ISNA 2009 - New Beginnings: Mobilizing and Motivating a Generation

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Event Name: ISNA 2009 - New Beginnings: Mobilizing and Motivating a Generation
Transcription Date:Transcription Modified Date: 5/21/2019 7:21:55 PM
Transcript Version: 2


Transcript Text

him food he took him on his

camel he brought him to the village

and the boy died and he buried him and I

said to this man I promised a reward for

anyone who would help that boy and I

want to give you that reward and he said

quote to my astonishment he said I don't

want your reward because I didn't do it

for you I did it for one who can give me

a much greater reward than you could

ever give me

I did it for my god and this George

English ends his narrative by saying I

said to this man I am so pleased to meet

a true Muslim who is following the

precepts of the Quran that demands

people act charitably and with

benevolence to people in distress this

is how he ends his book that I am happy

to meet a true Muslim who acts according

to the precepts of the Quran this is the

aluva kiya the people of constancy who

have become too far and too too far

between and too few in the Muslim Ummah

today and this is what we as Muslims in

the United States of America have to

become the people of Budo baqia the

people that are constant in the virtues

and the uprightness of our tradition as

well as the best of America because

that's what George English represents he

represents the best of this country and

that Nubian man that he met who we don't

know his name he said to that man in

ending his narrative he said I am

assured that this deed of yours will be

will fill a great space on the blank

page of our good deeds on the day of

judgment and that's how he ends his book

our page is too blank and it's time to

fill that page up with great deeds great

deeds will lie the mo Allah he I swear

to God and God is my witness

the power in our community for

regeneration in this country is awesome

its immense there's so much power in

this room there's so much power and our

young people look at these young people

I was just in a room filled with these

young people beautiful innocent bright

faces and we have to help them to make

this place a better place because we are

demanding of this country to to call

itself to a higher standard to a higher

standard this country has fallen by the

wayside this country has gone far too

off course and because the shift of this

country is so important to the rest of

the world if we go of course we take far

too many people with us it's time for

the Muslims in America to live the truth

of their religion and to call people in

this country to the highest ideals the

ideals of George English in that Nubian

man of acting with charity and

benevolence to those in stress we're on

a planet that is in distress we've got

over 3 billion people living in subhuman

conditions on this planet more than half

of this planet is living in subhuman

conditions those of us who are enjoying

the fruits of life on earth have to

begin to share those fruits when aisha

radi Olano had a grape and a beggar came

and asked for something she split the

grape and she gave half the grape to

that man and one of the Sahaba that were

with her said is there any benefit in

half a grape and she said how many atoms

is in that grave how many atoms is in

that grape woman yeah man with another

lesson in Hyden Yara if you do an atom's

weight of good you will see that on the

day of judgment we have a world that is

so dysfunctional that is so distraught

that is so troubled that even the

smallest acts of charity fill up big

pages on the

page of our good deeds on the day of

judgment go out where I'm overjoyed this

year when I came I thought a cloud was

lifted from the Muslim community

ohright you could also say I feel like

we got out from under a thorny bush that

we were just burdened with all of us

were wondering if we'd end up if we'd

end up in orange suits with with with

earmuffs on our things and things on our

eyes somewhere wondering where we were

what planet we were on like mr. K in the

castle who's never told the crime that

he committed but some Baraka came down

really some butter cookin down some some

husana some Hashanah you know some

husana Obama Obama he's made some

mistakes already that's okay Obama Obama

our finishes Obama two things Obama is

in the Arabic dictionary it's in Tanana

roots among the biddies extension of the

famous it's under the meta Ali's bombing

he says and I'm quoting Obama Allah was

new Shama Obama on the paradigm of Osama

because Osama is a common name so the

Arabs put something where so you know

how it's pronounced Obama which is

pronounced like Osama is Obama if you

know - he's Obama the son of a haka fan

one of the great tribal chieftains of

Arabia and then he says what can a

lockable who had an a swag and his

nickname was this black guy you know God

has there's humor in the world I'm

telling you there's more connections

than people are aware of but Obama gave

a speech in Cairo where he unclenched

the fist of America and extended a hand

of friendship

but and butts are important little

prepositions there but blood as long as

this country is dropping bombs on

civilians in Afghanistan it's going to

be hard for Muslims to open up their

hands as long as this country is causing

havoc in Iraq it's going to be hard for

Muslims to feel comfortable about

opening the hand when there was an

incident in one of the Gulf states of

torture recently and we had our

Secretary of State decry the outrageous

practice of torture that sounded very

hollow to many people around the world

coming from the United States of America

after Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo after

waterboarding this country needs to be

called to a higher standard we're the

were the community that can do it with

other communities but we have to be

living at the highest standard of moral

observance because if we don't live that

moral truth we can't call others to that

moral truth much of the Muslim world is

morally bankrupt

we sound very Hollow when we're calling

America to a higher standard when we're

not living up to that standard but the

Muslims in this country we can achieve

that we have the well we have the

intelligence we have the communities

let's rise above sectarianism get beyond

the Sufi Salafi debates get beyond the

Sunnis Shia debates they're not going to

be resolved in our lifetime Allah says

just wait I'm gonna make it all clear on

the day of judgement when you get the

director's cut you get to watch the

whole thing you get the director's

commentary it's all going to be made

clear those are the special features of

the day of judgment it's all made clear

let's just wait may the best hour win

but let's all work together for virtue

virtue aesthetical higher odds vie with

each other in virtue set on my Dinkelman

for the lawyer will buttercup