The Teachings 2.0:
Twitter Sayings
of
The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan VOLUME 3a
Compiled By: Abdul Qiyam Muhammad
The Teachings 2.0:
Twitter Sayings of The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan
Volume 3a
Copyright © 2023 by Minister Louis Farrakhan.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.
Published in the United States by FCN Publishing Company, Chicago, Illinois.
Library of Congress Control Number: 2013932263 (Paperback) ISBN – 13:978-1-929594-08-5
Printed in the United States of America Transcribing & Editing by: Nubian L. Muhammad
Proofreading by: Shareefah Muhammad, Ebony S. Muhammad, Kalimah Muhammad
Landra Muhammad, Andreau Berry
Cover & Layout Design by: Jahleel Muhammad Cover Photo/Inside Photos by: Hannibal Muhammad
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
‘On The Witness Stand’ III..........................................................................................i
SECTION 1
The #AskFarrakhan Town Hall Q&A at The Historic Final Call Administration Building in Chicago, Illinois (September 26, 2012).................................................1
SECTION 2
1 - Religion & Spirituality............................................................................................52 2 - Health & Wellness................................................................................................71 3 - Marriage and Family...........................................................................................87 4 - Youth......................................................................................................................105 5 - Education & Leadership...................................................................................119 6 - Business Economics...........................................................................................140 7 - Social, Politics & World Affairs.......................................................................160 8 - Arts & Culture...................................................................................................180 9 - ‘Getting to Know’ Louis Farrakhan &The Nation of Islam........................194
INTRODUCTION
On The Witness Stand III: When God’s Servant Calls You
“And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony...” (Revelation 12:11)
“O you who believe, raise not your voices above the Prophet’s voice, nor speak loudly to him as you speak loudly one to another, lest your deeds become null, while you perceive not. Surely those who lower their voices before Allah’s Messenger are they whose hearts Allah has proved for dutifulness. For them is forgiveness and a great reward.” (Holy Qur’an, Surah 49: 2-3)
I am grateful to Allah (God) and deeply humbled that the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, the National Representative of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, has invited me to write an introduction for every single volume in The Teachings 2.0 book series.
In a 2012 phone conversation, Minister Farrakhan told me, “Brother Jesse, you must write an introduction to every edition of the “Twitter Book” (The Teachings 2.0) that is released because you and I have had a very unique journey with this modern equipment--on the phone and in our meetings. You have a testimony and you have testimonies that only you can bear witness to because it has only been me and you on the phone during these question and answer sessions with
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the exception a few times I invited others on who were in the room with me. You have to be a witness bearer of what you’ve seen and heard of your brother and minister.”
By this time, as with most of the phone calls with him, I was silently crying out of feeling unworthy.
He continued, “Not only have you witnessed The Minister in answering volumes and volumes of these social media questions, but you have also witnessed that he didn’t know any of the questions in advance and how Allah used him as an instrument. You’ve witnessed something that you can’t keep to yourself. You’ve witnessed the heart of The Minister, the love of The Minister, the dedication of The Minister, and how committed he is to The Mission of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. So, you keep writing the introductions brother and I am assured you will not run out of anything to write because you’ve witnessed much and will witness much more. Will you do that?”
I softly responded, “Yes sir, I will Brother Minister. Yes sir, I have been blessed to uniquely witness so much that I’ve prayed to Allah to never be a silent witness. I am honored and I do not take any of this for granted. Thank you for the opportunity.”
He then, as with every single call I’ve ever had with Minister Farrakhan, immediately shifted his tone and transitioned the conversation into The Mission of the mental and spiritual resurrection. He wanted to know when we would schedule
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our next Twitter question and answer session via phone, the online reactions to the recent responses he gave to questions from Twitter, the latest developments regarding social media he should be informed on and the next reports he would like to receive from me.
Many, inside and outside the ranks of The Nation of Islam, have asked me, “What is it like to receive a call from The Minister?” And as they are asking the question, I hang my head, start getting teary-eyed and say to them, “Oh Allah, brother/sister, please don’t make me cry because I am not worthy to receive such a call.” Once I am able to gather myself, I start sharing how no matter how many times I’ve been blessed to hear from him, every time is just like the first time when he surprised me in January 2010 by taking out the time in his busy schedule to call me to address a personal letter that I emailed to him in the previous month. I still get nervous and smile brightly when he calls. While being blessed to deliver messages inside Nation of Islam mosques or in the community, I’ve shared how my voice gets very “M.G.T.-ish” when I’m talking to him. The M.G.T. (Muslim Girls Training) is the name given to the women and girls in The Nation of Islam. Most of the time the audience has laughed when I describe how my voice sounds. I don’t know if they believed me, however, over the years several across the country have witnessed me answer his call sitting right next to them and they later bore witness that my voice was in fact “M.G.T.-ish”. (smile)
You may be thinking, “This is not necessary. He’s just an
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ordinary man like any other man.” Emphatically no.
Anyone reading this who has ever received at least one phone call, a brief embrace or even watched him walk by in their atmosphere, will bear witness that the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan is far from being an ordinary man and it’s never an ordinary call or encounter. Never. When you’re conversing with him and feeding on his words, it’s like Jesus stating in Revelation 3:20: “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”
A phone call from the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan is always a conversation on the highest level rooted in The Word of Allah (God) and His Christ. He is always guided by Allah (God) to speak right into something you’re going through at that very moment that gives relief, comfort and confirmation. It has happened to me more than I can count. That’s why when I’m blessed to speak with Minister Farrakhan on the phone, be present for a meeting he’s conducting or sit at his dinner table, I LISTEN more than I talk. The fact that he may not know you personally or your personal circumstances is irrelevant because he’s connected to The God that knows us all and knows it all. It reminds me of the song I loved to hear when I grew up in the church titled, “Jesus is on that main line” and my favorite part of that song is, “That line ain’t never busy.”
***
iv Minister Louis Farrakhan
On the evening of September 26, 2012, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan held the firstever #AskFarrakhan Social Media Q&A. The youth were his focus during the townhall, which was filmed live in front of a studio audience at The Final Call Administration building in Chicago, IL, and broadcast to the world via internet webcast. An overflow crowd filled the adjacent Salaam Restaurant for people to watch on television screens while watch parties were hosted on the campuses of Texas Southern University and Winston- Salem State University, both historically Black colleges.
As always, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan did not know any of the questions in advance and for over two hours he delved into a myriad of topics with divinely inspired answers. Hundreds of questions were sent via Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and email from around the country and parts of the world. He only answered a small portion of the questions submitted and at the conclusion of the townhall he stated: “I want to thank, first, the staff that made this night possible. I want to thank all of those who worked to gather all the questions—I heard there are 800 questions. Well, I usually answer 75-80 in an hour-and-a-half, because you’re tweeting, so you don’t make long answers. But, I want to say to all of you that sent questions: I will not rest until every question that you asked, you’ll get an answer.”
I am a witness that the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan made his word bond and eventually answered every single question that was submitted! All Praise is due to Allah!
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Volume 3a is the first of two books dedicated to the #AskFarrakhan Social Media Townhall Q&A.
The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, who was made by Allah for the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, has sacrificed countless hours to answer thousands of questions on social media from people all over the Earth—regardless of their class, creed or color. He has utilized these social media platforms in the most dignified and respectful manner.
The Teachings 2.0 is not just a book series, it’s bread of life. May we all be blessed to eat this word and stay full.
Abdul Qiyam Muhammad (Formerly Jesse Muhammad)
May 1, 2023
vi Minister Louis Farrakhan
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SECTION 1 #ASKFARRAKHAN TOWN HALL Q&A (Part 1)
#ASKFARRAKHAN TOWNHALL Q&A
The following questions were answered by The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan during the #AskFarrakhan Social Media Townhall Q&A delivered live via webcast from the historic Final Call Administration Building in Chicago, Illinois on Wednesday, September 26, 2012.The Townhall was moderated by Ashahed M. Muhammad, Former Assistant Editor of The Final Call Newspaper.
#ASKFARRAKHAN TOWNHALL Q&A
Ashahed M. Muhammad (AM): As-Salaam Alaikum! My name is Ashahed Muhammad, and I am the Assistant Editor of The Final Call, and welcome to the Historic Final Call Administration Building here in Chicago, Illinois for the first #AskFarrakhan Social Media Townhall Q&A. Now, social media is an ever-present reality, with hundreds of millions worldwide tuning in via Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, on a daily basis, to communicate and share ideas. The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan has had a Twitter presence for the last year and a half, constantly engaging with the public. And tonight he will answer some of the hundreds of questions that you all have submitted via the Nation of Islam Social Media Networks, as well as from a number of prominent curators from across the nation.
The Minister has maintained a grueling schedule over the past few weeks: He traveled to Cuba, where he met with the president of Cuba, Raúl Castro; and also spoke at the University of Havana; he also
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visited Jamaica, where he sat with the Prime Minister, Portia Simpson-Miller.Over the last couple of days, Minister Farrakhan has been on the East Coast, in New York, where he visited four of five of the boroughs, speaking numerous times in many places: He traveled to the Bronx, Long Island, Jamaica (Queens), Brooklyn, Manhattan, New Rochelle, Mount Vernon; and then went to Newark, New Jersey, and spoke to numerous crowds there, as well as a high school class.
Now, in 98 percent of Minister Farrakhan’s tweets that he answers on the internet, he does not see them—he does not see the question ahead of time. And tonight, he has asked that we do the exact same thing. When you hear Minister Farrakhan deliver his answer, it will be the first time he’s hearing the question, and the first time he’s answering the question. We want you, and we want to see, how Allah Guides him to answer the questions.
Ladies and gentlemen, the Honorable
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Minister Louis Farrakhan.
The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan (HMLF): Thank you, Brother Ashahed. Thank you, very much. And to all of those who are watching by internet, it’s a great honor and a privilege to be here to talk, really, to the world through our young people who are sitting in this audience; and curators, and others. So without any further delay, I would like to start, sir, with the first question.
AM: Absolutely, Brother Minister. Our first question came to us via Facebook from Craig White in Washington, D.C.: “I think you’re more than a politician, but if President Obama had invited you to be in his cabinet, how would you have advised him?”
HMLF: I am a spiritual teacher, and politics is a business of compromise—and, I can’t compromise the Words of God. So, if I was in his cabinet, there are many things that I would have advised him on. And this next
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coming Holy Day of Atonement, since his (Democratic National) convention was in Charlotte, and our convention will be in Charlotte, I intend to take that opportunity, not as a member of his cabinet but as a spiritual teacher, and a member of a suffering Black community, to give our brother some words of advice.
AM: Question No. 2, Brother Minister, comes to us from Eric Marshall of New Jersey via Twitter: “What is your prediction on what, if anything, would change after the November 6th election? And what’s the point in voting?”
HMLF: So many people fought and bled and died for the right of Black people to vote. In the past, we have voted for one evil against another, but for the first time in a long time Black people have the privilege of voting for our own. Even though the political system is not the answer to what we suffer, yet the right to vote is a right that we shouldn’t take for granted. So I think our people should
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vote, and vote your conscience. And in this next election, which is probably one of the most important elections in the history of America, I would advise our people to vote, and vote what you think is in your best self-interest.
AM: Brother Minister, our third question comes from Jarvis Washington of Miami, Florida, via Facebook: “I recently read that you went to Cuba and met with President Raúl Castro. Why did you go to Cuba? And why is it that you seem to be friends with everyone that America hates, such as Castro,Gadhafi, and Ahmadinejad of Iran?”
HMLF: Evidently, America is on the wrong side of history. If I am a friend of those who fight to deliver the masses from oppression, if I am a friend of those who suffer from powers that refuse to acknowledge their service to the masses of the people, then I am a friend of Abraham and Moses and Jesus and Muhammad, for they, too, were hated by
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those in power because they spoke for The Poor who had no voice. So I am in good company.
AM: Our fourth question, Brother Minister, comes from Robin Lawson of San Diego, California via Facebook: “How do you think the conflict in Syria will be resolved? And is this another case of America unjustly meddling in the affairs of another nation?”
HMLF: I think the young woman that asked the question answered it: It is America’s unfair meddling in the internal affairs of other nations. As you may know, the neo- conservatives targeted Syria, targeted Gadhafi and Libya, targeted Somalia and other nations—and especially Iran—for regime change. And the Congress of the United States voted to send $150,000,000 to stir up trouble inside of Iran to produce regime change.
In Cuba, 70 percent of the people on that island look just like you and me. And
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that island is suffering simply because Fidel Castro wanted an egalitarian society where the poor would become possessors of the lands that were owned by the rich and the powerful. So yes, I am a friend of Castro, both Fidel and his brother Raúl. And I am a friend of all of those who fight for the liberation of themasses of the people.
AM: Brother Minister, we also invited individuals to submit videos. Our fifth question comes from Andreau Berry who is a student at Texas Southern University in Houston, that she submitted via YouTube: “In regards to musical artists such as Rihanna and Nicki Minaj, and reality TV shows such as ‘Love and Hip Hop’: Do you agree that they are damaging the image of the Black woman, and sending a negative message to our youth? And what is the parent’s responsibility in regards to this issue? Thank you.”
HMLF: Nicki Minaj and Rihanna are two 8 Minister Louis Farrakhan
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of our most beautiful and talented young women. We have to understand that when we become great in this world, there are those who would like to manage our careers; and in order to put us before the world, they don’t focus on our gift or our talent alone, they focus on our beauty and our form. There is no doubt that Rihanna is a beautiful, beautiful woman, with a beautiful form, and so is Nicki Minaj; so the management, and those who run that industry, love to sell sex along with the talent.
So I would hope that in the future we would see the Gift of God; that our voice is a Gift from God, our talent is a Gift from God. And so to allow ourselves to be corrupted; and then to show our women that if they disrobe, if they act in a way that tempts, to bring out the worst part of men: Then we are destructive to the moral character of our people.
So, I would not blame Rihanna or Nicki
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Minaj—it’s a system out there. But soon that will change, and our women will present themselves in a much better manner.
AM: Thank you, Brother Minister. Now, we received many questions regarding Muammar Gadhafi, and the circumstances surrounding his death. One email that we received came with a picture of a cover [“TARGET QADDAFI” cover story written by Seymour M. Hersh for The New York Times Magazine, published Feb. 22, 1987]. The person who sent us this cover said many times they’ve heard you mention about certain things that triggered your thought process in seeing that the war on Libya was also a war on Black youth here in America, and a war on the Nation of Islam, and so the individual wanted to ask: “How do you decide to move on a thing when you receive something that you read or heard? How does it ‘click’, and make it so that you speak out about it in the future?”
HMLF: One of the great things about the 10 Minister Louis Farrakhan
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Honorable Elijah Muhammad, he was deeply, deeply involved in understanding the prophets of God and their prophecies concerning this Hour in which we live. So, when you understand the prophets and the prophecies, you see the headlines before the headlines come on the page of any newspaper, or magazine, or television show.
So we knew, from my experience in 1985, that Muammar Gadhafi and Libya was a target—but I also knew that as a tiny nation in Africa, and an African leader, was a thorn in the side of the imperialist governments of The West, so is this tiny Nation of Islam in America a thorn in the side of those who manipulate the ignorance of Black people; pitting us against each other so that the enemy does not have to kill us, they put us in a state where we are doing their job for them. And so as they moved on Gadhafi and destroyed his revolution, and ultimately killed our brother, that is the same aim that’s in their heart for the Nation of Islam and Louis Farrakhan.
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AM: Question No. 7 comes to us from New York by Sister Lilah: “Is it unrealistic in this modern time for a woman to want to be a homemaker?”
HMLF: Well, if a woman does not wish to be a homemaker, she will never have what a home is to give you. Home is the nurturing ground of values; home is the nurturing of two people who wish to become as one! So when a woman does not know how to make a home, then she does not know how to create peace, she doesn’t know how to take care of her husband, she doesn’t know how to rear her children, because she doesn’t know the art—really, the science—of making a home.
And that is the value of the class that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad set up for women; that these sisters of ours would know the science of food, the science of what food can do to give health and well- being to your children, to your husband,
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and to yourself. So [to] all of our women: Even though you want a professional career, that should be based on your ability, ultimately, to make a home.
AM: We have another question submitted to us via YouTube by a sister named Danielle out of Oakland, California: “As-Salaam Alaikum. I have recently been studying the ‘How to Give Birth to a God’ lectures, and from it, it is my understanding that the mental and the spiritual condition of the woman’s health is pivotal, especially during the act of conception and throughout our trimesters; her surroundings, and what she sees, her mind and her body have a momentous effect on the type of child that she produces. And, in receiving all of this information, you’ve got me thinking, you know, ‘What about the man? Do his thoughts and his overall health create a formula for the type of sperm he produces? And, is the importance in the quality of the soil parallel to the quality of the seed?’ Thank you for your time, Minister, and thank you very much for taking the time
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to answer all of our questions. As-Salaam Alaikum.”
HMLF: Thank you so much for your question. Yes, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad compared the female to the Earth. The Earth is the most important aspect of our physical life. We come from the Earth, and ultimately we return to the Earth. The better the quality of the Earth, the better the seed that is put in that Earth, the better the product that comes from the Earth to feed health and well-being to the human being. So, the female is so important for the future of any nation! Well, if she is the Earth, what good is having good Earth and a bad seed? So if the male is the carrier of the sperm, then a man must take care of his body so that the healthy sperm will produce a healthy child. The man must not only have a healthy seed by taking care of himself, he must have the right kind of thinking so that he will relate to the female; not only in the act of conception, but when that
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female says, “I am expecting a new life,” there is a certain care that she must have and there is a certain environment that must be created, that man has to know what to do and how to do. It’s male and female working together to produce the future of a nation.
AM: We’re on Question No. 9 from Facebook, by Josephine Poston from Chicago, Illinois: “What has been the result, or impact, of your walks through Chicago’s neighborhoods? Do you find that the people you meet stay engaged with the Nation of Islam?”
HMLF: From what I have been blessed to see, walking through the streets of Chicago has allowed me to look in the eyes, in the faces, of a suffering people. It kind of reminds me of a scripture where God said He heard the “moaning and the groaning” of the Children of Israel as a result of the oppression of their slave masters; and the word that God said was: “I think I will go down now and see
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whether the cry is altogether that which I have heard.” So God visited Egypt; and the Book teaches He was in a “burning bush.”The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said what God saw, He was so angry that the bush was “burning” yet it did not disintegrate. God is angry at the condition of the people!
So when we went into the street, and I’m speaking specifically of myself: I saw firsthand the condition of our people, and that strengthens my resolve to help, with the help of others, to change that reality. Whether they connect with The Nation or not, that’s not what I’m there for. I’m there for them to connect with Truth; to connect with what is right, what is good for themselves and their families. Whether they are Muslim or Christian, or have no religious affiliation at all, I want them to connect to those principles that will make a better man, a better woman, a better community, a better church, a better mosque, a better synagogue, and then
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we can work to make our community a decent place for all of us to live.
AM: Our next question, No. 10, comes from Winston Salem State University—and I thought I would mention that they are having a watch party right now! So, there are journalism students at Texas Southern University, Winston Salem State, and the University of Houston and Prairie View A&M who are watching what we’re doing right now in answering these questions. Bianca asks: “How do you think the Nation of Islam positively impacts the quality of life in America, and do you feel that Americans are appreciative?”
HMLF: Some Americans are definitely appreciative! When you see the transformation of our lives through the Teachings of Islam as taught by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, one would have to be blind, deaf and dumb not to be impressed to see a drunk come in, and come out sober; a user of drugs come in,
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and hears the Teachings, and come out clean; or, a man that had no respect for his mother or for women, and was using vile and filthy language to describe our females, but when he comes this way and goes back out, he goes back out a new person! And that is fulfilling what the scripture teaches, “In Christ” we become a “new creature.” Paul said, “Be ye not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind,” so when we come this way, there is no doubt that our minds are renewed, and our lives, thus, are transformed.
AM: Brother Minister, our next question comes from Zahi Truth Allah from Grand Rapids, Michigan: “How did Elijah Muhammad feel about Father Allah, as the Nation of Islam calls Clarence 13X, teaching that the Black man is God?”
HMLF: I think he would be very proud of Brother Clarence, because brother did not know that until he met the Honorable
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Elijah Muhammad. And Elijah Muhammad is the one that said, “Every time I’m looking at a Black man, I’m looking at God.”
Why would he say something like that? Well, if man and woman are made in the image and likeness of God, then how could we be less than that which we’re made in the image and likeness of? So if you are the exact creature of The Creator, then what is in The Creator is also in you! And all Elijah Muhammad is doing is bringing that up out of the man and the woman: That we see our connection to God, and then we get self-respect, self- love, self-determination, and then we learn to love our brother as ourselves! All human beings have the capacity to reflect God.
AM: Our next question comes from Rene Harris of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, via Facebook: “Did Dr. Khalid Muhammad ever ask your permission to return to the Nation of Islam like Malcolm X asked the Honorable
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Elijah Muhammad?”
HMLF: Brother Khalid never left the Nation of Islam. He may have disagreed with direction, but in his heart, Khalid was always a Muslim; but he saw in the Panther Party that which fit his feeling, his nature. The way Khalid was molded: He is a warrior spirit, and he found in the Panther Party that warrior spirit, and he wanted to produce men and women after that spirit. And, he has done that, and is doing that. And so are we.
AM: Our 13th question comes from Kwame Shabazz of North Carolina:“ Do you have any thoughts on Professor Manning Marable’s controversial Malcolm X biography?”
HMLF: There are many things in the book that I did not know about Brother Malcolm; there are many things in the book that I was inspired by. But there were other things in the book that troubled me. Malcolm X, and the work that he did: I don’t believe
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that his wife and children need to suffer for whatever you may find as a revelation; that, you would put that in a book to hurt children and grandchildren.
White people are very clever: There is a whole lot of evil that they have done, but when you read their history, they keep in the history the best of their own; and if there are negatives in that history, they’ll wait until years down the road when a new generation, a new time period has come up, and then that kind of research will come out. God is very Wise. No human being is without sin—not one! So the Holy Qur’an says, “If God were to punish man for his sins not one soul would be left alive on the Earth.” God is not interested in your sins; He came to free us from sin, and from the consequences of sin, so He puts before us prophets and messengers, and He keeps the best of them in front of the people. Look outside tonight and you’ll see the bright face of the moon. But there is a dark side to the moon. Now, we
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don’t need to see the dark side, because the dark side does not ripen the fruit, the dark side does not balance the waters of the Earth—it’s the bright side of the moon. So it is with the bright side of our life! So when people want to discover the worst of you, and then put that out, then that does not nurture the best in people. So God holds His prophets as sinless, even though they all did something; otherwise, they would not need the mercy, the beneficence and the forgiveness of God.
So, I thank Manning Marable for his research. But for me, you know, I think there has been enough said and enough done to besmirch everybody’s reputation. And when you do that to somebody else, would you like that to be done to you? See, that’s why one day I was with the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, and he asked me: “Brother, what is the best religion?”And I’m a Muslim. So I thought he wanted me to say, “It’s Islam”—and so I did; I said it. He didn’t say it wasn’t,
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but here’s his answer: “Brother, the best religion is that you do unto others as you would have others do unto you.”And when you write a book, knowing that you are not holy, you are not perfect, that you have committed sin, you have done wrong—and then you point out all the wrong of somebody else—maybe when your time comes you will wish that you had not done that to others. Because what you do to others, one day will come back into your own life.
AM: Now this next question came to us via one of our curators; it’s from an individual who is actually incarcerated. There’s a very popular rapper named Rick Ross who made a song and referenced this individual known as Big Meech. Big Meech is currently serving 30 years in the penitentiary, and so he sent us this question: “I’m currently in the Feds with too many young Black men who are victims of the War on Drugs which adversely affects our community disproportionately. 1.) How do today’s youth find income in this
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poor economy to prevent incarceration? 2.) How do we help free those who have draconian sentences for selling drugs (non- violent offenders)?”
HMLF: Well, to my brother who is in prison: There’s no real war on drugs—that’s a claim; because drugs are coming into this country every day, and they find their way into the Black community. Our young Black men are being socially engineered, because there are no jobs for them, and the school system has failed us, so our young Black men find that the only way they can get some of the material things that they see on television is that they must engage in some form of behavior that goes counter to the law of the society. This is purposely done, because prison, now, is big business. I read recently that the prison industrial complex is now on the stock market, and privatizing the prison industry is going on as we speak! People don’t build hotels if you don’t expect occupancy, and people don’t
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build prisons unless you expect people to fill those prisons.
Now our young people, particularly those in this audience and those that are watching around the country and around the world: Rap came from us. It started in the South Bronx; it started with conscious rappers like Public Enemy, KRS-One, Big Daddy Kane. Their rap was called “edu-tainment”. And many of them were selling their rap songs out of the trunks of their cars! They bypassed the big record companies, the big distribution networks; they were doing it themselves, and making good money! Well, I read recently that a conference took place outside of Los Angeles, California, in a rich man’s house, and all record executives were invited to this home, and in that home were people who were representatives of the prison industry. The theme was: “We have to change this ‘edu-tainment’ to ‘gangster rap’.” And once gangster rap started, you started then seeing beefs between this rapper and that rapper,
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because every rapper had their posse, right? And then these beefs ended up with this side killed, then vengeance; then that side killed—then the enemy would come arrest you, because you had drugs, you had guns. Well, where do you go? To the penitentiary. So now the prisons are filled! And they’re filled with young Black and Brown; not just men and boys, but women and girls. So, they’re building more prisons now! So to my brothers and sisters who are rappers: See, you’re part of a scheme; but you don’t realize that you are an unwitting collaborator in a scheme that is to destroy you and your future.
So my appeal to our young people: If you go to the record executives right now with a clean rap, they’ll tell you, “Oh, that’s not going to sell.” One rapper, I think he was on Oprah’s show, he said he went to the record executive—he even named the record executive—and he said, “I want to do a clean rap, an intelligent rap,” and the executive told him: “I tell you what,
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you go and you make the most low-down rap that you could make, and after that album I’ll let you do a clean one.” That brother went, and he made the most low- down rap that he could think of, and the record company pushed it. And when you make a filthy song, a filthy rap, and it gets to become a hit, then the way you show that you are now a hit, you go and buy some “bling-bling.” So the same record executive, he sends you... (A better term): He doesn’t send you, but he herds you to his brother who is in the diamond business, or in the gold business, and then you come back among your people showing them, “I’ve made it now!” But how did you make it? You made it by degrading yourself, and degrading your women, and saying things that promote a gangster lifestyle. And then you get busted, and the jails are full.
Tupac is dead. Biggie Smalls is dead. So many wonderful artists are now dead, gone! Michael Jackson said, “Gone too
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soon...” So be careful, my dear brothers and sisters who rap. I think if we stand up to these record executives and say that we are not going to degrade our women, we are not going to degrade our self. And if you walk out on them, they’re not going to make any money! And if we, as a people, decide to resist Satan, the Bibleteaches: “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
AM: The next question is from another rapper, “Young Buck,” who is currently incarcerated, that he sent via email as well: “Hate, jealousy and negativity are at an all-time high, especially within the Black community. How do we re-focus this energy to be positive, both from the perspective of one who is angry (the hater), and the one who is constantly judged by others and hated on?”
HMLF: If you have a new idea, it will create a new mind and a new vision. The only reason we stay in that box is because you
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haven’t met an idea that would change your focus. But once you get a principle that will change your focus, and give you a new vision, then what comes out of your mouth will reflect the state of your mind.
So, of course, envy and jealousy are in every field of human endeavor! But to the haters, to the envious one: You know, when you envy a person for the gift that they have you are actually showing hatred toward God, for God is The One Who gives all of us our gifts. And the more you focus on somebody else’s gift you’ll miss the gift that God gave you. And when you find your gift, and develop your gift, and use it to the best of your ability, then there is no room in your heart for envy or jealousy of your brother or your sister because they are being successful with their gift.
AM: In staying with hip hop, we have another question from a New Orleans rapper, “BG.” He sent it to us via e-mail, and he asks:
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“What is the best way for me to reach back and help the next generation? What worked and didn’t work for your generation in trying to help the next generation?”
HMLF: The best way to influence those that come after you is to be the best example that you can be, so that they have a model to look at. Why do people, 2,000 years after Jesus, and 1,400 years after Muhammad, and 4,000 years after Moses and 5,000 years after Abraham: Why do we look at them? Why do we read their words, and honor them, even though they’ve been dead a long, long time? It’s because the life that they lived, the example that they gave to us is a principled life that never dies. So in every generation, if you want to influence those coming behind you, be what you teach, live what you say, and then others will follow your example.
AM: This next question comes to us from Ottawa, Canada, from Leon via Facebook:
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“The Nation of Islam played a vital role in hip hop’s golden era. What is our role in hip hop’s rebirth?”
HMLF: There is water that falls from the clouds to the Earth, and when the water touches the Earth, the dirt of the Earth mixes with the water. But The Sun draws that water up from the Earth’s surface. And the higher that water goes, it becomes purified; then it forms clouds, and then it rains back to the Earth.
What you need in your life, dear rapper, is The Light of Truth, The Light of God. And once that Light shines on your mind, then your words will reflect that Light. The golden era of rap was when rap had meaning to educate the people who were listening to it. Go back and find The Light of Truth in your life, and the principles of that Truth, and then bring that in your rap, and the golden age of rap will return again.
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AM: Now, Brother Minister, this question you touched on earlier. There were so many questions regarding hip hop; so, this is from Leonard Garden in Orlando, Florida, via Facebook: “How did hip hop degenerate from the time when people like Public Enemy mentioned your name in songs, to now all we hear is calling women out their names, ‘poppin’ bottles’, money and cars?”
HMLF: I think I answered that previously; but, I hope you got your answer, because it was purposeful manipulation of the rap artist; it is offering you money that you never had before, offering you fame that you never had before, so fame and money becomes a corrupting influence, and you begin to think that money and fame says you’re doing something right.
If you want the golden age of hip hop to return, go back to The Truth, go back to The Principle; go back to raising your people through conscious rap. And believe me, you’ll make a difference not
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only in your city or town, but you’ll make a difference in the world.
AM: Brother Minister, we now have another video question that was submitted to us via YouTube by Sela from Accra, Ghana, asking about AFRICOM and Barack Obama: “Greetings to Louis Farrakhan. I want to know your take on Obama’s administration from seeing what he’s been doing so far. There are many policies taken that are not popular in Africa; invasion of Libya, and so on. I wanted to know your take on Obama. Thank you very much.”
HMLF: Unfortunately, AFRICOM is part of a design of the United States government to influence the direction of Africa. Because China and Russia have beaten America to the punch in Africa: China invited every African leader on the continent to China, and made promises to them. Since China has trillions of dollars, and America owes China a lot, China is using that money to help develop Africa. That is what
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Muammar Gadhafi was doing with the billions of dollars in oil revenue that Libya was receiving. AFRICOM was a design to destroy the influence of Russia and China in Africa, and they started, first, by killing Muammar Gadhafi and destroying his Revolution.
To those of you who are listening: 1.) Brother Gadhafi gave $400 million dollars to put up a satellite. Every time we called Africa, we had to go through Europe; but, because of that satellite (it costs $500 million: $100 million from other African nations, $400 million from Gadhafi), now when you call Africa, you call direct and Africa saves $500 million every year. 2.) Brother Gadhafi was putting $80 billion in an African Development Bank, so that African leaders could bypass the IMF and the World Bank, and borrow money from what Gadhafi was setting up at very low interest rates. Gadhafi was going to set up in the island of St. Kitts, which is the birthplace of my mother, a bank in which
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he was going to deposit $1 billion so that the Caribbean leaders would bypass the World Bank, the IMF, and borrow money at low interest. Well, who does that ill- affect? That ill-affects the international bankers—the blood suckers of the poor— so they felt that it was a necessity to get rid of Gadhafi.
And as long as Gadhafi was there, AFRICOM could not find a home in Africa (they were in Europe!); but after Gadhafi was gone, AFRICOM is there, American soldiers are there, and America’s interests now are being established. And what does that mean? Did you know that all of the minerals that would keep a nation like America powerful in the 21st Century are found in Africa? So if America has a presence in Africa, and can suck the life of those minerals out of Africa, America can remain a world power. It’s all about economics, and it’s all about power, and any Black man, or a Black leader that stands in the way of their access to what
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they feel are their interests, they get rid of that man.
So I’m saying to all of us who lead: When you want to lead Black people for the good of self; if you are Hispanic, and you want to lead your people for the good of the masses, you will always find the forces that will come against you. Such as Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, Fidel Castro in Cuba: all of these were people that loved the masses. And when you love the masses, and work for the masses, then you find yourself being an enemy to the rich and the powerful.
AM: Our next question comes from Miss Baldwin from New York: “What are your thoughts on the events related to the film ‘Innocence of Muslims’?”
HMLF: There is so much that I could say on that, but I don’t want to make a lecture (out of it). There is nothing that that film could do to really besmirch the image of
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Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, in the hearts and minds of 1,600,000,000 who love him. You know, the disrespect of Europeans, and others, for The Holy Qur’an (flushing it in the toilet, urinating on it): That does not diminish the power of the word that is in it, it only manifests the ignorance of those who say and do such things.
Last night in New York, at a dinner hosted by the Iranian government and people, I was asked by a member of the press how I felt about this (disrespect of the Holy Qur’an), and “Why aren’t the American Muslims protesting like we see in the East?” I didn’t want to be disrespectful, but the scriptures teach that as God rises the sun in the East, in the latter day He would cause the sun to rise from the West. Guidance is coming, now, from the West. We didn’t respond in such manner because as we are taught, Allah says in The Qur’an: “Let not hatred of a people incite you to act unjustly.” Well now, if
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somebody writes something negative about The Prophet, does that mean I have to stone innocent people, burn down buildings and become destructive? That’s not the answer! The answer is when somebody manifests ignorance, you teach the ignorant; then they will act better.
In the time of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), there was a young follower of The Prophet that needed to relieve himself, and so he urinated in the mosque. So when the companions of The Prophet heard it, they wanted to go and beat him up, and The Prophet said to his disciples: “Oh, go and take some water and wash away the urine. And then teach your brother, and he will do better.” Well, to me, disrespect of The Qur’an is not necessarily done by the unbeliever—the worst disrespect of that Holy Book is done by believers themselves. The Qur’an says in the Last Days, the leaders will put The Qur’an “behind their backs.” One of the Names
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of The Qur’an is Al-Nur, The Light. Well, if you put light behind your back, what are you using out front to guide you? So, when somebody says, “These people ought to be punished! They desecrated The Prophet!” Yes, they did. But that’s their ignorance, and their hatred of that of which they have no knowledge. But what about those who say, Ashadu an la illaha il Allah, ashadu ana Muhammadan Rasul- lu-lah, and take Washington, D.C. as their new qiblah (the focal point of their faith)? When Washington can guide a Muslim, and then take them and put them against their own Muslim brothers to shed each other’s blood... Who is worst: Somebody that urinates on The Qur’an, somebody that desecrates the image of The Prophet? Or those of us who say we love him, and then fail to follow his guidance?
AM: Well, with that we’ll go to another video question submitted to us via YouTube; it stays in international relations, and international affairs. This is our video from
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Vinny: “Minister Farrakhan, it is an absolute honor on behalf of myself, and the whole Vietnamese community. We would like to greet you with ‘As-Salaam Alaikum’! Minister Farrakhan, I’ve been a huge fan of yours for years; your work for the Black community, your work for ethnic people across the world—it’s nothing short of remarkable! Thank you so much for your commitment, your dedication and your sacrifice for Truth, for Justice, for Equality. Minister Farrakhan, my question to you: As a devout Muslim, it must be absolutely devastating to follow what’s going on in the Muslim world, and across Africa; we’ve seen drone bombings in Pakistan, wars in Afghanistan, wars in Iraq, war in Libya, the uprising in Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, Somalia, Sudan, Ivory Coast, the list goes on. And now we have America and its European counterparts backing Al- Qaeda rebels in Syria, backing Al-Qaeda rebels that work for the Mossad, and now we have Israel threatening war with Iran for nuclear weapons that don’t exist. Minister Farrakhan, my question to you is can you
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please share with us your thoughts on the situations in Syria? And your thoughts on the situation with Israel and Iran; and do you feel this could be a prelude to thermo- nuclear war with China and Russia? Thank you, Minister.”
HMLF: As a student of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, and a student of prophecy, in the Bible it tells you that nations are not going to put down their swords and their spears until a certain time and a certain event. So on the outside of the United Nations, there is a wall that quotes the scripture (Micah 4:3), that “nation will not lift up sword against nation, and they will turn their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks, and they will not study war anymore.” But that’s not the reality, as Brother Vinny just said. What is the reality? Just before that scripture, there is one (Joel 3:9) that says, “Wake up the mighty men of war!”—this is God talking, now. “Wake them up...” What are you waking them up to do?
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They are to turn their pruning hooks and their spears into weapons of war! Last year alone, America sold $70 billion of arms to the peoples of the world. Well, why are you buying arms? Why are you selling arms? Because now, no nation feels strong unless they have arms; so now the enemy is working to put brother against brother, nation against nation, Shia against Shia, Shia against Sunni, Sunni against Shia, etcetera. What is going on is a prelude to the final drama.
Don’t worry, Vinny: It’s going to turn out all right. For the scripture teaches, “As thou hast done, so shall it be done unto you,” and “God is not mocked: Whatsoever a man soweth, the same shall he also reap.” So the warmongers are about to taste what they delight in. Jesus said it best when they came to arrest him, andPeter took out his little sword and cut off the soldier’s ear; Jesus told Peter, “Put up your sword, for those who live by the sword shall die by the sword.” So what
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the world is facing now is the prelude to The War to end all wars, The War of Armageddon, and that will bring China in, that will bring Russia in, and all of Europe and America. And at the end of that, the Bible teaches: “If God had not shortened those days for His elect sake, nobody would be left alive on the earth”—and that is what we’re facing today.
AM: Our next question comes from Barbara Strikes from Montana: “In regards to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, why is Israel always playing the victim, and America is a sucker for it?”
HMLF: I think that’s a wise strategy for them, to play the victim and make everybody think that they are the victim. In one of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s articles he says that America goes abroad, meddling in the affairs of other nations, starting trouble, and then blaming them for attacking her. So that’s the way of the wicked: They come to kill you. For
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example, you have a pen in your hand, and they say, “I saw something! It looked to me like a gun, so I shot him 50 times!” See, they always have to justify evil by putting the blame on the person that they just victimized. That’s the way of the wicked. But all of that is on its way out, now, and soon—and very soon—you’ll see all of that coming to an end.
AM: Victor in Toronto, Canada, via Facebook, asks: “Is the separation that the Nation of Islam been preaching really going to happen, or is it just a theory?”
HMLF: No, it’s more than a theory, it’s a prophecy! God is not asking His people to integrate into a house that He has come to punish, He is asking us to separate from the wicked—this is how it is written in scripture—so that you will have your own land. Now, that may sound like a theory, but it is prophecy that is about to be fulfilled. I’ll close that question with this: What is America going to do with 40-
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50 million Black people, who don’t have any jobs, and there is no future for them in what America is planning? There is no future for us! In fact, if you look around, Pharaoh has already dropped us. The question is, when are we going to drop him and decide to do something for our self?
No... No! You are going to be separated, all right, because that is The Final Solution to The Problem between Black and White. The Book says when the Children of Israel went out, it was a mixed multitude. That means that there are many others that will go out with you, because they recognize this (world) has no future. So what we represent is The Beginning of a Brand New Reality that starts small, but will ultimately engulf the whole world, and it’s called The Hereafter or The Kingdom of God; or, here on this Earth after the power of The Wicked has been broken. Then all will live, regardless of race, creed, class or color: They will live in peace and harmony,
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with Freedom, Justice and Equality, when this world’s time has come to an end.
AM: Now Brother Minister, we have another question that came to us via YouTube from a brother named Eric Powell: “As-Salaam Alaikum, Minister! I’m Eric Powell; I’m 15 years old, and I’m from the D.C. Metropolitan area. I basically want to seek some advice from you. Me and my peoples, we starteda movement against gentrification and segregation within the city of D.C., and we want to do that via Black nationalism, and teaching our people about unity, self- determination, cooperative economics, starting up our own business...Basically, just doing for self. And, we have a lot of great ideas on how we can do this, and what our approach can be, especially on how we can appeal to our generation, you know, like, through the arts and all that—through music, through poetry, whatever—and we’re just having a hard time finding a starting point, or what starting point would be most effective. You know, how our approach
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should begin, how our initiative should be. So, that’s why I’m recording this question for you: I just want to know what you think we should do, or how we should start, rather. Thank you for taking the time to answer this question. As-Salaam Alaikum.”
HMLF: Thank you, Brother Eric. Your question encourages me greatly, because as a young man thinking like you think, that means that the work of the future is better than our past.
Now, when you start: 1.) You always have to start with people of like minds. And once you look at how you think then find people in Washington that think like you, male and female. 2.) Then you have to look, now, at what your community needs, and what you can supply. 3.) Then, reach into your pocket and see if you have any money to invest; and 4.) If you don’t have any money to invest, you have to find somebody in the community that believes in your idea, and ask them
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to invest. But you know what? If you all pool your resources, and then think of a business that that community needs, that’s setting a good example.
I went through Chinatown in New York (I mean, it’s something to see): Every house, every business, all the banks, everything is owned by the Chinese. Then I went into Harlem, and I saw a Chinese restaurant; and I looked down the street and I saw hair weaves. And I looked further, and I didn’t see too many Black businesses. Well, if we are not supplying the needs of our own community, you cannot blame others for coming to supply us with what we’re not supplying ourselves. But the problem is they take the money that we give them, and they take it back and build their communities while our communities are going down.
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said, “Pool our resources intellectually and financially,” and start with six or eight
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persons of like mind—and don’t break apart! Put your money together, put your ideas together, start your business, and watch other young people gravitate toward that idea. And before you know it, son, you’ll have a whole lot of young people dotting the landscape with all kinds of businesses; and before you know it, self-respect, and others will come and respect you for doing something for yourself.
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SECTION 2 Q&A CATEGORIES
The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan answered the following questions submitted via Twitter, Facebook and YouTube between May 2012 and March 2013. This set also includes many of the questions he received for the #AskFarrakhan Townhall that he gave his word that he would respond to.
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Q: What is the meaning behind always saying ‘Inshallah’? And who exactly are we referring to?
HMLF: We are told both in the Bible and in The Qur’an that we do not control a minute beyond the minute that we are in, and, we don’t control, fully, the minute that we are in. So when we say, “I’ll see you tomorrow,” we always say, Inshallah, or “if it is The Will of Allah.” Because to- morrow belongs to Him, and I could leave where I am after saying that, and get into an accident and never see tomorrow. When we say Inshallah, “If it is The Will of Allah,” we’re talking about Him Who has control over life and the creation: Allah (God). So always, don’t speak independent of God, always speak like you acknowledge a Power that has the next moment in His Hand, and He may, out of His Grace, allow us to see the next moment, and fulfill any desired meeting that we say we would like to have. Just keep Him in remembrance by saying
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Inshallah.
Q: I’ve been studying Ancient Kemet (Egypt) and many of our ancient civilizations from the building of the pyramids. Do you think in studying and looking at our people that it shows that we did not recognize one creator, but we had many gods during that time period? Or am I incorrect?
HMLF: Some of the ancient builders had other gods, but The One God started with us. And before there was a pyra- mid, we had civilizations. The pyramids were only built to leave a sign in the desert to a new ruler and a new world that was coming in, to remind them that before them, we were. And the wisdom that we had, we left a sign of it—but we buried more of our ancient civilization under sand, under the forest, and under the water. Some of which they’re discov- ering now, and recognizing that there is nothing new under the sun; that we were here before. Great civilizations were here
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before, that this one does not equal. The One God was before all of this, and we ventured away from The One God. But I think it was Akhenaton who brought us back to the worship of One God.
Q: Why would God allow this present beast to modify the weather, thus at times con- trolling life and death, when this also can be a tool that confuses people from know- ing the difference of whether it’s Allah’s chastisement, or is it the devil playing with the weather?
HMLF: He is trying to show that he is equal with God—that is written of him. He studies to try to do what God does, but he can’t do it like God does it. He can see the clouds and make a little rain, he can do little small things. But what we are experiencing in Hurricane Sandy’s visit, and nor’easter Athena’s visit, and the tornadoes that are visiting is that it’s not the enemy bringing destruction on himself, that is God Visiting us with one
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calamity after another. He can do little things, but God is doing The Big Thing today! And he is in awe over what God is doing, because he doesn’t understand why the change in the weather, or climate change, they call it. But Who is produc- ing the climate change? They say, “Well, it’s the glaciers that are melting!” Yes, but Who is causing it? God is Present, and He comes to end this world. Be on the right side of God.
Q: What makes us as Christians compete more in on having the biggest church ver- sus raising and saving the most lives?
HMLF: Because we have not yet become true Christians. Christ never built a church. He said, “On this rock I build my church”—or community—“on the faith of Peter.” If we really loved Christ, we are more interested in saving people than building monuments to our vanity.
Q: What is your stance on circumcision? Is
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that from The Creator, or is that an order from an imposter?
HMLF: First, let me say it is an order from God. On the male instrument is the fore- skin that covers the head of the penis, which, in the darkness and the moisture of the underwear, is filled with bacteria; therefore, the cutting of the foreskin enables you to wash the instrument through which Life comes, so that when that instrument is introduced into the vaginal tract it does not introduce dis- ease or bacteria at the same time. And this is why the word circumcision is used in the scripture (Rom. 2:29 & Deut. 30:6), “the circumcision of the heart”: That the heart may be washed of the hidden bacteria of evil thoughts that reside in the place out of which thinking comes.
Q: If we can’t get together in religion and spirituality as a people, what makes you so confident that we will become one unit as a people?
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HMLF: Because it is written in the scrip- tures of both Bible and Qur’an that if we don’t become one, then God is not God, and His Word is not true. But, He has given His Word that “all the bones will live,” and they will stand up “an exceed- ingly great army.”
Q: Why does Islam look at Christians and Jews as infidels, looking to remove us from life? Did not we all share the root of Abraham?
HMLF: Muslims do not wish to kill Jews and Christians, and remove them from life— that’s propaganda. The Qur’an reads like this: “Those who are Christians, those who are Jews, those who are Sabians, those who believe in Allah and The Last Day, and are doers of good to others, there is no fear for them nor shall they grieve.” Christians, Jews, Muslims, all of us who are The Children of Abraham: If we live what we have been taught by Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, then we
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become a family again; and that is why the Jews await The Messiah, and the Muslims await The Mahdi (or The Guide) Who is to come at the end of the world of the wicked. Paul said, “In Christ, there is no Jew, no Greek, no male, no female, no bond, no free; all become one in Christ.” It is said the same in The Qur’an with Muhammad: He comes to unite The Family of Abraham, and bring that Fami- ly into Oneness, not kill the people of the Book! That is not what he is here to do.
Q: How does one differentiate between difficulty in doing something and learning and knowing a hint where Allah is telling you that you shouldn’t go in that direction?
HMLF: If the direction that you’re going in is inharmonious with God’s Will, then you shouldn’t go there. But if the direc- tion that you wish to go is in accord with The Will of God, and nation building, and it has a difficulty factor to it: Pursue your goal, and overcome the difficulty, and
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become the master of what you seek.
Q: I love you, Brother Minister, and I wanted to know: What can I do with my life that would be pleasing to Allah the most?
HMLF: Submit your life to do His Will. That would please Him most, because that is what He has called us to do: To be ourselves, which is a righteous Muslim.
Q: What’s more important: Us wearing a Muslim name as our first name and last name, or striving to live up to The Attributes even if we have not been given a Holy Name?
HMLF: It’s most important that we strive to manifest The Attributes of God in our life, for having a Muslim name, and defil- ing it, is taking The Name of God in vain; and that will get us punished by God. So it’s better to have an “X” and be striving to be a good person, and manifest good qualities and characteristics in your life; then, the good (holy) name will only be
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an honor to you for your having earned the right to wear The Name of God.
Q: Brother Minister, where does self-assur- ance come from? Is this a gift from air (out of the sky)? Or, what should we do to gain it?
HMLF: Well, since the self did not come out of the sky, then self-assurance could not come from air. But you need air to assert yourself; so you’re breathing. Self-assurance comes from confidence that you are able to do what it is that you desire to do of good in The Way of God.
What fighter goes into the ring not self-assured that he has the possibility of winning? That self-assurance of the fighter didn’t come out of the air; it came out of his will to train hard, and practice his skill and hone his skill! And the more he hones his skill, and knocks his oppo- nents out, with every knockout he gets more self-assurance. With every victory
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you’ll find greater self-assurance—but be careful, because self can do nothing without The God of Self. So, if you think it is yourself, yourself, yourself, and not yourself connected to The Originator of Self, then soon you’ll run up against something that will humble you, and make you know that it wasn’t you at all!
Q: What do you think has allowed the Muslim world in The East to become so weakened when challenging the enemies of The West?
HMLF: Because of deviation from The Way of God and His Prophet, Muham- mad. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said, “If you follow this Book, Qur’an, and my Sunnah , or Way, you will never deviate from this Path.” So if you see the Muslim world upset, it is not because of anything other than deviation from The Straight Path of God. And the only way for the world of Islam to get back to God is to examine The Book again (The Qur’an), and The Way of The
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Prophet—and conform to The Book and The Way—and they’ll be coming back to The Straight Path of God. And that is why The Mahdi, or Guide, was proph- esied by Muhammad to come to guide that world back to itself.
Q: Does the building and strengthening of one’s faith in God come through trying God through the Promises He has made in scripture (i.e. stepping out on faith in what you believe in doing)?
HMLF: One should step out on faith. But make sure that that faith is sound before you step out lest you begin to doubt God when you step out—and fall. Peter stepped out. Jesus invited him out on the water, but he took his eye off The Master, and began to sink. You must be sure when you step out on faith that it’s not arrogance; that it’s not you trying to try God to see whether His Word is correct before you try your faith to see if it is strong! When you’re sure that you
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believe that God will help you, then step out on that faith, and He will help you and you will be successful!
Q: Why was it so necessary for Jesus to stay in the highways and in the byways instead of preaching in buildings? What was he trying to show us? I’m trying to become a better Christian.
HMLF: Because your work as a Christian pastor is not in the church among the saved, it’s in the highways and the by- ways among the unsaved. If we don’t come out of the church, the mosque and the synagogue into the streets that need The Word, then soon you won’t be able to stay in the church and be safe, because when you come out in the street you’ll meet what you failed to bring to Christ.
Q: Why is it so vitally necessary to teach the people The Qur’an and the Holy Bible in the context of today’s time, instead of looking at it like a history book like most preachers
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do?
HMLF: As long as you look at it as a his- tory book you will never recognize that we are living in The Time of Fulfillment of Prophecies; and you’ll be looking at things—and not recognizing what you’re looking at—because you’re looking backward at history rather than forward to the fulfillment of prophecy.
Q: What’s the significance and importance of prayer for Black people? It seems that many of us don’t think it’s important.
HMLF: Prayer is important because it helps you to connect with The Source outside of yourself that can feed that Source within yourself. The Source outside of you is akin to The Divinity that is within you; so by prayer, you connect with that Source outside that feeds the Source inside. Then, from the inside, comes the development of The Kingdom of God. And that is why Jesus said, “The
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Kingdom of God is within you.”
Q: Is God’s ultimate way of destroying the rich to make them poor like us?
HMLF: No. God is destroying their riches so you wouldn’t be attracted by their riches to them! He is destroying their riches so that they have no more attract- ing power on you; and then The Word of God can come to you—because it’s God’s desire to make you rich! But not rich in wickedness, rich in righteousness!
Q: If God is the only One Who truly knows the heart of an individual, then how can we train up ourselves to truly discern the spirit of one another? And how is spirit and heart connected to one another?
HMLF: There was a song (made popular by The Temptations), called Smiling Faces Sometimes (Tell Lies). You have to know the difference between acting good and being good. One of the things
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that no one can imitate is The Spirit of God—that is His Gift! So when the scripture teaches, “not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit saith The Lord,” then if you are attune to God, you can discern the spirit.
Q: What is the difference between giving charity and sacrificing?
HMLF: Charity is asked of us in these words from Allah (God): “Spend out of what We have given you.” Spend how? In The Cause of Truth. That is charity. Sacrifice is bigger than charity, because even though you give out of what you have earned, you give a por- tion of that, but sacrificing means you have given more than what is expected or asked. Saul was given a command through the Prophet Samuel to slay all of the enemies, don’t take any prisoners, don’t take any booty, destroy their cattle, their sheep, whatever they had! And he won the battle, but he disobeyed God.
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Lives were lost. But the men that had won thought: “Well, why can’t we take some of the spoils of war?” So when the Prophet Samuel talked to him about his disobedience, Saul said, “But the men made great sacrifice, and I didn’t think there was anything wrong with their getting a little of the spoils of war”; and Samuel answered: “Obedience is better than sacrifice.” Obedience is the highest form of sacrifice, because you are sacri- ficing your will to do The Will of God, and that makes you very close to God.
Q: In the scripture we’re taught about blood being required at our hands of those whom we do not warn. I wanted to know: How much time must you spend with an individ- ual to consider that their blood is off your hands after you’ve given them The Word?
HMLF: You can’t give The Word to some- one who does not want it. You offer The Word; in The Word is warning. That per- son that rejects The Word has rejected
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The Warning that’s in The Word—their blood is on their hands, not on yours. The meaning of that scripture is it’s your failure to offer them what has been of- fered to you that changed your life! You don’t have to stay with a person forever to know that their blood is not on your hand. After you give them The Word, and they acknowledge that, it’s off of you.
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Q: Do you have a cookbook for us non- members of the Nation of Islam that we can use? I think it’s time for me to get on a ‘one-a-day’ meal plan.
HMLF: Yes, there are cookbooks that are mentioned in The Final Call newspaper, and we have a cookbook from the table of The Minister.
Q: Was the Original Man created with a ‘reactive mind’, or was it something that developed over time?
HMLF: All of our minds are reactive because we are here to react to the stimulus of what is in our environment. That’s how we grow, by reacting positively to the stimulus of truth that God has put in His Creation for us to
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study! But a reactive mind, in another sense, is: If you are not reacting to the stimulus of God, then you react to the environment that is less-than God that is making you into itself. So God reacted— listen to His Words: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth, and the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and God said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light. And He said, ‘Ah! This is good’.” He reacted to what He did; and, because He reacted to what He did, and said it was “good,” He wanted to do more good! So it’s not bad having a reactive mind, but it’s more so: What are you reacting to?
Q: Why do you and the Nation of Islam talk so much about the navy bean (bean pie,
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bean soup, bean chips)? What is the ‘bean craze’ all about?
HMLF: Master Fard Muhammad gave us the navy bean as a source of complete nutrition. And the Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us that with the navy bean alone: Feeding it in its pureed state to babies at a certain stage, they would live off of that 150 years. He said the navy bean, good pure milk and whole wheat bread you could live from 150-240 years. The presence of Elijah Muhammad and The God Who taught him is to give us Abundant Life.
I read recently that the navy bean has properties that ward off the effects of radiation and we’re living in a world where everybody is being affected by
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radiation. Either in the medical field when you go for an X-ray and MRI, or CAT Scan, or you go to the microwave, you turn on your TV, or you have these phones to your ear, and the computer... It’s radiation! You have these radiation towers that spread radiation over areas, and you find that people closest to these towers are being affected with cancer. So learn about the bean and we’ll make available the recipe of how to make the navy bean soup. And try it, and you will see that your health will improve if you stay away from the bad foods in fast food places, and go back to the stove, the kitchen, and well-grown, organically- grown food.
Q: I’ve been reading you all’s literature about ‘pork’ and ‘the pig’, and I heard that
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you say that the purpose of it is for medicine. I wanted to know, Sir: Was it made here in America? Or did the Caucasians bring the pig over here with them?
HMLF: I’m not sure exactly where it was made. But since a grafted human being was placed on our planet, they had to put something here that would act as medicine for the various diseases that might come from the new man.
Q: Dear Minister, my mother is in such bad health, but she won’t let go of her bitterness which I think is contributing to here bad health. How can I gingerly advise her to just let go?
HMLF: The state of mind of bitterness will definitely increase dis-ease or illness
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in the body; that is an agitated state of mind that has lost the greatest gift of all, which is peace and contentment of mind. When we cannot understand the things that happen to us in life, and we have become embittered rather than emboldened to stay on The Path of God, then that bitterness, like a poison like cancer, will eat us up on the inside.
Q: According to you all’s dietary law, are sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds okay to eat, or are they bad for our bodies?
HMLF: I just had a few sunflower seeds; and, I love pumpkin seeds. No, they are fine. If you don’t have diverticulitis, they are digestible. (Smile)
Q: What does it do to the mind when you feel
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that all you have is still never enough?
HMLF: Well, all that you have is never enough, and that is why Jesus said, “I can of myself do nothing, but whatsoever The Father bids me to do, that I do.” All of us need the help of God to accomplish the great things in life that we desire to do. So, no, you will never be enough to yourself, and that’s why we always say Bismillah ir-Rahman ir-Rahim (“In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful”), and we always seek His Help and His Guidance. And His Help assures us victory.
Q: I am a survivor of prostate cancer, and I wanted to know how can I send money to support the [Louis Farrakhan Prostate Cancer] Foundation that you started and
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created?
HMLF: Please send your donation to 4855 S. Woodlawn Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, 60615.
Q: I have realized that my family eats too much fast food. How can I wean us off of this and get back to eating right?
HMLF: Well, I hope you’re a good cook, because if you cook one of those great meals that How To Eat To Live guides you to, they won’t want to eat fast food if you give them real, good food to eat. I hope that you will become a great cook, and get the recipes of the Nation of Islam, and I guarantee you’ll gradually break your family away from fast food.
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Q: How do you keep so at peace even in the midst of so much chaos that may be going on around you?
HMLF: Peace and contentment of mind is The Gift of God to those who surrender to do His Will. No matter what the trial or tribulation, what success or failure comes, the peace of God causes us to go through all that life brings to us, and come out of it wiser, stronger, better, and a greater servant of God and the people.
Q: The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said that being a vegetarian is the best diet, but can we truly be vegetarians eating from other people’s food? And from there, other people’s farms?
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eating from other people’s farms, as long as you know that the food that they are producing is organic, or without poisons added to it. Yes, you can! But you should be pooling your resources so that we can own as much land as we can to produce the food that we eat. Then we’ll never have to worry about being a vegetarian, because all the food, and fruits and vegetables that you eat will be that which you have grown.
Q: After overcoming your bout with prostate cancer, what have you been doing in terms of educating other men about it so they may avoid that which you had to go through?
HMLF: All I can do is tell them of my experience by availing myself of opportunities to share with them my
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experience. The only thing that I would encourage Black men to do is to start getting that examination for prostate cancer when they are at that age where it might strike them.
Q: When you first joined The Nation, how difficult was it for you to go to one meal a day?
HMLF: It was not difficult at all once I made up my mind to follow the dietary Teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. You might think it will be difficult, but once you make up your mind to do something, it is your mind that controls your stomach! You can do it, if you will.
Q: How do you effectively handle people
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who come into your atmosphere with foul spirits? How do you conquer them?
HMLF: There are two ways. The Qur’an says when you meet people like that you walk by nobly and say “Peace!” The second thing is you never let a foul spirit cause your spirit to become foul. It is not what goes in that defiles the man, but what comes out.
Q: I am constantly being bombarded internally with unwanted thoughts. How do I conquer this? Because it’s very frustrating when you’re trying to be right.
HMLF: We live in a world where we will be constantly bombarded by thoughts. What you see, hear, smell, taste and feel produces thought; and if what you see
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is what the enemy produces, if what you hear is that which the enemy produces, then your thoughts are going to be always on that! So focus your mind on the things that God Produces. Take time, and go in a quiet place where there are trees and bushes and flowers, and life that only God Creates! Then, your thoughts will be on a higher level, on a higher plane. You will develop the power to fight evil thoughts through prayer andfasting. May God bless you.
Q: I just read How To Eat To Live for the first time based upon one of your tweets, and I wanted to know is it true, as Elijah said, that ‘we worship our appetites as though it was God’, and does that mean just eating?
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appetite, and it has power over you, then you have made your appetite a god beside God. Could this be the reason why so many of us are obese, overweight, and sick? We can control our appetite if we follow what is written in How To Eat To Live; and not only the appetite for food, but the appetite for all of the things that the flesh calls for. It demands the discipline of control.
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Q: I’m a single woman, a Black woman. Where are all of the Black men of strong character—and how can I get one?
HMLF: Jesus said, “Seek and ye shall find, ask and it shall be given, knock and the door shall be opened unto you.” First, know yourself, and prepare yourself for the man that will ultimately come into your life. Then go to the mosque, and seek, and may God bless you to find what you are looking for and what you actually deserve.
Q: What are the blessings, Brother Minister, that come to a man who, despite all difficulty, stays committed to the covenant he made when he got married?
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programs that are on television (Jerry Springer, Maury Povich), programs that show infidelity, deceit—destruction, really, of life, because there’s no real, firm commitment. Then even in your marriage there may be ups and downs, but because there is faithfulness to your covenant, you work your problems out. And when you work your problems out, you grow more and more in love, with time. Thank you, brother, for living what you have made your covenant to be. But know that The Greater Covenant is your covenant to become one with God. And because you kept your word on marriage, I expect that you will be a great, great servant of God, and our people, and The Rise of His Kingdom. That’s the blessing of your covenanted faithfulness.
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Q: What advice do you have for women who are juggling being a wife, a mother and a career woman without losing her mind?
HMLF: When you have all of that to do, the way you keep your mind is to recognize The Greatness of God in your life. Prioritize: What is greater in your life? Is it your career? Is it your children? Is it your marriage? The Bible teaches when God gave Eve to Adam (because it wasn’t good for man to be alone), see, you leave your own mother and your own father and you cleave to each other. So the principle of marriage is greater than career, because a solid marriage creates a home environment for the child, or children, to grow up in! And, the next greatest thing is your children; and the last of value in that three is your career.
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Sometimes we put career, for economic reasons, over the priority of our marriage and our children, and we find that it absorbs us, and it creates tensions in the home with our husband because now there are two breadwinners. And if you are successful in your career, maybe the female is making more money than the male, and this creates tensions. When you have children, children have a need for a mother, as well as a father. So what environment is created in that home due to misplaced priorities will give you insanity.
May God bless you to know how great you are, as a woman—the first teacher of your child, the cornerstone of a family, and the scientist of health and well-being by what you produce in that kitchen for
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your husband and your children. That’s a career in itself! But if you’re blessed to have a professional career, just remember: Don’t let the economics of the situation, and the desire to live like others with material things, force you to spend an inordinate amount of time away from the home, away from the husband, away from the family, for these are prescriptions for disaster. May God guide you and bless you.
Q: In the case of divorce, and there is a male child [involved], at what age should he be given over to the father to develop him?
HMLF: Well, I didn’t have a father in my life but my blessed mother was so strong, I didn’t need one. At least I didn’t know that I needed one! The woman
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is the nurturer of both the male and the female. It’s sad that we don’t have male and female in the same house, because if male and female were in the house, together, the male adult would be nurturing the male child by the role that that man is playing in the house: 1.) He’s working, but he’s coming home; 2.) He’s bringing money into the house that allows the wife, mother, to take the son and say, “Let’s go shopping” for the food that she is going to cook to feed her family. Then all of you sit at the table— not just the mother and the child.
But the father is off somewhere, waiting for the child to get to a “certain level” that you can take the child? What makes you think you are qualified to take the child even then if you have not been in
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the child’s life? What are you going to teach the child? Can you teach it how to be a man if you haven’t developed as a man? The child will want to know its father at some point. No matter how bad the relationship has been between the mother and the father, at a certain point the child, whether male or female, will say, “I want to know my daddy!” And they will find the father, God Willing, wherever he may be. When they find you, father, I pray that they will find you worthy.
Some of the great ones out there find their father, but the father has never given anything to them during their development; and, it doesn’t turn out so good. So wherever you are as a dad: Be one! Support the life that you and the
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female brought into the world; and at a certain point, that child will want to be with you. And I pray that you and I will develop as men that our boys will see in us the type of man that they would like to become.
Q: I’m an older woman, and I have decided I want to have a young man in my life as a spouse. Many people tease women who do this, but I found out in Islam that Khadijah was much older than Prophet Muhammad, and nobody seemed to have a problem with it (Smile). Is there something wrong with an older woman wanting a younger man?
HMLF: It depends on what you want him for. Khadijah was mature, and the young man, Prophet Muhammad, was 25 years of age—she was 40. She helped him. He
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was a noble young man; she admired him. She had substance, and she helped him. She saw value in him even in his youth. He outlived her, but she was the best of all of his wives; she was favored above all.
A mature woman needs a companion; but, if she marries a young man, who is virile and strong, then the question must be asked: Is she marrying him to teach him? Is she marrying him to nurture him? Is she marrying him to help him? What qualifications must the young man have other than youth to command her love, honor and respect? Or, does she want to mother him? That is why I said it depends on what you want him for.
Q: I recently read a quote that says ‘the
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woman is created to love and forgive, and a man is created to master loving and forgiving’. Do you agree with this statement?
HMLF: I don’t know where that statement came from, but I believe that women can master both love and forgiveness as well. There’s very little that a man can do that a woman is unable to do, except that which is contrary to the nature of the woman.
Q: Dear Minister, you teach that God desired comfort and company. How do I, as a young man, know when it’s time for me to seek the comfort and company of a woman in my life?
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“When will I know it’s time to drink water?” Loving and seeking a woman is as natural as breathing; the question is: Will you be ready to accept the responsibility that comes with that desire?
Q: As a young parent I feel so unworthy of the mercy of God. How do I change my mindset so I may better save my children from God’s wrath in making the same mistakes that I did?
HMLF: Feeling unworthy of God’s immense grace puts our mind in a state of humility and deep gratitude for that grace. If you keep that state of mind, you will continue to grow in strength and guide your children in a path that you are now on.
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Q: What should I do if I know my stepfather is improperly handling my little sisters and I believe even maybe raping them? And I feel powerless in doing something. What do you think I should do?
HMLF: If you are sure, you need to speak to your mother, and speak to your little sister, and then confront your stepfather. And then if that does not stop, there is always the law itself that punishes the mistreatment of children.
Q: I know this world gives us a lot of fancy definitions of it, but I wanted to know what is your definition of a soul mate?
HMLF: I believe that a soul mate is a person that not only complements you in terms of physical beauty and attraction,
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but mentally; and at the deepest point, spiritually, you connect. And that is a real soul mate, and a prescription for a great marriage, and, the production of a beautiful family.
Q: I am a new father with a three-week- old daughter. I just wanted to know what are some of the best things that I should teach and train my daughter so she won’t succumb to the ways of this world?
HMLF: Be a good father, be a good husband and be a good protector for your little family. And ask God’s protection for this precious gift of your daughter. Give her the best of knowledge, create for her a loving environment in that home and ask God’s protection for her from the evil of this world. And may Allah make your
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prayers successful.
Q: How did your mother and other family members react to your move and choice of Islam? I’m having a real hard time right now.
HMLF: Parents love you and when you become a Muslim, they think you have adopted a strange religion and have left Jesus, so they are upset with you. All of this is due to misunderstanding. My mother didn’t quite understand in the beginning, but the beautiful change that Islam produced in me affected her. So when the Honorable Elijah Muhammad visited our little mosque in Boston, she came out to hear him and she, too, became a follower of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. Be patient, and endure
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their remarks and never return evil and disrespect to mom or members of your family. Show them by your example what Islam has done for you.
Q: Being a father yourself, when you have made mistakes with your children how did you handle the atonement process with them? Were you readily able to apologize to them when you were wrong? Because I struggle with this.
HMLF: Yes, I was readily able to apologize. None of us are perfect; and when we have ill-affected our children by some word or some deed, they will love you more and respect you more when you can say, “I was wrong.” And ask them for their forgiveness, and you’ll find they are quick to forgive. And just don’t return
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to that behavior again.
Q: In reading the history of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his first wife, Khadijah: Doesn’t that tell us that money is not the most important thing to a relationship, being that she had more money than him?
HMLF: Yes, that is true, but she was convinced of the nobility of his character; and that is why, though she was 15 years his senior and had money and business experience, the nobility of his character caused her to fall in love with him. And she used her money, and the business experience, to help The Prophet. When he became a prophet of God, she was one of his first followers.
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Q: With the music steamed into their mind today, if there was one song you were to decipher that plays the heaviest effect on the youth, what would it be?
HMLF: It would be some of the early raps by the early rappers that were trying to give to young people wisdom based in words and rhythms. And soon, hip hop will return to that mode; and you will become the teachers of the young, not glorifying the decadence of the inner cities created by ignorance and the enemy of the rise of our people.
Q: Brother Minister, sometimes we as older brothers tend to want to shut down the fiery militancy in our young brothers that are rising up in the ranks as youngsters. Do you think this type of behavior is holding back
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the full potential of our young people? And if so, how should the young people respond to it?
HMLF: They will respond by walking away from the elders, because the spirit that God is putting in our youth is to be guided, not crushed; to be nurtured. Because soon they will take over from us, and if you crush the youth then you are going to die, and what you are in will die with you. The youth are the salvation of our Nation so guide them, strengthen them, nurture them, encourage them, and let them know that The Nation is theirs; that they should qualify themselves to take The Nation to its next level.
Q: I have a 15-year-old daughter through a new marriage, and I want to expose
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her further to your teachings. Would you suggest that I take her to the sisters’ class on Saturdays?
HMLF: You could not take her to the sisters’ class unless she became a Registered Muslim. Continue to feed her that knowledge of self that will strengthen her in the path of righteousness, and then she will move as righteousness and truth directs her.
Q: I was watching you on YouTube and you said in a lecture that at one moment you actually stopped and watched a flower bloom, and you said that that was a very painful experience for the flower. What do you mean by that?
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scripture teaches. And what people do not understand is that trees and bushes and all this that we think has no sensitivity: We are learning, and science is learning, that trees have sensitivity, bushes have sensitivity. Things that are alive have sensitivity and they react to mistreatment. So when a flower is blooming, it’s like when you see a young man growing, and he’s growing very fast: What do we say? We say he has growing pains. And the pains are real. So as the flower is flowering, or growing, or manifesting its beauty, it also is experiencing something.
Q: When you have been a victim of verbal abuse all your life as a child, how can you overcome that in your adult life?
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HMLF: Verbal abuse can make you feel less than what God made you to be. But now that you are mature and you get a healthy knowledge of yourself, you can put the verbal abuse of your childhood behind you. But if you let the verbal abuse of yesterday restrict your thinking and actions today, then yesterday is today, and unfortunately, today will be your tomorrow. You must end that thinking that that abuse produced, and come into a new mind, which The Teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad will bless you to receive.
Q: I want to make Islam more appealing to my 16-year-old daughter, but she seems to be more attracted to people like Nicki Minaj, Rihanna and other hip-hop artists. What can we do to make Islam more appealing to
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our young girls?
HMLF: There is a time that righteousness would not be appealing. There is a time when covering our bodies would not be appealing in a world that has uncovered the woman, and made her body the object of worship. But that soon will pass. Just keep feeding your daughter the truth; don’t try to force her, just keep teaching. And as time goes on, as she sees that world collapse, all her idols in that world will also collapse.
Q: I am 16 years old, a junior in high school, and I recently lost my mother. I was wondering what is the best way to deal with such a loss, especially your one-and-only mother? I look forward to your guidance.
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HMLF: We only know of Mary because of the greatness of what God produced from her womb. May Allah God bless you to be a great manifestation of God’s Greatness, that as you do your great work, the people will ask the question, “Who is his mother?” And through your great works, your mother’s name will live.
Q: How do we get our youth in the mindset of not trying to fit in this world and be followers, but to be trendsetters in accord with God’s Way?
HMLF: That will happen after we realize that this world, and its power to attract us with its wealth and material things, is being gradually destroyed. Then we will have to look somewhere else. And that somewhere else is Almighty God Allah
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and ourselves.
Q: My name is Esau, and I am 8 years old. I wanted to tweet you this question from my mother’s account, and just simply ask: How do I, at my little age, prepare for Armageddon?
HMLF: Armageddon is a war against falsehood, with truth—that’s the way it starts. So arm yourself, little brother, with as much knowledge of the truth as you can. And remember the words of Paul: “Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of Satan.” You already are getting your armor on, and I pray that one day I will get a chance to meet you, young soldier.
Q: How do we as young Black men go about
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controlling the image that is presented to ourselves, and to the world?
HMLF: Two things cannot occupy the same space at the same time. Create a new image by the way you act, and inspire others to follow your example, and soon the old image will disappear.
Q: Ultimately, I think that it’s going to take revolution in the streets for our young boys to stop killing each other, to realize we’re not enemies of one another. Do you agree or disagree with this?
HMLF: I have been warning our young people that what we are doing is displeasing to God, and if we don’t stop, I warn them of what is written that those who rejected The Call of
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Moses and Aaron: They were “bitten by fiery serpents.” The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us that thisfiery serpent, or those fiery serpents, represents angry White people, who will come into our communities because of such bloodshed and start killing a lot of our young people. I hope we can avoid that chastisement.
Q: How can we convince our young girls that getting an abortion is not the best thing to do, being that they don’t know what type of child they can give birth to?
HMLF: The womb of our women today is sacred, and the children which we’ve produced, even in our ignorance, are showing signs that their minds are greater than the minds of those who
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produced them, and, greater than the minds of those who are trying to teach them. The answer to all of our prayers is coming through the womb of a woman. So when we kill the fruit of our womb, regardless of the circumstances of that pregnancy, we may be killing the answer to the prayers that we have asked God for. The doctor to cure cancer and all of the diseases that human beings are suffering, that answer is in the womb. So please, endure the circumstance, and keep the fruit of the womb.
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Q: How do we understand the value of a good teacher? Too many people think and believe that we don’t need one.
HMLF: Well that’s why the Bible teaches, “My people are destroyed for the lack of knowledge.” Ignorance always needs a teacher; and if you reject the teacher, then you remain in ignorance. And if you remain in ignorance, you become a part of the tool that the devil plays with to facilitate his will. But if you submit to greater knowledge when it comes to you, and the blight of ignorance is removed, then you can become The Cause of a Brand New Effect.
Q: Do you see any power yielding from the Black Conservative movement?
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HMLF: I don’t know. Let me say that when you use the word yield: Yield, as in when you see a sign on the highway, yield tells you to slow down in the direction that you are going and yield to another force or another object that is coming for you to yield to. Yielding suggests you are meeting a superior knowledge, a superior power. Every power, conservative or otherwise, will yield to The Greater Power of God that is now present in the world and that’s why the scriptures teach, “Every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that He is Lord.” So I’m sure whether you are conservative or liberal or whatever, when greater knowledge comes, and greater wisdom manifests, we all yield to what is greater, stronger, wiser, better than ourselves.
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Q: Even when you’re speaking to college students, you seem to be speaking like a Christian pastor. Why is that? And why is it so important for you to infuse Biblical scripture every time you speak?
HMLF: Our people have had the Bible since the slave master thought that it was not incompatible with slavery that we should be made Christians as well. So if I am speaking the language of my people, a language that they understand, I can’t come with a foreign tongue, and reach them. So I take them from the known— the Bible—into the unknown, which is The Qur’an, and I match the scriptures of the two to show that we are one people, Muslim and Christian; that we should never allow the enemy to put us against each other over misunderstanding of
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The Word of God.
Q: In my study of Black leaders, I wanted to know whose way was better: Dr. King or Malcolm X?
HMLF: Both men were 39 years of age when they were assassinated. Both men were works in progress. Both men were in a process of evolutionary development when they were assassinated. Both of them were moving toward a way that both of them would ultimately agree with each other, and become true brothers. But it took time for Malcolm to evolve, and for Martin to evolve. The question is: Where were they evolving to?
Soon you will see the ways of Malcolm, Martin, W.E.B. DuBois, Frederick
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Douglass, Marcus Garvey, Booker T. Washington—all of us who had opposing views during our lifetime that we fought for, and fought each other with, yet all of it was leading toward an ultimate end where all would be together as one great people; we soon will reach that. And I pray that we will be alive to see the end of where Martin was going, and Malcolm was going; because before Martin was killed, he was saying, “I fear that I’m integrating my people into a burning house”; and Malcolm, when he left The Nation, started saying we should receive freedom and justice and human rights “by any means necessary.” Both were evolving. Where would they be today? I believe they would be with me. See, I am twice their age, plus two. They were evolving. As the Honorable
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Elijah Muhammad told Brother Malcolm, when he wanted to join the Civil Rights Movement’s practice of sitting in, and being with them as they were gathering all the headlines, The Messenger told him: “Stay where I put you, because they have no place to go but where you stand.” Malcolm didn’t have any place to go [after leaving The Nation]. Islamic orthodoxy is not where he wanted to go, really; that would never have pleased him—and it was not pleasing to Wallace either. But you’ve gotta live long enough to try your ideas, only to come back to The Idea of God. And we, too, are evolving. See, we’re not what we were, and we’re not what we shall be, but we will be together, yes.
Q: The masses have been programmed to
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think and act in a certain way. What is the best tool for us to start de-programming the masses to start thinking like God?
HMLF: The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said that God came to set up institutions for the re-education and re-training of our people. It took time to make us into the people that we are, and have become, but through this Process of re-education and re-training we will get back to being what God created us to be.
Q: The F.B.I. targeted the Nation of Islam, as well as The Black Panthers. Did you ever get a chance to meet Huey Newton? And if so, what was that meeting like?
HMLF: I had a beautiful meeting with Huey Newton in his apartment in Oakland,
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California. While I was out there I went to see my brother and talk to him about our people, and our thinking, and what we could do, hopefully together. It was not a very long meeting, but I was happy to meet my brother, and he was also happy to meet with me. I thank Allah for his life and for the work that he did. And the work is yet for us to do. So there is a New Black Panther Party formulated similarly. We all have work yet to do to fulfill the desire of men like Huey Newton and Bobby Seale, and Eldridge Cleaver, beautiful men who wanted to see our people free, justified and equal in the eyes of the civilized nations of the Earth. We are on that journey, and we will not stop until victory is won.
Q: By the time our young people get to
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high school it seems that they have been completely dumbed-down. What do we need to do in these schools to help reverse this?
HMLF: We either need to take them over and put a good curriculum in place, or find a way to teach our young people, such as through opening up the churches and schools for after-school programs that give them what the school is not giving them. They can be retrieved. Or, set up a Muhammad University near you—and come out of there. But even that is not sufficient, because no matter what good we produce in one of our schools, we yet have to go out in the world with those who have been ill-affected by the quality of education that we are receiving; so, we have to affect the school system in
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order to produce a better product.
Q: Growing up, did your mother encourage you to travel the world?
HMLF: No, she just encouraged me to read books. And the more you read, the more you travel. When you study the history, the culture of other people, you are traveling, and you are learning. Many of us don’t have money to travel, so how do we travel? We turn on our television to Discovery Channel; we turn on our television to those channels that give us insight into nature, into this place or that place and the other. You travel through learning. But, I have been blessed as a follower of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad to touch practically every continent.
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Q: Next year I will be a freshman in college, and I heard several of your messages at the HBCUs. What is the mind that I need to approach school when I enter it next year?
HMLF: You’re approaching college with the desire to learn, that you may become great in a chosen field of service for the elevation of yourself and family, and people. Always choose a discipline that will be useful in the building of a nation, not seeking a job. Challenge yourself! And know that you have the ability to master whatever it is that you choose for your life’s journey. And, go in with the mind of a master.
Q: I’m in middle school, and a question arose in my class among a group. What do you believe, Sir: Does the sun actually rotate?
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HMLF: The sun rotates on its own axis, yes. Everything in the universe is moving. It may appear stationary, but everything is moving.
Q: What is God’s definition of greatness? I know this world measures greatness by money and status, but I wanted to know what is greatness from The Eyes of God.
HMLF: In the teachings of Prophet Muhammad, he said: “He that is best among you is he that is most careful of his or her duty to God.” That makes you great in The Eyes of God; that you are mindful of your duty to Him, your duty to yourself, your duty to family, your duty to community, and, your duty to all that you have an obligation to serve.
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Q: Are you happy to be returning to the college campuses? And what are some of the responses you’ve been getting from the students?
HMLF: I’m more than happy. I’m ecstatic, as an elder, to be able to talk to young people and give them guidance that they might live a long, successful, productive life of service for themselves, their families, our people, and the world. They have received me with great love, great warmth—and shock that I have been kept away from them for so long. But I thank God that that’s gradually being reversed.
Q: When you’re following a wise man, what is the greatest quality a student must have to stay on the course with him, to make
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sure they don’t get left behind?
HMLF: Jesus said, “Except you become as a little child, you cannot enter The Kingdom of God.” If you know that your teacher is a wise man, be humble, be curious—be like the little child, and be fed, that you may mature in The Way of God.
Q: You’re always stressing the importance of us studying nature in order to develop ourselves. Is it more powerful to study textbooks, or, to study nature?
HMLF: It is more powerful to study textbooks that teach you about nature, because the greatest textbooks of all are written by those who have studied what God has created. But if you would
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do that—study nature—it is the greatest teacher. Because a textbook may have a lot of theory that’s yet not proved but when you’re looking at the thing that God created, that is not a theory—that is reality in your face. And the perfection of God’s Wisdom is seen in the majesty of His Creation. The finest book that you could ever read is to study what God has created.
Q: Power can inflate the ego, yet you appear so humble. I wanted to know what is your secret to keeping your ego in check?
HMLF: I learned from the Honorable Elijah Muhammad many great lessons. He said to me, “Brother, you are not heavy enough to step through the Earth, nor are you tall enough to equal yourself to
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the mountain. So take your place among the creatures of The Creator.” And as long as I can think like that, no amount of praise or power, or acceptance or things, will bring me away from recognizing The Greatness of God and The Eternal Presence of God, and my finite being that only has permanence in Him.
Q: Can you please comment on whether the libertarian ideology is consistent with the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad in any way?
HMLF: Any part of the libertarian ideology that is based on truth, mathematics and science, it is in harmony with Islam, for Islam is Truth and Mathematics.
Q: Is there a difference between ambition
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and arrogance when you’re seeking to help in a mission? What is the distinction?
HMLF: Arrogance is self-conceit, inordinate pride. Ambition is a force in our lives that compels us toward goals that we choose for our benefit, as well as for the benefit of others. You have to determine whether you are acting on arrogance or the spiritual force of ambition to accomplish a predetermined goal.
Q: What can be learned for community leaders in the Black and Brown communities by studying the tactics of the lobbies like AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee)?
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have the money that is used by lobbyists. Lobbyists spent over $2 billion trying to get laws passed that favor them. I don’t think the Black and the Brown in our present state or condition can become that kind of lobbyist. But over time, our numbers and our voting power will give us the strength to change realities that presently exist.
Q: How can we make the profession of teaching more attractive to Black men? It is gravely imbalanced by mostly women, with very few men in the classroom.
HMLF: You have to have in your arsenal of knowledge that superior Knowledge of Self that you can give to a Black man; then your ability to not only teach, but inspire, will increase by your increase of
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that quality of knowledge.
Q: We’ve lost Marcus Garvey, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and so many others. Why do you think God allows many of our strong Black leaders to be taken from among us?
HMLF: My dear brother or sister, all of us will be taken from us at some point in time. We don’t come to stay; we come to do what God has given us to do, and when we’ve done it, we return to our Sender. But those who are left behind should not feel that God has forsaken them, but pick up the beautiful principles taught by these wonderful leaders and continue the great work, for we still are not yet free.
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Q: Do you think right now is a good time to get involved in the development of Africa, starting in Ghana? Or should we just focus solely on our people here in America?
HMLF: That is a decision for you to make. If you wish to go to Africa and help in the development of Africa, take the knowledge that you have learned and use it, because there’ll be many that will stay right here to work in the development of Black people here. But Black people all over the world need greater development by those with greater knowledge to serve that development. May God bless you in your decision.
Q: I’m a young brother in the ranks in The Nation, and I want to pursue a career in international business and banking. I know
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you encourage agriculture, but can I do something with this knowledge?
HMLF: Absolutely. We are an international people, and we need the knowledge of banking. Since the world is being ruled by a group of international bankers: Well, we’re not going to rule with wickedness, but we will rule with the skill and knowledge of economics and banking, and international trade and commerce. Stay where you are and become a master of what you are, because we will need you to help us with the products thatcome off of The Farm—and the money that comes from those products.
Q: I’m a young person, and I wanted to understand: What is the difference between an asset and a liability? I want to learn, and
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want to teach my superiors how to spend our money a little bit more wisely.
HMLF: If you have that knowledge of how to teach your superiors how to spend money wisely, you are an asset. But if you go about trying to teach them in a way that causes them to reject you, then they will see you as a liability. You cannot teach people what they are not willing to learn, but you can show them your mastery of economic principles by creating an example for someone to look at that demonstrates your knowledge. Then ask them to come and see what you’ve done. Then they’ll be more willing to recognize the asset in their presence, because it’s very difficult for those in authority to bear witness to their own ignorance.
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Q: I’m an urban farmer living here in Michigan, and I’m a young man who is eager to help you at your farm. Can you utilize my skills?
HMLF: I am sure we can. Please, write me a letter at 7351 Stony Island Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60649, and hopefully we’ll get a chance to meet.
Q: I’m interested in the economic development of our people, and I wanted to know in your travels, which region is more welcoming of us to take advantage of commerce: Africa, The Caribbean or South America?
HMLF: All regions of the world will be open to receive us once we start producing the things that we consume. Doing this
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opens a market for us with trade and commerce with all those areas that you mentioned, and then some.
Q: Where can I go read more about this Muhammad’s Economic Blueprint that you’ve been tweeting about for February the 24th [Saviours’ Day]?
HMLF: Well, I would love for you to listen to the Saviours’ Day address on February 24, 2013. And after that address, all of the information about his Blueprint will be in your hands, and then you can do with it as best you can to help yourself.
Q: So what exactly is it that distinguishes the Economic Program of Elijah Muhammad versus and compared to others who have presented economic solutions to our
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problems?
HMLF: Well, you will first have to look at his program, and look at the results of his program, and then you make the determination as to whether what he advises is better for us.
Q: I once read in the Nation of Islam’s history that you all owned a bank! Do you plan to do that again? Because I will take my money out of the White man’s bank immediately and put it in yours!
HMLF: When you see the Nation of Islam’s program, The Economic Blueprint, it does call for the ownership of land and the setting up of our own bank. Yes, we did have a bank, and we will have one again.
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Q: How do we as Black people aggressively go after having our own separate state or territory, or do you think we’re not ready for it?
HMLF: We are in a condition that demands that we do something to provide a future for ourselves and our children. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad advised that we teach our people, first, The Knowledge of Self, God, The Time, and What Must Be Done, and then ask them to vote as to whether they would like to be separated in a state or territory of our own. That is the process by which he said this would happen. So we’re on the first stage of it now, The Time and What Must Be Done.
Q: I know you are very different from other
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preachers and ministers; you don’t teach prosperity like others do on television. What is your perspective on wealth building, money management and finances?
HMLF: One of the things that Master Fard Muhammad promised us when He came was money, luxury, good homes and friendship in all walks of life. When you use your wisdom properly, there is a benefit for you. God does not wish for His people to live in poverty, but He will try you to see if you are worthy of what His promise is; He didn’t make a promise without a condition. He said, “Sit yourself in Heaven at once!”—but that is based on submission to His Will. So if you want prosperity in your life, then the first thing you must do is surrender to God. The Bible teaches, “Seek ye first the kingdom
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of God and all its righteousness, and all things will be added unto you.” We got it backwards: We’re seeking things first and righteousness last.
Q: Why is it that you all in Islam do not charge interest? I like that, but I notice there’s nobody else on the planet that follows that. Please explain.
HMLF: It is forbidden in Islam for us to practice usury. And usury is the borrowing of money and then paying back interest on the money you borrowed, so that the lender is always enriched at the expense of the borrower. Go to buy a home, and you put down your little money; and for the first years of your paying yourmortgage, you have paid nothing, hardly, on the principal—you’re paying interest.
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That is not right. That is the way of the wicked. In Islam, we are forbidden to do that. When the economic system of Islam is established, there will be no usury.
Q: I know you spoke a lot about agriculture when you spoke at the various colleges. What should I do if I don’t have a passion for agriculture, yet I feel that my passion is psychology—even though you spoke against it? (Smile)
HMLF: Well, if you have a passion to eat, you will develop a passion for agriculture—and because you won’t be able to practice psychology hungry, I smile back at you. (Smile) Study your psychology dear brother, sister, but also know that without land and farms
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we will never be able to carve out an independent future for ourselves. May God bless you to fulfill your passion!
Q: Although I want to quit my job and create my own job, my bills do not stop coming. How much time should I give myself to ‘steal away’ from the job and do something for myself, so I won’t hinder myself financially?
HMLF: As you manage your finances, if you are able every week that you work to put something away in savings, that will tell you how long you should hold on to your job. Because unemployment benefits may soon run out; so if you have a job, and you are able by The Grace of God to save, then every week sacrificesomething, and put something away in savings. And the more you save, the
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more you’ll have to invest when you get ready to do something in the way of making a job for yourself. Be thinking about it, be planning for it; and in your thoughts and your plans, you will be “stealing away.” And when they look up one day, you’ll be gone, and a marquee will be up and a business will be going with your name on it, in service of the people.
Q: What is the best thing that Black entrepreneurs can do to unify and start employing our people since there are no more jobs for us?
HMLF: The one thing that members of the Jewish community, in particular, have done is that they have been able to interface with other members of their
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community, and pool their resources to expand their business opportunities. They are not only a national people, but, they have their people all over the world doing business. You have people, we have people all over the world, but we may be entrepreneurs, but we are not united entrepreneurs. We are not entrepreneurs that know how to pool our resources to build bigger businesses to hire more and more people. We should study them, and see what they have done to become the power that they are in the world; and see what of the principles that they use can we use, but in righteousness.
Q: I am not in The Nation, but I got inspired by you to purchase two empty lots in my city. I wanted to know: What businesses
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do you think I should open up to help in the progression of my community?
HMLF: Please look up Will Allen, farmer, founder and CEO of Growing Power, Inc. (www.growingpower.org). And if on those lots you grow food, in the food desert called “the hood,” set up a farmer’s market where what you produce you can sell to the members of your community. Then, learn the art of canning so that you can preserve the food for years, and sell that as well to the members of the community. May Allah bless you with success. And if there is some other need that your community has, that you and a few together can unite to produce, what a wonderful thing you will do with those two lots. May Allah bless you!
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Q: So what is your secret to being able to deliver these weekly messages like this without a teleprompter like all the presidents do?
HMLF: The Honorable Elijah Muhammad told me, after I did a weekly broadcast for three years writing every word down that I would speak, and reading from a script: “Brother, you don’t have to do that. Gather your thoughts, and let God Speak through you.” That is my gift from Allah (God).
Q: This, Sir, may sound like a simple question to you, but my parents and I are wondering, in light of all of your warnings and the pending crash of this economy: Is buying a home the right thing to do right now?
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HMLF: If you can get into a decent home, at a decent price, at a decent interest rate, you should not shrink in doing it. But seek the unequaled guidance of God through prayer to help you in your decision making, particularly in this time period.
Q: I agree with you, that America should help us for 20-25 years, and give us land. Don’t you think this is owed to us based upon what we went through in slavery?
HMLF: Yes, it is owed to us. And it is what God is asking of the government, in a way to help the government to do right by us and escape His Judgment. But whether they do it or not, God will do this for us.
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Q: In light of your discussion on the fall of the United States economy, do you think it’s even wise anymore to invest into a 401K?
HMLF: Well, be careful of your investment in such, because those who take your money invest it in the stocks. And the Honorable Elijah Muhammad said a crash is coming that will be worse than the one in 1929, so look carefully into how and where you invest your hard- earned money.
Q: As a college student, I desire to start my own company and business right away as a freshman. How do I go about doing this without losing focus on my class work?
HMLF: I am so proud of you for the thought that is in your mind. May God
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grant you success in starting your own business, as a freshman! And may it be so successful, like [Facebook founder Mark] Zuckerberg, that you may not even have to finish school; that your business will start hiring some of your fellow students. (Smile) May God bless you, brother/sister, to be successful.
Q: What is the best language to use to connect Muhammad’s Economic Blueprint to the building of God’s Kingdom?
HMLF: When the Disciples were asking Jesus to teach them how to pray, he taught us to say what is called “The Lord’s Prayer” (Matt. 6:9-13). The words that I would refer you to are: “Thy Kingdom come, Thy Will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” So if we build, from the
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land that we will own, towns, villages, and cities—and (build) people that obey God’s Will—then The Kingdom of God is now on Earth. All we have to do then is spread it to the ends of the Earth. The Kingdom of God has already begun.
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Q: The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said that America’s fate was sealed when she went off the gold standard in 1971. What do you think of Ron Paul’s call to transition back to gold-backed currency?
HMLF: He is a wise man. Of all the candidates he was the strongest, and really, the best for America. Unfortunately, what he was advocating takes more courage than the standard bearers of both parties are willing to do, but he will go down in history as having advocated a better course to save this nation from itself.
Q: Do you know the truth of what I’ve read about FEMA camps, and the coffins that they have set up around the world awaiting mostly Black people?
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HMLF: They are turning old military bases into places of concentration camps. They are closing down military bases, or places where soldiers were taught and trained; but these places will soon become concentration camps. America is headed in the same direction that she has condemned in the revolutions that have created the “Arab Spring,” in saying that these leaders killed their own people. Soon, the military force in America will be forced to kill Americans.
Q: Mercury, fluoride and other chemicals that are now found in our food and water have been shown to have a harmful effect by manipulating the testosterone levels in human beings, and scientists suggest that this increases the level of homosexual behavior. If these elements affect the
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genetic make-up, what can be done to reverse it?
HMLF: If you remove poison from the system, then you start the process of reversing what the poisons in the system have produced. God is well able to detox the waters, the air and the Earth with The Science that He brings.
Q: What message is the media sending when they do photoshopped pictures of our First Lady Michelle Obama displaying her in a derogatory way in slave garbs and one breast showing, such as a magazine in Spain? What messages are they sending to us as Black people?
HMLF: They’re sending you a message of total disrespect for who President
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Obama is, and who his wife is. These are people that have deep-seeded hatred for us, and what it is they see in the rise of Obama and his dear wife, and their children, living in the White House: They see our rise as a people, and they also see their fall at the same time.
Q: Why do you think during the election period that President Obama, nor Governor Mitt Romney, would address prison reform? As a matter of fact, I never heard a presidential candidate speak about that. Why is that?
HMLF: Because prisoners can’t vote— and if a president is looking for a vote, they don’t go to people that can’t. But prison reform is in the heart and mind of a Messenger of God who sees value
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in the prisoner. And that is why the scripture teaches, “the prison doors will open” and “the captive will be set free,” because that’s by Order of God.
Q: With the fall of this country here, and it’s very evident urban warfare is soon to breakout, and is breaking out, what can we do ultimately to ensure our survival?
HMLF: You don’t have guns equal to the guns of your enemy, so guns cannot ensure your survival, and mine. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said, “In that day, your righteousness will sustain you.” If you can see that The Death Angel is now visiting America, then what do you have on “the gatepost of your house”? It is The Righteousness of God, and His Willingness to protect you in The
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Fall of this world. All of us are not going to make it, but most of us will if we follow The Guidance of God.
Q: Has Satan already gotten that ‘peek into heaven’ that was written he would receive before he was cast into hell? And if so, what is that peek?
HMLF: The Qur’an says before God would destroy the enemy, He gives him a peep into the heavens. Well, he’s out there now, with a rover on Mars. He’s getting a peep, all right! He’s trying to study what is out there that can give him insight into what is here; but he will only go so far, because the scriptures teaches, “Wemust cut him off from the Tree of Life lest he become a god as we, and live forever.” He is not made to live forever, so he is
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getting his peep now. By the way, a peep is not a long look. When they call a person a “Peeping Tom,” it is because he’s sneaking to get a little cheap look at something or someone, and he only gets just a little bit. Well, you don’t have too much with a peep, just enough to peak your interest to go further than a peep— but then God cuts you off before you can take the next step.
Q: When the history is written on the presidency of Barack Obama, do you think it will just be written as one that parallels George W. Bush?
HMLF: He is fulfilling the agenda of George W. Bush. But it won’t be a paragraph; it will be a lot more than that because of who he is, what he arose from, who
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selected him and those who elected him, and how he served.
Q: I really would like to see you in person here in the United Kingdom, but I just learned that they have banned you. Do you think they would ever lift that ban? And how can I, as a supporter of you, fight to lift this ban?
HMLF: I don’t think that they will lift that ban on their own, but maybe a united Black community, with my minister in the United Kingdom, Hilary Muhammad, might be able to accomplish it. But I am thankful that I’m able to reach you and if you get my video, or DVD, you’ll be able to see me as well, and hopefully one day I’ll be able to see you.
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Q: We are in dire need of your presence here in South Africa. Does the Nation of Islam have a chapter here?
HMLF: Yes, we do. And if it is the Will of Allah, I will be, hopefully this year, in South Africa.
Q: With all this Mayan calendar hype what do you think was the root of what our Indigenous ancestors were really trying to tell us as it relates to this so-called ending of the world?
HMLF: They are spiritual giants, for the end of this present world: They may have been off in the timing, but they were not off in what they saw, for this world is speedily going down into the depths of hell. And there’s only a narrow chance
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that it can escape what God has deemed and taught, and what the Mayans also saw and taught.
Q: I am from Morocco, and over here many Muslims, and even those from other Islamic countries, are telling me to stay away from you and The F.O.I. Why do you think that is?
HMLF: It’s because they have made a judgment that we are not true Muslims. But if they came close enough to examine us, they might find that we are more true to Islam and the Holy Qur’an than they who condemn us.
Q: What is your advice to an educated Black person who ends up in the criminal justice system with limited funds to fight? How can I even fight them if I have no money?
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HMLF: When you say you’re in the criminal justice system: Have you been accused of some crime? If so, there are avenues to help you fight if you don’t have money. I pray that you will be able to triumph over charges, particularly if they are false.
Q: I read Revelation and Romans in the Bible a lot. Do you see us fulfilling and walking through those scriptures right now with so much going on?
HMLF: Yes, we absolutely are.
Q: The scriptures prophesy of ‘the nations surrounding Jerusalem’. I wanted to know: Is this the Jerusalem in the so-called Israel over there (Middle East)? Or is the Jerusalem of the scripture over here in America?
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HMLF: The old Jerusalem that is in The Middle East is now surrounded by nations, and these are signs of the end. But also, it has a reference to America— and armies; that, like the armies that came against Babylon, armies are soon to unite against America.
Q: What is your take on the gun law crackdown that is now taking place in America?
HMLF: The excitement over too many deaths from these weapons is creating the controversy, and it will intensify in 2013.
Q: Do you think that in Obama’s second term that we possibly can sit at the table with him, and negotiate and attain land that is
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owed to us?
HMLF: It would be nice if that would
happen. But I doubt it.
Q: Do you think the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting (in Newtown, Connecticut, December 2012) and the Aurora, Colorado movie theatre shooting (July 2012) are connected plots?
HMLF: I cannot say. But soon, if it is The Will of Allah (God), I will give a lecture on mind control experimentation.
Q: We are constantly still divided; that has thwarted our progress as a people. Do you believe there is some way—outside of ‘the winds blowing’—that we can unify? Or does that part of scripture have to be
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fulfilled?
HMLF: That part of scripture has to be
fulfilled, and is now being fulfilled.
Q: The six-sided Star (of David) is also the shape of the badges worn by law enforcement. Do you think this is a coincidence?
HMLF: No, it’s not a coincidence. Those stars have meaning. And that six- pointed star represents that law that that person is a part of and a party to. The Star in our Flag is a five-pointed star, but it represents Justice; so when a prophet of God comes, he is called The Star of God because he comes to bear witness to truth and justice that God is bringing to the people. So we respect
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the star. Whether it’s a six-pointed star, a five-pointed star, an eight-pointed star, a 12-pointed star, all have deep science and meaning.
Q: I know your Caribbean tour was cut short, but you still made a lot of visits. From what you saw, will there be unity between the Spanish-speaking Caribbean and the other island nations in the near future?
HMLF: Absolutely. Spanish is a language of a slave and colonial master; French, English, Dutch and Portuguese are the languages of our slave and colonial masters. Once we recognize that we are the sons and daughters of Africa, and the sons and daughters of God, will we let language be a barrier to our unity? Of course not! We will learn
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Spanish, French, Dutch, whatever it takes to communicate with the sons and daughters of Africa wherever we are found on this planet. We will be together as one.
Q: In studying The Constitution, do you think it needs to be changed and equalized to include us? Or do you think that document is totally irrelevant in this day and time?
HMLF: No, the document never was made to include us; however, the mind of the present rulers is not of such that they can accept us as their equal. A new mind has to visit those words of The Constitution and the Bill of Rights—a new mind, free of racism, sexism, materialism; a new mind, looking at the words “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” and “all
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men created equal”. Well, that new mind can make those words live! The words are not bad; it’s the state of mind, of those who were the founders of this that cannot live up to those words if those words include The Black, The Brown, the Indigenous people, and the Asians.
Q: What do you think is the ultimate destiny of the United Nations? I don’t see them producing anything of good on this planet.
HMLF: The ultimate destiny of the United Nations is complete failure. And when this last War called Armageddon breaks out, it will be the end of the United Nations.
Q: Brother Minister, why is it that all these politicians, including Obama, takes the oath
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of office on the Holy Bible yet they never seem to use it in their decision making?
HMLF: This demonstrates the hypocrisy of politics. If we’re going to take our oaths on The Words of God and His prophets, should not we be guided by this book and its moral teachings? Of course we should. So maybe they should take their oath of office on that which they believe in most, because they certainly are not following the moral teachings of God and His prophets.
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Q: I agree with you that Jews have helped to make people such as Jay-Z, Puffy, Russell [Simmons] and all of most of our successful Black musicians and artists successful and rich. But I wanted to know: Do you think they could have been as successful without Jewish influence?
HMLF: No, they could not. The Jews are the masters of their world. And, they have the power to make you great in their world. So they open the door for you, and exploit your gifts and your talents, and help you to become great, in their world, and all you have to do is continue to make obeisance to them and they will honor and respect you.
Q: Although he has passed from us, do you still think the ideas that Michael Jackson
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was putting inside of some of his last songs is still impacting the world?
HMLF: Without a doubt. Michael Jackson was more than a great singer and dancer, Michael Jackson was a spirit from God in flesh. That is why he was able to touch so many millions of people, because of the spirit of that man, the beauty of his essence, and the love that he carried for God and for humanity. May God continue to empower his words to touch the hearts of those who listen to his songs.
Q: How can one be a successful musician in a world like this without becoming corrupted, or losing their virtue?
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God has given us, and use that gift for His Glory, then you will rise in your profession. You cannot keep from being tempted by Satan to corrupt you, but if you are strong, you will resist him; and, glorify God by your gifts.
Q: Do you think it’s okay for Black people to celebrate Kwanzaa?
HMLF: The principles articulated in Kwanzaa are good and righteous principles. I am grateful to Maulana Karenga for trying his best to give us a substitute for the madness of Santa Claus and the ignorant behavior that we carry on, on the day that is believed that Jesus The Christ was born.
Q: My name is Paul Scott, a.k.a. ‘The Truth
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Minister’. I have written several articles, and have been blessed by you to get my articles printed in The Final Call about my perspective on hip hop. And for the first time, I just wanted to know what have youthought about my columns?
HMLF: If I didn’t like your column, you would not be in The Final Call. (Smile) Continue to write, Truth Minister, and continue to be what you refer to yourself as, and I will always appreciate you.
Q: I recently started my own magazine, Brother Minister, and I wanted your advice on when people pick up my magazine, what type of content do you think is most pressing that they should have and read within my pages?
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HMLF: There is so much that our people need, but the greatest need of our people is the Knowledge of Self, God and The Time. I read an email this morning from a beautiful sister who is putting out a newsletter on disaster preparedness. As calamities will continue in 2013, unabated, how to survive would be a great thing. After that great Knowledge of Self and God: How do we survive calamities? What should we do? What should we store in our houses? May Allah bless you and your magazine with great success.
Q: I notice a lot of hip-hop artist call themselves Five Percenters, yet in the same light they’re smoking weed and doing all kinds of things. Can you really truthfully be a Five Percenter and do the ways of this
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world?
HMLF: These brothers and sisters received The Teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad through their mentor; and as they grow to understand their teachings, they will become more and more desirous of putting down the behavior and the vices that we practice before our coming into Islam. So don’t judge them, be patient with them, for they are great brothers and sisters. And soon, you will see them coming all the way up to the faith that their Lessons and teachings teach them, and you will be surprised how great they will be in their Nation of Islam.
Q: When you were a musician before joining the Nation of Islam, would you say that you
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had more love for your gifts and talents then you had for God?
HMLF: Never. I have never known any gift that I had that I loved more than The God Who gave me such gifts. As long as I have known myself, nothing in my life has been greater than The God Who gave me life.
Q: I would like to start a program that encourages young girls to love themselves, and to love the way they look and not like the world tells them they should look. What guidance can you give me to make this program most effective?
HMLF: First, you have to teach by being a good example; you must set the pace. And by teaching young girls the
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beauty of their being, not necessarily by their facial features or the beautiful form of their bodies, but their being, the essence of them—the real person that came from God: That is the beauty that must be nurtured and exalted. And once they know their connection to God and the value of them in the society, the real value, then it might become easier for you to teach them their beauty, show them their beauty, make an example for them of their beauty, and then watch them flower and grow.
Q: Brother Minister, Ruby Dee narrated the film Betty and Coretta, and it is known that she was close to Malcolm X. Have you reached out to her like you did Mary J. Blige?
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HMLF: The focus of the movie was not the narrator; it was the actors who played Betty Shabazz and Coretta Scott King. And the words of condemnation of me did not come out of the narrator’s mouth, but out of the mouth of Mary J. Blige as she played Sister Betty. So it was necessary for me to take Mary J. Blige out of the line of fire of overzealous followers of mine, or the enemy himself. My love and respect for Ruby Dee and her husband, the late Ossie Davis, and her tireless efforts on behalf of Black people, remains the same.
Q: How do you feel about the lyrics by rapper Lil’ Wayne in relation to Emmett Till, and how should we handle this?
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and we have nothing to do but point out the error or mistake, and allow brother to correct his path. And may God bless him to see that Emmett Till’s life and death was utilized by God to make known the evil that is being carried out, and was carried out, against our people. His life should be honored by all of us.
Q: What are your thoughts on Shawty Lo’s show, that was actually protested against and did not run, featuring him and his 10 baby mamas? And what is this saying to us as Black women about the media’s feelings toward us?
HMLF: Unfortunately, through many of these reality shows we are demonstrating how we have fallen from The Standard of God, and it is actually making mockery
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of us.
Q: Do you think it’s a good idea for the Nation of Islam to create your own stage plays like you did back in the day, to spread more awareness about The Teachings?
HMLF: Yes, it is a wonderful thing to use your love for the theater to use wisdom and create plays that demonstrate The Wisdom of God. And every time you do it, you’ll be raising the level of consciousness of the people, and inspiring them to live and have a better quality of life.
Q: I am a supporter of you (not as a Muslim, but as a Christian), but I was disturbed by this Betty and Coretta film. I see this as the flood of propaganda written of in
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Revelations. Do you see a greater flood coming now, after this movie?
HMLF: The Dragon will not stop doing what it is written that The Dragon would do. But the beautiful part of what is in the Book of Revelation is that The Earth helped The Woman, and swallowed the water (propaganda), but it did not ill-affect them. And neither will this enemy’s propaganda completely affect the thinking of our people.
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Q: If Elijah Muhammad said to you once that if he had 10 like you he could take the country, how could we have 10 like you if he only has one Farrakhan?
HMLF: Well, he only had 1—but that’s how 10 gets started. It starts from one. And 10 are on the way, because God had one.
Q: Are there any historical documentations or artifacts which prove you all’s Yakub theory to be true?
HMLF: If you look at the Caucasian, he’s the proof in himself. His scientists agree with Elijah Muhammad that the recessive cannot produce the dominant, but out of the dominant comes the recessive. Dark skin is dominant, light skin is recessive.
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The White man could not produce us— but we are the producer of every race that is on our planet. So start from what you see. Where is he a native of? He’s not a native European; we sent him there! He’s not a native Asian; not a native African, not a native American, not a native from Central or South America. Well, if he’s not native, or natural, to any part of our planet, what is he native to? He is naturally coming out of us; and, we gave him Europe as a home. Go look and see, study artifacts, and you will come back and bear witness that he didn’t come by osmosis; it was a process that brought him into existence.
Q: I’ve been trying to learn more about your teachings on God’s Self-Creation. Where did Allah get the protons, electrons and
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neutrons from to create His brains? If He didn’t have brains yet, how did He arrange them to do what He wanted them to do?
HMLF: The best way to study God’s Self- Creation is to study your own origin. In the sperm, there is intelligence—but the sperm had to meet the egg, and then the first cell of life was formed. The intelligence that was in the cell caused the cell to seek a firm resting place in a body that saw it as alien, and trying to get rid of it. The Intelligence of God was in the sperm and in the egg. Well now, go back to the darkness; real darkness, not darkness that is the shadow of the Earth but darkness that has matter in it. And wherever there is matter, you have the basis for life. Allah (God) created Himself, the Honorable Elijah
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Muhammad said, out of the material of the darkness, and, it was a process of evolutionary development. And you and I are made to come through that same process. You are akin to Him. And that’s why Allah (God) says He created us in His own image and after His likeness.
Q: I read that you’re a musician yourself, and I am an artist. What is the relationship between music, artists, and our careers in helping Allah ‘make all things new’? Can He use us?
HMLF: God definitely can use you, since He is The Giver of the gift that you have, and The Evolver of your mastery of your artistry. Music is a Universal Language. The Word of God that comes from Muhammad and Jesus is a Universal
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Expression designed to destroy the discord and the disharmony between people and nations, and bring all into oneness with God through Jesus, or through Muhammad. Music and art and culture, and The Word being used to feed the music, art and culture, will help bring people to God. So David The Psalmist says, “praise Him on the timbrel, praise Him on the lute, praise Him on the stringed instrument, praise Him in the song, and the dance and the psaltery”—let everything be a praise of God. You’re on your way, brother/sister. Let Him use you.
Q: You’ve said in many speeches that I’ve heard that you have two backing you up. Who are those two?
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HMLF: Master Fard Muhammad, The Great Mahdi, and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, His Messiah to us.
Q: As F.O.I. and M.G.T., are our classes set up to take us through the same process as The Originator in His Self-Creation?
HMLF: A similar process, but not the same. Yakub, the father of the White race, took them through a process to make them into an enemy of God. Now, God has come to take us through a process that will make us into Him. That is the exquisite and extreme value of Jesus, The Christ, for your inheritance is His Mind, His Way, His Spirit. So the Bible teaches, “Let this mind be in you, the same that was in Christ Jesus,” so God intends to make a “god” out of you
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and me to build a Kingdom that will last forever.
Q: When you said you first rebuilt The Nation, it was only a few people with you. But now I see you have many people that surround you. Is having a lot of security around you important for you to be successful?
HMLF: Having God and His Christ around me is more important than having people around me, because none of the people that are around me can truly preserve or protect me. My Protection is in The Hands of God. The people that God has allowed to come around me are to help me to do The Work of God; and, in so doing, they share in the reward of the success of that work.
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Q: Was Yakub, according to the Nation of Islam Teachings, one of the 24 Scientists, or like Master Fard Muhammad, he was one that was more powerful than them?
HMLF: He was outside of their circle; but he was so strong, and so powerful, that they could not stop him from doing what the scientists at the beginning of this cycle of history saw him doing. And, his work was permitted by The God of this Cycle, so nobody could stop him from doing what he was born into this world to do.
Q: I read on the internet that there is a claim by the Nation of Islam that in 1929 Fard Muhammad ascended into the sky (i.e. the heavens) in a Mother Ship. Is this accurate? Have you ever heard of this?
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HMLF: No, I have not. I heard that The Mothership was revealed in 1929; It went up, It was launched. And when He manifested Himself to us in 1930, and left us in 1934, I have read that the F.B.I. did an extensive search all over the planet for Him, and they were not able to find Him—although they know He was here. But, they could not find where He went. It could be that He went up in The Wheel, at that time. Someone asked Elijah Muhammad, “Where is He now?” and Elijah Muhammad answered, “He’s wherever He wants to be.” What a heck of an answer that is. He’s not limited; He goes wherever He wants to go.
Q: I’m trying to understand how is it that the Nation of Islam is claiming that you are all ‘raising the dead,’ yet you’re holding on to
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unproven, lacking-historical-proof beliefs that are unsubstantiated.
HMLF: Well, show us one that is not, and show us what substantiates your belief.
Q: Considering the way the president has aged, the pope is aging, you seem to never age. My question to you specifically is: What allows you not to be stressed out by all the pressure that comes your way, and you stay so fresh?
HMLF: Could it be that I have been taught something that delays the aging or slows down the aging process? Could it be that I am with Him Who has The Knowledge of reversing the aging process? I am with The One Who does both: 1) slow it down, and 2) even reverse it. And that is
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not just for me, that’s for you and all our people who submit to God and seek to do His Will. As the scripture teaches, “I came that you may have life, and have it more abundantly.”
Q: How do you constantly make forward progress in the goals that you set for yourself personally? Are you always just dependent on others to execute for you?
HMLF: Jesus was one man with a Supreme Idea for The Time. Though he was one man, he knew he couldn’t do it by himself, so he found twelve men and made them his disciples—one of whom, he said, was a devil. But all twelve of them served Jesus in establishing him and his teachings, and 2,000 years later, over a billion people on this planet believe
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in him. Every man that is blessed with a great idea works his idea, but he finds people that believe in that idea, and they work with him as helpers to bring about what he has envisioned. Ideas come from God, and they are worked by men and women.
Q: I’m sick and tired with this bout with evil on our Earth. When will the government of peace that Master Fard Muhammad is to establish actually come about? I’m not in The Nation, but I’m sure looking forward to it.
HMLF: It starts with your bout with the evil of yourself. That’s a heavy fight. Each of us has to engage the enemy of self; and when we defeat the enemy of self, we are one step closer to the end of evil on
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our planet, and the establishment of The Kingdom of God. Our problem is we are always looking out, and not looking in to the enemy of self.
Q: In the beginning of the Dianetics book it says, ‘This book is presented as it is written in 1950, and is part of L. Ron Hubbard’s literature and works, and is not a statement of claims made by the author, publisher, or any other Church of Scientology.’ I just humbly wanted to ask: Does this mean that the Church of Scientology doesn’t stand behind the statements made in the Dianetics book from L. Ron Hubbard?
HMLF: Well, I think it was a bestseller, and, it still is. And I guess disclaiming that it is anything but a tool: If I created a hammer, and a screwdriver, and a nail,
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I could disclaim your bad work with it— because I don’t know how you’re going to use the tool that I have given you. The tool is all right, but who is the workman? So I don’t think they are disclaiming the wisdom of the man, but rather the misuse of what is in the book.
Q: How do you know, personally, the difference between when you’ve had a dream and when you had a vision?
HMLF: Dreams don’t have to be real. Visions are.
Q: How do you feel about Muslims who bomb and maim innocent people in the name of Allah?
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Muhammad taught, produces imbalance of the mind. If you were a Palestinian, uprooted from your native land and have become a refugee in many countries, and are mistreated now in your own land by someone who has a claim on your land that you don’t accept—and there is no redress for that grievance with the principle of justice—what does that do to the mind? So if one feels, “If I am not allowed arms to fight for my land, then I use whatever I have to inflict pain on those who have taken my country, my land, from me; so I strap myself with bombs to make the occupiers of my land miserable.” Well, that is insanity to some. But look at the American soldiers who were sent to Iraq to fight on the basis of a lie. They died; they gave their lives in earnest, because they believed they
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were fighting for democracy and to keep America safe, when in reality they were fighting to give America possession of the tremendous oil reserves in Iraq. So, one is dying because injustice forced him to give his life to make the lives of the occupier miserable, and another is dying to rob a people of the treasures that are under their feet. Who is right? Who is wrong? And that is why God has come: To set justice in the Earth. And when justice rolls down the mountain like a mighty river, or a stream, then you will see balance come back to the human mind; and peace will follow truth and justice on our planet.
Q: Did the Honorable Elijah Muhammad ever tell you what’s going to happen to the Baby Planes and The Mother Wheel after the
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destruction takes place?
HMLF: No, he did not.
Q: Do you have plans to build up Muhammad Universities in such a way to have dormitories to enable students from around the U.S. to attend, like other colleges?
HMLF: That was the Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s vision—and it will become our duty to complete his vision. But today, we must use his Teachings, and the Teachings of Muhammad University, and grow it to the university level; and then through internet and satellite, have classrooms all over the Earth with the best teachers, teaching our people wherever they are so no one will be deprived of the benefit of the knowledge that Elijah
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Muhammad wanted for our people.
Q: Are there any plans to expand the Nation of Islam to television, cinema, the filming sector, to bring more liberating solutions via television or airwaves to our people?
HMLF: Absolutely. This is already being done.
Q: Do you ever get sick of trying to help Black folks that don’t want to help themselves? You’ve been doing it for a long time.
HMLF: I never get sick of trying. I read that Noah preached 150 years after building an ark on dry land, waiting for some water to come. I haven’t gotten to 150 years old yet, and I’m not in any way tired of trying to reach you, because I know that
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I have Help. The Bones (spoken of in the Book of Ezekiel) didn’t hear The Word, but it was The Winds that whipped them into submission. And soon, I won’t have to talk anymore.
Q: I’ve always wanted to ask you, Brother Minister: How is the ability of the Baby Planes to change form and project images, and their movements, connected to the man that is on the scene?
HMLF: They have their work, and the man on scene has his. And whatever they do to manifest their extraordinary power, and the technology that they use (that some scientists of this world have said is 1,000 years or more beyond these scientists’ ability), it is to let the world know that The Man that is connected to
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that is connected to God. And no matter what they do, or what the world does to ill-affect him, he will be successful, because The Power that backs him is greater than the powers that are against him.
Q: If Dr. Khalid Abdul Muhammad were still alive, do you think he would have returned as a follower of yours, and you all would have settled your differences by now?
HMLF: I believe so.
***
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Follow The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan on Twitter! Twitter.com/LouisFarrakhan
Note: On May 2, 2019, The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan’s Facebook account (@OfficialMinisterFarrakhan) and Instagram account(@LouisFarrakhan) were unjustly permanently removed by Facebook, Inc. Minister Farrakhan addressed it at the #WeAreFarrakhan rally hosted on
May 9, 2019 at St. Sabina Church in Chicago, IL.
In 2020, The Nation of Islam’s YouTube account was banned.
Do you have a question? Follow... #AskFarrakhan and #FarrakhanFridays #FarrakhanTwitterArmy
Also visit these websites:
The Nation of Islam www.NOI.org
The Final Call Newspaper www.FinalCall.com
The Final Call Online Store Store.FinalCall.com
The Final Call Digital Edition FinalCallDigital.com
“Let’s Change The World” Music Project LCTWMusic.com
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