Warith Mohammad: Religions must cooperate

The lecture given Friday night by Imam Warith Deen Mohammad was characterized by the… The lecture given Friday night by Imam Warith Deen Mohammad was characterized by the cooperation and understanding among the world’s leading religions to bring together humanity.

Mohammad, leader of the American Society of Muslims, spoke to a packed Clapp Hall lecture room at an event sponsored by An-Nur Islamic Center, Pitt’s Muslim Student Association, and Black Action Society. The event was free to the public, but there was significant security at the door.

“The religion of Islam is greatly misunderstood not only by non-Muslims, but by Muslims as well,” Mohammad said.

Islam is not so different than Christianity and Judaism, he said. All major religions are based not only on faith, but also upon good works.

“Faith without good works has no value,” he said. “Islam insists that [you] let the proof of your faith be your good works.”

Mohammad said the goal of Islam is to reform the whole world, bringing all of human kind together in one community. This goal, he said, is no different than the goals of Christianity and Judaism. The great religions want man to realize that his destiny is to become one with the world, he said.

“God recognizes our differences and he wills that we become one community [on Earth],” he said.

Mohammad mentioned, only in passing, the way his father influenced his beliefs. His father, Elijah Muhammad, founded the Nation of Islam and was a mentor of civil rights activist Malcolm X.

Mohammad stressed the need for Muslims to work with people of other faiths who have the same goals. Only through this cooperation, he said, can the destiny of humankind be fulfilled.

“This is an invitation for Muslims to join with all good people of the world,” he said, “in the effort to advance human society for the benefit of the whole family of mankind on this Earth.”

As someone who has read the Bible several times, Mohammad said he feels comfortable talking to leaders of other religions. In 1996, he met with Pope John Paul II. This ease comes from, he said, the knowledge that they are “believers in the same faith.”

Mohammad said most of the problems between the major religions of the world come not from conflicting doctrines, but from politics. Religious people and leaders need to set aside their political differences in the interest of humanity.

“If we pledge to communicate the purity of our religions rather than the problems of our religions, the world will not see us as apart on the path of the good future of all of us,” he said.

After the lecture, Mohammad answered questions from the audience. In response to a question concerning the war in Iraq, he stated his opinion of supporting the troops, but not the war itself.

“I wish, I hope, and I pray that the war had not been started,” he said, “but since it has, I hope the mission is successful.”