1984-August-10

A.M. Journal

Attitudes Towards Youthful Adults

Imam W. Deen Muhammad

NOW LET US look at the Youthful Adults, Here is & man who came from prison — 28-years-old, 24-years-old, 19-years-old — still in his prime. Our concern should be to help that man get back in touch with his destiny so that he can go on and pursue a productive life. Whether he is from prison or from the free world, we should regard him as a treasure, a treasure in its fullness. He wants to work. If he does not, it is because he is dead to his purpose. So we have to bring the life-giving knowledge to him and make him come back alive with purpose.

We are to work hard to bring these youthful men to some constructive purpose for the betterment of society. Accept the obligation. If we are Muslims that is our obligation. We should not join the Communists, or the Socialists, or the Rightists; we do not belong to Reverend Farwell, we do not belong to the "People For America" or whatever they are called. We belong to the Muslims. So we do not make our contributions and make our efforts in their spirit, in their ideals, in their organization. No. We make it in our religion, in our ideas, in our spirit, and with our organization. We have something to contribute.

For the first time, the African-American man has a chance — when 1 say man, I mean all of us (men and women) — we have a chance to come into something that will give us distinction in the world- You get no distinction as a Communist, you get no distinction as a hard-core Socialist, you get no distinction as a right-winger — you will just get into the ocean of those people, and most likely they will have you in an inferior role. I have been to Communist countries, and I have heard our people tell us in Communist countries how they are being mistreated in Communist countries. Communism does not offer any special dignity for us. I know that.

I know of the Communist regimes that have given high positions to Blacks, but they have proven to be tokenism for most of them. The same as these positions given Blacks in America. Capitalism has been nothing but tokenism. You might say, "Mister, half of the world is Communist, the other half is Capitalist, and you tell us do not be either. You do not give us much of a chance. "That is right! Be a Muslim.

We have been on earth now for over 1400 years under the name Muslim; and with the Qur'an and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), we have survived many different forms of government, many dictatorships, many attempts at democracy. We have survived the history and we are still here. Communism will go out of business, it will become old and obsolete. They are nothing but seasonal dresses that are given- to you by the Jahcubites. But we will still be here. And I am not inviting you to be an Arab. No. I am inviting you to be a member of this community of Muslims in America. I am inviting you to the great dignity of calling yourself a follower of Imam W. Deen Muhammad, because if you identify with me you identify with a new mind, you identify with an independent mind, you identify with a new leadership, an independent leadership; you identify with direction, an independent direction. And that is what will give us our distinct identity again. I don't think most of you see what this is. If you identify with me, you identify with a new life, you identify with a new culture.

Can you see that we are forming the whole life anew? Soon there will be a new African-American culture. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad started it; Nobel Drew Ali started it; Marcus Garvey started it. But they were all kind of feeble attempts when you look at it in the light of what is happening now, because we are not dressing from without. We have the essence and the essence is dictating how we should look without.

The learned, they understand what I am saying. This is no ordinary leader, you have the boss. I am not bragging, believe me. I do not like bragging. I am not boastful. But 1 want people who have been made to think small and fear that they cannot do big things, I want to shock them out of that — man, I am the boss! Allahu Akbar!

We now have an obligation, a Muslim obligation, to lead these youthful adults to productive life, to show them the way to their destiny that Allah has intended for them all the time, to bring values back to their life, growth possibilities, give them the benefit to deal with these burdens that they are going to meet in life. We can deal with it. We do not have to succumb to these pressures of the world, we have something bigger than the pressures of the world -much bigger.