[Editor’s note: The following are excerpts from Minister Farrakhan’s keynote address speaking in defense of the unjust treatment of community activist Reverend Edward Pinkney. This message was delivered at Lake Michigan College in Benton Harbor, Michigan on June 5, 2009. Click here to order CD/DVD or here to view webcast.]
In The Name of Allah, The Beneficent, The Merciful.
As-Salaam Alaikum
Imagine how important one life is to God, that if you save one innocent life, it is as though you saved the whole of humanity. But if you kill an innocent life, it is the same as if you killed all of humanity. What this is teaching is the preciousness of every human life. We live in a world today that has no respect for life. And the precious lives of human beings are blotted out in the twinkling of an eye, with no thought of Divine Consequences.
I am here tonight because I’m touched by the case of our dear brother, Reverend Edward Pinkney. I had the privilege of meeting him at his home a few months ago, where he could not go out without permission. And, he is not here tonight because he was not given permission. It is as though we are still on a plantation. So I, as your brother, am honored to be here tonight at the Call of Justice–not only for our dear brother, the Reverend Edward Pinkney; but the Cause of Justice that is now in the Hands of God Himself. Rev. Pinkney is a man who preaches the Gospel of Jesus Christ, but who is being denied the freedom to move about because of decisions by judges. I want to talk to you tonight about this Principle of Justice that easily flows from the lips, but is a difficult principle to carry into practice.
Justice: A human need; a human right
Justice, as the Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us, is a principle of fair dealing. All of us want to be dealt with fairly, but in our personal lives, sometimes we favor this over that; this one over this other one, and that seems to be a human condition that our lack of fair dealing is what creates problems in the home; problems in the school; problems in the church; problems in government; problems in the system of jurist prudence because it’s not really fair.
The symbol of justice is a woman blindfolded–she can’t see whether the person in front of her is Black or White, rich or poor, favored or disfavored. She just has a scale, and on one side of the scale is the weight of facts. On the other side is the weight of action directly corresponding to the weight of facts. This ensures fair dealing.
The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said that justice is the law that distinguishes between right and wrong. He also taught us that justice is the weapon that God will use in the Day of Judgement. Well, you can commit a crime, can go to court, but if you have some money to pay a good lawyer, who bamboozles the jury; or, the prosecutor might hide some facts from the defendant, people who kill can get away–especially if you wear a badge. You harm a person because you have the authority or the power in your weapon to do so, so you kill innocent life? But the corrupt will say, “Well, this is an officer of the law. Of course this killing was justifiable.”
But there is a Higher Law, and that’s the law that Rev. Pinkney was talking about. That Higher Law is represented by this universe in which we live, which was set up by a God Who loves justice. Whenever, in our unfair dealings, the evil that we do outweighs our good, there is a Law in this Universe that operates against individuals, against tribes, against races, against nations. When our evil outweighs our good, The Law that governs the universe begins to operate against us–and you wonder why your life is being turned upside down. In the Qur’an, there is a chapter called “The Manifestation of Losses,” because there comes a time when all of us have to reap what we have sown. And that’s the universal law that has nothing to do with Rev. Pinkney, or Farrakhan, or Pres. Obama, or former President George Bush, or any of us.
This Law is operating, and that’s why you see nations rise, and nations fall. There is not one nation on this earth that has been permanent, no matter how powerful that nation has been. Every civilization that you read of in history, it had a dawn; it had a zenith, and, it had a fall, because there is no permanence to anything that is corrupt and unjust.
So where are we today? Poor Rev. Pinkney: Think–think about a man of the cloth writing an article in a paper quoting the Bible; and then, is arrested, and sent to prison. Despite how powerful we may think a thing is, if it is wrong, you and I have a duty as a human being to stand up for what is right, even if it brings a consequence to you!
Accelerating our rise with a unified front
Sometimes you have to think about what the purpose of life really is. You see, all of us are here, and God wastes nothing. We are wasted lives, but it is not God Who wasted us; it is a society, based on injustice, which has violated the human rights of the people.
Life has purpose, but in an unjust society, human rights are violated. Every human need is a human right. Think about that. We are not animals, so, when a human being is born into the world, its needs are its rights. It needs to be fed, it needs to be nurtured, it needs a good environment in which to grow–that is a human right. Since we are not animals that function from instinct alone, He has given us brains, therefore our quest for knowledge is a human need. Therefore, it is a human right.
Our desire to be accepted in a family situation, in a community, in a nation–that is a human need; to feel that you are a part of something bigger than yourself! And feeling membership in something bigger than you is a human need and a human right.
Consider how geese fly in a formation where their speed can accelerate to 70 miles an hour–but as an individual goose, only 12 miles an hour. What does that teach us about the nature of this creation? In Islam, we all must say our prayers. In Christianity, you must say your prayers. In Judaism, you must say your prayers. But the greatest effect of prayer is not in the back room of your house, or the quiet of your living room or bedroom; it is when we are in congregation with others of like mind and spirit.
No matter how great our individual prayer, we fly faster when we pray together as a community. We move faster toward the goal of life itself when we find ourselves in unity with God, and in unity with the purpose for our existence. This is why Satan has to divide in order to rule. Satan’s world can’t come down if we are divided.
In 1 John 3:14, the scripture reads: “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.”
If we, in this little room, were deeply in love with one another, how strong would just this group be to move faster, further? And when one got tired, it wouldn’t make any difference, because the next one would pick up the slack! That is why the cry for unity is not an empty cry; it’s the right cry–not only for Benton Harbor, but for America and the world as a whole.
The ‘educated’ tools for Satan
In Benton Harbor, there’s a crying need for better education for our children. Knowledge is a human need, and, therefore a human right. Allah (God) introduces Himself to Prophet Muhammad in the Qur’an in these words: “I, Allah, am the Best Knower,” so if He created male and female in His own image and after His own likeness, then the only thing which elevates us from the level of a beast to a human and divine being is the acquisition of knowledge, and our willingness to act on the principles of that knowledge and administrate fairly over those whom we are stewards of.
Now, if the Blacks in America are given inferior education, then you can never be equal to somebody who has superior knowledge. A man that gives you inferior knowledge wants to dominate you, because you can never dominate a person that knows the same as you know! The only way to keep us in the position of a “tool” and a slave is to keep us ignorant.
Some of us don’t even know that we are tools–but it just depends on whose tool chest you’re in. If you are a butcher, your knife is your tool; so if you are seen sharpening your knife, you’re being nice to your tool, because your tool is going to be nice to you in your profession. But we, as preachers: We are either going to be tools in the Tool Chest of God and His Christ, or, we’re going to be tools in the tool chest of Satan.
Those who can call us to go uptown or downtown in the name of big corporations: If you love money over principle, well, they print money all the time. It has very little value today, but they can give it to you if that’s what you want! Will you sell your soul to be a tool in the tool chest of Satan?
Abuse of power in high places
To the judge who sentenced my brother: Rev. Pinkney has no power to call down God’s Wrath on you by quoting the scriptures of His Wrath. Do you argue that he is closer to God than you? Dear sir, with all due respect and honor to you, the greatest position that one could occupy in the world is to be a judge over the affairs of fellow human beings. And that is such a high calling that one who judges must be careful that you are not corrupted by powers that wish you to make a cruel, unjust ruling; or, who will pay you–give you favors–to make a ruling that favors persons that are powerful. Or, out of just plain wickedness, you use the office, which is such a high office, to dispense injustice in the name of justice.
God is no respecter of persons. It does not matter to him that you are called “Your Honor,” if, in His Eyes, you are not worthy of honor. It doesn’t matter to God that you are the president of “this,” or the high potentate of “that”–these are worldly titles. Paul said, “We war not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, and the rulers of the darkness of this world and spiritual wickedness that is up in high places.” So, be careful of the high places, because the high places are the places that deny the human being their rights!
I want the world to know that I respect the judge in his capacity; it’s just that I don’t agree with a judgment that he made. I am very indebted to the ACLU; to the various members of church organizations, and other organizations, that have signed on to the Amicus Brief with respect to Rev. Pinkney. And God willing, we will be at our brother’s hearing to see if justice can come to him.
In the 28th Chapter of Deuteronomy, which is the scripture that Rev. Pinkney was quoting, God gives us a list of blessings that will be ours if they we obey His laws, statutes and commandments. But He also gives us a list of curses that will come upon us if we disobey: “Cursed shall you be in the city. Cursed shall you be in the countryside. Cursed shall be the fruit of your womb and the fruit of the ground. Cursed shall be your coming in and your going out.”
Dear Judge: Rev. Pinkney has no power to bring down the Wrath of God on you or anyone. You have the power to do that yourself by being in disobedience to God. Dear American people: Black and White and Hispanic and Asian. Look at America today. Is she being blessed? Or, are some of these (events) curses that Deuteronomy reads of? Are you blessed in the city? Cities filled with crime and violence; rape and robbery and murder are the order of the day. Children rising against their parents: Cursed is the fruit of your womb. And cursed, now, is the fruit of the ground. Not enough rain, so drought; not enough coming up out of the ground. Why? Because we have rebelled against God.
The Kingdom of God will be the New Government on Earth
When you go to church, and you say “The Lord’s Prayer,” I want you to think about his line: “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth ….” See, you weren’t calling for democracy in that prayer. You’re calling for the rule of Jesus Christ. And if you know anything about him, you know that if he rules, it will be a better world.
If the scripture teaches, “Unto us a child is born, a son is given, and a government will be upon his shoulder,” that is not America; that’s not China, England, nor Brazil. He is coming with a government to replace the governments who have denied humanity their human rights.
His coming is preceded by revolution. And that’s why he said there would be wars and rumors of wars; and kingdom would rise against kingdom, and nation against nation. Let us rekindle the spirit of unity; and the cry for justice.
And if you go and open your Bible to the last chapter, Malachi, it talks about God’s Messenger coming, and he would have healing in his wings. It says, “Behold! Before the great and dreadful day of the lord, I will send you Elijah, the prophet. And Elijah will turn the hearts of the children to their fathers; and their fathers’ hearts back to the children, lest he come and smite the earth with a curse.”
We met a man that opened our eyes. We met a man that opened our ears. We met a man that took the knot out of our tongue. We met a man who took fear out of our hearts. We met a man who, when we were lying down, he didn’t just say “Get up!”–he said, “Get up and pick up your bed and walk, Black man! You can do it!” The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said we must make our own community a decent place to live. We must do this.
What does it take? It takes a commitment from each person that lives in Benton Harbor, to make a commitment to make yourself better! Make your community a decent place to live. “Well, we ain’t got no money! We ain’t got no jobs!”–because you don’t have any sense!
See, if we were in unity, like the geese that flew, that unity alone will give us so much power! The uniting of our nickels and dimes and dollars in a constructive way, with the knowledge that we have been blessed to receive from God. It doesn’t matter if you are a Christian or a Muslim! The Qur’an already tells us no matter what the people call themselves, they are born in the Nature of God to submit their will to do the Will of God! That’s why Jesus said to Peter, “Lovest thou me? Then feed my sheep”–feed them the Word that feeds the Nature of God within them.
The Winds of Change are uniting the Bones of the Valley
In the 37th Chapter of Ezekiel, the Son of Man was sent into a valley that was full of bones. And the Son of Man, when he looked at those bones, the Lord asked him: “Can these bones live?” He said, “Lord, only thou knowest.” So the Lord said, “Son of Man, prophesy unto the bones. Speak to them the Word.” And when the Son of Man spoke to them, they heard the Word, and they did a little “shimmy” and a little “shake,” you know? But the “shimmy” and the “shake”–they didn’t come together.
Do you know how many people have spoken good words to Black people? And every one that has come, we heard their good words; and we applauded them: “Boy! Didn’t that boy speak tonight, honey! He sure was on the case, wasn’t he?” And then you go home, sit down, and eat whatever you eat; and go on to sleep. And tomorrow, you didn’t remember anything that person spoke. The bone went back to sleep again.
The Son of Man went back to the Lord. He said, “Lord! I’ve been preaching to these people! They shake! They rattle! They roll! But they don’t come together!” God said, “Well, don’t speak to them anymore. Prophesy unto the winds.” The “winds of unemployment”–can you feel that wind? “Damn! I just lost the little job I had.” The “winds of police brutality;” the “winds of mob attacks.” Another wind blowing: “High taxation, but no representation.”
Now you’re seeing the winds; and when the winds blew, that’s when the bones said, “Man …. I need ‘Brother Bone’ and ‘Sister Bone” over there.” And the foot bone connected to the ankle bone, and the ankle bone connected to the leg bone … where eventually, the neck bone connected to the head bone, and they stood up! An exceedingly great army! Not an army of violence, but an army of purpose!
The Bible teaches: “And then when they have been raised out of their grave, then they shall know that I, the Lord, am God, and beside Me there is no saviour.”
Beloved Benton Harbor: Let’s rise and be an example. Let’s go throughout our neighborhoods and try to make our neighborhood a decent place to live. Do not abandon our young people, and think that they are a generation that we need to walk away from. They are not a lost generation. They are the right generation for the time that we are living in. All they need is right guidance.
Thank you, and may God bless you!
