(FinalCall.com) – The joy of Saviours’ Day seen on the children’s faces around the country spoke volumes. For the adults, it was the joy of another year to celebrate the Birth of Master Fard Muhammad, the Founder of the Nation of Islam.
There were children’s parties, drill exhibitions, workshops, prayer service and a host of activities for the Muslims and general Black community.
On the East Coast, Boston hosted a community workshop with close to 200 participants. “It was our third year and this was the best,” explained Ralph 2X, chief of protocol. “The participants got more than just good words, they told us they got a new direction, as well. We were able to point them to action and they were pleased with that.” One of the initiatives to emerge from the workshops was the formation of a commission to study crime and gangs in the city.
›In the Mid-Atlantic region, children were the focus of celebrations in cities from Washington, D.C. to Charlotte, N.C.
“Our children are our future and we have to have events for them, as well. Islam is not just for the adults,” explained Regional Minister Abdul Khadir Muhammad.
Amina Haqq Muhammad organized the children’s events in Charlotte, N.C. “We played games and Islamic Jeopardy. There were prizes, musical selections, drill exhibitions and face painting. We had a great time with the children,” she told The Final Call.
She also organized the children’s party in Atlanta, a short drive from Charlotte. Nearly 200 children crowded the newly renovated mosque for an evening of music, food and celebrating Saviours’ Day.
The highlight of their evening was a surprise visit by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan.
“You have taken a dead place and brought it to life and the spirit of life is in you. You must fight to keep it, because the moment you make progress the enemy focuses on you,” the Minister told the crowd at the mosque after a tour of the facility by Minister Abdul Sharrieff Muhammad.
In Houston, Saviours’ Day was a weeklong celebration that was called the best in the history of Muhammad’s Mosque No. 45.
The events started on Sunday, Feb. 20, with the Believers visiting Westbury Place Nursing Home to bring a message of love, respect and honor to the elders of the community.
Gift baskets were handed out, the Jr. M.G.T. led the audience in songs and Regional Minister Robert Muhammad delivered a speech to thank them for all of their years of sacrifice. On Monday, over 100 people attended the elegant Saviours’ Day Opening Reception held at the mosque.
The crowd enjoyed poetry, singing, food and Min. Robert received Saviours’ Day Proclamations from the office of Congresswoman Shelia Jackson Lee (D-TX) and Councilmember Ronald Green (At-Large 4).
On Wednesday, over 100 people joined in unity at the All People’s Cultural Night hosted at the Shrine of the Black Madonna. The program opened with a dynamic welcome from O’Shea Muhammad of the Houston Vanguard. There was African drumming, dramatic presentations, graceful dancers from the Kuumba House, and Min. Robert delivered the keynote address.
“There is something unique when we as a people come together,” stated Cardinal Chui of the Shrine of the Black Madonna. “We cannot let culture die, because it makes us one.”
An intense dialogue took place on Thursday at the SHAPE Community Center, where the Reparations Townhall Meeting was held. Moderated by Attorney Athill Muhammad, the panel included the Nation of Islam, National Black United Front, New Black Panther Party, Shrine of the Black Madonna, the mayor of Prairie View and other prominent community activists. Deloyd Parker, director of SHAPE, stated that we are all interdependent as a community.
Friday night was dedicated to a Youth Social Night and the children had an unforgettable event. On Saturday, youth from across the city participated in the Youth Summit. The kick-off to the summit was a performance by the Ridgegate Elementary Marching Band, directed by Kenyan Muhammad, with his wife Cassandra choreographing. Children aged 12 and under enjoyed the Youth Village, which included games, arts, crafts, moonwalks and storytelling. Teenagers aged 13 and older participated in workshops that covered an array of issues facing youth today.
Registered and processing members of Muhammad’s Mosque No. 55 in Memphis, Tenn. were so moved and inspired by the addresses given via webcast by Minister Ishmael Muhammad and Mother Tynnetta Muhammad on Saturday Feb. 26 that immediately after the broadcast, they raised money at the rate of approximately $700 per minute, totaling over $11,000 to help further the work of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam.
On Feb. 27, the mosque hosted the satellite viewing of Saviours’ Day 2005 at Northside High School and Hamilton High School. With nearly 1,000 in attendance, the spirit was lively and enthusiastic, while at the same time a feeling of peaceful calmness engulfed both venues. Prior to the event, many of the attendees commented on their viewing Tavis Smiley’s State of the Union Address featuring the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan as one of the panelists. After hearing his words on Saturday, they were highly anticipating Sunday’s main address and were not disappointed.
Minister Anthony Muhammad, the local representative of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, stated that one of the points that stood out most to him was, “When Minister Farrakhan spoke on how Muslims are viewed as terrorists and Islam as a bad religion, yet it was Christians who brought us over here as slaves. However, Minister Farrakhan also went on to say that we must begin to see the commonality of all of us whether we are Muslims, Christians, Hebrews, etc. I believe this point was further punctuated by the fact that he was joined on stage by Christians and was in the house of a Christian minister.”
At the seventh regional headquarters in Miami, Fla., Muhammad’s Mosque No. 29’s venue at Miami Edison Middle School reached its capacity with 1,500 in attendance, composed of a cross section of residents reflecting the diversity of South Florida.
The NAACP President for the state of Florida, Adora Ngwesi, and its Miami chapter president Juvia Harrington, were there, urging the audience to become involved with the NAACP, passing out membership applications for all to complete.
Reverend Dee Hee Hong, Regional Representative of the Federation for World Peace (Unification Church), his wife and fellow members were also present. Other dignitaries who graced the Saviours’ Day address satellite broadcast were Marlene Bastien, executive director of Haitian Women of Miami, as well as the community relation officer for Miami Dade County, Dr. Larry Capp.
Minister Rasul Muhammad, regional representative of the Honorable Louis Farrakhan, addressed the need for our diverse communities to come together to meet the needs of our people. The M.G.T. and G.C.C. Vanguard class demonstrated discipline and precision in a military drill exhibition, which brought the crowd to their feet.
–Charlene Muhammad, Donna Muhammad, Jesse Muhammad, Tanice Muhammad and Saeed Shabazz contributed to this story.
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