Facing Bigots With Outreach, Civil Services, and Civic Engagement

Facing Bigots With Outreach, Civil Services, and Civic Engagement

Siraj Wahhaj - MASCON 2019

The Foundation of Our Work

The question is asked, how long will the building stand? Answer, how strong is the foundation? That's the key. I should have gone first because I will give you the philosophical foundation of the work that they do. In 1968, there was a song that was number one on the rhythm and blues chart for six weeks straight.

Who can tell me the name of that song? Oh, very, very good. But wrong. Yes. Sam Cooke, good guess. Good guess. James Brown. You know who James Brown was? Say it loud. I'm black and I'm proud.

What We Need to Fight Racism and Bigotry

There are a number of things we need in order to fight against racism, bigotry, Islamophobia, all of that. A few things. Number one, we have to have the right attitude. With that, the right character. We have to know what to do, what to say, and how to say it. Dali was right. You have to appreciate what black people went through in this country.

Understanding the African American Experience

I don't know one Muslim who was lynched. Almost 4,000 African Americans lynched in America. You don't know what it's like. You can't get a job because you're black. You can't live in a neighborhood because you're black. You can't go to a certain school because you're black.

The Literacy Test: A Tool of Oppression

I have here two things I want to read to you. But before I do, is there anyone here who needs money? I'm going to give you $1,000 right now if you can answer this question. I need someone who wants to try to answer the question. Come, brother. Yes. No, it's true. I ain't making this up.

Years ago, black people, in order to vote, had to pass the literacy test. I'm going to give you one of those test questions. If you get it right, right now, you get $1,000 from Nehat's pocket. You got it, right? All right, brother. This is the question. You got to remember, black people coming to vote. But before you can vote, you have to answer these questions. And they didn't give them $1,000. I'm going to give you $1,000. Ready? How many bubbles in a bar of soap? A thousand. Take a seat.

The reality is you can't answer the question. They didn't want black people to answer the question. How we fight back.

The Prophetic Principles for Fighting Back

The details, the strategy, the tactics are left to us. The Prophet, peace be upon him, he gives us the basic principles. The Quran gives us the basic principles. How do you fight back? You must, and I'm going to say this again, you must do it in a peaceful way. John F. Kennedy was right. He said, those who will make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.

You got to be patient. Say what you want to say about black people. Black people never fought against this country. They fought for the country.

The Social Revolution of 1968

Now, when I was in high school, 1968, when that song came out, I got what is called an Afro. You know what an Afro is? Neha, do you know what an Afro is? My Afro is so big, you can land a plane on it. No, I'm serious. I'll show you the pictures. But it was a social revolution. It was black people being proud of themselves.

Everything black was negative. So black people had to learn to love themselves.

Now, I know you don't go to movies, but how many saw the movie Malcolm X? I know, you don't watch movies, I know, I get it. But remember in the beginning of the movie, the character who played Malcolm X, Denzel Washington, had conked hair. What do you mean by conked hair? Black men straighten their hair so that they can look white.

If you look at African American women today, look at their hairstyles. Look at the hairstyles of African American men. Starting in 1968, you saw a change in black people's dress. They wore dashikis and they had different names. They had Islamic names. They had African names. It was a social revolution.

The Dallas Case: Demographics and Justice

I have two things here I'm going to read to you, and then you can come get me, if you dare. This is critical, the point I'm going to make. How many times have you read about white policemen shooting black people and getting away with it? Millions of times, right? It was a case, Amber Geyer from Dallas was convicted of killing a black man in his apartment that she thought she said was her apartment. She was convicted. Why? Let me give you some information, and I think, yeah, this is interesting.

Let me tell you something about Dallas where the case was adjudicated. 42% of the population in Dallas is Hispanic. 29% is white. 24% black. The mayor of Dallas is black. The police chief in Dallas, black. The Dallas County District Attorney, black. The judge who presided over the case, black. Of the 12 jurors and four alternatives, seven black, four white, and five other races.

The Changing Demographics and Our Responsibility

I don't know if you notice the demographics of America is changing. You have a big job to do. I don't believe in conferences where you just come and have fun, but you got to do something. We got to do something. We got to

be committed that when we leave this conference, we got to go back home, and we got to be organized, and we got to make a change in America. That's the spirit that we should have.

Black Excellence: A Historic Moment

Five names. Toni Ann Singh. She's Miss World. Zozebini Tunji. Miss Universe. Nia Franklin, Miss America. Chelsea Christ, Miss USA. Khalid Garris, Miss Teen USA. For the first time in history, all of them black. Black is beautiful, but I knew that.

Our Multiple Identities and Allah's Creation

I have many identities. I'm a black. And you know what? I love being black. I can't wait to wake up every morning black. But you ought to ask the question, why? Because Allah said:

"It is He who forms you in the wombs as He wills." (Quran 3:6)

If Allah pleased to make me a black man, I'm happy to be a black man. We ought to be happy however Allah made us. Because the Prophet said:

(Sahih Muslim 2564)

"Allah does not look at your forms nor your bodies, but He looks at your hearts and your deeds." (Sahih Muslim 2564)

That's how Allah is going to judge us. And this is the work that we have to bring to America.

Our Mission as Muslims in America

I close with this. I close with this. Allah has blessed us to be Muslim. I don't know about you. I'm happy to be a Muslim. In the end, there will not be one black person in Jannah because they're black. There will not be one white person in hell because they're white. They will be in Jannah by their works and Allah's mercy. So we as Muslims in America have to show the way. Have to show the way by our character. Have to show the way by what we do.

The Quranic Call to Justice

And I want you to go visit Harvard Law School. And when you go visit Harvard Law School, I want you to go to the entrance of the faculty's library. And there hangs a verse from the Quran. And they say one of the greatest expressions of justice in the history of the world.

"O you who believe, stand out firmly for justice as witnesses for Allah, even against your own selves, or your parents, or your near relatives, whether (the person is) rich or poor." (Quran 4:135)

Stand up for justice. And this is how we do it in this country, but do it with peace.