"The event was successful by all measurements despite all odds of summer season", said Mr. Khalil Rammal who was also the evening MC. He indicated that a large number of interfaith interreligious groups have attended included Rabbis and Reverends.
Mr. Rammal's opening notes:
In the Name of God The merciful the Magnificent
Praise is due to Allah whose worth cannot be described by speakers, whose bounties cannot be counted by calculators and whose claim (to obedience) cannot be satisfied by those who attempt to do so, whom the height of intellectual courage cannot appreciate, and the divings of understanding cannot reach; He for whose description no limit has been laid down, no eulogy exists, no time is ordained and no duration is fixed. He brought forth creation through His Omnipotence, dispersed winds through His Compassion, and made firm the shaking earth with rocks.
Honorable Imams, clergy, and religious scholars
Honorable Dignitaries and elected officials
Representatives of community organizations
Representatives of the Media
Our Guest Speaker Congressman Rev. William Fauntroy
Ladies and gentlemen Brothers and sisters
Peace Be upon You (Asalaam Aleykum Wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh)
· We start our program with a recitation form the Holy Quran read by bother Mohammad Al-Zain and followed by and English translation by sister Mary Turfah. Salawat.
Welcome to our Semi-Annual Fundraising Dinner. God willing, this is the day of giving to continue this divine journey on earth.
My name is Khalil Rammal, First Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors at the Islamic house of Wisdom and your humble MC for this blessed evening. The speaking program will be concise and brief before dinner. We have a great keynote speaker as we will know more about him later.
Through the indefatigable leadership of Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi, the Chairman of the Board Dr. Mohammad Ajjour , and the vigor of the Board members, this Blessed House of God has been strategically situated to serve God, promote faith and piety , and encourage the dialogue of civilization through religious interfaith and understanding among God’s religions. In the words of a wise revered leader Imam Sayyid Mousa Al-Sadre whose 30 years of kidnapping anniversary is approaching “Religion is a blessing but sectarianism is a curse”. Within this context, we see k cooperation among all world religions and we reject those extremists of all sides who kidnapped our religion and distorted the true message of God that is the same and consistent through all faiths: the message of morals, ethics, and mutual respect of differences not the message of violence or mayhem.
This is the day of giving. Please give whatever you can to support IHW continue its programs and services. May Allah shower you with his blessing and largess.
Then Haj Khalil introduced the Chairman of the Board Dr. Mohammad Ajjour. He said in his introduction: Our first speaker is a man of integrity and piety. He is a medical doctor, a cardiologist with a big heart. We call a medical doctor in Arabic “hakim” literally meaning “Wiseman”. He really epitomizes the real ‘Hakim’ due to his contributions to Islamic House of Wisdom as one of the founders who continued in the path of generosity without limits. He gave much of his time, money, and leadership to promote this center. He combined piety with knowledge and patience with alacrity. The Chairman of the Board of IHW Dr. Mohammad Ajjour was then introduced and then Imam Elahi was introduced by Dr. Ajjour.
Imam Elahi spoke about the concept of love in Islam. Love is the common language of all the heavenly messengers. The Quran mentions this term more than 80 times. If we add the words of mercy, compassion, forgiveness and peace then we will see that love and its related concepts have been mentioned in the Quran more than 900 times. The relationship between God and the faithful is a love relationship. Love has two main foundations, understanding and action. There are 8 groups of people who are loved by God based on the Quran: The generous, the pious, the trustworthy, the truthful, the patience, the pure, the ones with humble hearts, and the repentant.
Imam Elahi farther spoke about the generosity and justice as two sources of social love and said the gate to God’s grace is not greed but giving and giving includes time, talent, and treasure. As far as justice the Imam called the political leaders those who never practice what they preach. President Bush called the Russian attack on Georgia as an intimidation which is unacceptable, will he say the same thing when Olmert of Israeli threatens Lebanon and calls the whole country a target for Israeli army? You can’t call for love and peace while committed to injustice.
Yet Imam Elahi stated that the force of love is the most powerful force in the universe and recited some poetry from the famous Rumi:
THROUGH LOVE all that is bitter will sweet
Through Love all that is copper will be gold.
Through Love all pain will turn to medicine.
Through Love the dead will all become alive.
Through Love the king will turn into a slave!
Rev. Fauntroy's speech:
BE A SPIRITUAL AND POLITICAL GENIUS
Good afternoon to all of you, my brothers and my sisters, who gather here at the Islamic Housed of Wisdom with our beloved Imam Mohammad Ali Elahi. I call you my brothers and sisters because we all have the same Father, God. The Holy Scriptures of all Muslims, all Christians and all Jews steadfastly maintain that “out of one blood hath God created all men and women” to live together as one family under God.
Imam Elahi has taught me the words of the Holy Qur’an, 49:15 – “O mankind, We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes that ye may know each other. Verily the most honored of you is the one who is most righteous.”
I bring you greetings in the name and in the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., one whom I believe to be the singularly most important man with the most important message for the most violent century in the history of man on planet earth, the 20th Century. His message was simply this: “Either we learn to live together as brothers and sisters on this planet…” Never has that message been more relevant than it is today, in the first decade of the 21st Century.
It is for that reason that I have come to Dearborn and its Islamic House of Wisdom today to share with you just one Word of Wisdom; and that word is this: “Father Abraham, and Moses, Jesus and Mohammed were all Spiritual and Political Geniuses!” Let me say that again, “Father Abraham, and Moses, Jesus and Mohammed were all Spiritual and Political Geniuses!” If that is the case, then those of us who claim to be their followers must also think and act like Spiritual and Political Geniuses. We too are called to be both spiritual and political geniuses.
Spiritual Wisdom
Repeat after me, “Spiritual Genius.” I am called to be a Spiritual Genius. What is Spiritual Genius? I am so glad you asked that question because I came to the Islamic House of Wisdom this afternoon fully prepared to answer that question. A spiritual genius is one who recognizes that all human beings - of every race, creed and color on this planet – require five things to enjoy a decent quality of life: Income…Education…healthcare, housing and justice…
That’s why all Muslims, all Christians and all Jews are called in their Holy Scripture to adhere to the words of the Prophet Isaiah who said, “The spirit of the Lord God is upon me…” Now what is good news to the poor? I’m glad you asked that question. Good news for the poor is that, thank God, “I have access this day to sufficient income, education, healthcare, housing and justice today and into my future. “
A spiritual genius knows that it is dangerous to live around poor people. Why? Because, if they don’t have any income, guess who’s income they are coming for? My income! If my neighbor doesn’t have an appreciation for education, guess whose schools he will ruin? The school that my child attends! If my neighbor doesn’t have healthcare, guess whose going to get TB? …
And if my neighbor doesn’t have his own house, guess whose house he will break into when hawk starts blowing across this wide open plain that we call Dearborn? My house! And if my neighbor doesn’t have justice, guess who’s going the feel the weight of his anger and hostility and the “pain of being unjustly treated? I will; for anger leads to violence and violence drives people insane! You’ve got to be insane or what I call stone crazy to tie a bomb to your own body and say, I’m going blow myself up to live a better life by killing men, women and children around me…
Love Your Neighbor in Self Defense
Spiritual genius is when you’ve got sense enough to love your neighbor in self defense. Spiritual genius is what Moses had when he came down from Mt. Sinai with the Ten Commandments. The first thing that he said was “God requires two basic things of you: that you Love God with all your heart…neighbor as yourself – in self defense, fool!
Do you know what the problem with people who claim to be religious in this world? We talk east and walk west on what we know to be the basic tenets of our faith. And the problem starts with false prophets who come to us in sheep’s clothing…
The problem is that we have too many jack-leg Christian preachers and Jewish Rabbi and Muslim Imam who talk east and walk west on what the basic tenets of our faith tell us. Those were not Ten “Suggestions” that Moses brought us; they were Ten “Commandments!” Thou shalt not kill…
thou…thou…thou…Not suggestions but commandments! For there are consequences to killing…
Are you a spiritual genius? Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad were. Let’s try to be like them. MLK put is best when he often quoted the song, “No man is an Island , no man stands alone. Each man’s joy is joy to me, each man’s sorrow my own. We need one another…”
Political Genius
Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad were also political geniuses.
Now what is politics? I’m so glad you asked…As one who has been both a spiritual and political leader for nearly fifty years in my community, as one who served for six years and chairman of the Banking subcommittee on Domestic Monetary Policy and another four years as chairman of the Banking subcommittee on International Development… that politics, defined, is the process of determining who gets how much…
That’s why MLK told us that the most important step that an oppressed people can take is the short walk to the ballot box!
The Founding Fathers of this nation, following the instructions of the great spiritual leaders of our Abrahamic Faiths, they decided that there ought to be a place where people of every race…enter a social contract…
They wrote in the Preamble to our U.S Constitution: “We the people of the United States …the general welfare” What is the general welfare? The general welfare is when everybody has access to five things…
They were wise enough to understand that there can be no domestic tranquility until there is general welfare.
The Challenge Today is For Spiritual Leaders
TO LEAD!
If you remember nothing of what I have share with you in this “Islamic House of Wisdom today, remember this: It is the responsibility of spiritual leaders to LEAD! We are not to be tail lights; we are to be head lights…not thermometers…THERMOSTATS…
Get serious about giving the spiritual leadership that we are called to give. Be the Light of the World that we are called to be. For the sages of the ages are calling us to a “higher place of praise, to stand upon the mountain and to glorify his name; to tell all the people of every nation that he reigns. Our God is calling us to a higher place of praise.”
And I promise you this out of the depths of our Judeo/Christian/ Muslim heritage that “If my people, who are called by my name…”
My brothers and sisters, the time has come for the spiritual and political geniuses who call ourselves, Jews, Christians and Muslims to stand firmly on the Faith of Our Fathers to be true to our God, and in America, true to vision and dream that we as a nation hold to be self evident, That all men are created equal, that we are endowed with certain inalienable rights…”
Let us come together beyond race, creed, ethnic origin or color and renew our covenants with God the Father of us all. Won’t you do that for me right now in the words of a song that we sing in the church in our nation’s capital where I have been pastor for 50 years? Repeat after me out of your own faith tradition:
“I choose you again, Dear Lord, I choose you again.
You mean so much to me Dear Lord, I choose you again.
In a world of many choices, midst the call of many voices
When they all call out the greet me, I turn my eyes to thee.
For I’ve found in you. A loving friend who stays with me to the very
End. Yes I’ve found I you a faithful guide, who calls me your
Very own.
I choose you again, Dear Lord, I choose you again.
You mean so much to me Dear Lord, I choose you again”.
Vote For Good News for the Poor
Finally, my brothers and sisters, since politics is the process of determining who gets how much and what, when and where in this country and around the world, I appeal to you, “please don’t let this harvest pass.”
There is a fierce wind blowing in our world today, It has the potential to tear down the old systems, sweep away a crumbling order and usher in a bold new and usher in a bold new era of peace with justice, “If my people…will vote on November 4, 2008…with the wind.” If you will listen with your spiritual ears, you can hear that wind in the trumpeting voice of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who, 40 years ago this year the day before his tragic assassination, “I’m not fearing any man. I’ve been to the Mountain Top and I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you but we as a people will get to the Promised Land. Brothers and sisters, 40years is long enough to wander in the wilderness of man’s inhumanity to man. It is time for a Joshua Generation of spiritual and political geniuses to cross over into Promised Land.
Be a part of that generation of spiritually mature and politically clear persons on November 4th who will vote “good news to the poor on the world, bind up the broken hearted and set at liberty them that are imprisoned by hatred, war, poverty and injustice. Vote that you might reap the promise God made to you, take back what the devil stole from you over the course of the last eight years. We can do it, if we put our votes to it.
Martin Luther King, Jr. was a dreamer of what many considered an impossible dream. But he did not rest until he made of his impossible dreams, living realities, He dreamed of a day when “For White Only signs would be taken down across the Southland. Impossible, they told him; but he worked at a place called Birmingham , Alabama 45 years ago until the made that dream a living reality. And now from the mountain top today, he beckons us on November 4th make real the promise of the Chronicler, “If my people who are called by my name…
He beckons us to:
“To dream the Impossible Dream….