1989-May-13

Muslim Journal

You Have To Get Prepared To Make It In The Land Of Plenty: Part 5

Imam W. Deen Mohammed

(Editorial Note: The following lecture by Imam W. Deen Mohammed is a repeat of last week's page. Due to his travels Imam Mohammed was not available to review the text of the continuing part in this lecture series. Insha-Allah, be it Allah's Will he will be with us next week and complete the lecture as was given in Dallas, Texas on March 19, 1989.)

I listen to those who are talking about problems of race. They are saying, "Yes, racism is rising again." I don't worry; let it rise. If racists want to occupy themselves .with racism, then that gives us good opportunity. While they are occupying themselves with such, I am going to see if I can be a little better in the competition to get wealth. If they want to tie their hands up with racism, let them do it. There is enough good sense out here in the society now for no one to have an excuse for being racist.

I know what racism will do. It will tie your brains up so tight that you will not be able to see your way into your own house. So why is anyone frightened by the saying, "Racism and racial sentiments are growing and rising again! You know they can turn the clock back?" I know they cannot. The clock is not in the hands of one race anymore. There are other powers influencing the time of day. This is a different world and a different time globally. America has to watch the global hour hands to know what time it is on the national time piece.

There have to be circumstances within for managing those outside of us. Our religion sensitizes us to want to know what is our own condition. And that is another point of interest for the "have-nots" who are trying to make it in the land of plenty. We should take a look at our own condition out of a desire to be better situated internally. Do more and complain less. "I have a toothache," But "how often do you brush your teeth" never comes to mind. What is heard is, "I have to get me a dentist, and he had better be qualified like the dentists in their neighborhood."

We do deserve the same good treatment that is given to any others. But what are we doing ourselves about our own condition? Are we questioning it? Are we trying to look for causes? That is the kind of sensitivity we need for making it in the land of plenty.

When viewing external factors it is wise to examine the way Christianity is presented. It can be presented in such a way that it will condition us to think very few African American Christians have studied the logic or the wisdom of Christianity. The great majority haven't studied the natural basis for many important things in Christianity.

There are natural basis requiring that there be in believers an appreciation for nature's role in religious matters. Also, it is important to know how religion views history. Many have not done any study, and for them Christianity is superficial and superstition, shallow and too much like voodoo deceits. Those without insight and without a spirit to meet the challenge of heavier concerns will tend to do the lazy thing: spook you and not educate.

I am a student of psychology. We have to be aware that we are a people who came from slavery in disrepair and not equipped to make informed choices. The only religion we could have was the religion of the people who enslaved us.

I can read something to you and pass on to you my emphasis and my way of reading it. It may be okay if I am your friend, for my influences of the reading then will be most likely good for you. But if I am not your friend or if I am the guy who is opposite everything you represent, then it is not good. You may not like this, but the church influence on the whole has weakened the African-American people. The emphasis passed on to us has made little dependent children out of most of the African Americans. I will go so far to say that it has in a strong but smaller degree made the European white man a community of childish thinkers.

I know that I say some things that some people do not like and you may want to get up and leave. But I accept your reaction. I have done this for a long time. I know I have to try and break unholy spells.

In many ways the African American people have a "white father." The "white father" is the European white man. I am not talking in the sense of "boss man," for you have gotten away from that. Now you will talk sassy to the boss, threaten the boss, and you might lynch the boss. You have gotten real bold and reckless and notorious lately. The note I wish to make is a religion that gives you to worship the image of a man which is an European looking man — although they say Jewish — is seriously problematic psychologically. It must be damaging the African American self-esteem.

The worship of the image was the first trip off the plantation. Fresh (suddenly) from under the slave master to worship an image that could be him (in resemblance). Well, that is some heavy Voodoo, It is heavy Voodoo to take a slave right out of slavery to one master and have him give himself in slavish worship under a image likeness of his former enslaver.

I do believe that a lot of "Uncle Tomism" was at work in us to make us accept the man-god image of Christianity as we did right out of slavery. I do believe that that was a lot of "hate71 conversion. I believe a lot of those blacks were just Toming" and lying. And in time it became acceptable and normal for us to be in such a mold. I believe a lot of the first ones were just outright lying. They did not believe that. How could they? The man-god image looks just like the man that just got through whipping me to break my human spirit. That acceptance was not normal for the intelligence.

Perhaps you can see it better this way. Suppose the black man had done that to England. Or maybe you could even say to someone other than the white man. It could have been to China or to Japan. Let us suppose that we had dominated Asia and treated Asia like Africa and we were treated. After we degraded Asians we would say, "Okay, we are going to free you now. That was wrong, and that will no longer be allowed in our nation or government. Now here you accept the Lord Jomo Kenyatta as your personal Savior, as your Lord and Savior. You confess all of your sins to him. And if you lean on him, you will be saved." Only "Toming" and lying could be in Asians accepting Lord Jomo. They will accept maybe because they want to be saved from getting any more punishment.

Qur'an and Hadith teach me to be intelligent and to assess the situation. To look at it and study it, to measure it and weigh it, and to let my intelligence and also my good virtues decide what I am to do, I am following Qur'an and Hadith. I am not going to be any wound up toy.

It is not racism to talk about race problems. It is not racism to be concerned for my own. It is not racism to tell you to wait two thousand years to walk down Broadway with a "white" woman. That is not racism. That is the concern for the dignity of my own.

Again in showing the beauty of our religion, the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, says "Allah is good and does not accept what is not good." What is said is that Allah does not have any double standards, when it comes to ordering the Prophets, His Messengers, and ordering the people. He says, "What Allah has ordered for the Prophets or the Messengers, He has also ordered for the believers." There are no double standards.

Allah didn't send the Prophets to live up to one standard of virtuous life, and then allow the people to live on a much lower standard. He didn't send Prophets and allow them to violate laws, to do wrong, and then obligate the people to do right. There is no moral conflict there. There is moral consistency and unity all the way. Whatever Allah has ordered for His Prophets, He has ordered also for the people and the followers.

"Eat of the things good and pure," was ordered to the Prophets, the Messengers and also to us, the people. Allah says he is going to put in the earth a khalifah. What is this khalifah? It is someone with responsibility for himself and for the good state of society. Someone trusted with authority, rule, and responsibility.

Allah also says that He has given everyone something of His Inspiration or something of His Spirit. We need to come into the spirit that Allah wants for us. What does it mean to have something of Allah's Spirit or of His Inspiration? It simply means that you have to be disposed internally to serve the Will and Plan of Allah. You have to be disposed in your heart and soul and spirit to want to serve the Will and Plan of your Creator.

That is what Allah created in creating a khalifah. He created one who was disposed and moved by spirit and nature to serve the Will and Plan of the Creator. If you have that, I can guarantee that you will be successful in the land of plenty.

The Lord Who created us is the Lord Who gave us our nature, the Lord Who gave us our nature shouldn't give us an inspiration that would be in conflict with our nature that He wants for us. But that inspiration should be compatible and should assist and support the nature that Allah made and wants for us.

We are not talking about something unnatural. There is no reason to get spooky and float up into the zone that no one can find. Something of His Spirit is an orientation to obey the best in your human nature. When you want to obey in your spirit, in your soul the best that Allah has created you to be, then you have something of the Spirit of Allah. You have something of Allah's Ruh and His Own Inspiration has come down into you.

You will definitely be successful if you come into that. No one can give you that state, you have to have the make up in yourself to come into it. But once you have it, you are sate and sound and you will make it in the land of plenty.