1985-September-20

Muslim Journal

Responsibility

Imam W. Deen Muhammad

(Editor's note: The following is from an address Imam Muhammad delivered recently in Camden, N.J.)

A SENSE of responsibility makes possible greater productivity. The less sense of responsibility in a people, the smaller their works. The greater the sense of responsibility in the people, the greater their works. We have been conditioned by past bad experiences. We were uprooted from Africa, brought under the power of another people, suffered centuries of the worst kind of slavery that ever existed in the history of man, and were reduced to no more than a dumb animal for torture.

Many dumb animals are cherished and loved by their masters, but many of us were reduced to dumb animals for shame and torture. It delighted the perverted, deranged and insane whites who wanted to inflict their evils on another people who were helpless.

This is no more than the truth. If you are not strong enough for it, then you ought to go kill yourself, because we don't need anybody around here on this Earth, in this day and time, who can't stand up to truth. If you can't stand the truth, you ought to find a planet of your own.

African-Americans have been conditioned to seek relief. The white man is not motivated by that need. He is motivated by a need to stay in front. He is motivated by a need to stay ahead of other people.

African-Americans are motivated by a need to seek relief. You want more food and better food, more transportation and better transportation, more lodging and better lodging. You also want more equal opportunity.

You want more opportunity to do what? — To work for more food, better food, more clothes, better clothes, more transportation, better transportation, more lodging and better lodging. That's all you want more opportunity for. I'm talking about the majority of you.

All that the great majority of African-Americans and the ignorant masses want is more opportunity to satisfy animal level needs. After all, an animal needs clothing, sex and food. Even an animal needs better food. Just start feeding your animal better food, and then feed him inferior food after about a month, and you will see that he appreciates better food too.

So when you just want better food, better lodging, better transportation and more sex, you are no higher than a roach, a rat, or a dog. But when you look at the world of man and see flaws in it; when you look at the world of man and see critical needs in it and you begin to desire to do something about the situation, then you have started to be a man.

When you look at man's world and you say I want more food, I want more clothing. I want more transportation, you are nothing but a dog or a rat or a snail, or something asking for some more animal needs.

And that's what they don't want to happen. They don't want the masses of the people to rise above animal level existence. They can care for animals. There are jungles, cages, and people who want pets. And there is insecticides, germicides and other things to take care of them when it gets to be too many. But conscious men and women are different.