1984-July-13

A.M. Journal

Imam Muhammad On Tony Brown Show

(Editor’s note: Following are exclusive excerpts from a transcript released by “Tony Brown’s Journal.” The program “Two Forks in the Road” is to be aired beginning July 19 through July 25, 1984. Check local listings for time and station. Don’t miss this informative telecast.)

Mr. Brown: A number of the writers have taken exception to the way your community is being portrayed and associated with the teachings of Minister Farrakhan.

We know recently that Milton Coleman, a black reporter with the Washington Post relayed Jesse Jackson’s remarks about Jews as “hymies”. Then Minister Farrakhan called Milton Coleman a traitor and said, “We will punish you with death.”

Jesse Jackson responded and said that he disassociated himself with Minister Farrakhan’s message but he did not disassociate himself with Minister Farrakhan.

Jesse Jackson said – helping us in his own way to understand what Minister Farrakhan meant – “You may look at it within the apocalyptic message of the Islamic religionist.”

Now “apocalyptic” means doomsday, foreboding, confrontational, and I suppose this means that the basic teachings of Islam are basically doomsday and confrontational. How do you respond to that?

Imam Muhammad: Now the emphasis in our religion is on faith, hope – faith and good works in society and in the world.

This idea of doomsday – Armageddon – that’s not Islamic. Certainly we believe that occasionally things will develop in the world and in society to bring a moral confrontation, but the kind of emphasis that this word suggests is nowhere existing in the Islamic world.

Mr. Brown: Well, Minister Louis Farrakhan is a Muslim minister is he not?

Imam Muhammad: Yes, he’s – well, yes and no. The majority of the Muslims in the world will say that he doesn’t represent their religion on Muslims.

Mr. Brown: What does he represent?

Imam Muhammad: He represents…a self made religion, a religion that was conceived by and individual who seemed to have been more racially motivated than religiously motivated. Now that was the individual who conceived the idea of the Nation of Islam as black, so-called Muslims.

That individual did not come from pure Islamic teachings, although he did introduce the Quran, the Holy Book of the Muslims. What he gave us as “our religion” was far from being recognizable in the Islamic World.

(To be continued)