thing that the topic is the mosque as a community center in this time and then the time of the pro to introduce the memo we ask you to greet our beloved sister our city councilman or city councilwoman excuse me for the city of councilwoman for the city of testy and because of that over these three years i have certainly been in dear by this friendship that he and i share and look to his guidance as i've always looked even before becoming elected to office because it was his leadership that set my foot in the path on which i stand today as councilman in the city and also when i decided to become an attorney law has blessed our leader with so much that many of us can look to in terms of our lives and what we do to help not only ourselves personally but our communities wherever we live so again i am  indeed grateful to make this introduction this afternoon let me just say this though about this noble task that the tuskegee islamic community has taken on to build a house for a law solid ground for those of you who do not know the location of that house is going to be at the eleven over three south main street here into a very historic city and that area is considered a historic route for our city our speaker today has come to testing in to assist us in this historic undertaking and for that brother you ma'am we want to say thank you we are indeed grateful to god for you for being here with us as you always are even when you're not here building the house for a law on solid ground ground means it will be a place of worship it also means that it will be a place for community activities and not just for muslims but for all right minded people of this community who are seeking to please their lower god almighty and it will be and god will lead the center of this community as it should be and as houses of worship in the past have been and so i'm sure as we bring forward our leaders this afternoon we are hear more about the center of the community e mail and wallace dean mohamm leader of the nation of islam on february twenty sixth nineteen seventy five he is the leader of an estimated two point five million american muslims as recognized as  muslim american side society though his vision for the harvest of his father's followers is far from the notorious and volatile image of the quote black muslims muslim life and identity and in the measure required by the authentic sources of religion of the religion of islam the holy and the life example  today a decentralized and thriving society of muslim americans with mosques and schools in every major city in america and in parts of canada and caribbean he has gone to respect and acceptance where islam in the west has not known before the facts and details of this record transforming a people depicted at the extreme of a pro islamic idea combining black nationalism and religion the into a community of black muslim americans esteemed in the international following of muhammad the prophet stands as a testimony to his courage dedication wisdom and firm faith in god but even more the message of islam and its true practice as they live it by for over twenty years now to persons of every race gender and class leaders and common people  has been acquired resolute factor for increased tolerance understanding and cooperation between americans of ethnic different ethnic and religious background ability excellence and aspirations of the common human life as a public speaker author and television host e mail mahomet's service for the promotion of universal human excellence is well documented he has established direct and genuine dialogue throughout between leaders of islam christianity and judaism the man is clear an appreciable representation of the religion of islam and unparalleled contribution toward building respect for islamic life in america has merited him countless awards and many unprecedented acknowledgment and brothers and sisters i could go on and on and talk about leda and what he has done and is doing in this world today but i will close by saying remember how mad is an esteemed member of the world mean the banks and praises forgot the long sustain of the world we witness that nothing deserves to be worshipped except him we worship but one god we associate no deity nothing to be worshipped as a himself that he is opposite who followed mean that he is the best of create all that is god that wants man to know that god have created him also to create things to praise be to a lot and we have been known as a people and criticize really stigmatize as a people that produce nothing but babies well that has changed we know there are few of us satisfied still producing nothing but babies but i think the majority of us want to produce much more than babies we want to produce a f big possibility that god gave to every human being knowing that every human being couldn't carry that big responsibility but god knew that he created enough in the human being for leaders  and represent the many and the leaders will guide the people to a life of production and provide jobs and opportunities to grow to all people to all the people this is what the best of our political leaders want the society the best of our presidents of the united states want to for this society and this is what the best believe is in the faith communities of jews christians and muslims want for the society who benefit the whole of humanity now if i am a big man it's because i haven't risen except to a big responsibility and if you accept the big responsibility and you are small i guarantee you gonna get bigger you get bigger by accepting bigger responsibility i told my four community and when i first became leader they call me chief back then and i feel like a chief too responsibility god created us by responsibility created all of us by responsibility and to be he doesn't want to burden us he doesn't want to see us miserable under heavy burden gossip he does not want difficulty he wants ease but there's certain requirements that we have to accept we were proud to do certain things and it's not going to be easy but he promised us if we except to do those thing that's required of us that's going to be difficult at times and sometimes very very difficult explaining the difficult he promised us that if we accept that challenge accept th responsibility he promises us a life of these and we know that we read that they have a life of ease now in these united states if you don't believe in this travel to other countries and see how they have fairing we have it relatively easy it hasn't been easy being an african american mother even in the north my mother didn't have even more i am in chicago but look now at her son i think god i think god bless me but it wasn't easy my mother beat a big right my father beat a big price my sisters and brothers and especially the senior citizens of the nation of islam that supported my father and family and my mother and  children paid a big price yes paid a big price many of them on the not here anymore and some of them died because they just worked too hard work themselves to death one of them was a secretary of the temple and i used to see him in would pull it with built big big wad built like two and a half wide inch wide l b always shoulder and sometimes he'd be at an angle he would be at an angle he'd be leaning over at a angle of about forty five degrees could survive and accept the misery except the this conflict for the father for the hope our father in result that we would be free from these unnecessary problems we were having out in our early years of this century up to the middle of well not the two thirds of this century up to two thirds of this century we have suffering the bad bad conditions that the white man was imposing our people as a people are still needing to have to have this of the state of their on race of the state of the on of their own people when we had leaders fighting in this fighting for justice in this country they kept this country and that for also kept us informed of the state of the african american people now you have to go into in double a go to the urban league and ask them what is the state of the african american community in america what is the state of our people in america and they could give it to you to give it to you and they'll tell you that there's still a lot of work to be done still still need leaders to make us conscious and they make us aware of our own responsibility to ourselves to our families to our community to our neighborhood and i'm happy and very people of this city specially to your leaders like donny for who spoke less to a keynote speaker last night to say to your leaders and to you that we have a lot in common we who represent the muslim american society who identify with the man leadership we have come from a pass that gave us a new life most of us who joined the nation of islam we believed in god we believe in being righteous we believe in being good people but we were not happy with our situation as citizens or as people in this country so we heard the message of the nation of islam inviting us to become separate from this this world society it's a gift from a white man's world we exempted that and we believe that the new religion that ought to be like mohammad and the temple this one was offering was the right religion and we believe that we would realize the and one day we'll be free from all of these problems and we will have a live in dignity with dignity and a life of confidence this is what he promise and he emphasized education he put the emphasis on getting a good education and he as you know build private schools open private schools in many of the cities we still have those private schools many because the washington didn't just want us to have education but the sake of having education and be accepted in it's kids every society of the society of the educated he didn't just want us to have vocation vocations jobs as builders brigley as beauty shop owners of whatever that wasn't the end for him all of that was for the dignity of the people he wanted that the african american people would one day have a normal existence as a people in a civilized society where they had they wouldn't be a own station and them representation beside other civilized communities that's what he wanted and that's what all of our leaders want to all  just want to see us free in our own light in our heart identity and credible with our citizenship and comfortable with our future that's what they all want to the betterment of the race simply put in doubly c p t the national association for the improvement of colored people so improvement for the people that's what they all want and it's compatible not only with that tradition that we know in the nation of islam on the ground united behind it but it's also true for the religion of islam this universal religion religion of nations not one this is a religion of humanity the religion of the of the children of adam our own them and now we have ourselves included we have concluded in that big following that universal following that we lose sight on the real beauty and the real meaning for the religion