EP25 - People of Conscience & the 2024 Election w/ Guest Imam Earl Abdulmalik Mohammed

In this episode "People of conscience and the 2024 election: Families in focus with special guest Imam Earl Abdulmalik Mohammed of the Muslim American Ministry for Human Salvation.", hosts Frank Abdul Shaheed & Faridah Abdul-Tawwab Brown discuss the significance of family and societal bonds with I mam Earl Abdulmalik Mohammed. Imam Mohammed, a prominent author and humanitarian, talks about the principles of 'binding and engagement' derived from the Qur'an, and how these principles contribute to building cohesive and resilient communities. The conversation also covers how the ethical army can navigate current political landscapes, with a focus on the humanitarian crisis in Palestine and ethical civic engagement. Imam Mohammed further delves into the importance of female leadership in society and the necessity of embracing diversity to achieve true societal progress.

00:00 Welcome to The Family Ties
00:52 Introducing Our Special Guest
03:27 The Principle of Binding and Engagement
11:05 Challenges Facing Families Today
20:13 The Ethical Army and Civic Responsibility
29:43 Global Struggles and Human Dignity
48:23 Female Leadership and Society
52:01 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

This podcast is about family life as a means to address current problems in American society. A scripture based African American perspective. 

Welcome to The Family Ties, a Prescription for Society.
 Through this experience we invite you to join us in an exploration of the concept of family ties as a prescription for society.
 
 YOUR HOSTS:  Frank Abdul Shaheed &
 Faridah Abdul-Tawwab Brown
 
 This episode was edited by Darryl D Anderson of AMG - Ambassador Media Group visit https://www.ambassador-mediagroup.com/
__________________________________
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Creative Commons / Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-SA 4.0)
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Copyright 2024

Transcript

Frank: 0:16

Peace be upon the family as we welcome you to another experience of The Family Ties, a prescription for society. I am your co host, Frank Abdul Shahid.

Faridah: 0:27

And I am your co host, Farida Abdul Tawab Brown. Before we get started, don't forget to subscribe so you can stay up to date and get all the latest episodes.

Frank: 0:36

Welcome back, Farida, to a I'm feeling a wonderful episode that we're about to record tonight. Want to know whether or not you are doing well and how are you? Are you and your family?

Faridah: 0:48

Oh, we are doing wonderfully. And I, too, am excited about this episode. We have a very special guest. Yes. And I Can't wait to hear from him to speak on some very important topics at this moment in time.

Frank: 1:00

Yes. Our special guests on our podcast, and we are very honored to have him. He is a father, a husband, a businessman. An author and a humanitarian, he was appointed by Imam WD Muhammad, who is the son of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, the former leader of the nation of Islam as his representative and a special assistant to his ministry. In that role, he produced a media publication known as ocular magazine, focusing on the works of Imam WD Muhammad's ministry. He was chiefly instrumental in arranging the historical meeting. Between Imam WD Muhammad and Pope John Paul, the second at the Vatican, he authored two books and in succeeding the tradition of what Imam Muhammad has established, he is the leader of the Muslim American ministry for human salvation. I will say what the Honorable Imam WD Muhammad has said about him. He says, and I quote the Imam, I have to acknowledge the man who has done more than any other person to help me get the correct picture of Muslims and Imam WD Muhammad to the public of America and to the world. My son, Earl Abdul Malik Muhammad, I thank God for him. Welcome Imam Earl Abdul Malik Muhammad and peace be upon you. And welcome to our Family Ties Prescription for Society episode.

Mohammed: 2:28

I'm honored to be with you. Peace, peace be upon you and our honorable sister Farida and our honorable audience.

Frank: 2:38

It's wonderful to have you brother Imam. In this podcast, we've mentioned The public in the introduction of our honorable guest and the works in the public we have given special attention in this podcast to how public behavior and establishments should present itself as it serves the collect collective interest of home, the place where the sacred family ties and are born and nurtured. In the home, so brother, you, ma'am, in this particular podcast, we would like to ask you some very, I think, poignant questions that our audience in the world wants to know, want to have ideas and want to have your opinion on how we should address the issues that affect these families, the family ties. You have written on the principle of binding and engagement in your book, democracy, civil, civic virtue, and Islam the Muslim American jihad against extremism. This is a principle that promotes the construction of bonds of trust, which I quote, presage. And formation and solidification of relationships, which are intended to secure vital and common interest, serving the support of the best conditions for human life in society, the sacred family ties. Can you can you speak on how the bonds of this relationship builds and resurrects the model community?

Mohammed: 4:10

Yes, thank you. The principle, uh, binding and engagement, um, comes from a verse in the Qur'an and, uh, in particular, uh, focuses a word, a word in, uh, the Qur'an Uh, that means, uh, to tie together. And um, uh, in the Muslim world, there's an organization called Rabita, it's, um, known as Muslim world, Muslim world league, um, in the circles of diplomatic, uh, activity in the United Nations and, and, uh, world bodies, um, associated with. The interest to improve the condition of man on the earth. And so this, uh, uh, organization takes the name Rabota, which is from a word that's in the Quran that describes what, uh, what you have quoted from the book, uh, that, uh, we wrote some years ago. And um, it is just what, what, uh, what you quoted, um, a principle. that governs and encourages the, uh, necessary relationships that must exist, um, cohesive bonds in structures of society that must exist for, uh, to support, uh, and we might even say protect or even guarantee the proper development in, in human society, um, as God intended. As God intended, uh, man, human, human beings, uh, will have a picture of, uh, where emphasis should be placed. And they will be falling short sometimes, you know, they'll be making errors and, uh, the, uh, uh, guidance from God is a correction and, uh, opportunity for reaffirmation and, uh, uh, redirection for the focus that human life should have, human beings should have and leadership, um, human community leadership should have. So this is, um, uh, a vital concern, and it's a, it's a, it has been, and it was, a strategy of, uh, Imam W. Deen Muhammad. He gave it to me, he, he, he introduced it to me, um, as a, as a, uh, major concern, but also a strategy. In other words, it should be a strategy. It should be something we're working for, um, on a constant basis. Uh, but it's a principle that, um, kind of, uh, introduces and defines our interests. as a Muslim body or Muslim community in America. So the Muslim community in America should not be perceiving itself as isolated from the general condition of the society. If the Muslim community is doing well, then, uh, whatever is serving is good health and good development. It should want to share that with the, General membership, uh, and leadership in, in the society, even if it be non Muslim. Yes. And in this case, in that case, in our case in America, we are a minority, a small minority as compared to the general population of the citizens of America. The Muslim population is a minority. So, um, our interest is a general interest. That all people, all Muslims should have, but it's also a, um, uh, common interest, um, and it's, uh, an interest that we have. Uh, that is a strategy to introduce our life and what we have as influences for success in our life, um, into the general society.

Frank: 9:03

Yes, sir. So, you know, as we, to support what you have said, what we have done on this podcast is to want to strongly. Urge and strongly reinforce those bonds and what the bonds have written in them to to drive these relationships to have the best possible life for all of humanity these, these sacred bonds. And we. I have stressed how much the family starts that process of welcoming to society, what is role and responsibility should be to direct itself and to support what the family life has brought into itself. So thank you, brother, man, for that. Farida, do you have any follow up for that?

Faridah: 9:46

I do. Thank you so much again for joining us on the program. So you, you mentioned the binding and engagement and you spoke about this being a strategy for engaging the society. And when I hear those two words, binding and engagement, they bring many things to mind. But one of which is the when you look at the the primary elements of a family unit. And you look at the, the, the mother or the female principle in, in the family and the father and the male principle in the family, the binding could almost seems to me to relate to the, the nurturing element, what holds the family together, that love and nurturing and clear kind of mother wit and common sense that holds the family unit and the engagement speaks to the leadership. The aspect of leadership in the family, which speaks to the father's role or the male role in the family. And then of course, this podcast pointing us to the family as a prescription allows us to see this as, as a platform or foundation upon which the rest of society is built. built. So going back again to that binding and engagement that that those complimentary roles that are modeled first in the family unit and that we then find in increasing levels and more increasingly sophisticated levels with greater responsibility. Can you speak to a little bit to advice that you have on how families can resist the powerful movements in society that are designed to weaken families? So you know, just looking at those two ideas and, and how they first begin within the womb of the family, but they are built upon in larger society. And we see that there are, are really powerful movements. That are designed to weaken them. What advice do you have for our listeners on how we might begin combating those?

Mohammed: 11:36

If we look at, uh, the, uh, and, and God, he focuses our attention, um, on the development of life, human life, and, uh, the stages of human life and, um, uh, every stage, uh, and the process itself is to bring about. a, uh, structure, which is a human life as a structure. And, um, uh, it is to, um, exist in recognition of the development, Of similar or, um, complimenting human life. In other words, this process that is described in scripture, in the Qur'an in particular, is held in common. It is something that is a shared process. And all human life, um, experiences, uh, this as necessary for development. That suggests cooperation that suggests common recognition and, uh, the necessary, uh, prerequisite for the, um, initial development of life is the bonding of like individuals. but also, uh, dissimilar. They are like, but dissimilar. The bonding of male and female. They're human, not the same.

ALL: 14:03

Okay.

Mohammed: 14:03

And, um, uh, the finding of the common area is the prerequisite for the development of the healthy, uh, offspring. There has to be a compromise. It has to be an accommodation, um, uh, and you might, it might, you might look at it and say, well, the male is the dominant. Not necessarily, not necessarily in some instances, and it could be interpreted that way, but not necessarily, um, or you could say the male, the female is the recessive. Not necessarily, not necessarily. The way that, uh, Scripture presents it. Is that there are characteristics that may have female gender, but are seen in both males and females. Yes. There are characteristics that may have male gender, but they are acknowledged in males and females. So, the Quran says, for example, the term that is used to describe a male, for example, Is given in the Quran as also, uh, a, um, uh, a characteristic or a, um, description of a certain kind of female. So, so that says that the term that's used for male is not just speaking of, um, uh, a man or a male, uh, fizzy physiologically, but it's talking about an urge that can be described. Okay. Or is characterized in as male. Um, but it's not just. A property of males. So the term itself, just to be, you know, I know some people they listen and they want technical, technical things, you know?

Frank: 16:14

Yes, sir.

Mohammed: 16:15

So the term is kar uh, but, uh, the Quran says that which is female, feminine, feminine, so it says, it means it, it, it, it, it, it, it, it provides a richness to the understanding of the word. So it, it doesn't mean. Uh, a male or a man, it means a thinking human that is both male and female, female. So, um, uh, in these processes is the necessary, um, uh, or, or is a description of the bonding. Uh, and then you have, um, what is developed, what comes from the bonding and what comes from the bonding is a healthy human. a healthy human condition, um, that goes through the stages of development. And in those stages of development are also instructive lessons about the construction or the proper construction or healthy construction of human society. So, um, uh, human society cannot exist in the way that God intended, which Um, speaks to the success of human existence, um, without the, uh, healthy function of like, but dissimilar entities, they must find area of accommodation and compromise. And in that finding, or that is the necessary movement in those like, but dissimilar entities, For the construction or the beginning processes of the construction of a healthy human condition. So we don't expect that, um, all, all the circumstances in society are going to favor one group that is always going to be a like situation. There are also dissimilar situations that must be addressed, and human life has been constructed in a way to accommodate and compromise for those interests. And um, uh, to the, to the extent that we, um, appreciate that as a process. We can see the necessity for, for example, for female coming into high political offices. Mm. If we follow this logic, if we follow this logic, we can see the necessity for, uh, a variety of ethnic groups. rising in influence. We can see the necessity for that because we have likeness but dissimilarity at the same time operating in the interest to strengthen, uh, human society and human condition.

Faridah: 19:30

Wow. That, that was A really helpful exposition of that idea, particularly in this immediate political moment in which we exist, where so many parties and groups in our society are fighting to be recognized and to take no prisoners. They want all or nothing at the same time. And what you're speaking, these words of accommodation and, and these types of words are looked at disfavorably or unfavorably in today's political climate. And so I, I appreciate that conversation and I just like Frank, if you, if you don't mind me moving on to this other question I think is, is very important here. And I, it speaks to our civic responsibility in this particular moment. And so I would like to know how can people of conscience, you know, members of an ethical army, if you will, you know, this is a term that you have begun to, to share with us and how will they operate within the power structure of a country like America. with particular attention paid to this idea of accommodation and not always having everything you want in a particular moment. But how might the people of conscience operate within this specific political context?

Mohammed: 20:44

There's no doubt that the founders of America Had the focus on a human type and, um, they wanted that America be in support of the best possible development of that type. The type that they saw, uh, uh, hope that, uh, America would be America as a society would accommodate is the type that's focused in scripture. And, um, uh, they struggled, um, because of their own social and, uh, ethnic experiences, they struggled, um, uh, in this process. Um, and that's what is meant by the accommodation that they made for that struggle. That is what is meant in their language by the terminology or phrasing more perfect union. They knew it was a struggle is not going to be easy because you have, um, uh, homogenous societies competing for power on the earth in the name of their homogenous interests. But America, uh, founders They wanted, they made it known that they searched the earth for principles. Uh uh, they put it in their symbolism, they put it in their iconography. They put it in their language, uh, straight a language to define, um, their wanting to be acknowledged. As a people distinguished from England, they said that a man. is created equal. So all right, right, right, right there. They're acknowledging that there are inequalities and those inequalities are characterized in different categories. But they're saying that in spite of these categories, humans the focus on this of this society is on the common human type that it is Endowed by its creator that it has been fashioned It has been designed which suggests it has purpose that it has been endowed by its creator to have an appetite to Recognize that it should be respected. It should be respected so that means that the society must hold it up the society itself must exist to hold it up and That Uh, that entity should also contribute to conditions to hold up that life or to promote that life, to promote that picture. So, um, the holy book of Muslims says. That God created a picture for, uh, human life and that from that picture, he created many pictures. Mm. Yes, sir. And he says, uh, God says in the Quran that the many pictures, he created them all beautiful and excellent. Um, so what America in this, uh, struggle presents is. An attempt to focus the common picture with the support of the many pictures, and it's a struggle. And, uh, uh, in, in, in some periods of Americans, his America's history, uh, it has, uh, failed miserably in, um, acknowledging the degree of respect that it should have for the many pictures. Um, and in other, in other moments in America's history, it has triumphed. in its picture, in its embrace. The struggle of it is the, the, um, uh, concern of every nation on this earth. Every society on this earth focuses America as the sacred discussion on what is the correct picture of human life and how it should be supported. So the ethical army As I have mentioned, used that term, uh, in repeating, uh, the, uh, uh, creation of that term. I don't know that he would say that he created the term, but certainly he used the term and defined it for us. And that's Imam WD Muhammad, the late leader of our community, late leader of Muslims in America. The son of the honorable Elijah Muhammad, uh, he's the one that used that term and made it known and taught the meaning of it to us and to me. And um, it refers to, uh, a population that is not defined necessarily by a religious identity. or any particular ethnic identity or racial identity, but is defined by, um, the evolution in thinking from a basic morality to respect human life to a sophisticated, uh, appreciation for the value of diversity, uh, and to, uh, uh, lock arms, stand in ranks, uh, as, uh, soldiers. Uh, in the cause of everything that supports what is necessary to advance society, even if it means to, um, condemn or to, uh, punish a moment in history where the best possible conditions are being neglected and support from the leadership to advance those conditions is being abandoned. Yes. That they are prepared to stand even, uh, in a time that, um, like a war, uh, difficult, uh, and, and, um, um, soul stirring, uh, and, uh, not desired condition. War is not a desired condition, but they're ethical. The army is, is prepared to defend the most important and sacred interests on behalf of the vision for Human life in its establishment in the picture that the founders had that complies with what God has established as truth about the destiny of human society.

Frank: 28:48

Yes, sir. And we say the praises for God. Absolutely. And you mentioned leadership in this in your answer and war. Oftentimes is a comp commentary on leadership. You know, we see war often as incursion. We see war as shocking. The senses of the public is often a denial of peace and prosperity. And it more than anything else tests the bonds of trust amongst the people. So as we see in the, currently in the world now how the world is basically a a tinderbox of the possibility of a complete explosion and just completely destabilization of the human family throughout the world. You know, young people, people of faith have been the vanguard of the movement to call attention to the oppression and destruction facing populations around the world. You know, what should people of conscience who are troubled by death and destruction. Of the Palestinian people specifically, but people suffering all throughout the world consider when evaluating presidential candidates given the treaty obligation of the United States of America. You know, how should they see their involvement in, in addressing those issues?

Mohammed: 30:03

Like many, like many issues, uh, it said one, it said in one frame, very complicated, very complex. Uh, very detailed and then in another frame, very simple, very straightforward, um, depending on who's presenting the argument or what side of the argument is being presented. Um, in my mind, in my mind, and I'm in, uh, uh, supported in this understanding from Islamic sentiments. Uh, and I'm sure that the Christian, uh, listeners of your program, they would, uh, accept, uh, that they wouldn't want to see, nor would we want, nor would Muslims want to see a Christian population, uh, being mistreated. We wouldn't want to see Christians neglect them, neglect the Christian population that's being mistreated. So Muslims, uh, we have strong. Uh, social bonds, and we don't want to see Muslim populations mistreated. That's one area, uh, from where I'm coming from in terms of focusing attention on the struggle of the Palestinian people, but, uh, in my embrace of the Palestinian struggle as a Muslim. And identifying the majority of the Palestinian people as Muslims. I'm also aware that there's a minority of Palestinians that are Christians.

Frank: 31:53

Yes, sir.

Mohammed: 31:55

Okay, that transcends Muslim identity. All right. Um, I'm also aware that, uh, the, there is a difference in character of The Israeli government that has, uh, war machine tendencies and mentality, that there's a difference in character between that government and its people. And that that government is not necessarily representing the, uh, general interests of the Israeli people.

Frank: 32:53

Yes, sir.

Mohammed: 32:55

Okay. So when I look at the situation there, I'm not seeing it only as an issue with regard to Muslims or even Palestinians In fact that may not be the most compelling Reason for our attention the most compelling reason for our attention is the That this is a human community and the, uh, the reminder that we have as Muslims is the meaning of the sacred places, uh, that are associated with the Palestinian people and the Jewish people and the Christian people in Jerusalem, the whole world in terms of, uh, the following of these great religions have as a focus, that area of the world is the focus on some structure of. Of of stone and and mortar buildings. No, those buildings have no meaning whatsoever. The the the focus is on something existing in the constitution of human life that gets our attention.

Frank: 34:31

Yes,

Mohammed: 34:32

sir. That's what gets our attention there. The some some of the great leaders and teachers of the moral interests that is necessary, uplift and progress human society is, uh, is associated with that geography. So those buildings, uh, have, have, uh, very little importance, but the human life has, um, primary importance and concern. And so it represents for us, an opportunity to address the condition of human life on this earth. So the Palestinian issue is, um, in value the same as the issue of the, uh, people of, uh, South Sudan, uh, that have been victimized the, uh, people of, uh, Myanmar. Yes. that have been victimized, the people of, um, the Congo that have been victimized. But, uh, even, even, even the assault upon the, the, um, Ukrainians, um, in the focus of, of the, the, the global society, what we are seeing is attention on the Palestinian struggle. The Palestinian struggle is not separated in importance. Uh, from all of these other struggles because fundamentally we're talking about neglect and, uh, um, ritualized attempts to separate human communities. from what God intended for them to be enriched by. That's what we are seeing. And so we focus the attention on the Palestinian, but it's, it's commentary on, on the condition of man in an oppressed state by oppressors that want to separate human life from what God entitled it to have. Everything God created, he gave to the human family, not one group within the human family. All of us. are to have access to all the benefits that God created. And certainly we have to qualify. to use those resources. We have to respect the science of those resources. But just because a community is not as far along as another one in understanding the proper uses of resources doesn't justify their mistreatment. In fact, if one group had is further along the road in terms of understanding of how resources should be used, Their obligation as members in the human family is to invite that group that has not evolved as far to share in responsibility and to grow in understanding of how to appreciate this process. That's the obligation that we should have. And the rest of the world witnessing these things promote and support that process. Yes, sir. Absolutely.

Faridah: 38:12

So I actually have a follow up to that if you don't mind. And that is given the The principle of the ethical army how they operate when it may be the case that leadership has abandoned these principles of promotion of human dignity. And then we wed that in the interest particularly of the 2024 presidential election. What would you what advice might you have in terms of What strategy to pursue for people of conscious conscience for members of this ethical army, Muslims, Christians, Jews, people of good faith who are concerned about human dignity and fighting oppression. What would you say in terms of how we best operate when it seems as if leadership has abandoned those principles when we have treaty obligations in place, let's say with the a state that is currently functioning in Israel you know, as a war machine, how do we best maneuver to get an outcome that might be helpful? And I say that in light particularly of this election, we have one candidate who is promoting policies that seem to be very authoritarian in nature, and they may in fact destabilize. our society in, in a manner that we won't have space to maneuver and critique and boycott and, and take other actions. And then you have that pitted against another candidate who, you know, speaks about justice, but for some people looking at this through the lens of not just emotion, but of, of genuine concern for humanity, they're seeing, well, I don't see that this person is that different. Could you give us some insight? scriptural insight on how people of conscience might navigate this choice and, and maybe not secure an outcome, but put the best effort forward to, to be able to work toward that common good.

Mohammed: 40:15

Yeah, you know, um, there's never been a time in human society, in the history of human society, where all the conditions favor this necessary or this, um, the desired progress. All the conditions never favor the desired progress. Yeah. Um, There's always struggle because this is not heaven. This is the world. This is earth.

Faridah: 40:42

And,

Mohammed: 40:43

um, the nature of human life is struggle. Even the way that, uh, human life comes into the world. Um, and we described the beauty of the, the, uh, process, the bonding of the similar or the like and dissimilar who have reconciled differences. Um, symbolically reconciled differences in order to bring about that new life, even, even upon that triumph, which, you know, the, the relationship between male and female coming together to produce that new life, even in that triumph, still the new life that comes after that beautiful development. In the process of it coming into the world, it struggles and it struggles to such an extent that its own life is at risk and the mother's life is at risk. So, um, what is the, what, what is, uh, to be understood from this? Obviously, this is what God intended. We come into our existence as human beings, um, with attention on the necessity of struggle, difficulty. And, um, uh, that, uh, what we achieve is valued because it has been earned. One great leader, uh, from the African American people, uh, Dr. Martin Luther King, he said that America, and he was speaking not necessarily of the people, but of the leadership, need, needed a reevaluation and reformation of values. Yes. Yes. Um, I think that that's true in every age. That's true in every age and, uh, every, um, uh, period of change and leadership in society. And, uh, um, the, the parents of the new, the new life that comes into the world, uh, they cooperate with one another in spite of their dissimilarity and introduce as a support for that new life. A set of values and, um, uh, the values that they introduced that new life to may be different from the values that the next door neighbor has introduced their new life to. They insist on it. They don't sit there. They insist on it to the extent that they dress their new child in those values. They clothes their new child in those values. And, um, that new child is taught to stand in, in, uh, um, in, um, recognition. of those values. So, you know, such is the movement in, uh, human communities when we are faced with, uh, existential, existential threats. Um, we have to believe in, uh, the, the, uh, interest of God in human society and his favoring of those, those, uh, that representation, um, advocates and stands for the principles and values. That he has established for man to grow upon. So what choice do we have except that we identify those values, that we stand for those values, that we promote those values, that we argue the necessity to embrace those values, uh, even in the face of powerful leaders and, um, uh, be prepared to lose, um, uh, lose the stand or lose the, uh, uh, uh, in the altercation or lose in the battle. Be prepared. Stand with such, um, support and dignity and commitment that it influence others who are witnessing that stand and they stand and are turned and, and, and they themselves have a revolution or reformation of their own values and that they change in favor of what is proper. So, yeah, even when society looks bleak, if you have one entity, it could be an individual or it could be an individual group that stands for what right, what is right. Eventually, society will conform to what is right. And that has been the history of human society. Tyrants. And despots have, have, have come into power for a brief time, but eventually they're overcome by good. Their rule is limited and relatively speaking, very brief. And in some cases, When they come into power, uh, it galvanizes that movement to, to, uh, review and to re evaluate and to, uh, revolution, uh, uh, uh, overturn lesser values for what is greater in the interests of the people. The progress of human life or the progress of, um, uh, the human condition, the improvement of the human condition. So I, I don't, you know, America in the way that it has been established, uh, in spite of, uh, its troubles in various periods, uh, I never lose hope. That America will come to the right conclusion because America has been established upon recognition of that human person and, um, God, uh, will support and favor. And what I mean by that, God will support and favor the people of God who know what that picture is. They will never stop working in the interest to serve the picture that God wants for human society and Therefore they will never be defeated There always be a powerful influence Yes, sir

Frank: 47:53

And as we are hearing in Farada's background the call the call to purpose the call to obedience the call to responsibility for our You sacredness of the human individual and that human individuals picture in the collective state of what human and mankind was created for for good leadership and good establishments. Absolutely.

Faridah: 48:19

Yeah. And if I might just add, I want to slip in a tiny little question. I'm not sure you'll have a chance to answer it, but you did mention briefly in the in an earlier response you mentioned foregrounding or putting into the public picture the, the female leadership. And of course we can read that as, you know, current candidacy. We have two candidates running for the office of president. Who are women, but there also seem to be some issues at play in the society that sometimes people of faith tend to see in a black and white way. And I think that you might offer us some insight into how people of conscience might look at the question of, of What, what is happening in a society and what is reflected when we look at female leadership and the ability of women to make good decisions for not for themselves, but for the well being of the entire family and ultimately of the society.

Mohammed: 49:18

Well, I'll tell you. I put it like this. I don't, I hope that I don't offend anyone in our honorable audience. Um, that's not my intent, but, um, how many white males have we had president of the United States? I don't know what the number is, but it's the vast majority. Okay. It is an overwhelming majority. Only one time it wasn't a white male.

Faridah: 49:47

Yeah.

Mohammed: 49:48

So, so I think that, um, and how many females. None. So, you know, um, uh, common sense would say that if the population of the society is made up of various persons with different experiences, that at some point they would rise, uh, to become persons in that population who are other than the majority would rise to become qualified To address the needs of the society and, um, that if the society has found itself to be troubled, that, uh, uh, common sense would say, let's look at something different. Let's, uh, let's, let's accommodate and make an, let's, let's, uh, open our minds to accommodate something different and, um, Uh, perhaps, uh, uh, Ms. Harris, the vice president, maybe she has thinking that, uh, is similar to those that preceded her, you know, but, um, she certainly comes from influences. That are sharply different from the leaders, uh, those who have been in that office that preceded her. She comes from influences that are sharply different. So um, uh, common sense just says to me that in representation of the contribution that women, um, are guaranteed as citizens of the American society to make. In the public office and also, uh, the, uh, opportunity that is given to all different ethnic groups in America to make their contribution that she is the, uh, uh, the, um, intersection of those interests. And, um, for that reason by itself, she should be given not just consideration, but support.

Faridah: 52:01

Well, that seems to be as much as we would like to extend this interview and this conversation beyond the the boundaries of, of the time that we have. We would love to invite you back, Imam Abdul Malik Mohammed. It has been a pleasure. It has been enlightening. We thank you for joining us on the program. And we pray that you would find it in your time to, to come back and join us again. Thank you.

Mohammed: 52:26

It'd be my great pleasure. I'm happy to, to join you on this program and I pray for the success, continued success of your, your program.

Faridah: 52:39

Thank you. So for our listeners, our guest Imam Earl Abdul Malik Mohammed is the author of two books, Democracy, Civic Virtue and Islam, the Muslim American Jihad Against Extremism and On Nature and Nations. The Muslim American Message for Humanity in the Day of Religion. Both books can be purchased at www. elamineprioritydistributors. com. That's E L A M I N prioritydistributors. com. You can learn more about his work for the promotion of human dignity at www. muslimamericanministry. com. And finally, you can also find more of his commentary at www. eamspeaks. com.

Frank: 53:29

Well Farda. The praise is for God. Always. We have moved one step closer to destination excellence.

Faridah: 53:37

Until next time, let us remain conscious of our creator of the sacred relationship of parent and child and of the family ties that bind us all subscribe to the podcast and come back next time. For a new episode of the family ties

Frank: 53:52

from Frank Abdul Shahid

Faridah: 53:55

and Farida Abdul Tawwab Brown.

Frank: 53:58

Peace, peace, be upon the family, the

Faridah: 54:03

family.