1980-May-16

Bilalian News

‘An Alliance For The Future’

Imam Warith Deen Muhammad

(Editor's note—In the woke of America's aborted rescue attempt of U.S. hostages held in Iran, Imam Warith Deen Muhammad, leader of the American Muslim Mission—formerly the World Community of Al-Islam in the West—issued a call to American leaders to join in "an alliance of the future" with the Islamic world.

Speaking to thousands of Muslims and non-Muslims around the country on April 27, via telephone hook-up with hundreds of Masajid (Mosques), Imam Muhammad declared that "The American leadership knows that there is no room, no chance that Communism and Al-Islam can live together and court each other. So it would seem that the leadership of the American people, the Western people, including Europe, would be trying to promote a coming together of the so-called free world and many hundreds of millions of Muslims all over the world.

The dynamic leader said that this could be "the great alliance of the future." He pointed out that an alliance of the Islamic world with the so-called democratic world, "is the only safe alliance for the future." Anything else, he said, "is going to bring about nothing but destruction, wars and more persecution of freedom."

He emphasized that Americans must recognize the contribution of Al-Islam and it's influence on the Constitution and moral values of Americans. The West, he concluded, has no reason to fear the freedom of Al-Islam. "The freedom of Al-Islam will bring the Muslim world closer to this democracy we call American.)

As-Salaam-Alaikum again. We give all Praise to Allah, we thank Him for blessing us with this religion and with the community that we have here in America. We thank Allah for keeping us loyal and devoted to righteousness, justice and peace. We pray that peace and blessings be upon Prophet Muhammad; upon his descendents, his companions, the righteous - all of them, upon us here in America and throughout the world.

DEAR BELOVED MUSLIMS I thought I would come back before you to speak to you on the Iranian crisis. It is my desire that we stay hi touch with each other during these days of crisis that affect all of us. We are Muslims and Muslims feel that hurt of their fellow Muslims. We are Americans and Americans feel the hurt of their fellow Americans.

So we are kind of torn between and it's necessary for us to stay in touch with each other so that we have some agreement as to how we are to take these events. I caution myself and you to continue in the same spirit of peace and faith. Faith that Allah will work these things out, faith that Allah will not let justice fall down, faith that Allah knows and we know not.

I'm not in Iran. I don't know the circumstances there; I'm given the news just like everybody else and we don't know, Allah knows. I have never met Imam Khomeni but I have heard of the great reforms that have been brought about because of his leadership. Just like everybody else I've heard of how he has removed the persecution of the religion and has made it possible now for the people to grow again in the religion, to live their Muslim lives without shame, without fear; that's a great accomplishment! We would look mighty silly over here calling ourselves Muslims and not paying tribute, or due respect to the successful revolution of Imam Khomeni that has brought about more freedom of the religion to the people in Iran.

Some say he's a fanatic, some say he is blind, but I'd rather have a fanatic and a blind man allowing the people to practice Al-Islam than to have a cool headed man that can see oppressing them and oppressing their religion.

I'm not nowhere near about to believe that Imam Khomeni is a fanatic. I thank Allah that Al-Islam has a breathing spell in Iran after 30 years or more of persecution. I just hope that that kind of breathing spell comes to more nations that are supposed to be Islamic.

THERE IS NO REASON for the west to fear the freedom of Al-Islam. The freedom of Al-Islam will bring the Muslim world closer to this democracy that we call America. By fearing the liberation of the Islamic life America will make it harder for the two people to come together. There is communism - there is democracy — and there is Al-Islam. There is the Muslim nations, the western nation, and the communist bloc.

American leadership knows that there is no room, no chance that communism and Al-Islam can live together and court each other. It would seem that the leadership of the American people, the western people, including Europe, would be trying to promote a coming together of the western so-called free world and the many hundreds of millions of Muslims all over the world. To me this is the great alliance for the future. It's the only safe alliance for the future.

THE ALLIANCE of the Islamic world with the so-called democratic world, the so-called free world, that's the only alliance for the future. Anything else is going to bring nothing but more destruction, wars, more persecution of freedom.

As Muslims we have to understand this. Any government leader of real significance knows something about the Quranic basic teaching and even more than that he has respect for the Quranic basic teaching. You don't know but they do know.

Another thing we should know as a Muslim community is that this religion has made great contributions to the American philosophy — the governmental concept, our religion has made great contributions and I don't believe that this country could have survived as long as it has survived if it were not for the Islamic contributions.

This is what we should know dear Muslims. This should make you proud, not proud in the ugly sense but proud in the true sense. It should humble you as a Muslim and make you feel very grateful for having been blessed with this religion. Allah says count not your Islam as a favor to God, it is a favor to you. So let us be thankful.

DEAR BELOVED MUSLIMS I am a firm believer in this idea that Prophet Muhammad advanced while advancing rational life. We know that Prophet Muhammad was a universal Messenger/Prophet for the common man and all people in all worlds who advanced national life.

Over and over again he appealed to the people to come into rational life. By rational life we mean logical understanding, logical way of behaving, logical way of progressing: we mean the absence of superstition, that ^ what we mean by rational life, Prophet Muhammad advanced that under the guidance of Almighty God whose proper name is Allah.

BUT PROPHET MUHAMMAD advanced something else. He advanced the idea that there is an absolute Authority, present at all times which has never been absent, Who has charged over all things, nothing is escaping Him or His Judgment. I am a firm believer in that.

Many people refer to it as Divine Providence. I am a firm believer in it. I don't think we are where we are accidently. I don't think that the transition that brought us (American Muslim Mission) from Yacub's history and Black god consciousness to this universal idea, scientific way of life that we are on now, happened accidently.

I don't think that we came from a kind of loneliness, kind of floating mind to see ourselves as a nation under the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. I don't think that that brief 'experience is our past which brought us from no people and from no nation to think as a people and as a nation. I don't think that exercise of nationhood under the Honorable Elijah Muhammad was an accident, I think it was a necessity. It was a necessity to put us in touch with the natural progression of national life, to bring us again in touch with governmental ideas and governmental concepts, so that we will appreciate living in a society that has government.

Yes, most of those who did not come through that experience don't appreciate government life as we do. They can't support good government life as we can. They can't think future nations like we can because we have come through an exercise that put us back in touch with national life.

SLAVERY UNROOTED US, and slavery detached us from any concept of growing in a national life process, but the Temple of Islam introduced us again to the concept of nationhood and made us think again in this dimension, and made us appreciate governmental life, appreciate leadership, appreciate organization, appreciate responsibility.

We've got men here who could be president. All they need is the training, they already have the mind to rule over a nation. Now this may be surprising to some of you but we have men and women who appreciate national life — and government in their life. Who appreciate it enough to be president right now. All they need is a good briefing.

This is Divine Providence, this is no accident. Now we have been reunited for sure. How could we appreciate nationhood as Muslims understand it before first knowing nationhood as all people understand it?

Do you know that nationhood as Muslims understand it, is a portable nation. It's not a nation that has some geographical boundaries. It's not a nation in Africa, it's not a nation in Arabia, it's not a nation in Asia. Nationhood in Al-Islam is a portable nation.

NATIONHOOD IN AL-ISLAM exists in the knowledge that we have the historical development of the human family on this planet earth and that is, we get back into that orientation on this planet earth and that is, we get back into that, orientation on that discipline that Almighty God designed for the human family on this planet earth. We come into the universal nationhood. Nationhood in Al-Islam is universal. It needs a geography, the whole earth is the Mosque. How great this religion.

Now dear beloved Muslims knowing that our religion goes back into our past and connects us with our very origin in creation and set us to the natural pattern of social growth and development that lead us to the highest idea that man can conceive for society and civilization.

Knowing that, can any of us sit here in America and not support a revolution that's trying to open the way again so that those people can come into the understanding of that great religion? No. I am in support of the Iranian revolution!

If I were in Iran I would pick up a machine gun and fight for that revolution, because that revolution is bringing back the Islamic life to those people who were deprived of the Islamic life.

Now dear beloved Muslims, we can remain true to the just Islamic revolution of the Iranian people while remaining true to our American citizenship. I don't find any conflict at all.

IF AMERICAN DEMOCRACY is what it sells itself to be then American democracy takes its hat off to the revolution of Imam Khomeni because we believe in the freedom of religion. That's part of our constitutional language.

It's a historical fact that there was no freedom of Al-Islam in Iran until Imam Khomeni came into power. Recently I've been on television programs in Dallas, Texas area. I was a guest of Imam Quasim Ahmed in the Fort Worth and Dallas Muslim Community there in Texas. That Imam has done a tremendous job of introducing the religion in the right way to all the people of Dallas and Fort Worth. Oh yes, great reception there for Al-Islam. They welcomed me on radio, they welcomed me on television.

During one of the interviews they asked me about the Iranian situation. One lady called in and said that her daughter, (an American-Caucasian woman I guess), said if they go to war her daughter said she would not fight on the side of America against the Iranians. She asked me what did I think about that?

I said your daughter is an American and she shouldn't treat her obligation as an American so lightly. I told her that I don't know what we will do if America goes to war with Iran.

I told her we would have to know the moral circumstances and if we should be convinced thoroughly that our government has entered an immoral war and have taken an immoral position to go to war I told her I would not go to war with (in support of) America.

I was asked by a young man in the audience, if it was morally wrong for America to go to war with Iran, you wouldn't support America? I told him it's not as simple as that.
Before I make that decision I will have my own moral judgment. I would let nobody else make it for me. I don't see any reason why America should go to war with Iran.

AMERICA SHOULD BE obligated to make peace with Iran. After being a party for 30 years or more in the oppression and suppression of the Iranian peoples religion it would seem that these new leaders would be inclined to try to sacrifice and even sacrifice their own pride to make peace with the Iranian people.

What dignity is there for a country as powerful as ours in approving that it could muscle its way in Iran? Tell me what is accomplished? We know that this country has enough hardware, enough explosives to wipe the whole Iranian nation off the map in a matter of days or hours, we know that. What would America be proving to go over there and muscle their way through Iran?

I don't believe that that's the desire of President Carter. Although he was the one that supported the attempt to rescue the hostages by force. I don't believe that it's his desire or his inclination to muscle his way through Iran. No, I don't believe that.
I believe that our President is human. I believe as one officer of the army put it—that here is a president like a husband whose wife is in labor, and he is in his car speeding to get to the hospital. On the way he has an accident. How do you come down with all four feet on that poor husband?

HOW DO YOU KNOW how you would behave if you were in the same situation with the same responsibility bearing down on you? how do you know how you would behave? I don't say that he made a foolish move. I don't have the resources that he has.
We have to get out of this foolishness that the American people have put us into of thinking that any citizen with knowledge or without knowledge is entitled to make opinions and judgments even in matters so critical as the Iranian conflict.

The news media goes out there, (CBS, ABC etc.) and asks a dumb doe-doe walking down State Street, who doesn't even know what movie he just came out of, (whether) the president acted rightly in sending that rescue mission over there to Iran and this doe-doe says 'I don't think he acted rightly. I think he should have sent more troops, I think he should have doubled the number of helicopters.'

(Editor's note - The Imam make reference to the aborted rescue mission) Allah wants that great power (America) to continue to be a great power. He sends a little blowing sand to say go back home and think it over again. He says I love you people, Allah is saying I love Americans, now go back home and think it over again; if you come to Iran right I am going to bless you with a new breathing spell. Allah will bless America with a new breathing spell.

Don't you know these things are a test? Iran is a test for America. If America behaves honorably in the face of this test, Allah will give America a new breathing spell, but if America behaves dishonorably in its dealing with Iran during these touchy hours America may have to suffer much. Oh Iran can't whip America. But a sandstorm did.