Estimated reading time: 13 minute(s)
by Willie Muhammad
Part 4 of 9
The focus of this blog is the motivational abilities of the Hon. Min. Louis Farrakhan. This ability is one of the top qualities that leaders must possess. Some say it’s the most important. As we say in New Orleans, there are “beaucoupâ€, which is French for “many or an abundance of†examples I can point to that shows that the Minister’s possesses this quality. Here are four examples.Â
In 1980s-1990s the Mayfair Mansions in D.C. were described in the following way, “…the Mayfair Mansions werenotorious, overrun with drug trafficking and violent crime.â€Â In another article someone describe it as, “…a social decay that has mothers trading children for drugs and youngsters wielding Uzis in urban wars.†Despite these conditions, men who were first motivated to change their own lives after hearing the Hon. Min. Louis Farrakhan, were further motivated to go into a hostile, warlike environment unarmed! Filled with the spirit of Allah that was awakened in them by Min. Farrakhan, they made that community safe for those who lived there.Â
I know a brother who has a PhD in economics. Once I asked him what motivated him. Bro. Dr. Andrew Muhammad told me, “The Minister in a Larry King interview told a caller that Black students should major in Agribusiness given the importance of agriculture to nation building. I hadn’t even heard of Agribusiness and could not tell you what the word meant, let alone what the major involved, but I obviously trusted the judgment of the Minister. I did not even realize people had such things as PhDs. Sometime later I saw a lecture where the Minister called up some of his ministers who all had degrees. As I sat and watched, I thought to myself, “That could be me.†Shortly after I changed my major and began pursuing a PhD.â€
Since 1986 the Hon. Min. Louis Farrakhan has been banned from the United Kingdom. The ban prevents him from physically entering the United Kingdom and also prohibits all broadcasts of his image and likeness. However, several years ago Min. Farrakhan ordained the first Nation of Islam mosque in Europe. How did he do it? The answer to that is a VHS video copy of the Minister’s historic 1985 address, “Power at Last, Forever! The Overwhelming Event†at Madison Square Garden in New York, which was circulated underground for 3 years. In 1988, a small group of Believers began meeting at a private home to discuss the teachings of the Most Hon. Elijah Muhammad. The following year, six of them flew to Chicago to observe their first Saviours’ Day, and eventually met with Min. Farrakhan. When they returned to London, they officially established the first Study Group, located in the Brixton area of South London. All of this movement was started by one copy of a lecture. The ban could not stop the Minister’s ability to motivate.
In 2005 while on the way to the Mall to participate in the Millions More Movement, I along with the brothers I traveled there with were given a ride to the event by a brother who shared a very POWERUL testimony, which I video recorded that attests to the Minister’s motivational ability. He told us what he experienced in the hospital after suffering a spinal injury due to being shot seven times. “I was in hospital for a year. The doctors said I would not walk again and that I would remain completely paralyzed. I started watching the televised lectures of the Hon. Min. Louis Farrakhan. The first time I saw him, after I saw him I went to sleep and things that he said played heavy on my subconscious while I was sleeping. Like a subliminal message. When I woke from that sleep I was able to wiggle my toes. So I started listening to him more, every Sunday. The more I started listening to him I was able to wiggle my legs from side to side. And they [hospital officials] would only give me an hour [to watch televised lectures]. I was like I’m getting progress from listening to this brother? Physical progress! At the end of the lecture it would always say, “To hear more of the teachings of the Hon. Min. Louis Farrakhan come and hear the local representative at mosque #4.†I would say, “Man I got to go to that mosque. I need more juice, if this is healing me,” stated Brother Michael. He told us he was now taking steps.Â
Motivation is defined as “…the act of giving somebody a reason or incentive to do something and a feeling of enthusiasm, interest, or commitment that makes somebody want to do something.†Each of these examples shows that the Minister does just that. Like the Sun, the Hon. Min. Louis Farrakhan sparks movement. As the light from the Sun causes the motion of the planets, the Light of Allah which the Minister embodies does the same in the lives of millions (33:45-46).Â
(Willie Muhammad serves as the Student Minister at Muhammad Mosque No. 46 in New Orleans. Visit their website @Â www.noineworleans.org)