fathers from Africa makes it difficult for us to buy racism. That is Allah's Mercy.

We are a people dark in color, black in skin color, but a white baby is no strange incident for us. The blackest of tribes will occasionally have an albino. "Albino" means white. It was not a first discovery for us to see a white man in Africa. Some of us could have said, "He looks just like my baby. I wonder why he is so strange and arrogant towards me? He looks just like your Cushie brother, "black albino'. " Our ("black") albino is as white as Europe's babies. The first white an African saw was his baby, not his competitor.

THE MAN FROM THE NORTH

Allah knew the man from the North was going to have a test of behavior in racially mixed environments. Africans never had to put on animal hides to stay warm. I have genuine sympathy for the man of the North under the test of environment. Maybe I would be a racist too, had I came down and saw you all in the living room of the sun while I was habitating in the North freezing to death — I would not feel too good about blacks. That would be reason enough to start a hate campaign, to fight to conquer, to enslave the environmentally pampered neighbor.

"AIlah has made us nations and tribes for us to acknowledge each other. The best iot us in real worth) is the most regardful (of us). " The Qur'an. The first form regard takes is fear. It is normal to fear the unknown. In this same connection, to want to know the "power" behind the vast world of worlds is normal. Further, it is normal to believe that power must love people. We are allowed so much access and freedom. In time* we come to know that "power" to be loving, merciful, and generous to all people. In time, by the same connection people come to know naturally the Will of Allah. Praise be to Allah, Glorified Most High.

The whole ancient world of the empires religiously promoted a divinity for themselves to justify conquests. The European nations followed ancient Egypt and Greece. In the west Greece and Rome are best known for imaging and hysterically worshipping "man-gods". Naked and obscene figures fill the pages of mythical ancient religions, Cupid is seen relieving himself in the public. If we had not been conditioned to accept what society approves, we would call the police to have the nasty little fountain display removed and the owner arrested for encouraging perverted behavior.

I have said to you today that religion is where the foundation for racism is. Religion is where real "germs" of racism are preserved, Racism is not preserved or protected in or by racial groups. By and large, racism is protected in religious imagery. "Thou shalt not make any engraven images," that is the Bible talking to the Western World.

VAIN

We Muslims know that in our religion we are to stay away from the mirror. If you want to know how you look, ask your wife. She will appreciate you trusting her. In our religion we are not to have photos of ourselves all over the place. Satan has influenced that interest. Satan has influenced the world powers and the people to be vain, to give themselves to vanity and to follow it until they come out of human form and become mutant in their behavior. The ugliest woman I have ever seen was by definition in this world the prettiest woman I have ever seen. When I saw her emotions and preoccupation with her own beauty, she became ugly to me. What was in her of sick interest in flesh adornments disfigured what was captivating beauty. (To be continued)