December 14, 2008

WHAT IS MUSLIM JOURNAL EDITOR, AYESHA MUSTAFAA, ATTEMPTING TO SAY BY HEADLINING MINISTER FARRAKHAN AND PUBLISHING HIS WORDS IN THE CENTERFOLD OF THE MUSLIM JOURNAL WHERE IMAM W. D. MOHAMMED’S ARTICLES APPEARED?

On December 9, 2008, before the public distribution of the December 19, edition of the Muslim Journal and before being aware that Ayesha Mustafaa had published an interview of Minister Farrakhan in the Muslim Journal I wrote the following on my website:

IS THE MUSLIM JOURNAL AND its EDITOR SUPPORTIVE OF THE DIRECTION THAT IMAM MOHAMMED WAS LEADING THIS COMMUNITY IN? (When the blind lead the blind they both fall in the ditch)

I wrote this article not as an attack on the Muslim Journal or its editor Ayesha Mustafaa but as a caution to this community admonishing them, that Sister Ayesha has lost her journalistic objectivity and is making judgment calls for publication based on faulty reasoning. I pointed out that if she continued using the same totally irrational, contorted and confused criteria that she used in falsely condemning my family’s articles, defending this community, Imam Mohammed and his widowed wife Khadijah Siddeeq, we are in big trouble as a community. I went on to state that considering that the Muslim Journal is the only national voice that we have in these troubled times if it goes blind or haywire the whole community would face some very serious challenges.

I could hardly get my writings posted before the fruits of my concern were daringly manifested in the December 19th edition of Muslim Journal. Boldly on the front of the Muslim Journal was a blazing headline posted by Sister Editor Ayesha Mustafaa featuring an interview given to a young inexperienced member of the Mohammed family from The Honorable Minister Farrakhan which continued on into the inner section of the paper including the center page formerly reserved for Honorable Imam W.D. Mohammed.

How can any Muslim follower of Imam Mohammed with a half of a grain of sense or sensitivity be so insensitive and inconsiderate as to not recognize that what this editor is doing by featuring Minister Farrakhan in such a way at this time is totally confusing and disrespectful (either intentionally or unintentionally) to the followers of Imam W.D. Mohammed. I am not saying that she should not publish an interview in the Journal by Minister Farrakhan or any member of the Nation of Islam, but how one post such interview and where you place it in the paper has to be given as much consideration as the content of the interview. Now keep in mind this is the same Ayesha Mustafaa that will not publish any comments that the followers of Imam Mohammed desire to publish concerning the injustices that have been heaped upon Khadijah Siddeeq, the wife of Imam Mohammed. This is the same Ayesha Mustafaa that totally ignored my calling for the exact same thing that Minister Farrakhan has called for concerning an investigation into just what were the circumstances surrounding the death of Imam Mohammed. In fact, it was I who first called this concern to the attention of Minister Farrakhan and it is strange that he did not care to share such information with the interviewer when he discussed this subject (but that is another subject for another time)

This reminds me of a humorous story of sort that I was told many years ago where a farmer’s wife in observing the various climate and seasonal changes in their area of the country, told her farmer husband on three different occasions, “honey, I believe we are going to have a bumper crop this year” and he just ignored her as if she said nothing. However, her husband while reading the newspaper weeks later, saw an article written in that paper by some journalist stating that, due to the various climate and seasonal changes in the local area that there would be a record amount of bumper crops this year. The happy farmer immediately yelled out to his wife, “honey, guess what, we’re going to have a bumper crop this year.”

So what does this tell us? It tells us that some people refuse to accept the truth from someone that they don’t like or don’t respect but will accept that same truth from a foreign source and act like this is the first time that they heard it. What Minister Farrakhan said in his article about investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of Imam Mohammed has been my constant cry since day one of learning of Imam Mohammed’s death, and it has just been totally ignored by the Imams of this community and the editor of the Muslim Journal. I wrote this on my website over and over and over and finally I contacted the convener of the Chicago land Shurah, Imam Sultan Salahudin and strongly encouraged him to consider convening an investigative team that we can investigate the many conflicting bits of information that has been given us concerning the death of Imam Mohammed and this request just fell on deaf ears. According to the report given to me, it was not even brought up for discussion at the Shurah meeting that Imam Sultan is the convener of. Days after the death of Imam Mohammed Minister Farrakhan invited me to come to his home and I expressed this same concern to him personally, somehow he forgot to mention this fact in his interview to the Journal, that it was I, Muhammad Siddeeq, who first called this concern to his attention.

So my concern in this article that I am writing is two fold: 1. I am concerned with the editor’s placement of Minister Farrakhan’s article as a head line and featuring it in the center fold where Imam Mohammed’s articles have previously been placed.

2. I am concerned With the editor allowing Minister Farrakhan to mix the Nation of Islam Language, vision and goals with the clear Language, vision and goals of Imam W. D. Mohammed for this community and act as if they agree when the two definitely do not agree. For Sister Editor Ayesha Mustafaa to allow Minister Farrakhan to openly misrepresent the clear vision of Imam Mohammed and not challenge it as she challenges every one else who submits an article to the Journal is proof that she either does not know what the goals of Imam Mohammed are or is not a supporter of this community and it’s late leader Imam W. D. Mohammed.

As I have already said and will repeat, it is totally irresponsible for Ayesha Mustafaa to give Minister Farrakhan a blazing headline on the front of the Muslim Journal. She then continues his interview over into the centerfold of the Muslim Journal which never should have been the case. Now if what I am saying is revelation to Ayesha Mustafaa that is one thing but based on her so called attempt to justify her blatant disloyalty of Imam Mohammed and this community, it is clear she knew that she had over stepped her bounds in doing what she did and the way she did it.

Look at her words of justification for publishing this interview. Her own conscience made her attempt to rationalize her betrayal of this communities trust by citing Barak Obama’s choosing of rivals for his cabinet and Salahudin showing concern and mercy on Richard the Lion Hearted. This is insane; Barak Obama is in a very tenuous position as the first African American to be elected President of the United States of America and is surrounded by literally hundreds of professional specialized advisers who made a wisely calculated political decision after thoroughly researching the possible down side of doing such a thing. These professional politicians did what was in his best interest for one who has millions of Caucasian doubters and distrusters facing him daily. Also, the leader of the rivals that he chose from is alive and well and capable of agreeing or disagreeing with said decision.

She went on to site Richard the Lion Hearted who never was a Muslim nor was Salahudin ever a Christian, so this certainly does not speak to what she has in her mind. This is not the case concerning Minister Farrakhan and Imam Mohammed. Minister Farrakhan was once a part of this community under the leadership of Imam Mohammed and chose to separate himself from this community (which he had a right to do). However, I did not agree with him then and do not agree with him now though I love and respect him as a brother a very special brother. In my opinion, he was wrong then for leaving and he is wrong now for the approach he has chosen to take to “return”. Not wrong for giving an interview. But wrong for who he allowed to interview him. Not wrong for wanting and seeking unity, but wrong in not having the courage to speak to the hard and painful truths that characterized those 31 difficult years of separation that put a terrible pain in the heart of those of us who loved and respected him.

I believe, he was Wrong in the TERRIBLE MISREPRESENTATION OF WHAT he attempted to say IMAM Mohammed WAS ABOUT, which cannot be simply reconciled in a kindergarten interview with a young uninformed naive relative. A child like person, that does not have a hint what questions to ask or how to properly get to the heart of information that really tells the story that Minister Farrakhan claims he wants to tell today. As I said before and will repeat, I love Minister Farrakhan, he is my brother, my friend, my former teacher and mentor but today his former student has grown up, and if he is truly ready to unite with the Imam’s of Imam Mohammed’s community and ready to give an interview, I need to be the one to interview him. I, Muhammad Siddeeq, the one who walked with him day and night year after year after year through some of life’s most serious trials and challenges, I need to be the one to put to him those hard questions that must be answered. Questions that have lingered in my heart and soul for over 31 years, that young brother Sultan wouldn’t even think to ask, nevertheless know how to ask.

Now this is the trial that Sister Editor Ayesha Mustafaa would have to grapple with as reflected by her words of: “…even the Qur’an itself invites ‘non believers’ to come and study it and see what it is with which you differ.” Does she have the courage to reach out to “a strong contender joining on her side” and invite the most qualified member of this community (to perform this task) to interview Minister Farrakhan so that we get to see and hear from the depths of “…what is on his heart” as oppose to some slight of hand type questions and answers under the guise of an interview.

More properly put, Ayesha Mustafaa was wrong for publishing this interview conducted by a novice interviewer that is full of errors and misrepresentations from Minister Farrakhan all because the editor decided to lean on her own understanding (eating from the forbidden tree) of a subject she knows nothing about and is too proud to contact the person who could have helped her get it right.

Before going any further I must say and Minister Farrakhan will bear witness, that there is no one in Imam W. D. Mohammed’s community anywhere that was closer to Minister Farrakhan than I was. I loved him (Minister Farrakhan) then and I love him today, he is my brother who I shared and went through some of the most precious, wonderful and trying life experiences with but much that he said in this interview was not accurate and I blame the editor more then I blame him. I was close to Minister Farrakhan for years and over those years we agreed to be open and honest with one another and there is much we must sit down and talk about privately, but he chose to make some public statements concerning this community prematurely, statements that we (he and I) should have discussed as brothers before allowing a young uninformed novice to attempt to handle. This young man, Brother Sultan Muhammad, is very brilliant and sincere but he is not wise enough to handle an interview with a skilled polished expert veteran such as Minister Farrakhan, on a subject that he (the interviewer) knows absolutely nothing about.

For years I have tried unsuccessfully to get Minister Akbar Muhammad, our mutual friend and brother, to arrange for the Minister and myself to sit down and discuss many of these serious and difficult matters that he has attempted to unwisely synopsize in this kindergarten interview and now I find myself in a very uncomfortable position to have to publicly disagree with a brother I love and respect and never want to publicly disagree with. However, as a sincere committed follower of Imam Mohammed I am compelled to challenge any and everyone who misrepresents his teachings, especially since he is not here to challenge and defend for himself. So, my speaking out is not out of disrespect for Minister Farrakhan, under these circumstances I am obligated to speak the truth as I know it and that is exactly what I have done and will do.

Minister Farrakhan as well as most of our community know that I was very very close to Imam W. D. Mohammed for years and there does not exist one person on this earth that shares that reality between these two men but me and therefore it is imperative that I do not allow the record to be misrepresented as this editor has apparently done.

It is not my intent to be petty or disrespectful to Minister Farrakhan, Brother Sultan or Sister Ayesha Mustafaa, but It is incumbent upon me as one who was close to Imam Mohammed and knew what his position was on these matters to speak up and correct the record in his defense regardless of whom or what.

For Minister Farrakhan to say that Imam Mohammed “ASSUMED LEADERSHIP” of the Nation of Islam is incorrect. Imam Mohammed was chosen or foretold to be the leader by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s teacher, the person Imam Mohammed referred to as Professor Fard Muhammad and referred to by the members of the nation of Islam as their Savior or G-d in person. This information was told to Imam Mohammed by both his Mother Sister Clara Mohammed and his Father The Honorable Elijah Mohammed and repeated throughout the years by his older siblings. When the Honorable Elijah Muhammad died Imam Mohammed was then ratified by the membership of the Nation of Islam to be its leader. Considering throughout this interview Minister Farrakhan took the liberty to use the language of the Nation of Islam to describe Imam Mohammed and his mission, then why, in this instance did he not use the Nation of Islam language to describe how Imam Mohammed became the leader of the Nation of Islam and chose to say “he assumed” the leadership? The answer is simple; he would have to say using the language of the Nation of Islam:

“G-D IN THE PERSON OF MASTER FARD MUHAMMAD PROPHESIED THAT THE 7TH CHILD OF THE HONORABLE ELIJAH MUHAMMAD AND SISTER CLARA MUHAMMAD WOULD LEAD THIS COMMUNITY.” He would have had to say that, “G-D FORETOLD IMAM MOHAMMED’S BIRTH”. He would have to say: “G-D TOLD HIS MESSENGER ELIJAH TO NAME THIS CHILD AFTER ME, GIVE HIM MY NAME, WALLACE D. MOHAMMED”. He would have to say, “AND G-D TOLD HIS FATHER, Elijah Muhammad THAT HE, WALLACE D. MOHAMMED, ALONE WOULD LEAD THE NATION OF Islam AFTER THE DEATH OF HIS MESSENGER ELIJAH MUHAMMAD” AND HE WOULD HAVE TO SAY THAT G-D NEVER MENTION TWO PEOPLE MOPPING UP THE COUNTRY TOGETHER, HE ONLY PROPHESIED WALLACE D. MOHAMMED LEADING THIS NATION TO VICTORY.

Minister Farrakhan said that he and Imam Mohammed had disagreements as brothers but never spoke any disagreement in the public…this is not totally accurate and that should be sufficient for this point.

Minister Farrakhan stated on page 14 in the second paragraph on that page, “that that kind of a shurah council could be an aide to the family in keeping the community together to ensure that the projects that he started …could be realized”. This expression of Minister Farrakhan is not in accord with the language and thinking of Imam Mohammed. Minister Farrakhan has here injected the language of the Nation of Islam into the works of Imam Mohammed which conflicts seriously with Imam Mohammed and his leadership effort. NOWHERE IN THE WRITNG AND SPEECHES OF IMAM Mohammed DO WE EVER SEE IMAM Mohammed SAY OR SUGGEST THAT HE HAS ANY CONCERN WHATSOEVER IN “THE FAMILY” KEEPING THIS COMMUNITY TOGETHER. THIS IS NATION OF Islam LANGUAGE BUT IS TOTALLY AT ODDS WITH IMAM MOHAMMED’S VISION AND WORK. IMAM Mohammed SPOKE OF COMMUNITY NOT FAMILY AND HE NEVER EVER WAS CONCERNED WITH “THE FAMILY” DOING ANYTHING BUT BEING FAMILY TO ONE ANOTHER. NOW THIS MAY BE THE LANGUAGE OR PROCEDURE OF THE NATION OF ISLAM BUT THE SO CALLED FAMILY HAD NO ROLE WHATSOEVER IN THE MISSION OF IMAM Mohammed. THIS WAS TRUE THEN AND IT IS TRUE NOW. NOR DO THEY HAVE ANY ROLE IN KEEPING ANYONE TOGETHER BUT THEMSELVES.

FOR SISTER EDITOR AYESHA MUSTAFAA TO ALLOW MINISTER FARRAKHAN TO INTERJECT THIS UNACCEPTABLE DIABOLICAL IDEA INTO OUR COMMUNITY UNCHALLENGED IS TO TOTALLY UNDERMINE EVERYTHING THAT IMAM MOMAMMED WAS ABOUT. IMAM Mohammed WORKED DILIGENTLY FOR YEARS DESTROYING THAT FALSE NOTION THAT THE Mohammed FAMILY HAD SOME SPECIAL ROLE IN THIS COMMUNITY. THEIR ROLE WAS THEN AND IS NOW TO BE A GOOD BELIEVER ALONG WITH THE REST OF THE BELIEVERS.

AT A TIME AS SERIOUS AS WHAT WE ARE EXPERIENCING IN THIS COMMUNITY, TO ALLOW ANYONE TO BE GIVEN THE HEADLINES AND CENTERFOLD OF THE MUSLIM JOURNAL TO PUBLISH DESTRUCTIVE AND UNACCEPTABLE INFORMATION THAT SPEAKS AGAINST WHAT IMAM Mohammed WAS ATTEMPTING TO ACHIEVE WITH THIS COMMUNITY IS TANTAMOUNT TO TREASON.

I’m not saying that this is their intent but I am saying that this is what has been done AND IT MUST CEASE AND DESIST.

Again Ayesha Mustafaa stood by and allowed Minister Farrakhan to misrepresent the work of Imam Mohammed unchallenged. She quotes Minister Farrakhan saying “I know it is difficult for many Muslims who saw the Nation go down and they charged him with destroying the Nation…” This is not a true statement. The Muslims did not charge the Imam with destroying the Nation until Minister Farrakhan himself charged Imam Mohammed with destroying the nation. Keep in mind that I do not get any joy out of doing what I am doing because Minister Farrakhan has been a GOOD friend to me and my family but if we are going to make a report we must either make an accurate report or don’t make a report at all.

Where is the editor, Ayesha Mustafaa, the one who will not allow any of the followers of Imam Mohammed to publish a single word in the Journal unless she scrutinizes it? Now, while all of this misinformation is being flaunted in the Muslim Journal she is like the spook that sat beside the door. Why is it that she does not recognize that Minister Farrakhan is not speaking the language of Imam Mohammed and like she published a rationale for allowing this article to appear why does she not make an editors note concerning Minister Farrakhan’s misrepresentation of Imam Mohammed’s work? I don’t believe that she is not aware of these things then why doesn’t she either offer some correction on these blatant misrepresentations or just not allow them to appear as she does all of us who she constantly denies access to posting information in the Muslim Journal.

Midway down in the third column on page 14 Minister Farrakhan again attempts to impose the Nation of Islam Language on Imam Mohammed’s community by stating “…I saw the Imam and my self sitting down with the members of his family and others just talking about the next step…”

If he saw that, he saw something that was not of Imam Mohammed because this was not the way of Imam Mohammed. Imam Mohammed did not include members of his family in everything that he did and to keep emphasizing his family is not and was not the way of Imam Mohammed. The Imam loved and respected his family and included them when he felt a need to but his work, mission and decision making did not necessarily include his family. Minister Farrakhan would have been correct if he would have said that he saw Imam Mohammed in the prayerful position of Sajda seeking guidance from Almighty G-d Allah seeking a direction for his entire life and mission.

In concluding this article, Minister Farrakhan has every right to speak the language he knows best and speaks as a Minister of the Nation of Islam and should not be criticized for doing so. However, it is incumbent upon the editor of the periodical who intends to publish this information to stay vigilant whenever said information is submitted to her Newspaper for publication and not to allow misrepresentations or mischaracterizations to creep into her paper that will cause serious problems to the community that she is pledged to inform and support. However, if she or anyone with her responsibility to defend the excellent and precious name and work of Imam W. D. Mohammed fails to do so then we the followers of him are compelled to stand up and speak the truth REGARDLESS OF WHOM OR WHAT.

I again offer my services to the Editor Ayesha Mustafaa to interview Minister Farrakhan on behalf of the Muslim Journal if the two of them are courageous enough to accept my offer. If given this honor and privilege I will correct some of the other distortions that I chose to set aside for now, waiting to hear from either Minister Farrakhan or/and Sister Editor Ayesha Mustafaa.

As-Salaamu-Alaikum

Brother Muhammad Siddeeq