IMAN’s Takin’ it to the Streets 2007

Imam Zaid Shakir - IMAN's Takin' it to the Streets 2007

Opening Greetings and Acknowledgments

Peace and greetings to all of the people who have come here today, your respected Dr. Omar and Imam, and Imam Talib Abdul Rashid, Sister Laila Mohamed, Sister Precious Mohamed, Amirul Islam, we thank all of you for your hard work and dedication. Rami, Neshashidi, all of the man-workers whose efforts in conjunction with other concerned people have made this possible. Let's give all of them a healthy round of applause.

The Power of Unity and Peace

Brothers and sisters, IMAN is able to give hope, as Dr. Omar said, hope that one day this crowd will not be able to be contained by this park. That one day all of the people coming together, from all of the different races, nationalities, ethnicities, all the different religious communities, coming together in an environment of peace. Anyone see any fights today? Anyone have to worry about someone wilding out because they had too much to drink today? Anyone fearing that someone is going to snatch their pocketbook or their wallet today? That, brothers and sisters, that shows you what Islam can do when it joins forces with other people of goodwill, with other people of spirituality.

That collectively we can create an environment where people, human beings, can gather in safety, security, to be inspired, motivated, and uplifted by each other. Brothers and sisters, do you want to see this in Marquette Park or do you want to see this throughout America? Yeah. Do you want to see this throughout Marquette Park, throughout America, or throughout the world? Throughout the world? The world? I can't hear you. The world? The world? The world?

The Power of Dreams Coupled with Action

If we dedicate ourselves just as this started, this started with a dream. A dream that was coupled with action. All of you young people, most of you are young, and even the old people feel young. Hakeem, are you still young? This crowd making you feel young? He feels young today. The truth be told, he feels young every day. Just some days he feels younger than others.

Brothers and sisters, all of you young people, put in your heart a dream. Brother Rami and those brothers and sisters, Brother Jamil, that came together to start IMAN, they put a dream in their heart and they nurtured that dream. Each and every one of you, dream of a day when this peace, when this brotherhood and sisterhood, when this cooperation, when this feeling of spiritual togetherness will pervade throughout this world as it pervades today throughout this park.

And if you couple that dream with action, with planning, with coordinating, networking, coming together with other human beings, you can make that dream a reality. And don't let those people who want to destroy your ability to dream, destroy your dream. Make your dream a reality. And we'll see a better world, my brothers and sisters.

Taking it to the Streets: The Case of Imam Jamil Al-Amin

Taking it to the streets. Brothers and sisters, there are some brothers and sisters that are walking around with t-shirts that say free rap. Who has a free rap t-shirt? Raise your hand. Come up here to the stage. Who's the closest one? You got a free rap? I don't have a free rap t-shirt on. I'm not talking free rap music. I'm talking about free Imam Jamil. H-Rap Brown. Where's the free rap t-shirt? Who got one? Raise your hand. Come up to the stage. Free rap, son. Brothers and sisters, you see that? Free rap.

Imam Jamil Al-Amin. Listen. Most of you don't know. And the reason I'm introducing this is taking it to the streets. And Imam Jamil Al-Amin and his community, they were working in the streets in this country to get rid of the drugs, to get rid of the crime and the vice. And Imam Jamil is in jail probably because of the success of those efforts.

And the only thing, the only thing that stands between Imam Jamil Al-Amin and his freedom is for an individual by the name of Otis Jackson who has confessed to shooting the policeman that Imam Jamil is in jail for allegedly shooting for his testimony to be accepted. So brothers and sisters, there's a table somewhere. Talk to, what's your name brother? Brother Yusuf. Brother Yusuf. Talk to brother Yusuf. He's going to be around. Look for anyone with a free rap shirt. Talk to them to let them inform you of what you can do to put pressure on the authorities to accept that testimony so that Imam Jamil Al-Amin, formerly known as H-Rap Brown, one of the great workers for Islam down in the streets in the history of this country can get back out on the streets and continue his mission and effort. All right.

Freedom for All Political Prisoners

And I earlier had a brief encounter with Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. What's his call? Freedom for all. What's the call? Freedom for all. What's the call? Freedom for all. All the political prisoners who are languishing in the jails of this country.

A Message to the Youth: Vision, Plan, and Education

Brothers and sisters, I'm going to wrap up. The youth, all of you youth, you bring energy. Channel that energy in a positive direction. I said you should have a dream. Each and every one of you should have a dream. If you're young, you should have a dream. But what you need to go with that dream, you need a plan. You need a plan as to how you can transfer or translate that dream into action.

Start planning right now how you will transform your dreams into reality. And one of the greatest plans you can make is education. Educate yourself. Learn what you need to know to be able to make your dream a reality. And then go out and get the tools that you need. Get the tools that you need and go out and transform this world.

You have the vision, you have the energy, you need a plan, and then you need to work and to understand that it lasts a lifetime.

The Power of Networking: Following the Prophetic Example

IMAN has built this wonderful gathering because of networking, because of joining hands, joining forces with

other groups and organizations and as Muslims. If you're a Muslim out here today, if you can take one thing away from this gathering, take from this gathering the power of networking.

Our prophet, he was a networker. When he was weak, he was a networker. He was looking for ways he could build his strength by joining forces with others who shared a part of his vision. And when he was strong, he was a networker. When he was sending out the letters to the emperors and the kings in the neighboring countries, when he was making alliances with the tribes in the surrounding areas, when he was strong, he was still networking.

Brothers and sisters, just as this gathering is a fruit of effective networking, our ability to change this world will only happen when we can effectively network at an increasingly higher level.

Standing Against Powerful Forces Through Unity

Because the forces that are trying to take hope from the people, the forces that take the freedom fighters who rise up like Imam Jamil from the people, the forces that control the media that Dr. Omar was talking about, who instill fear, which is the negation of hope, instead of encouraging hope, these forces are very powerful. These forces control, they govern a lot of money, they govern a lot of resources, and no one group can stand up to these forces. The Muslims cannot stand up to these forces.

The Christians who still believe in the human spirit and in the spirit of God that they see manifesting in the life of Jesus, those Christians, we're not talking about the Christians that support the empire. We're talking about the Christians who oppose the empire. We're not talking about the Christians who join forces with the emperor Constantine. We're talking about the Christians who went into hiding so they could still speak the truth that would eventually undo the empire. Those are the Christians. They cannot stand up to those forces alone.

Well-meaning people cannot stand up to those forces alone. People working to challenge the prison industrial complex cannot stand up to those forces alone. But if we are able to join forces, if we're able to be inspired by this gathering and make a park-wide gathering into a city-wide gathering, into a nation-wide gathering, into a world-wide gathering, then we will marshal forces that those forces can never stand up to.

And that's the challenge for us, brothers and sisters. Our challenge is to build those networks and deepen those networks and strengthen those networks until they're an unstoppable force for good and safety, peace, and security in this world.

The Inherent Dignity and Power of Every Human Being

Brothers and sisters, if you take anything away from here today, take that message. Take the message that each and every one of you is important. No matter who you are, you are important. No matter who you are, you matter.

As it was just stated, because of the power of the human spirit that has been put inside of every human being, the power and dignity of the human being that our creator gave to us, we Muslims, we recite a verse in the Quran (وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِي آدَمَ - Quran 17:70) - that we have ennobled this human being. That nobility, that dignity, that

power cannot be taken from you. And as an individual, you can extend it to everyone that you come into contact with.

And when all of us start to do that, collectively, the good and the humanity, the spirituality that we manifest will change the face of this earth for the better. It will take all of us, each and every one of us, to make that commitment. Not to sell, compromise, or give away the dignity, the spirit, the power that God has given you.

Closing Call to Action

And you make that commitment, we will take back this country, we will take back this world from those corporate, greedy, impatient forces that seek our collective destruction.

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.