The Honorable Minister Louis
Farrakhan’s Saviours’ Day 2013 keynote address was a monumental paradigm shift
in the approach of Black leadership toward true liberation and salvation for
Black people in America and throughout the Diaspora. The foundation of Muhammad’s
Economic Blueprint is more than saving and investing money. The underlying
solution to the multiplicity of economic, political, social, and physical
problems facing humanity in the 21st century can be summed up in two
words: spirituality and morality.
The Minister’s spiritual insight
regarding our economic plight is backed up by proven scholarship. Preeminent
Black psychologist Dr. Naim Akbar wrote the following in his observations
regarding Muhammad’s Economic Blueprint: “The brilliance of the Program is that
the Honorable Elijah Muhammad prophetically and insightfully sees that Black
people have come under the influences that represent deterioration in our
self-determined and morally-guided behavior. And the result of this behavior is
that our economic condition will similarly decline as we become increasingly
like the immoral role models that are before us.” Dr. Akbar went on to
conclude: “Implementation of the Economic Plan becomes achievable only with a
preliminary transformation in the minds of Black America.” This is made
perfectly clear by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan as he painstakingly
revealed the immoral and perverse manner in which we spend our money and how we
are being manipulated into doing so.
The Minister said: “Scientists
have studied our spending habits, and our buying habits; so they know how to
market their goods to us! And their data shows that we spend far too foolishly
and recklessly; and we spend our money on products and services that are
leading to our own self-destruction. We have to cut back on the things that are
killing us! That’s what makes Dr. Naim Akbar’s words to us so fantastically
wonderful, because we have to “attack” the condition of our people morally and spiritually in order for us to become strong economically! It cannot be just economics with us – we have to
attack “The Spiritual Problem” and “The Moral Problem” that facilitates
our economic demise.” The Minister offered some sobering statistics from Target Market News: The Buying Power of
Black America 2010 (16th edition) to back up his premise.
Here is the mirror of truth the
Minister put before us: Blacks spend $3.3 billion a year on tobacco, $3 billion
on whiskey, wine and beer, $2.8 billion on non-alcoholic beverages, $3.1
billion on leisure time spending, $3.5 billion on toys, games and pets, $19
billion on telephone services – (54% of Blacks own a “smart phone”) $10 billon
gift buying, $29.3 billion on clothing,
$65.2 billion on food, $23.6 billion for healthcare, while only spending $321 million on books. He also estimated that the
Black share of the $100 billion a year spent on gambling in America is $13
billion. The Minister focused like a laser on the root of our problem stating:
“When we analyze all of this, we have to agree that our whole way of thinking
about money has to change…so regardless to what religion we belong to: Our
religions are obviously not informing us on how to spend our money. So we think
we are “God centered” while we are financially illiterate. The problem is that we
are not really “God centered.” How can this be, given the level of religiosity
in the Black community?
We have been “conformed to this
world” following occidental, westernized, industrialized, northern hemisphere
practices rooted in Aristotelian-based scientific philosophy that finds no
intrinsic value in nature except that it can be used for man’s pleasure. This
utilitarian and hedonistic philosophy undergirds the made man’s approach to
nature, politics, economics, and human relations. His scientific approach to
nature is amoral and his usurious banking system and valueless fiat money is
immoral. The ‘wicked husbandmen’ are
destroying the environment and enslaving the entire human race with debt. What
the modern day Apostle Paul, the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, has called
us to do is to “be transformed by the renewing of our minds.”
As Muslim followers of the Most
Honorable Elijah Muhammad, we must exhibit “quickness, fast moving, cleanliness
- internally and externally - right down to the modern times.” Our modern
Islamic thought and practices as it relates to the environment, whether as
farmers, ranchers, or businessmen, should be based on Quranic principles.
Fazlun Khalid, in an essay entitled Islam,
Ecology, and Modernity: An Islamic Critique of the Root Causes of Environmental
Degradation identified four principles that form the basis of an Islamic model
“to help human beings to function within the natural pattern of creation.” He identified: Unity (Tawhid), Creation
(Fitra), Balance (Mizan), and Responsibility (Khilafa).
Here are some scriptural
references for each principle: the Unity
Principle - Holy Quran 112:1-2 and 25:2; Creation Principle - Holy Quran 30:30;
Balance Principle - Holy Quran 55:1-13; and the Responsibility Principle Holy
Quran 6:165 and 24:55. As the new stewards of the earth destined to replace the
wicked husbandmen, we must now forge a new relationship with our natural and
built environment based upon the eternal principles found in our faith tradition.
We must also lay the base for our own banking system or medium of exchange
rooted in equity, justice, and actual value, not usury which is forbidden by
the Holy Qur’an in Surah 2:275-276.
In Romans 8:22-23, Paul writes: “For we know that the whole creation
groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but
ourselves also, which have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves
groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our
body.” Celia Deane-Drummond wrote in Eco-Theology:
“The proclamation of the good news [Gospels] cannot be detached from concern
about the natural world in which people are placed: people and planet form an
interwoven community that needs to be considered together, rather than
separately.” In other words, our Christian family members also have
scripturally mandated ‘new stewardship’ responsibilities to the creation. Time
is dictating the agenda of what must be done today. Who will heed the “final
call” and accept the universal mission of stewardship being proclaimed by the
National Representative of the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad?
Are we the new stewards to
replace the ‘wicked husbandmen’? We certainly can be if we follow Allah’s
guidance coming through the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and recognize
that our problem is moral and spiritual before we attempt to implement Muhammad’s Economic Blueprint to end
poverty and want.
Fatih University confers degrees in engineering, economics, business management, public policy, public administration, art and science, and language as well as 2 year vocational degrees in computers, tourism, child development, foreign trade and nursing. 
They have exchange programs with 53 universities in the European Union; also China, Russia and the United States. The university offers a 4 week summer course in Turkish language and culture for $1,500. Engineering is offered in Turkish and English, while International Relations is in English only. The cost per year per student is approximately 15,000 Turkish Lira.
What is the underlying ideology of the school? In fact, at one point, the government withheld funding and the university was forced to file a lawsuit in 2001 to win the state portion of their funding. The school is competing and recruiting the top Turkish high school graduates. It offers scholarships to foreign and domestic students in the areas of theatre, sports, and science. The university has a beautiful campus. We witnessed its expansion and new construction while we were on site. The delegation came away with the impression that the university presents a strategic opportunity for the exchange and training of our students in America. [www.fatih.edu.tr] 
The delegation’s next stop was the Sema Hospital built by the Gulen movement. The three year old private hospital is a former hotel that was renovated and expanded. It is a five story, 22,000 square meters, 217 bed facility that employs 600 personnel. The first two floors consist of clinics and management offices. Floors three thru five are patient rooms, with the exception of the third floor conference and prayer rooms. The site was chosen for its sea side view and excellent air quality. Sema’s Assistant Manager, Mr. Mehmet Ciranoglu, gave us a tour of the hospital. We met with General Practitioner and Professor Dr. Umit Topaloglu, Cardiologist Dr. Mehet Ates, and Medical Chief of Staff, Dr. Ilyas Akdemir. Dr. Ates had lived in Houston as an “observer” of our medical system. Our hosts stated that Sema is the largest private hospital in Turkey. It takes both domestic and international patients. Their goal is to build 8 hospitals in Turkey in cities such as Bursa and Ankara.
Infectious diseases in children and heart disease (smoking related), hypertension in adults are prevalent. Cancer rates vary and HIV/AIDS rates are very low. The life expectancy in Turkey is 72 years old. It is lower than in the United States because their higher child death statistics lowers the average, according to Dr. Akdemir. Sema accepts insurances and operates within European Union medical payment standards. They discussed the difficulty of getting Turkish doctors residency in the United States. 
The movement is presently working on 10-15 scholarships to support their doctors while they work on passing the three exams required to be licensed in the United States. Our hosts did not know much about the Cuban medical system or its educational process to produce medical professionals. In the delegation’s opinion, if the presence of modern equipment, design of the facility, compassion and competence of medical staff, and clear strategic vision are indices of the level of care afforded the patients, then elements of Sema hospital’s operation could serve as a model for health care in Turkey and the world. [www.semahospital.com] 
The delegation’s next stop was a visit to Samanyolu Broadcasting Corporation. We were hosted by Content Editor, Mr. Bayram Karci. According to Mr. Karci, the television station was founded in 1993 as a family oriented network. Private stations began broadcasting in Turkey in the 1980’s with no standards. Now, there is a “self imposed” responsible broadcast policy to meet general broadcasting standards set by Turkish regulators. 
Samanyolu’s policy is to take sex, violence, and drugs out of broadcast content. The station’s objective is community service, not profit, according to Mr. Karci. They provide education through entertainment. Their drama-action content is geared toward promoting ethics and religious values indirectly; whereas the discussion programs and documentaries are explicit in the presentation of ethical and religious values. 
The broadcast network has 6 channels and airs in 114 countries. They also have 3 radio stations. According to Mr. Karci, they are one of the top 5 stations in the Nielson rating system. Samanyolu channels are thematic. EBRU, their English language station, has news, documentaries, sports, music, discussion programs, and can be accessed via the internet. 
The news channel was created to present “objective news,” without the secular bias shown by their private competitors. In central Asia, they run local programs along with their international content. The network airs commercials that fit their broadcast standards and they also sell their programs to other channels. 
The delegation’s last institutional visit for the day was to the movement’s Tughra Books formerly the Light Publishing Company for a meeting with author and scholar M. Enes Ergene (left) and senior editor of The Fountain Magazine, Hakan Yesilova (center). Our scheduled one hour meeting resulted in a four hour dialogue. 
Tughra Books is a “kitchen of publications” in 16 languages. It was described as “[Islamic] tradition witnessing the modern age” and the place where the “role of the traditional scholar and the modern intellectual” is explored. The publishing house employs 200 workers, editors, and authors. 
Twelve authors are working on books related to Fethullah Gulen. Mr. Ergene has written 4 books on the movement that have been translated into Russian, Arabic, and English. Their publications are contributed to by scholars from around the world. 
The original purpose for the site of the publishing house was to serve as an independent Islamic research center whereby Islamic experts and intellectuals along with their families could be lodged for seminars and symposiums. This location is not suitable, so they are trying to find another site to meet their objective. They have a strong relationship with scholars in the Middle East. Each visits the other twice a year. 
Mr. Ergene ended our discussion by reminding us that the devil within is greater than the devil without and the threat is greater from within our movements than from without. We [Muslims] cannot be disassembled unless we disassemble ourselves. He referenced Surah 13 verse 11 for further study. The delegation felt this was a deeply spiritual and highly enlightening stop on our tour. 
Mr. Tokak urged us to visit the schools they have set up, particularly in Africa stating: “they are your schools.” He said that education over the last 50-60 years has taught us to be enemies of each other. The movement establishes the schools, teaches, and then turns them over to the locals. He further explained that the concept of dialogue was necessary for humanity to find forgiveness and for conflict avoidance. During our discussion, Mr. Tokak said the Nation of Islam reminded him of the early history of Bilal and Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
