1984-May-11

A.M. Journal

Muhammad Speaks

Imam W. Deen Muhammad

THERE HAVE BEEN great improvements in the contents of the American Muslim Journal, and it's still surprising to me that there has been a lack of support in certain areas of the American Muslim membership here in America.

I'm wondering if we don't have a situation where Imams are afraid of a challenge. I, myself, experienced in my relationship with certain Imams, when I was working as a leader for the masajid. a hesitance on their part—more of a fear on their part—to relay to the community certain things that hey knew I represented; certain positions that I had taken, certain issues.

I know that they weren't passing them along to their members and I felt that there was a desire on the part of some of the Imams not to have my dawah, my propagation material to come in to their masjid and reach their members.

I have believed that it was because they felt they were not up on the language of Quran and on the language of the Sunah of the Prophet, and that they would be shown to be in a weak position if the community, their members, would hear the Imam addressing the community on the Quran and on the Sunah of the Prophet, on issues speaking from the Quranic position—addressing problems and issues in our life today.

I felt that they felt inadequate, so to speak. Now that's not justified, but I can understand that kind of fear in a person.

But if that kind of fear is blocking the real message of Al-lslam, keeping it from reaching masjid memberships, then that is a very serious problem for us.

I know that the improvement and the content of the American Muslim Journal now represents that threat too. Because over the months and the years the Journal has not only improved its overall content but it also has selected materials from my addresses, from my khutbahs, etc., and put more of that into the paper.

By the American Muslim Journal keeping the readers current on activities of Imam W. Deen Muhammad, now I'm sure that those persons who had a fear of my message of the dawah coming in and showing up their inadequacies or inability to keep up with the Quran and the Sunah will now be fearing the presence and the influence of the American Muslim Journal that carries current information on what the Imam is doing.

So I'm wondering why some Imams... has any Imam taken up my call for more support for the Journal and wrote the Journal asking that a statement from them be put in the Journal asking the Muslim members to support the Journal? {Not one...). That's strange—that's very strange, and I think the members ought to be looking at that.