Khalid Yasin – Islam, America, and the world
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The virtual reality program discusses the morality and sensless actions of Muslims, including the mass shootings in schools and the media's portrayal of black people as "igrams." The speakers emphasize the importance of Islam, its historical precedent, and its social and political status, while acknowledging the challenges faced by Muslims in the United States, including the lack of political support, rapid growth of Islam, and the need for individuals to express their own truths. They stress the importance of following laws and regulations for healthy behavior, following strict rules for healthy behavior, and following strict regulations for healthy behavior.
AI: Summary ©
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the brothers and sisters in Islam. This is your brother Chicago scene speaking to you from Philadelphia. This is a facebook live presentation. And the title of our program is Islam, America and the world. We will be attempting to broadcast to you
to the world, to all of America.
Every Saturday, between one and two o'clock, we try to start at one, but usually maybe between one and two. So just be on board with us around one o'clock. And we will get started between
one 131 45 depending upon the actual circumstances and technology and where we happen to be located. Nevertheless, this is our second broadcast and hope that you joined us or that you were able to view
the archived program that we did last Saturday. Now last Saturday, we covered a number of questions, we covered the general topic.
So this week, what we'll do is we'll be addressing some additional questions because this is a very wide topic. And we should probably let you know that this is not a topic that can be completed in a session or one or two or three sessions. Because Islam in America itself, the dynamics of it spreads maybe 100 years, and Islam as a actual movement or consolidation and a dour platform. And sort of like a sophisticated
movement here in the United States is maybe around 50 years. So what we'll be trying to do here in Islam, American oil is not tell the historical story. But we'll be trying to address issues that are relevant to the topic. I want to remind my viewers, you know that we could talk about a lot of things and check on your seen has spoken about a number of subjects over the last 50 years. But today, we are talking about Islam, America and the world.
Having said that, we have in our studio,
two very competent, young people, brother Abdullah and sister Naima. And they will be posing some questions themselves. And also, as questions come up from you, our audience, they'll be posing those questions to me. And this is sort of the structure that we're going to be using, I will do my best to fill in the gaps, respond to the relevant issues, try to answer them
for about an hour,
we
we really have a motivated audience beyond notice.
And I want you to be patient with us. Because we are doing this here straightforward on Facebook Live. So this is not like a setup.
In a studio. We're coming to you from the home
of the Abdullah family here in Philadelphia who has so great
just to use
their phone to make this presentation. So I want to go to brother
to give
on the topic that we're going to be discussing.
Thank you very much. Thank you for taking the time to sit down with us for these interviews. Thank you for taking the time for all of your supporters, your family, your friends, everybody out there online.
It's wonderful that you take the time out of your busy schedule, in order to share your thoughts, insights, experiences, with all of us out here. It's very much appreciated. So thank you. And we're speaking on the topic of Islam, America and the world. And this year, Mashallah has more than 50 years of experience as a Muslim,
being born and raised here in America, and more than 50 years as a Muslim in this country, after converting from Christianity to Islam.
So I think it's very valuable to hear your thoughts and insight into
how Americans can relate to Islam, and how Islam and Muslims can relate to America. So I think we'll be talking more about that today. I'm
just getting right into the lineup questions over the past few days. Well, a couple of days ago, there was a mass shooting in a school down in Florida. 17 people were killed, just innocent people.
So just what are your thoughts on this atrocity? And just the
I mean, I grew up with Columbine when I was in school. But it seems like it's becoming more common for Americans to witness such tragedies. Well, of course,
tragedy tragic is probably even not the word anymore. It's probably like horrendous
trauma. And I think my reflection is is is on the, the morality of it,
the senselessness of it? And that it seems now to be embedded into the American culture.
Or let's put it this way, maybe it's not the American culture is called the American subculture. Now, the subculture of America has breeded, a lot of different strange nuances that produced similar kinds of Acts. And we don't need to enumerate them here. But we can just look through the history of America, even going back 100 years and see that America has is a breeding ground for this kind of subculture of unsubstantiated, unwarranted just
slaughter,
hatred.
Taking lives, without any kind of sensitivity. As this as if it's some kind of a sport, you're the
trusted, that he wanted to be or not when he was arrested, even before he was arrested, he told the police in beforehand, that he wanted to be a professional school shooter. Now, what does that mean?
So he must have watched Columbine and other things that happened, and he wanted to take it to
the beach. So
you get a
good kind of duration, some kind of reward, you get some kind of social status. And you do it in a very refined, calculated way. Now, that's what I understand about being professional. Now, what kind of message is he sending on to other young people who are unstable, who are eating feeding off of the same subculture
to create, create or to commit similar types of Acts. And another thing comes to my mind that the press seems to be handling these kinds of events in a very
subjective way.
You know, if a black man
commits a crime against one person, without a sophisticated weapon, not in a school, but just arbitrarily on a train or bus or train or somewhere, just an argument, and that that black man's face would be posted on all newspapers, it would be news for
what if he had announced himself or he had some connection to Islam hit him? It was Abdullah, or his name was Abdul Rashid something, then what would what how would dress would have treated but we can just go back in the last year, and we'll see that when such actions criminal actions, horrendous actions were done by persons claiming to be Muslims or people who were arised as Muslims, this was news on every channel for four or five days, maybe one week talking about Islam, fundamentalism, extremism, radicalism, and, and
this
problem well, I saw
a
unstick oneself? I don't
know, I think that's very unfair. This also feeds into the subculture.
And so I think that not only is it unfair, and unethical, but it is also also immoral for the media to treat it that way. And this is why we come to understand that Muslims themselves, the family of Muslims, the Friends of Muslims, and American Muslims themselves need to understand of actions, whether they are performed by Muslims or not
the internet connection, okay, good. So let's just rehearse for a moment, because we had a little short glitch there.
It seems that,
for this,
to take place,
and for the creation of some kind of a false flag situation where many Muslims are not even involved or connected at all, but that they will be somehow placed in the middle, implicated in some bush Finally,
we will be framed.
Once we are constitutionally,
as like enemies of state, all of us
whether we had something to do with that or not, even if we're very good Americans, even if we perform as Americans, we vote we, we participate, we pay our taxes, we will good to our neighbors, we send our children to school, we involve ourselves in building and refining the society, we do all the things that American citizens are supposed to do. But because of this climate of hate, which seems to be very much cultivated from the White House.
Now, this is the point that we need to know that this is a little bit unprecedented. In my lifetime, I've never known this kind of a climate of hatred to be us.
This was the deal that Mr. Trump had
during his campaign, and that he's perpetuating, and it seems like a locomotive that has no brakes whatsoever. And that is sort of change the image that their neighbors, their friends, have for them to try to, I think, demonize Islam even further than what it has been demonized. That's my response to that. Now, of course, my heart and the heart of all Muslims in this society who are decent Americans, this human beings, our heart, and go out. And we grieve, along with the people whose families and loved ones were killed in this kind of an incident.
And what along with the the tragedy, the horrendous tragedy that represents, I also think that it seems to set the stage for something far worse. How so? How does it sound?
Well,
what do you think
would happen, if an action like that is done
or framed or perceived to have been done by Muslims?
And what if these kinds of actions seem to be taking place every
day they are
like they are planned? What?
See in terms of the sensitivities of the average American, even if Americans thought that Muslims are generally good people, which rapidly this is what happened
with the Japanese, this is what happened in instances is being looked at as again, enemies of the state. And although they are not,
this kind of orchestration puts them in that particular light puts their lives, their liberty, their welfare,
and the value of their families
at risk, and this is what we have to be concerned about. We have to say that all Muslims, we can't look at
we have to stand up and make a very clear statement.
There is no way that Islam and the sentiments of Islam would ever
justify this kind of an action done by a Muslim, or non Muslim done today.
Muslim or don't do non Muslim.
So, you say that this action is unAmerican and against the ideals of Islam as well. So, um, do you feel that Islamic and American ideals are diametrically opposed to one another? Or can Islam and America coexist? Well, I just want to answer this in a very general way, because I think that they awesome perceptions, feelings,
and justifiably so that somehow another Islam represents a clash of civilizations, civilizations. And some people have written that or propose that kind of an idea, which I think has no real justification, if anybody reads
the preamble to the Constitution of United States, let's, let's not
make any judgments about
the government
representation of the preamble to talk about, well, that was written
and a preamble that this government was set upon as a new government. And that a preamble that attracts in its structure, its wordings and values, attracts people from all over the world to come to America, to have a sense of freedom, liberty, human value, opportunity for all people.
I think that if we review that preamble, and how it generally applies to all Americans,
Islam has no opposition to that, in fact, Islam promotes that.
Anyone who has the chance to read the code, and I always suggest to all Americans
get a copy.
And if, if you don't can't afford to do that, then almost an institution Islamic institutions that will provide you with a free copy. I mean, it's not like something you just can't get or something that's unreachable unaccessible. And even if you cannot do that, it's it's available online.
Anyone can just go to Google and put the put the end in the word, QU r A en. And it's right there online, you can just peruse through it, review through it. And you will find that the principles of the Quran and the behavior of the Prophet Muhammad peace and blessings be upon them, sets no opposition whatsoever to the principles and premises, okay, of the American Constitution. Now, there are parts of the Constitution which according
to the National structure, idea, history,
these are the founding fathers if you want to call that
for some subjects, talking about the general values and practices of sushi, attracts and envelop
beans who
America was about,
or by immigration, they never go back home. Which means that when they come here, they reasonably find what they're looking for the opportunity or the freedom or the liberation or So focus on.
Also, I think that what Islam says forward as a premise of human dignity, human progress, human happiness, human safety.
That's the premise of Islam, the social premise of Islam. Islam is not a premise of just some kind of an ideological belief of God. Because God doesn't need anything from the connection to God is to be human, he has to add value to his or her society, family, neighbors. In that respect, the principles of Islam are very synonymous with the principles of the American Constitution, if we really look at it, objectively. And that's the premises I'm trying to put forward. I have my own subjective feelings about America, the government, its history, its challenges, its social promise of problems.
But I don't have any issue
with the premises and values of the American Constitution. In fact, I feel very honored and favored by God, to be an American citizen and have the kind of privileges constitutional privileges
just because I'm a citizen of the United States.
Because I'm a holder of the American passport, and my travel around the world in the past 15 years, and I have been, I've traveled now to 90 countries.
I have been envied by everyone, just because I'm an American.
And no one really had a problem with me being a Muslim.
Because being an American, you already envied, everyone knows the privileges that you have, just to speak,
to think freely, to own property, to choose to go come and go as I want to, to be to have mobility into society, to have people to come to my home and visit, and I go to other people's home and visit to have the right to assemble in the public without even at you don't have to get a license to assemble. In a public places.
Americans have values that everyone in the world desires. And as we speak, there are people that on boats, planes, ships, I mean, the people are walking across deserts, mountains, risking their lives, paying everything they have, just to get to Europe. And just to get to America, the most preferred place of immigration in the entire world, is United States of America. And there's a reason for that. And as a person who travels around the world, and I've seen my share of grief in tragedy, and poverty and human suffering, I've seen my share that I am very grateful when I come back to my country to realize that just because I'm an American citizen, I have privileges that most people in
the world do not have. Now, that's a reality. The fact that I'm a Muslim, set some challenges sets up some challenges for me. That's to be very real. But that's the American government. And that's not the entire government. It's a particular group of people who have probably traditionally been here for a long time. And they have opposition to certain groups, certain ethnic groups, certain religious groups, whatever the case might be, well, that comes with the territory. And we Muslims need to meet those challenges. as other people have met those challenges, Jewish people when they came to this country and immigrated to this country, regardless of what people want to say, they met
with those challenges, Polish people when they came here, Catholic people when they came here, Hindu people, Buddhist people, all kinds of people, when you enter a melting pot, you enter some form of some, some people perceive you well, and other people reject you, you have some prejudice, you have some people that are very philosophical, very open behind it. Well, Muslims in America are facing some challenges. But I think that for the most part,
we have access to almost every privilege that any other American has access to. That means that if we are prepared, well, we can compete. And if we compete, we have the chance to win. And whoever in America wins. Whether it's a team, whether it's a corporation, whether it's an individual, when you win in America, you are awarded a station in America, a social distinction in America, where your religion becomes fairly insignificant.
Let us use the moments
formerly called The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Just look back 120 years ago, maybe 130 years ago, and see what was the status of the moments in visa visa, other mainline mainstream Christians. They were.
They were
oppressed.
They were
more than oppressed, they were driven out of certain parts of America by their fellow Christians. And so over a period of time, they consolidate themselves in a particular region, which is now today called
Nevada.
main city is no I'm not not Nevada, Utah, excuse me. And you know, if anyone looks at the history of the moment, just you have to be you really have to be impressed that they came from zero, meaning that being oppressed, being
demonized, looked at as a cult.
And so forth and so on. But today, what's the status? What is the social status of the moments in America today, as a result of their being resilient as a result of their being patient, quiet, focused,
taking advantage of the privileges that are available and the resources that are available? What's the status today? Well, I've been to Utah.
I've done my own introspection and research on the moments.
Many people don't just don't notice. But this is a fact. The moments are the wealthiest Christians in America.
They are probably the most socially politically powerful Christians in America. And they've been now well received into the mainstream of America by other Christians now may have taken 120 years, 140 years, whatever. But I think that their progress stands for what can happen in America to a group of people who were demonized by their own fellow Christians. I think that there's the same room and opportunity for Muslims in America because until today, there may be 2 million moments in America, if there are 2 million.
But as we stand today, there are over 6 million Muslims in America.
And Muslims, we have a longer history than the moments we have a lot longer global history with more resources,
in my estimation, a much more profound and diversified distinction. So I I happen to be
optimistic about Islam and America. That is, I believe, I believe that Islam
is good for America.
Because what Islam suggest is that if we contribute what Islam gives to us as Muslims, we will help refine the society and refine the idea and polish some of the the principles of America and fill up some of the empty crevices of American moral voids of America. And we will bring to the table the human resources that other people have brought to the table, and we will bring another level of moral and cultural and religious sophistication to America. And this is what America is about other people bringing diversification and refinement and resources and investing them into the society. This is what's going to this what I believe is going to happen. On the other hand, I believe that
America is also good for Islam. Now, what do I mean by that? I don't say that Donald Trump is good for Islam. I just think that the KKK is good for Islam, but white supremacists are good for Islam or, or that the so called evangelical Zionists that they are good for Islam. I didn't say that. And I didn't even say that.
All all Americans, whether they're white, or black, or Hispanic, or whatever, that they're all good. First, I didn't say that. I mean that America as a society, with its institutions with its resources,
America with its constitutional privileges, America with its historical premises, is good for Islam. Why? Because it's so soil
that the seed of Islam has been planted is growing at a very powerful rate. And when you take aside the subjective demonization and this whole atmosphere of Islamophobia, we can take all of that to the side. Muslims have in the last 50 years made considerable investments in America and made considerable commitments to America that has shown what it is to be an American. And I think from the outside, if it's not that, objectively, my perception would be very much supported. Now, my own colleagues, Muslim colleagues, whether they are scholars or they are students of knowledge or whether they are lay people or whatever.
To sell this idea to do might be a bit difficult in the beginning because people have their own subjective feelings. They've been victimized and with this Islamophobia and a great deal of Muslims right now, kind of feeling you know, that they don't have many options and that, you know, they're at the bottom of the barrel. Well, I don't feel that way, based upon my exposure, based upon my research, and based upon the privileges and resources that America is
given to me, I know where I was born, I know where I started out at. And I think I think I'm I think, Almighty God, because I don't believe that
the opportunity has been given to me.
I could have done this, or I could have achieved this or that I could be a part of a legacy, do you even see what I'm saying?
If I was in some other country, other than America, so I believe in
that is the will of God, I believe me, and I believe in
the grace of God. And I think that it is the grace of Almighty God. And it is the determination of Almighty God, that Muslims like myself have turned to Islam as a set of values, while we retain the responsibility, and while we retained the original premise of the constitutional values of the American society, and I think that Muslims who have come from some 39 or 40, Muslim countries who have come to this country in the last 50 years, similar to myself,
they have embraced the values of the American Constitution and made them better human beings.
They have used their Islamic values, to pray, to worship,
to make progress, to make the investment to be good citizens to be good neighbors. And all of this seems to suggest to me that
the cup, or the plate, or the dish, or the table of America, is good for Islam. Now, if we can proceed with that premise,
that Islam is good for America,
and that America is good for Islam. And we can proceed with that premise. I think that 10 years from now, 20 years from now,
the status of Muslims in America would not be expressed in their numbers, it would be expressed in their resources, it will be expressed in the residue, and it would be expressed in the development that they have participated in to make America a greater country than it has been Mr. Trump.
it would behoove Mr. Trump, if he was a wise man, unfortunately, he's not.
But if he's a wise man, and somehow know that he listens to some wise people, if he wants to make America great, whether he takes it has been great, that it is great. If he wants to make it greater than it is, he should look at the investment that God has made and the determination that God has made to put 6 million Muslims here, people who were part of the Islamic faith in that he should look at the performance of the Islamic faith over a period of the last 1300 years and the civilizations that it has created and the resource that has developed upon which the American society and its institutions are still beneficiaries up to date.
So
it's a pleasure to be part of this interview today. Again,
I just wanted to let people know and remind them that we are on YouTube life. We're trying this today on the shakes official YouTube channel. So please make sure to share the link to the live video and let your friends and brothers and sisters and people in your network know that we are on YouTube.
We have noticed and we've seen and we we know that the videos and material have shifted in his in his all over the internet. So we've been trying to make sure that people know where the ship's official YouTube page is, where his Facebook official is where his Twitter is. So please, we would appreciate if we if you help us bring traffic and you know, just come to the pages that we tell you are the shifts official pages. And make sure to share that live YouTube video with other people.
Just to name a thank you very much for that this is probably a good time for me to remind people that
the 50 years of my life, or 52 years being a Muslim
has been captured
and is being organized in the form of a book
and a movie
called son of a prince after x.
And some of the prints after x is sort of descriptive of the the generation that came directly after
The Assassination or the phenomena
of the late Alhaji Nick Chavez, better known as Malcolm X,
I'm referring to myself as a son of that Prince.
Only I'm one of the sons of that prints, you know, all of my colleagues. We call them the oh geez, the older generation who were the baby boomers.
We all sons and daughters of that Prince, this son of the prince,
it has documented his life travels and experiences
in the form of a fairly huge manuscript that has now been developed by some of our creative writers. And
we are now organizing
a movie. So our projection is that the book should be ready for publication. And perhaps the movie should be prepared to be launched
as early as September 2018. So we want to remind our people that
all of what we're doing, I mean, whether it is the book or it is the movie itself.
The title is fairly self, descriptive son of a prince.
That's who we are. That's who I am.
And the new reverts the first generation of reverts here in America. And after x means the 50 years what has happened in the last 50 years after Malcolm X, what he would have seen what he would have experienced, how would he have reacted? What would his advice have been? We don't know that. But what we are trying to do is take the moral responsibility of being the eyes and ears of the prince, or his progeny,
Malcolm X, and participate in American let America see the value of Islam and let Americans appreciate the opportunity, they have visibility to the rest of the world, the distinction that they have in the rest of the world.
So that this message, Islam, America, and the world will become etched into the history of America through a movie and through a book. And my, my hope, My prayer is that my progeny, my children, my grandchildren,
my great grandchildren,
my mother, who is still living and is a Muslim, and her generation, my colleagues, who themselves probably 6070, maybe some of them even 80 years old, that there will be something
for them to make a reference to that will document our legacy.
Because Malcolm's legacy was enshrined through a movie. And although we don't most of us, we don't agree that that movie was a very good depiction. But at least it's it was there. His book was his his life was further enshrined by the book that was written by Alex Haley. And although we know some of the subjective motivations behind that, still, there was a book, and there was a movie. So here we are 50 years after Malcolm X. And after traveling around the world, and all over America, and having opinions and having the challenges that we have, in our experiences, we're now documenting that book.
And we also turn that book into a movie. And we would ask
our viewers, to please keep that in mind. And so I think that we have a couple of ways at which they can support this effort. We have what is it called you carry,
you can go to youcaring. And you can contribute to this project that we're working on.
You can collaborate you can you can write to us and we can give you any information that you might want to make you a part of it and feel a sense of belonging to the project. We are working on the movie, you can come to our Facebook page and you can also contribute that way you can go to Chicago scene.com Skype purpose.com you can go there, that's our website. And the first thing you can do, which is very easy, like and share.
I mean, we don't need you to like it.
Because of popularity, we need you to like and care because that's a way of supporting us in social media. The other thing that you can do is that you can go to our Facebook page, you can go to our website, and you can actually register and subscribe.
Now is very important on our YouTube channel, it's important for you to be able to subscribe, I think before the end of our broadcast, there'll be a button that comes up on the screen that asks you to subscribe, we asked each one of you just to subscribe, this will have some, this will give us some leverage, just as something very important. It's cost you nothing to do that. Now, if you don't support it, you don't believe it, you don't believe it deserves your support, I'm gonna ask you to do something against your own moral reasoning. But if you are a friend, family member or supporter, a student
of Chicago, seen all the work that we've done, then we're asking you to like and share. And go to our website, Chicago, scene.com. Skype purpose, comm register and subscribe. And there are many benefits of subscription. And before the end of this broadcast, we asked you to subscribe, this will really be helpful to us. So let's continue.
Thank you. Um,
well, do you want to mention your tour as well?
Yeah, of course. What's our What's our trailer, you know, you know, if you go to the Internet, and you've probably seen the last three or four years, we have a teaser. And we have to make sure you understand that that was just a teaser, after x Final was a teaser. Now there was legitimate work that went into doing this teaser for the after x Final. And it does represent these sensitivities and the initiation of this project. But now we are diligently engaged in the development of the actual movie for television.
One of the stages of that is just preparing the script, performing and creating a trailer, putting the team together the package together. And that's what we're doing now. And we're we're hoping that in the next 30 to 45 days, we will complete that stage. Now, in doing so, once we do that, we will visit 10 or 15 cities in America,
doing what shooting the film, meeting with people, networking with people who have resources in the film industry,
meeting with family and some of my family and friends and supporters and students and
meeting with people who themselves are intellectual representatives of Islam and America who can contribute to this film. So 10 or 15 cities, we will cover between now and September. Secondly, we will visit 10 or 15 countries,
many of them in West Africa and some of them in East Africa and others in other parts of the of the world where we have visited in the past. So these are the this is the tours that we will make around America. This will also include the tours that we will make around the world to give everyone access and exposure to this powerful project.
I was Yeah, I was just thinking. We've got a few people watching now. Just another reminder, please everyone, brothers and sisters, make sure that you let people know that the live streaming is happening on YouTube now.
We understand that there might have been some confusion last time we were on Facebook Live.
This week we're on YouTube, but these will be the two main channels will be on so we'll be on YouTube on the shield's official page and then on Facebook. So please just keep in mind that we are on the sheiks YouTube channel and make sure to bring traffic towards that direction.
Okay, continuing our questions she
you had said that part of the intent of producing the movie son of a prince after x is to document and tell the story of Muslims in America over the last
50 years?
Why do you feel that it is important for people to
acknowledge and understand and witness the story of Muslims over the last 50 years in America? Well, if we don't tell our own story, somebody else will tell the story.
And obviously, we have the women in the best position
to tell our own story, we have all the tools that are available for us to tell our story and not just tell our story to fellow Americans, but to tell our story to the world. So we are committed to using the resources that are available to us because, you know, even the Qur'an mentioned to us. In the fifth, I have sort of bakura I was alone in a shutdown regime, Allah subhanaw taala. He said, what matters up he's describing the characteristics of believers, woman merasakan, now home young people, those who spend out of what We have provided for them. Now, if my neighbor doesn't understand my faith, he might respect me, but he doesn't understand my faith. How would he didn't
really appreciate
it, my family, my contribution, my presence in that neighborhood or in the society. So the book, and the movie, is my attempt to use my exposure and my experience my interaction with people all over the world.
It's my attempt to exercise my,
my discretion, and to fulfill my responsibility as a Muslim and an American citizen, just set the record straight, to give people a different perspective. And okay, I have to admit that much of what I have to say is my own subjective views. But every author, that's what they do.
Everyone that makes a film, that's what they do, they take an set of incidents or subject, and they give their subjective view. This is part of the dynamics of being an American, being in the in the modern world and taking advantage of multimedia. At the same token, I will be using the sources of the core a,
I'll be using the life of the Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon, I'll be using the phenomena, okay, of American Opportunity and resources and the American Constitution. And in my being between these dynamics, to tell my story, and I will tell my story, like my Mark Twain, like whoever wrote Mark Twain, I will tell my story, like, like Mr. Obama told his story, I will tell my story, like many other Americans, Will Rogers how he told his story, because this is part of
an image of the individual opportunity and, and responsibility to tell their story, if they believe that their story is worthy, that other people will benefit from. And I do believe that my family,
my friends, my students, my supporters, and other Americans and people from around the world that I have met, I think that they will, they will appreciate my story. And, and it's better to tell one story while one is living. And well. Because when you're not well, maybe you don't even have the energy to tell your story. And if you're not living, then we leave the story of the legacy if it will be told at all, we leave it for other people. And this is what we're working to take advantage of.
I've read that up to 60% of Americans have never met a Muslim before in their life. And as you had mentioned before, many of the representations that Americans see of Muslims is that they identify with terrorism
or
and Muslims are very much associated with the 911 attacks on New York City. So
how do Muslims feel about attacks like 911 and feel about people like Osama bin Laden?
Well, you know, about
60 of americans i don't know how accurate that statistic or guesstimate it is, but you
You know, probably 60% of Americans never met a woman.
So that's, I mean, 300 million people in America 50
contiguous states in America
was so many, so much diversity. There are people in America who were born in a town, and they never left that town. So they don't know even know other Americans who live in that state. So
we don't I don't personally feel that's so much of a challenge. However, yes, it does become a challenge when people become prejudiced by subjective
media that has a very clear Islamophobic agenda. And we Muslims have to be very active, proactive,
to reverse that kind of, of unfair
and subjective discrimination. Now about 911.
I think that maybe
this is what 911 is, like,
almost 17 years ago. Now, this September, I think, will be like almost 17 years. Well, the association that Muslims the association that the public had with Muslims regarding 911,
at that time, is quite different than what it is today.
Because in time, a lot of other things come out.
A lot of other information is has to be released by the government. And I think that it's fair to say
that there's quite a bit of
forensic evidence that shows that
a group of
Muslims with box cutters, and the ambition to destroy an icon of American society like the World Trade Center,
that the sophistication of that operation was way beyond their capacity.
Secondly, forensic evidence is showing that the bringing down of the World Trade Centers,
was a phenomena that actually defied all the scientific facts itself. Now, all the open minded Americans have to do is step outside of Disneyland, and Steven Spielberg land, and just look at the forensic facts. And we'll see that, you know, if we don't want to say that it was an inside job, which many experts, non Muslim experts are saying that this was an inside job. Now, if we don't want to say that, and this is that Shahada is insane. This, these are forensic experts, who previously were associated with the government, forensic experts from institutions, forensic experts from all over the world who themselves have collaborated together and shared the information. They're saying
that this was an inside job not inside, what was it inside the government? We don't know. We can't say. But was it an inside job meaning that a job that took place with the collaboration of people inside of America before any outside is even got involved? That's what we believe the evidence seems to indicate that there were bombs
set up inside those buildings.
Just like a demolition, which means they have to be wired, they have to be synchronized. It takes months. It takes weeks and months to set up that kind of sophisticate and how would they do that inside of buildings, which is being monitored 24 hours a day? We say that
those are answers that
those are questions that has to be answered by the facts.
Now, we're not saying that the the official report that was given, we're not going to say that we differ with the official report as a whole. But we'll say that the forensic evidence seems to suggest that a new investigation, a new arbitrary investigation
needs to be done
in the interest of not in the interest of clearing Muslims because if some Muslims participated in something of that, if they collaborated with something like that, even if they were just part of the conspiracy, they
Still guilty. But if there are others who are complicit to it, the American society, Americans need to know that. And therefore, I think that YouTube is available. And people should go to YouTube and see what kind of evidence forensic evidence has been collected in these 17 years in regards to that event. And I think that what we'll find out is that
those Muslims were not alone if they were Muslims at all. Because nowadays, just somebody can put on a turban or wear a beard and call themselves whatever they want to call themselves. This doesn't mean that it has anything to do with Islam just means that some people who call themselves a certain name, or whatever it is, did some act. But it is obvious they were not by themselves, because they would not have had the capacity to perform an act that now we see, requires tremendous scientific,
refinement, knowledge, collaboration, synchronization, so forth and so on.
Just like the murdering the assassination of our president, john F. Kennedy, we now know
that Lee Harvey Oswald, was not the lone shooter of the President,
not mean, well respected. People in the field field of research and film, have
put this out to the American public, even even recently.
But what can we do about it, that administration of that time, cannot be prosecuted, because it's like 25 or 30 years afterwards, or more. So I would say that Islam as a faith has not been indicted by 911 Islam as a faith that has not been indicted by any such actions like that, because Islam as a faith doesn't contain any such parameters, or principles that justify the taking of human life, or the destruction of property, or the subverting a civilization or a government. It has nothing to do with Islam. And if any Muslims have those kinds of sentiments, they are extremists, they are fanatics. They are terrorists, just like the Christian extremists, fanatics, and terrorists, who
committed so many actions around the world, and are still committing acts in America that we see. So and, and I say that, you know, terrorism is wrong, whether it is retail terrorism,
you know, where 300 people are killed or whether 5000 people are killed, that's retail terrorism, but wholesale terrorism that involves the taking of lives and the destruction of countries and ripping out and robbing of natural resources of people, which amounts to the millions of people, which Christians have done all over the world throughout history and which
Christian nations are doing as we speak. So terrorism, fanaticism, extremism, and criminal behavior, immoral, unethical behavior is wrong, whether it's done by people who claim to be Christians, Jews, or Muslims, and Islam, or Christianity, or Judaism, as scriptural faiths, have nothing to do with that.
Well, still speaking of 911, and the fact that the incident regardless of what people think, who was behind it still had a huge and significant impact on the lives of millions of Muslims, whether it's,
for the way Muslims are perceived in the United States, their own Muslim experience here, people who lived in America before 911, and after 911 talk about how things changed dramatically for them. There was a time when nobody knew who Muslims are and what Islam is. And then all of a sudden, the spotlight was on Muslims. So that had a huge change in the way people experience being Muslims in the United States. So that's one aspect.
I would like to ask your opinion on how do you see things changing before and after 911 for Muslims in the United States. The second aspect is the political implications for 911 in the Muslim world. There were so many wars and so many programs, like the war on terror, for example, counter extremism and counter
radicalization projects. These are projects that several major powers in countries all over the world, not just in the United States are working very hard on. And this has an impact on the lives of so many ordinary Muslims. So I would like to hear your opinion and your thoughts in this regard. Well, thank you very much since nine but that is a very powerful
question and my introspection on that is the follows
911 as an incident, as an episodic incident, as it was seeming, in my estimation was designed to be
created a social political
challenge for Muslims in the United States and Muslims outside the United States for the reasons for which it was inactive.
You know, but
Muslims, Islam as a face is very resilient.
Face itself and God throughout history has been very resilient against all kinds of satanic
conspiracies. So I am again optimistic that Muslims will Muslims are
rebounding.
Islam is still moving at
tremendous leaps and bounds. All statisticians all statistics seem to
say the same thing. But Islam is the fastest moving face in the Western Hemisphere, if not the world.
Islam is moving, people are coming to Islam, at a rapid, more rapid pace, then towards any other face on the globe.
In spite of 911, in spite of the counter insurgencies, in spite of the war on terror, in spite of this, and in spite of that, so this is one thing.
The other thing is that the best deal comes from the hottest fire,
the most valuable,
the most valuable things that the earth produces, it produces from the most pressure,
diamonds, gold, so forth, and so on. So I believe that in the divine
scheme of things,
these challenges are built
to produce the very best Muslim.
And Muslims in America are becoming very diverse, very resilient,
and forces them to be able to defend themselves, defend their faith, mix with other Americans, show other Americans the value that they have to this country, sure, other Americans,
how remote such acts are to Islam, how foreign that they are to Islam. And I think this is a continuous challenge that we will face, as Muslims in America, as Muslims around the world are facing similar challenges. those challenges will continue as they have throughout history. And we will not get rid of those challenges. If they would simply not go away. The armies of God,
have armies of the devil, or shaytaan. That will challenge them. This has been the history of faith versus materialism.
Now, in this regard, I think that Muslims in America will find an ongoing challenge, not just to respond to the issue of 911,
but to distinguish themselves
as American citizens and distinguish themselves as American citizens who are also Muslims and American citizens who are Muslims who have the capacity, okay, to take advantage of the resources in America, not only for the benefit of their face, but to take advantage of the resources of America to help refine their society. Jewish people did it.
Catholic people did it.
Hindus people did it. Japanese people did it. So are they were their challenges any less than ours? No, they will not necessarily and it would be foolish and prejudicial.
narrow minded for us to say, say so. Now do we have some unique challenges? Of course we do.
But those unique challenges are no longer able to be identified as ethnic challenges, because now Islam is not locked inside of any ethnic group any longer. Okay, predominantly, we say that the reverts in America, for the most part, they are African American, but they are also now Hispanic Americans. They are also white Americans. And they are just as Muslim as anybody else. And they're also Americans like anyone else. So then the challenges take upon a different set of resources, a different set of tangents, a different set of aspects, and the history of Islam, the the profile of Islam, throughout history, that Islam works its way through all of those challenges, to give
credence and contribution to any civilization, that it it arises, or it breeds in and adds refinement, that society.
such an extent that every place that Islam has landed and bred, and developed and taking root, and produced fruit has been a
has been a and a compliment to humanity and taking humanity to another level, offering them different diversified resources. So again, I think that Muslims should keep in mind that when they are attacked, either verbally or ideologically, or physically,
this is part of the territory, you got to take that with the territory. And where would you rather be? Where would you rather be to defend Islam or defend yourself? In a place where you have no civil liberties?
In a place where you don't have freedom to express yourself? Or to be in America? Well, it's obvious.
I mean, the question is quite obvious. And again, I thank God, that, that, as an American citizen, I can answer these questions, without feeling any kind of apprehension about my safety, without having any apprehensions about my being
arrested,
indicted,
and placed in jail without trial, or whatever the case might be simply because I'm expressing my views. Now, what could happen?
What has happened is that any Muslim, anyone supporting Islam, could be singled out some conspiracy could be enacted upon them. And yes, that that's always the case, and with any kind of faith, or any kind of social challenge, or whatever the case might be, but I think that those of us who are social activists, and and people who believe in the ideals of human liberty and freedom and also believe in the ideals of worshipping Almighty God, and the way in which God wants us to worship, we should be very much prepared to suffer the indignation and to meet the challenges that others similar to us met in the past.
She if I have another question regarding, again, the way our stories being told, and the fact that like you're saying,
there are people who are speaking on behalf of Muslims and talking about Islam and writing about Islam, and we should intervene and create our own stories in our our or narratives and make it available for Muslims and non Muslims. So one of the phenomena that a lot of Muslims are dealing with, and all of us are dealing with right now is all of the labeling, and names and affiliations that people throw left and right, whether they know what they're talking about or not. And that comes from both Muslims and non Muslims. So you have people talking about being said a fee being edited, Hadith being Sufi, being Islamist, being politically involved, Muslims having all sorts of
tags and names and labels. So a lot of people are so confused. And I think, in my opinion, our scholars and our respected speakers and chefs need to talk to us about what we should do regarding all of these names and all of these labels that are confusing people.
Well, again, thank you very much for that inquiry. And I'm sure that the questions
You asked is
that many other people share the same concern. So let me in my own inimitable way,
try to address that set of challenges.
First of all,
everyone has the right
as a Muslim to wear whatever jacket they want to wear,
to call themselves in addition to Muslim, whatever other nomenclature, our adjective
that they want to attach to themselves,
it doesn't make them better, or doesn't necessarily make them any worse. But in terms of necessity,
the Quran says what God said to Abraham will somehow come on muslimeen that is renamed as Muslims, it means that it should be enough to be called a Muslim.
Now, if you want to add some further refinement or some further clarification because of historical social ideological issues that took place, so you don't want to be generalized, as a Muslim, but you want to be known to be a good Muslim, a correct Muslim, you know, or whatever, that's okay. But this is a phenomena that has been that has taken place in all religions. You know, the Protestants broke away from the Catholics as a protest to what they thought was the * of the subjective religious sentiments of the Roman Catholic Church, and they call themselves protest it. They themselves represent today a huge segment of the Christians in the world today, then evangelical
Christians, and other kinds of Christians, a Calvinist and others, they broke away from the general model of Protestants and became Baptists and Methodists and so forth and so on. So this is a phenomenon that you find in every religion.
This whole idea of Catholicism, religion, and I use the word Catholicism because the Catholics, they did that they created what they consider to be their version, their civilizational societal version of Christianity, and they called it the Catholic Church, meaning the most correct meaning the most authentic, meaning the one that has been documented by the powers to be so forth and so on. So I'm using that terminology for this reason. So there are Muslims who also want to Qatada sighs, Islam, and they will call themselves different names to verify or to authenticate themselves, whether they are an ADT or call themselves Adam Beatty, or whether they are people who want to call them to
associate themselves with the data center failure or some other people who want to call themselves people of the tussle with the tariqa these are all movements which have their own values,
which have their own justifications. And every Muslim can associate as they want to, for the reasons that they have, because of a particular scholar or particular methodology or particular persuasion or particular understanding, and we should not as mature Muslims engage in arguments that lead to polarization that leads to enmity, subversion and hatred and separation, we should not engage in that just to be good Muslims, we should respect the right of every Muslim to live with, associated with follow, adapt to one of the group named scholar persuasion reflection platform that they feel is good for them. But they should never impose that persuasion upon others. Neither should they use
terminologies to demean others, to incriminate others, to call others by names that sort of take them out of the legitimization of Islam. Because to do so is mature. To do so is an Islamic, and you know, there are people who have very good behaviors.
But ideologically, they have drifted away from the main sources of Islam. There are others who have very strong rhetoric and ideological
rhetorical ideological connections to the sources of Islam, but they have very bad behavior. Obviously, the object should be for Muslim, to be as close as they can to the sources of Islam without very to the right or to left, but also to maintain good behavior with other Muslims, with other human beings, with people of other faiths, because this is the man of the Prophet sallallahu sallam. Now, you can call yourself any name, you want to call yourself, you see. But if you enter a bus or train or Rome and you smell bad, doesn't matter, what you call yourself, doesn't matter, even how you're dressed. If you smell bad, you're going to be offensive to other people. If you act in a
foul way, you can call yourself whatever you want to call yourself. But if you are found in your speech, if you are following your behavior, if you are anti social with people, you are non progressive with people, you are socially dysfunctional, you don't have a concern for other people, your neighbors, and you're just calling yourself some names and wearing a particular uniform, and insisting upon some kind of kafala sized nomenclature of Islam that we are the ones that's correct, and the others are not correct, then this really is an antithesis of Islam. So I would advise Muslims, that when they are invited through the rhetoric, or through the materials, the written
materials, or through the
or visiting other groups of Muslims,
to to be very patient.
To be very, to investigate.
Don't make quick decisions.
sit and listen to other Muslims. respect them, show them that you have the concern to listen to them. But don't embrace groups.
Join them, eat with them, pray with them,
respect them. But don't join any group
until you are reasonably satisfied
that regardless of their rhetoric, and regardless of what they say that both they're
the liturgy
that means their religious rhetoric, which is documented in some forms and shapes and their behavior.
Both are in sync. Because at the end of the day, the price of sem said that Islam is good behavior.
Islam is good conduct. You will know a Muslim by the way they treat their neighbor, you will know a Muslim, how they interact with their family members. You will know a Muslim when you work with them and how they deal with their co workers. You will know a Muslim by the investment they make in their society. You will know a Muslim how they deal when it comes to business principles. You will know a Muslim in terms of their tolerance and their behavior towards others. You will know a Muslim that when they are strong how they deal with the weak, you will know a Muslim that if they are weak how they are patient, with their circumstances, you will know Muslim to their charity, you're not Muslim
to the smile, you will know Muslim yes and their profile, you will know Muslim in their clemency. There's many ways to know and Muslim
does not do their books, is not through their fervent attachment to their scholars. It is not just in their rituals is not in what they wear. It's not in what they impose upon others, because in most cases, we find in the nature of the Prophet saws, Mr. Lawson described him as a Russia for the human humanity.
That he is a Russia, Russia typical Atomy See, he didn't say Russia for the muslimeen he said Russia to me that is a mercy, a healing for the whole creation. That means if a Christian met the Prophet Mohammed saw center for Jewish person met the Prophet Muhammad SAW some if a Hindu or Buddhist or anyone with any what they met, the prophet SAW said they would be greeted Well, it would be treated well.
If they stayed with him, they would be fit, they would be protected. They would not be cursed, they would not be condemned, they would not be treated in a bad way and the court and sets this forward. So if we are not as Muslims,
delivering to other human beings to be havior of the process now, just we are imposing what we believe to be the principles of Islam, the rituals of Islam, the the duties of Islam, the characteristics of a Muslim
We want to impose it upon people know a lot of you said like,
there is no compulsion in religion, we can't compel another Muslim to believe, like we believe we can compel non Muslims to believe in Islam. We can compel our family members, even inside of our home to pray or anything, we can't compel. There's no compulsion in religion. So then how can we believe that we are correct, the most correct, the only correct, and then we start to curse other people, and Dean legitimatize other people's faith, just because we believe that we are correct, and we are. So that's what I want to say, we need to be patient, we need to be tolerant. And you find a Muslim that's intolerant, you find a person who has a defect in religion, you find a Muslim, that is
bad in their behavior, there's a defect in their religion, the defect belongs to them doesn't belong to Islam. And I think that we have a chance in a society where everyone can practice their faith or their non faith as they please. And we can see this happening in America, somebody who's LGBTQ z, or whatever the case might be, constitutionally, they can practice their non belief or their,
their personal ethics, or whatever you want to call it. And no one can do what no one can force them anything otherwise, as long as they are still within the realms of what the constitution set forward. So if, if that means that we have to be tolerant with the most radical parts of the society, we don't have to accept them. We don't have to embrace them. But we have to be tolerant, that they're also Americans. And by constitutional rights, they have the right to express themselves. Similarly, we Muslims, who are 60 million people in America, perhaps they may be 40 different persuasions of Muslims, socially, ideologically, religiously, ethnically, or whatever the
case might be, if we want to consolidate and make a difference, as Muslims here in America, we have to strive towards unity, to have the consolidation of leadership, to have the consolidation of our resources, to have a very clear identity in terms of our communities. So that we can use that consolidation to invest in America, like other religious groups did, and create the possibility or the premise of some kind of a strength. And when you have strength, you're in a country that is open, you have wealth, you have resources, then you can establish your faith with institutions and tangible resources, like any other faith, and if we want that to happen, we Muslims have to have a
lot more tolerance. And that means lowering your wing.
emphasizing the universality of Islam, and modifying the distinctions an ally knows best.
Thank you very much shake. We're coming up about an hour and a half now. We haven't heard from too many people as far as their questions or whatnot. But we'll continue to have the channels open. So that if anybody does have any questions for you, or any comments whatsoever, I'm there for you to share those. Um, I personally just have one last question. As we wrap up here. There's a video going on around online from sister Yes, me and Harris. She spent more than 17 years in prison in California. And she was speaking about how, when she was imprisoned, she felt as though she was neglected by the Muslim community.
And it was a systematic effort in order to pull her away from Islam. So what obligations do we as Muslims have towards our brothers and sisters who are in prison?
Well, you know, the first thing I want to do is I want to point out that
historically, here in America,
Islam appealed
to
people who were cast out, people who were considered to be socially dysfunctional, people who were in the prisons, people who were in the ghettos and streets, people who were socially disadvantaged, historically, Islam has almost always appealed to them. And rightly so. Because Islam always has Islam has always offered them the opportunity to reform themselves. And so we see the phenomena in America. We know that the prison industry in America now there's more people incarcerated in America than there are in any other country in the world. I have been told that in America, there are more
Than 3 million people incarcerated.
I've also been told that it's possible that 15% of the people incarcerated in America are also Muslims.
Now, if we take that step that guesstimate to be correct 15% of 3 million people mean some
450,000
incarcerated Muslims, now these people could remain incarcerated.
They could also remain entrenched in whatever brought them to jail, or Islam could be a source of their reformation, which in the case of Sr yasmeen, has, that it actually did. Now, if in fact, there are 450,000 human beings, who, regardless of the crime they committed against society, or against individuals, that they reformed themselves, to be, they became Muslims reformed their lives, to be productive, to be repetitive,
to be functional, and to come back into society after paying that debt, then we have an obligation to receive them. Secondly, while they're incarcerated, we have an obligation as Muslims to support them. Because there is a there is a there's something a system in Islam called zakat.
And part of the caste system is to support people who are either enslaved,
or people who are in debt,
or people who are incarcerated. So those in debt, those that enslaved those incarcerated, those incapacitated, they have a right to I was a cat. Now, if there are 16 million Muslims in America, and let's just say that 20, let's just say that half of those 6 million Muslims in America, 3 million of them earn $30,000 a year, a year or more. That's a huge sum of money. This means that those Muslims who make that kind of money, they should be paying Zakat every year.
And if they have to pay the cavea, they have no right to take that money to take that the tax money that they get and send it to their country or who they want. No, that's a cash should be given to the leader of the Muslims, the representative of the Muslims, and his body of administrative people. And then it should be divided in such a way that all the six or seven categories that have been
enumerated by the Quran itself, those six or seven categories, of which incarcerated Muslims, incapacitate Muslims, Muslims in debt, or Muslims that are that Muslims that are enslaved, they have a right to that sucker. So that situation should not happen to just yasmeen. And it shouldn't happen to the other phone and 50,000. If that's the statistics are correct, to people who are incarcerated, every Muslim should have the feeling and the obligation and the commitment to support even if it is only writing a letter.
I mean, can we understand the impact that would have on an incarcerated person, Muslim, otherwise, just receive a letter that they would not receive maybe from their parents? Maybe they don't have any friends? Maybe they've been cut off from society? For a number of reasons. But what is the impact of a letter? How would that impact upon their lives? Secondly, if they were to receive once a month $20. So they don't have to beg from anybody. You know, because in the federal system, as the system pointed out, in the federal system, the United States of prisoners have a right to work in what's called prison industries. I mean, it's still exploitation, but they can work in prison
industries, and they can earn some money. But in the state system in which most of the Muslims who are incarcerated, they cannot work. So how do they get money? How do we remain dignified? How do we get money to just their basic needs, if they have no family? So as Muslims, what we could do, individually, we could adapt a prisoner, regardless of what happened to them and why they went to jail, we could adopt a prisoner, write them a half a page to three or four chapters a month. Secondly, give them $10 give them $20 the cost, the cost of like a few meals in the course of a month that we something that we wasted the course of a month, we could just send that to them and we
would relieve them. So essentially, I want to say that
it is very unethical and it is a shame that a Muslim lady
came out of the jail and says that for 17 years, she never got a letter, she
knew that she was a Muslim, who knew that she had adopted Islam to reform her life. And that she has to get out of that prison and be in a safe house or whatever the case might be, and still not received and still not stabilized by Muslims. That is a shame in the fact that this, that this applies to perhaps 450,000 other Muslims that are incarcerated, I think it's worthy for us to, to collaborate together, do some research together, and find out how we can relieve ourselves of this moral responsibility.
So we received a question from
someone, I can't tell if it's a brother or a sister, but I'm just gonna read the question and pass it on to the shave.
said, I'm not a comb, you're great man. Could you tell me about Muslims making haram money and feeding their families and, and building messages with her on money? And also eating unhealthy food? So that's somebody who wants to hear your comments and perspective on that. Okay. My dear brother, or sister?
I think that the question is set up with a number of assumptions.
And we should not answer questions based upon assumptions. We should answer questions that are based upon legitimate facts are very clear, documented facts. Yes. Are there Muslims,
who earn haraam money and give that money over to a mosque? Of course they are. But I don't think that it's my place to enter a presumption. I say that they are in the minority. And I don't say that there are many Muslims earning haram money and building messages and schools with haram money. I think that that's an overstatement.
Other Muslims who commit crimes Yes, but to say that many Muslims are doing that is wrong. Other Muslims who who don't separate money that they earned is haram into money that is Hillel. Yes, there are some but I think that most Muslims, even if they are doing something hot um
they're using some kind of discrimination to say I can't give this money to the masjid. I can't build a school with this IP. Why? Because when Muslim knows that God is the sees that and how you're going to take something head on and do something which is Hillel, I think you're going to get a reward from Allah subhanaw taala, you're not going to get it. You know, you're every Muslim knows that. So I think we should take a different presumption that of Muslims doing something Haram, they're also doing something bad. If they're earning money in a haram boy, they're also earning money in a halal way. And that the good Muslim, the decent Muslim, the basic Muslim is only going to
give from that which they earned Hillel, they're not going to make hatch. From haram money. They're not going to build a Masjid from her own money. And to see this as a presumption is to put a stain and a stigma upon many matches in Islamic centers. And I don't think that's right to do. And so therefore, I'm not going to go along with that presumption. I'm just going to say that the Muslims who do that know that they're doing what's wrong. And, of course, we should enjoin the right and forbid the wrong, but I don't think that we should make any kind of blanket assumptions that this is being done on a major basis.
Yeah, that was and also, Cisco brother, thank you for your compliments. You know, a law is great.
If I've said something or done something to be impressive or deserving of some compliment as a martial arts robotic a lot, and I appreciate it so much to compliment
and, but let's all remain as humble as we can with whatever contributions that we have made.
A furniture scene for the opportunity of having you today.
In Sharla, the live stream will be available on shift headed your scenes official YouTube channel. I'm reminding our brothers and sisters again who are watching us, we're trying to consolidate your credit your scenes online,
social media, websites and YouTube.
All of that. So please make sure that you are on the sheets official pages, make sure that you subscribe to the YouTube channel. any upcoming or any new uploads will be exclusively uploaded only on this one particular channel, we know that she has added your scenes productions from over 15 years ago are all over the internet.
And we're trying to bring all of that back to the shakes official YouTube channel. So please help us in sha Allah, and make sure that you let people in your network know.
I would like to take this opportunity before concluding
to thank our viewers. And I do realize that we have less viewers today than we had on our Facebook Live just last week. But that's because we we have to integrate between YouTube and Facebook and Twitter. And so if some people were expecting us to be on Facebook Live, we will upload this to Facebook. So you will get the opportunity to see that. Make your comments. We will be responding to your comments during the course of the week. And maybe next week, we will be back on Facebook Live, I'm not sure. But give us the time. Just be patient with us until we can sort of consolidate our presence between Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. And we're asking you Please Like and Share right
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money and people just you know, I'm noticing people saying, oh, Chef, you're doing a movie. That's great. When it's finished, send me a copy. Oh check. You're doing a book that is great. How can we get a copy? Brothers and Sisters Come on, it doesn't rain like that. And you know, blesses gold and silver doesn't come out of the sky. This is a major project. You know, it takes effort, collaborative effort. We have done some work over the last 50 years we are doing some work now. But to put the pieces together and consolidate it to cook it and package it and bring it to you as a completely finished product. For our legacy and for the benefit of Muslims and non Muslims around
the world. We need your support. And support means you can say tech be Allahu Akbar. You can say Oh, shake you more sweeter than water. Oh, shake Kudo for you shake. You know, you can say anything you want to say and I appreciate all that. But guess what?
You will not have food on a table if you don't go shop. And there will not be any food on the table if somebody didn't farm. So there needs to be people that plant farm harvest. People that take it to the stores, make it available, put it on the shelf, then you go there you buy it, after you buy it, you bring it home, after you bring it home, you cook it prepare it, give it to your guests, we're asking you to help us to do the same thing, brothers and sisters. And you know, like shefali you're seen. I don't know if some of you think somehow not in 50 years, somehow another maybe I got 50 million or 5 million or 500,000 or 50,000. That's not the case. Brothers and sisters, I'm a human
being just like you. I'm 71 years old, I will be 72 in June.
I have 13 children 11 biological children and two that are not my biological but they're like my children. I have 59 maybe 60 I'm told grandchildren. So whether whether I'm able to fulfill that tremendous responsibility or not, and my mother is a Muslim, you know, so just trying to fulfill my duties to my family, my children, my grandchildren and all those things. It takes up a lot of my time and my resources and at the end of the day, I've never been rich. Allah has blessed me too.
travel around the world. But no, I do not have a bank account with any significant amount of money in it to do this kind of a project just to make that point clear. Secondly, I don't have with me around me, some multimillionaires or people who just say, Oh, shit, go do this here. And we're going to give you the money. No, we have the idea. We have the commitment. And we are engaged in doing that. But if 10,000 Muslims around the world who say they family, friends, supporters, homeboys, homegirls, whatever you want to call it, 10,000 Muslims gave us $100 give us $10 or just $1.
It was significantly helped the project that we're working on, and we're not begging you.
We're not begging, we are appealing to you to support this project as you support other projects. Because at the end of the day, it's your project. It's It's It's part of my legacy was the legacy of all the Muslims. Today, all the Muslims who have died, or the Muslims who have passed on all the Muslims that are here, and all the Muslims who are in the belly of women right now. It's their legacy also, and we asked you to contribute to that.
So son of a prince after x, this is a book and a movie, we're hopeful that the movie and the book will be organized and ready for publication are launching by September 2018. This is our projection.
If you will help us in any way you can, of course, if you don't have money, well write to us and tell us that you have some skills. If you don't have money, you don't have skills, but you really support Okay, like DOD, and we accept your job. But you know, on the market, dollar spends better than
you don't do is for the accurate and we appreciate that we need that. But in the market where they produce books in the market where movies are produced, we need dollars. And that's a reality. So we thank you very much for tuning into us listening to our broadcast, whether you whether you're part of the live broadcast, or whether you're listening to it archived again, please watch, listen, like, share.
Go to Skype purpose, comm go to holiday scene.com and subscribe. And at the end of this talk, you will see a button that says subscribe, go right now and subscribe there. Because the more subscriptions that we have, the better it is for us to be able to monetize what we're doing.
I would ask brother Abdullah, if he has any further question or system name, if they have any other question before we close out? Do you have any other I guess we could just like let people know that inshallah this will be an ongoing program. And the sheriff has mentioned that in the previous episode.
So if you have any questions for the sheriff, he gets hundreds of tons of messages on his personal account, he gets tons of phone calls every single day. There's an overwhelming interaction that's happening with the shift social media accounts all the time. But we would like to remind you that this is your opportunity, if you want to talk to him directly. If you want your questions to be addressed, and if you want to hear an answer from the shift, please make sure to come and tune in and watch the live broadcasts and the live interviews that we have. So that while we're looking at your comments, and while you were looking at your questions, we can get the sheath to answer and
respond to what you're saying.
Thank you very much for sitting down with us again today. We're looking forward to next week again, sitting down with
sitting down with you. May Allah bless all of your efforts and mail have less than less than me and we asked the last panel, we want to thank sister Naima and brother Abdullah for their diligence, being part of this project. And helping me to make this happen and consolidate these resources. We ask Allah, Allah, Allah that He bless you in your own endeavors, and that he gives you the consistency and the resiliency and the resilience to to be with us and to continue this, this this project as we are embarking upon it. And, and again, to our viewers, whether they're family, whether they're friends, whether they are supporters, wherever you are in the world. We thank you for you're
tuning into us and for supporting us. We say panic alarm will be hectic when you're doing that, you know, and want to start from the corner to be like super neurotic or build a city. I mean, my phone was mostly 100 reliable, but I mean I mean salaam aleikum wa rahmatullah wa barakato.