Portland Obaarvar, November 19,1981 Page 3
Muslim Mission preaches brotherhood
G rassrool News, N . IF .— " T h e
white man who is so guilty o f white
supremacy can’t hide his g u ilt by
trying to accuse the Honorable E li
jah Muham m ad o f teaching Black
supremacy and hatel A ll M r. M u
hammad is doing is trying to uplift
the Black man's m entality and the
Black m an's social and economic
condition in this country.”
"Th e guilty, two-faced white man
can't decide what he wants. O u r
slave foreparents would have been
put to death for advocating so-
called 'integration* with the white
man. Now when M r. M uham m ad
speaks o f separation, the white man
calls us hate teachers and fascists!”
The above are excerpts from the
doctrine of the Nation of Islam in the
'60s. It angered, shocked, amused
and gave pride to those who heard
it. W e ll, this o rg an izatio n has
evolved with time and with events
like the excommunication o f M a l
colm X and (he death o f its leader,
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad.
After the death o f Muhammad the
organization underwent a change in
name, calling its e lf first " T h e
W orld C om m unity o f Islam in the
W e s t," and now operating under
" T h e American Muslim M ission."
The organization has denationalized
its principles and now practices the
traditional Islamic religion.
The membership has fallen since
its beginnings but those who remain
are still dedicated, holding fast to
their beliefs and taking a stand in
the com m unity. The P o rtlan d
branch is under Imam Mike! Shabazz
who gave the present status o f (he
American Muslim Mission. " W e are
under the n ational leadership o f
Im am W a rith Deen M uh am m ad .
When we were the Nation o f Islam
we were a social reform movement.
Now as the American Muslim M is
sion we are a religious movement
and still a social reform movement
but we’re more in touch with the Is
lamic world. Before, there was a lot
o f psychological conditioning going
on that wasn't really Islam. This is
what we call our developm ental
stage. We no longer follow a nation
alist or racist doctrine but a religious
one o f belief in one G od and that
Boycott
South Africa
{Continuedfrom page I column 6)
ulaiion, South Africa generages 33
per cent o f Africa's Gross National
Product.
C rockett said he agreed w ith
Cuba's l-idel Castro who said in a
recent speech that the Reagan A d
ministration is " fa c is t.” Crockett
said, " I was in C uba to attend a
conference where Castro spoke. The
media in the U .S. only said Castro
called Reagan a facist. But the
media didn't tell us why the world
feels that w a y .. . . ”
Crockett, who is a member o f the
House Foreign A ffa irs Com m ittee
and the Sub-Committee on A frica,
quoted Castro as saying: "Th e U.S.
and South Africa have common po
litical ideals and common economic
interests. The American system isn't
facist but Reagan i s .. . . " Crockett
also noted that the new conservative
climate in Washington "has allowed
all U.S. firms to decline to testify to
our Sub-Com m ittec on A frica on
business ties with South A fr ic a .”
Crockett, who visited southern A f
rica and Angola last summer with a
congressional delegation, said
"A m ericans are being lied to and
misinformed about what the U.S. is
really doing in other countries and
in the field o f human rights.”
" O n ly the w hile m in o rity in
South A fric a is b en efittin g from
U.S. investments," said Alfred Nzo,
Secretary General for the A frican
National Congress, the banned lib
eration movement. "Th e Blacks are
cheap labor. They still earn far less
than whiles and they have no unem
ployment compensation or in ju ry
insurance. I f a Black is hurt on the
job and cannot work, he or she is re
moved and replaced by another
Black who is eager to get out o f the
Black Bantu areas where there is no
work. Jobs are only available in the
white areas.”
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"Childhood it all mirth.**
John Kahla
"S cience is organized k n o w
ledg e."
H e rb e r, Spencer
the prophet Muhammad is the mes
senger o f that G od.”
As the nation o f Islam there was
no voting. " W e have been encour
aged by our national leader to get
involved in the voting process be
cause we are citizens o f the United
States. B efore, we d id n 't want to
have anything to do with anything.
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad
knew he had to take us away to
grow up. His main purpose was to
take us in to the fu ll teachings o f
Islam.”
A m ong the most w ell-kn o w n
M uslim s was M alco lm X who
reached this religious point before
the o rg an iza tio n as a whole did.
" M a lc o lm was a thin ker and he
made the H a jj to M ecca. He
couldn't come back and just sit and
be still. He knew what we were do
ing and what we should have been
doing were two different things."
Malcolm X was suspended from the
Nation but later quit. It was the pre
sent national Im am who put M a l
colm back up to his honorable sta
tus in the organization.
At one time the membership was
restricted to those o f A fro -A m e r
ican descent. "T h e re is no suprem
acy o f one group over the o th er.
You can't exclude people based on
skin color from the religion. When
the Im am came into leadership he
began step by step to break down a
lot o f the old myths. The organiza
tion was ready for the change.”
Islam has a small but honest fo l
lowing behind bars. Imam Sabazz
gave his reasons why brothers who
are in prison are so attracted to Is
lam. "M a n y brothers have said for
the first time in their lives they have
been slowed down enough to hear
som ething that they believed re
formed them. When they go in they
have much time on their hands and
Islam is very much in tune w ith
human nature.”
St. Vincent
feeds needy
St. V incent de P au l President
Dick Cheek announced the selection
o f Eileen Ivancie (M rs. Frank Ivan
cie) as the honorary chairperson for
this year’ s Christmas Food Basket
Drive. Because o f adverse economic
conditions, St. Vincent de Paul ex
pects to feed 3,500 needy families,
about 11,000 people, who otherwise
would not be able to a ffo rd a
Christmas dinner.
Ten thousand bags w ill be dis
trib u te d in local neighborhoods
right a fter Th an ksg ivin g . St. V in
cent de Paul asks you to donate
canned goods and non-perishable
food items. Place them in the bags
and place the bags on your fro n t
porch for Boy Scouts, G irl Scouts
and high school students to collect
on Saturday, Decem ber 5 and 12.
. . . you may send your do
nation to St. Vincent de Paul, 2390
S .E . Po w ell S t., P o rtla n d , O R
97202.
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IM A M MIKEL SHABAZZ
In the '60s the Black community
saw the M uslim 's brothers on the
corner selling papers, clean as gold.
"W e 're still sharp but we no longer
have »ha, military discipline because
a lot ol that was forced. There was a
(Photo by Richard J. Brown)
lot o f overburdening going on. They
were selling hundreds o f papers a
week and neglecting their families.
It was just part o f the cocoon exist
ence that we were in that the Imam
broke us out o f."
3 L ocations T o S erve You:
5949 N.E. Union Ave.
283-9542
3120 N.E. Union Ave.
281-2628
2320 S.E. 82nd Ave.
774-9651