By Sister Agnita X
Reprinted from the July 5, 1968 edition of Muhammad Speaks
Many educators are presently seeking an audience with the Honorable Elijalh Muhammad realizing finally that from Him will come the only solution to the many problems concerning the education of our youth. they want answers to such questions as: How can we successfully teach the black child? What subjects are most beneficial? What is the importance of the Black History prepared by the public school system?
WE, THE teachers at Muhammad University of Islam in Chicago, are blessed to receive close guidance from Messenger Muhammad. We take ths opportunity to share His words of wisdom, quoted from our discussion at the teachers' meeting held in Messenger Muhammad's home, June 18, 1968. We feel these directions will be of great value to our fellow Muslim teachers across the country and to you, the Black educator who teaches Black children. You will find in His words guidance unlike that orientation which you receive each September. You will find a love from Black children that is warm and true, unlike the false feeling flowing from teh supervision you receive during your school year.
The following are Messenger Elijah Muhammad's divine directions, when successfully carried out will benefit our Muslim children:
"WE MUST LEARN what to expect at this time. Higher education is demanded througout the civilized world. This which we have is the wisest since the creation of the world. He (Allah) can do what the first One did and then improve on it. He can take this away and bring this back or reproduce one. We do not teach that the same God Who created what we see is here living today. He only lives in us. He never dies because we are his children. Allah means the wisdom of all civilized people. I am telling you this because you are teachers and I want you to tell it to the children.
"Muslim babies are wise from the cradle. The small children will teach the older ones in the streets. Allah makes it (Islam) attractive to the original minds of the children. We, as teachers, are to bring them up into the knowledge of their own and not wait for the minister to do it. they must know the true God. There is no life on, above or under the Earth interested in man's affairs but man himself.
"The whole world is reaching out for higher education and we cannot keep pace with the world unless we have this higher or advanced education. Our education from God is to advance us to higher learning in order to advance our own future. Allah has declared that we are righteous. When we read and study our lessons, we think of our morals. He is not referring to you. Allah has has forgiven us of all the evil practices under the devil.
WE AS teachers are to know this and let the students know this. The devil goes strongly out for evil, and we feel all the time that this is something we should not do, because we are of the righteous. When we do something righteous, we feel fine. When he does something righteous, he does not feel the same. He enjoys killing. Never before have we had anyone on Earth like him. He did not come with us. White people are not one of us at all by nature.
"We are here to learn why we are here. What are we to do here (in the universe)? We must have knowledge from all over the universe. When we learn about Allah's creation, we learn His wisdom. When we get the knowledge of the creation, we have all that is in the universe.
"SOME PEOPLE in this age call Islam a religion. Prior to 6,000 years ago, Islam was not called a religion. There is no such thing as religion. We as teachers should know this so that we can teach our children at the University. The author of Islam is God. We who believe and submit, Abraham called us Muslim. Abraham is the father or giver of our name, Muslim. These things we should teach in our school. This is the way we should go about everything in our school: kindergarten, high school and college. Do not send children home without this knowledge.
"When we learn their history (devils'), we know the devil. We study the men of yesterday, their leaders and teachers. We must study yesterday in order to be able to move on. To know yesterday is to know today, and we will have some knowledge of what we are expected to know. Therefore, History is very important. If we do not know the history of other people, we cannot communicate with them.
"THE TEACHERS should be equipped with the knowledge of the fundamentals of what we want to teach our students. We have rules from Allah, and we have millions of people to teach the knowledge of self and to ecduate to compete with others. We must learn their language, the sign of communication with various peoples of the earth. We must learn and teach the essentials of having the knowledge of the signs of a nation's language. This is very important.
"We must learn the roots of mathematics. This is a very important course. We cannot build a nation without mathematics. Therefore, we must learn all we possibly can.
"Also, we are always pounding the earth, walking and riding. We should know something about