it was he showed talent he was
interested in and I'd much rather
haven't doing that than doing wasting
his time doing other things because it's
creative it's imaginative Einstein said
if you want to have intelligent children
then then develop their imagination
painting is a great way of developing
imagine if he does amazing pictures
really creative things so there's a lot
there's lots of things you can do but
you have to be actively engaged with
your children a shelfie has a poem about
that your team is not the one whose
parents died it's the one whose mother
is ignorant and the fathers are too busy
to be taken care of and that's the real
orphan right so you have to be engaged
in raising your children but it's a it's
an Amana people should not have children
if they're not going to raise them to be
good kids
because we all have to suffer the
consequences of all these kids that grow
up without real parenting and real
education and they end up you know the
criminal class and all these Wall Street
people that have no morals at all where
did they grow up who was teaching them
you know who was instilling in them a
sense of right and wrong my mother
instilled in me right and wrong she's a
Christian woman with very strong moral
principles from an early age I was told
right from wrong not with religion she
didn't even associate it with religion
you just told the truth and she lived
that she always was truthful in
everything she did that's what that's
what I learned from my mother
be truthful be upright be honest you
know
expect other people respective of who
they are whether they're a South Asian
Indian some of the Arabs here treat the
Indians like dirt one day you'll find
when when India becomes a major power it
could happen in your lifetime you'll be
down there after all the oils gone and
there's nothing here some of the
Emiratis you might be down there trying
to get a job in an Indian corporation
and some of those guys are going to
remember how their father was treated
when he was working here what comes
around goes around
Sitka diam New Delhi we don't have a nun
s I mean that's not a reason to be good
to Indians but it's a reality so even
from a pragmatic point perspective it
might be a good idea just to treat
people a little better than you're
treating them Filipinos here some of
them are treated like dirt
some of the maids here are treated like
they're subhuman these are human beings
they had mothers and fathers you know
they have emotional I mean I asked a
maid in a house I was staying in in a
neighboring country I won't say which
one I just asked her how she was doing
and she started crying literally started
crying you know there's things going on
God knows what's going on but yomo Kiama
it's a big day at Iowa know that I gotta
know the truth or do manal mean people
don't think they're gonna be a Super
Nintendo and Yutaka sudha people think
they're just gonna be left without any
judgment it's not true
go ahead and what edge gets okay for
cell phones well cell phone like I said
the the research is still out they don't
know most of the studies that the
cellphone companies did were in ideal
situations because for instance if you
have a cell phone here it's coming
through your brain that's different from
when it's coming that way so it just
depends I mean there's ideal conditions
most of the studies that the cellphone
companies did were in ideal conditions
and I have a friend who's a CEO of a
cell phone company so I know I got this
from firsthand right
so we don't know if it's safe at all but
generally before the age of about 15
because the the brain the the Jim Jim
you know the the skull is developing so
before that if you're gonna use it even
for adults they should be used it's
better to use it with an earphone keep
it away from the body that's what they
say hold it away from the body or use it
with the voice on or text a lot of young
people prefer to text anyway texting is
safer than that but radiation is real
it's radiation its low-grade radiation
but it's radiation people keep it in
their pockets we don't know how it's
going to affect fertility rates you know
the highe aphid Dean the the male sperm
count around the globe is half of what
it was 50 years ago so we know that you
know fertility rates are being seriously
affected they think it has to do with
plastics because plastics are estrogen
mimickers and so all this plastic that
everybody's living in everything's
plastic your car's plastic a lot of
people wearing polyester that it's
actually affecting our bodies you know
so there's a lot of very troublesome
things going on but generally I'd be
very careful you should not be spending
a lot of time on a cell phone use it for
emergencies if you have a cell phone
they're useful tools but I would use it
for emergencies I have a cell phone in
my car I don't like to use cell phones
to talk on mmm-hmm no let me tell you
something there's a bomb all right in
America there's there's a bomb it's
called napalm they used it in World War
two do you know what napalm is it burns
the skin
it's a goo it's like gel all right it
burns the skin they used it against the
Germans in World War two when they
bombed aerial bombing of Dresden and
Hamburg in these things in Vietnam they
were using napalm what the what the
Vietcong would do is in the village they
would make a big water basin and so if
the napalm hit them people would get hit
by napalm and they would run and go in
and submerge themselves and it would
stop the effects of the napalm
so their skin wouldn't burn so you know
what they did in the United States they
developed napalm that was waterproof all
right we have people like that they're
sick people they don't think about the
moral implications of what they're doing
so the same is true greed
you know the Arabs say Obama you live
you live it happen huh my greed makes
the intellect go away
you can't think when you're greedy a man
you know you can't think so people are
greedy and you have to be aware these
people could care less about you or
about your health there have been many
times where they know things are harmful
and they hide it from the people the
tobacco industry knew that tobacco was
addictive in the nineteenth early 60s
and they hid it from people we had
class-action suits in the United States
you know what the deal they made with
the tobacco industry in the United
States this is all history you can read
all this stuff the deal the United
States government made with the tobacco
industry in the United States of America
is that we're going to shut down tobacco
in the United States but we'll make sure
that you can export it around the world
you know we're the biggest now markets
for tobacco China India the Arab world
we don't smoke puffs in public it's
illegal in the United States of America
to smoke in public illegal you know why
now that all what out there are because
secondary smoke is more harmful than
primary smoke so you're actually hurting
other people when I go into these Arab
hotels here that are largely owned by
Western companies that in their own
countries they don't let them smoke but
here they're all smoking puffing away
without any concern about anybody else
you know what Thailand when Thailand
tried to outlaw tobacco do you know what
America said it would take away its
favored nation status because this is
just Machiavellian politics they don't
care about people they care about
profits and money they care about their
own people to a certain degree they
don't care about other people they could
care less if you guys all die of cancer
as long as they make a lot of money from
selling Marlboro you know and convince
you that the Marlboro Man is something
to emulate in America you know what our
Marlboro commercials are they show a
cigarette that's wilted and they say
cigarette smoking causes impotence
because they want people to stop smoking
it
have those ads over here seriously go
ahead when a person he starts playing
games and is soon afterwards he becomes
addicted and when he hears that games
are harmful he tries to give it but it's
impossible it's compulsory that's a good
question
addictions a problem if you're addicted
to something most of the video
addictions are low-grade a low-grade
addiction is like tea or coffee you can
give it up with a little willpower
cigarette nicotine is actually a it's a
high-grade addiction it's very hard to
give up nicotine some of the same things
because the the brain when you play
video games you get and Orphic releases
so it's it's it's like a drug very
similar to taking heroin or cocaine has
a similar effect the same type of things
are happening in the brain so you want
to do it again and again and again but
willpower is something God gave every
human being and the best thing that you
could do you have to get rid the most
important single most important thing is
to get rid of the stimuli you have to
you have to remove it from the house if
it's in the house you're gonna be
tempted it's like an alcoholic who has a
bottle of liquor in the cabinet
if he gets weak he'll get tempted the
best thing to do is avoid it just don't
don't get it out of the house and you
have and there's times when you'll feel
strong and say I want to quit this thing
those are the times when you should do
it and then you need help to be
consistent find a friend who's willing
to you buddy up with him and you both
make a commitment together we're not
gonna watch video get to it for six
months just do it for six months and see
how your life changes make a commitment
I'm gonna stop for six months when
Ramadan comes around say I'm gonna stop
TV altogether one month no TV at all
zero people now they watch more TV and
Ramadan than they do in other times
you're wasting your time Ramadan is a
precious time I am and might do that
might do that is what's called general
Kuna you know it's short days few days
mm-hmm
go ahead you
some people like it their body gets
seized to nicotine so much that if they
try to quit smoking or something they'll
die so are they supposed to at least
once a day
yeah no nicotine won't kill you there's
there's no nothing zero scientific
evidence that giving up nicotine will
kill you but they do have serious
withdrawal symptoms for some people you
know if they're addicted to smoking then
it's true nicotine can actually be like
a you know like a medicine for them
because they get so nervous so angry so
frustrated but they have nicotine
patches there's other things that you
can do they have nicotine gum that
people can chew because smoking harms
the lungs
you know nicotine is is not good but
it's better to chew nicotine gum than to
smoke a cigarette and it has a similar
effect on the on the on the brain that
smoking a cigarette does but people can
quit many people have quit cigarettes
you know I'm fortunate I never smoked
you know a few times I had cigarettes
when I was in high school just kids try
experiment because other kids smoke it
but I wasn't I was I played a lot of
sports when I was in high school so I
never wanted to smoke go ahead you yeah
as you pointed that in Ramadan people
watch TV more than any other normal day
but at that time many school Muslim
scholars started like saying about Islam
so what why shouldn't we I mean if yeah
if the program is worth watching like
that if it's a dollar or something like
that then you know but I would prefer
not you can you can go to the Masjid and
hear a talk or read a book or listen to
a tape cassette there are other ways to
get doodles than television
I want to ask you though do you think
the majority of parents have already you
know got something in their house at
computers yeah we you know everything do
you think that in these types of cases
that parents should exercise restriction
or just eliminate them completely from
the household even if they've been there
and their kids have been used to them
and
all their friends etc for most people to
eliminate it completely as impractical
that it's just it's difficult because
now there's so many things tied to the
computer a lot of people's jobs are
related to computer and internet access
things like that for most people it's
gonna be impacted I know many people in
the u.s. not just Muslims I know many
non-muslims that just don't have it in
the house because of the destructive
effects that it has a lot of the Waldorf
parents will not have them in the house
things like that but you know one of the
things that is recommended is to have it
in an open space don't have it in a
private space where people can go even
husband's because we've got a problem
with some of the men now that are
getting addicted to things in fact I had
a man asked me about it the other day
you know that he was having a trouble
with that we did a conference on
pornography in Toronto before we did
before I did the paper at Princeton and
I was amazed at how many of the Muslim
women in hijab came out to me afterwards
and told me that they were having
problems with their husbands there are
restrictions here obviously I think
there's some internet control for those
type things but there's DVDs and there's
other ways around that so there are
problems but you know I would say have
it in an open space with the screen
facing a public so like in a room where
you can see the screen itself so that
when the kids go on it you know what
they're going on and then also obviously
you can check searches and things like
that
so it's good to know what they're
looking at as they get older Trust is
very important you know and to spy on
your kids as they get older is actually
a breach and that can cause a lot of
problems because you're gonna create
deceptive child so it's dangerous to do
that I personally think I trust my kids
I've sat down with them I talked to them
about it I found some films once I mean
they weren't they were more like just
very violent films and I sat down with
my kids and I explained to them I said
I'm out here combating against these
things and I can't have it in my house
when you guys turn 18 you're on your own
you can do whatever you want but in my
house
this isn't happening and I trust you I'm
not gonna talk about this again but I
trust you and that that's the way I do
with my kids I've never I've never and
then I don't punish them if they do
something wrong and come to me I don't
punish them you know one of my kids came
to me and he just started crying he was
about 14 he start crying and I said
what's wrong he said I went on the
computer without your permission and
looked at some and he would really felt
bad about it and I told him I said look
that is your bummy oh you know it's your
conscience talking to you and always
listen to that because that will always
be truthful you know so I just used as
an opportunity to to encourage him that
when he knows something's wrong to
respond to that and don't don't ever be
ashamed of that that is the best thing
that we have working inside of us is is
that ability to know right from wrong
and to admit our wrongs and then to
commit to not doing it again
so you know that's what I would do and
and you have to have some restrictions
you can't have it open because kids are
gonna go on and now they have all these
allies games that are free on the
internet are designed by Nintendo and
these corporations to get them addicted
to higher games so they're simple games
are not that fun it's all design they
know exactly what they're doing this is
really well researched stuff they have
lots of psychiatrists and psychologists
on their staff that do they do pupil
dilatory studies on kids I mean there's
a PBS documentary that you can watch
merchants of cool which is exactly about
what they're doing these corporations
they're very dark sinister forces they
could care less about human beings
there's a book that was written by back
end back in in which is called the
corporation they made it into a
documentary and he's us psychiatrists
showing from the diagnostic Statistical
which is used for psychiatric disorders
in the United States that all of the
symptoms of sociopathic behavior are in
corporate behavior
corporations are sociopathic they have
no morality there's nothing working you
might have moral people in corporations
but the corporation
as a machine which is functioning as a
person because it has the rights of
persons in Western law is a sociopath
and the sociopaths are running the show
and the victims are these these poor
young people as far as I'm concerned
adults have no excuses I got okay let me
let me get somewhere back there you all
the way back there yeah you looking back
it's you huh
the government government governor or
president or whatever knew that stuff
are harmful anything that's harmful for
the country why doesn't he just stop it
well that's a good it's an excellent
question the in in in in the United
States certain things are illegal that
don't make any sense at all in relation
to other things that are legal for
instance in the United States marijuana
is illegal but whiskey is legal or
alcohol alcohol hard alcohol any any
form pharmacists will tell you that most
alcohols are more harmful than cannabis
but the reason that marijuana is illegal
in the United States is because the
cotton industry lobbied heavily to get
marijuana made illegal because they used
to use marijuana for all the things they
use cotton for so there's a history for
the prohibition of marijuana as opposed
to right so you you have market forces
and then in the United States in Western
countries generally censorship is a very
sensitive issue even though some things
are censored I'm right now there's us
going to the Supreme Court about
pedophilia material that's done animated
should they make it illegal or not it's
a major problem right so actually
because pedophilia films involving
sexual acts with children is illegal but
there's they're arguing there is and
these are merchants that want to sell
this material they're arguing that this
is animation it's
not but they can make it look as real as
regular film these are major problems in
the United States and there's people
that want to censor these things that
make them illegal and then there's other
people that are arguing for no
censorship but in Islam we do we here in
a country like this you know we do have
certain things that we don't want to see
become public
you know accepted publicly because there
are standards our moral standards that
we still adhere to that a lot of places
other places have abandoned whether or
not people practice is another thing
that's a problem everywhere yeah okay
one more question if cigarettes are
harmful why did they invented it it's a
good cook no it's a good question
seriously it's a really good question
it's an intelligent question you know
what in the Quran it says in whom can
Anam been whom about people that do
harmful things for themselves are like
animals and then it says then whom allah
in arabic ben is a harvested rock it's
where you correct something even though
it's not a mistake it's used
rhetorically so it's not like God made a
mistake but it's to emphasize no they're
more astray than animals why the Mufasa
don't say because animals will never
purposely harm themselves
if an animal sees something harmful it
will flee from it but human beings are
are sometimes they do stupid things
I was once with one of my little boys
and in a store and and there was
somebody smoking and they took in a puff
and blew it out and it was the first
time my son had seen smoke and he just
looked up and he was shocked he thought
the person was on fire and this person
looked down and said don't you ever do
this you know so but people are also
mocked Ella you know the the person
doing it you should have compassion for
them I'm telling you something it's very
important people that smoke you should
have compassion for them you shouldn't
see them as evil people or bad people
they have an empty lab that you don't
have whenever the Prophet SAW people in
tribulation tribulation means if they're
in something that not good for them he
would say alhamdulillah di Fanny
mimicked Erica be he he wouldn't say it
out loud he would say it where they
couldn't hear praise be to the one who
has delivered me from what he has tried
you with the tribulation this hardship
Wafaa Bellini attica theorem in Manhart
of data and has preferred me over so
much of his creation so but people that
sell cigarettes people that sell alcohol
people that sell weapons armaments to
other people so that they kill each
other those people know they should be
opposed boycotted but people that are in
the tribulation alcoholics all those
people we have to have compassion for
them you know really and just thank a
lot that we don't have that tribulation
so you have to feel competin the
prophets eyes and felt compassion for
people even there was an alcoholic at
the time of the prophet his name's
abdullah can he look about him out it's
inside Buhari and he used to drink and
get drunk and they would bring him and
like punish him with us
sandal they used to use sandal and they
just like punish him for drinking and
one time a man said this is inside will
Hadi good sound hadith the the man said
allahu anhu oh god curse this man you
know ma Akhtar oh ho with Jana or Mac
thought oh my you oughta be he you know
he's always being punished for drinking
and the Prophet said don't say that
that's hell and hope for my and him two
men who in Lahore a pseudo don't curse
him because he's a man who loves God and
His Messenger so even though he was an
alcoholic he still loved God and His
Messenger and and the prophet saw him
even Hodja says that's the most hopeful
hadith for the people doing major wrong
actions because even if you're doing a
major wrong action it doesn't negate
love all together it just negates
complete love because complete love you
obey the one you love
right I wish I can answer all your
questions but that was the last question
Allah bless all of you and Charlotte god
bless all of you give you good guidance
and shall I give you open your
intellects
like to thank shake comes up for coming
and spending into the last few days with
us it was a request from the Board of
Governors that he ultimately honored to
give up his time I know he's been very
busy he's just coming from a tour of a
few different countries he's off this
evening or I believe tomorrow again so
the time that he has spent with us I
hope that we've learned something from
him little humility I believe that's
also what Islam preaches is to humble
ourselves and hear especially our
students we hope that you have picked
something up from which a comes I had to
say and I think the most important thing
is that we have the book we have the
Holy Quran we need to read that book we
need to make sure that we understand
what's in there we need to make sure
that we also live out what's in that
book and one of the biggest thing is I
would say is humility it's nice to see
that we have workers in our homes and I
think Sheikh Hamza was mentioning when
he went and he stayed with somebody in a
neighboring country about one of the
mates but if we can think about the
people that work in our homes and the
drivers that collect us and when the
kids are outside and the boys and the
girls are the primary yes in the school
we don't allow the mates to come in when
I first started here seven years ago we
stopped that but yet we still have the
maids that will run up to the door to
make sure that they collect your bag
from you as you drop it down in front of
them remember they're people remember
all right so if we could just work for a
better environment not only here at West
Green but throughout and be better
citizens of the world again I'd like to
thank Shea comes up for the time that he
spent with us here at West Green it's
been a long two days I believe with his
assistance and colleagues and we had a
speaker yesterday for the boys in Mom's
ed so again we appreciate the time that
you've taken out for West Green school
thank you very much