Confident Muslim
12 / 20
Unity, Humanity, and Identity - Councilman Basheer Jones | Confident Muslim
Transcript
This transcript was auto-generated using AI and may contain misspellings. I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan. In the name of Allah, the most Gracious, the most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Peace and blessings be upon the Prophet and all his companions. I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan. Peace and blessings be upon the Prophet and all his companions. Where are you going, Dr. Altaf? Assalamualaikum. Please give a round of applause to Dr. Altaf Hussain. Assalamualaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh everyone. Wow, that was weak. Assalamualaikum. Okay, that's better. Alhamdulillah.
I guarantee you that by the end of this session, those sleepy eyes will be like this big, inshallah. The end product of what we're trying to do at Yaqeen is to form the confident Muslim. It's Muslim identity formation. If you have that strong conviction on the inside, it produces a solid contribution on the outside. I cannot think of anybody better than the brother that we have presenting today to really highlight what a confident Muslim looks like in public. Alhamdulillah, we are so honored to have him. And to be honest with you, as soon as I saw this video go up online, I was like, this guy has to be a confident Muslim. Alhamdulillah, I met him in person to invite him to this session because I know how special this was to the community and how special his work is to the community. He's so much more than a video. He's someone that's been involved with social justice for a long time in the city of Cleveland. And Alhamdulillah, an author and has done so much. But this video in particular brought so much light to the hearts of Muslims and it really demonstrated that spirit of Muhammad Ali, may Allah have mercy on him, that idea of being unashamed of your Islam, not just your Muslimness, your Islam in public. So the very first time I think that takbir has been done in a city council chamber in the United States. So we're going to play the video inshaAllah and then I'll introduce our brother Bashir Jones. Jazakum Allah khair. Bismillah. First and foremost, we thank the Creator for another day of life. Despite what's going on in our lives, it's a blessing to have life. I want to say thank you and much honor to our mayor, Frank Jackson, and congratulations to our president. I want to say to all of my family, it came from New York and Florida and all over the place,
if y'all can stand up real quick, if y'all can just stand up, this is all my family. We move like a unit. I love you so much. I love you so much and thank you so much for your belief. This was a tough battle and for those who were a part of it, you know how tough it was. But the Creator is always in control. And despite what our plans are, He is the best of plans. And the fact is that He chose us for a great mission. And this is a heavy responsibility. My family was asking me how excited I was, but I wasn't like really excited. I was more afraid because now I will be held responsible for the residents of Ward 7. And I am not their leader, I am their servant. And that's a heavy responsibility. So I thank my family for all the love that you gave me. And it's tough being the family member of someone who is fighting on behalf of the people. So I thank you. I want to say thank you to my campaign team, if you can stand up. If you can stand up, my campaign team, everyone was talking about Fannie Lewis, but that's our girl in Ward 7. That's ours. We actually have the son and grandson of Fannie Lewis who is here. And I thank our team.
And I want to make some things correct because there were some negative and disrespectful things that were said about some of our people. And they were nothing but lies. And these people are amazing people. Where are the Nelsons at? Because on this floor, these are the Nelsons right here. And on this floor, I want to make something right, that this is one of the most beautiful Christian families that I have ever experienced. And the lies and deceit that was given during the election, I want to make it right and say they were nothing but untruths. And this is our reality. I love you so much. And I love my team. Thank you. I'm so excited to be here with my new colleagues, and I plan to learn from you, whether you are from the west side or you are the east side. And Councilman Conwell said something, but I want to add something to it, where he said that young people must listen to the elders. And this is true. But let me add to it that the elders must listen to the young people. And we must build a bridge between the young and the elders. Because there is a difference between old and elders. Elders show the way, and old just stand in the way. So we have to ask ourselves a question, are we looking to be elders, or are we looking to just stand in the way? In order for our city to go to the next level, there must be a bridge that is built between those of the past, those of the present, and those who are we preparing for the future. And if we are not preparing our young people for the future, then what does our tomorrow look like? So I look forward to working with my colleagues.
I'm sure you've heard a lot of things, and some of it is true. And some of it isn't. I want, if I can, if the members of my community can stand up from the Muslim community, if you can stand up. Because I represent the first Muslim in city council history. I want to thank my spiritual leader, Imam Abbas, I want to thank Rabbi Lerner for coming, and I thank the pastor for being here. And I want to say to you that this young lady right here is the matriarch of my family. Ayn Sauda is her name. And if you ever ask her, she's got a lot of stories about me, and all of them are true. And I thank her. And I say to the Muslim community that I'm happy to represent you here. I thank you. I ask you to please keep me in your prayers. Because this will be a battle. But I want to say something that probably has never been said in here before, as we say that God is the greatest. Takbir. Takbir. Takbir. And what I said was, who is the greatest? And God is the greatest. Thank you so much. Please help me welcome Brother Bashir Jones with a Takbir as he comes onto the stage. Councilman Bashir Jones.
Assalamu alaikum. I'm so excited to be here with you. So excited. I want to start off with some poetry. I say a few words, and then inshallah I sit down with Sheikh Omar. I lived some years longer than Tupac, but still got some years to go before I reached Megha Evis. I lived some years longer than Emmett Till, but that don't make me feel better. Some years to go before I reach Malcolm and MLK. Some years to go before I reach JFK. Some years to go before I reach my mother's death age. Some years to go before I reach my grandmother's death stage, but I'm sometimes afraid. Not that I'll die. I'm afraid I won't achieve the goals that I sent to the sky. Tears come from my eyes to water the earth. Because 33 years ago was my birth, and we both cried, me and my mother, because we both hurt. Hurt from pushing, me from leaving, what I knew first. See, you call it the dark, but I call it the light. You say I was alone. I was quite all right. I'm a little past the speed limit. Sometimes things are clear. Other times it seems tented. I'm not an owner. I'm only a tenant. I know it's been some years, but I feel like it's been only a minute. And I don't know if I have a second or a minute until I'm finished. I just know I'm going to enjoy it while I'm in it. And when I return for questions to the one who already knows the answer, but I got questions to Allah, why my mother had to die from cancer.
But it's a blessing. At least she died a martyr in heaven now. This is reality. No magic, no Harry Potter. She was a farmer. Planted seeds in her garden. The toughness of life never made her heart harden. She was softer than a butterfly. I would cry because she cried. And if I had a choice, I would have died because she died. As you can tell, I'm still in pain. 33 years old, but I'm still the same baby that she raised into a man. My mother's gone but still here. That's something I'm still trying to understand. If you want to understand my birth, you've got to understand my earth. Look closely. You can see my heart beating through my shirt. We must ask ourselves the question, what's worse? Living like a jerk or living with a purpose before you reach the hearse? Some people, they search for guidance in the masjid or the church, reading the Quran or reading the Bible verse, or picking up a pen writing a verse, or picking up a gun starting to burst, or graduating from college being the first, or selling drugs. Survival is the key, even if the means is worse. Young boy, you ain't cursed. Just change your mind. Be careful of your company. Rearrange your time. We all made from the same design, but the difference is how we think and how we grind, so I wake up with a mission. Because soon the date after the birth date and the dash, it won't be missing. So I want to say a thank you to my mother, because obviously she completed her mission, and I have not, so I'm still in the kitchen cooking up a plan so my folks can eat. Some people bounce. They couldn't take the heat. I was going to leave too, couldn't take the grease. People too slick. I just asked for peace. Got to make a change for my son, daughter, and niece and nephew, so I stepped through. B.S. That's what soldiers do. So on my birthday, don't send me no balloons. Make a prayer for me. I'll be meeting my mother soon. Not right away, but a lot quicker than I would like. But either way it go, it's a hike.
My life consists of walking, running, maybe even a bike, but either way it go, I'm going to travel with a mic. I'm going to speak while I can. I'm going to lead until I can't. Even if the powers that be don't like. Because I don't dig the powers that be. Because I don't dig the powers that be. Until I dug and found out the powers that be is in me. It's in a treasure chest, in my chest. Another day of life, I am blessed. Thank you so much. Thank you. I'm so happy to be here with you. I'm originally from Brooklyn, New York. Hey, Brooklyn. And my family moved to Cleveland, Ohio. Cleveland, you here, Cleveland? What's going on? All right now. When my family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, we lived in a place called the Salvation Army. It was a shelter for women and children. And even while we lived in the shelter, my mother, she would take us to go feed other homeless people. At a very young age, my mother was teaching us that no matter how bad you think you have it, somebody has it worse than you. No matter your situation, no matter your struggle, the medicine for our anger is gratefulness. Be grateful for what you have. You know, there's four E's that I believe make people who they are. The first E is environment. We're going to take a dog, right? I know you all don't got dogs, but we're going to take a dog from the hood and a dog from the suburbs. That dog from the suburbs, his name is Smoochie. He's about this big. He has the new Jordans and sweaters, and you could take him to the doggy park. He plays nicely with the other dogs. Him and his owner, they kiss in the mouth and stuff.
You've seen this before. But the dog that come from where I come from, his name is Butch, Killer, Brutus. We feed him hot sauce, gunpowder, hot Cheetos. If you walk on the other side of the street, you pose no threat to the property that Rufus is guarding, but yet and still he wants to jump over that fence to get you. Even the environment has an impact on animals. The cats are mad. The pigeons, you have to walk around them. The squirrels don't even run no more. They walk across the street. Now, imagine the impact of the environment on people. Well, we live in a box, and we wonder why we can't think outside of it. The next E is exposure. How many of you walk into somebody's house, and it smelled like death when you walked in? I mean, it was like goodness gracious. Everybody's playing games. The children are just running around. Nobody can smell it but you. Why is it that you can smell it, but they can't smell it? Because they're used to it. But if you stay there long enough, what will happen? You'll get used to it too. The last two E's is education and experiences. Anybody in here ever saw Lion King before? Allahu akbar. I know we don't watch movies and TV and all that stuff, right, but I'm glad you could film it. So Simba was next in line to be king, but there was an individual who hated Simba more than anybody else. That was Scar. His own uncle was envious and jealous of him. You know Simba was saying, I can't wait to be king.
But Mufasa would tell Simba that to be a king is not the one who's in front, but the definition of leadership is serving the community. It's about service, not about the one who's up front. But Scar was jealous of Simba. Jealous of him. Some of your greatest opposition will be people who look just like you. Can I be truthful with you tonight or today or this afternoon? Can I be truthful with you? I didn't come all the way from Cleveland to lie to you. Can I be real with you? You sure? Okay, don't DM me anything crazy, okay? I got the most support that I got in running for city council was from the Jewish community. There were Muslims who were against me running for office. Some of your greatest opposition will be people who look just like you, will be your family, will be your friends, will be those who be wishing for your downfall. But Simba, as you know, he left, he went, and he met Timon and Pumbaa. Now you might say Timon and Pumbaa was his friends. They weren't his friends at first. They said, listen, don't be mad at me, but they understood the law of the survival of the fittest. They're like, listen, we're the only meat around here. If we don't trick this lion to believe he's something that he's not, we're dead meat. Now you've got this lion eating bugs, swinging from vines, talking about hakuna matata. What lion eats bugs and goes swimming? This stuff doesn't happen. But they wanted to trick him to believe he was something that he wasn't. But then, as you know the story, he meets Rafiki. Rafiki says, I know your father. He said, you don't know my father. My father is dead. He said, no, correction, I know your father. Follow me. Simba goes, and he looks into the lake, and he says, that's not my father.
That's me. Rafiki says, look deeper. Look closer. And Mufasa comes out, and Mufasa says, Simba, you have forgotten me. He said, how can I forget you? You're my father. He says, you have forgotten yourself. Therefore, you have forgotten me. Let me go into something that's more touchy. And inshallah, I hope this isn't my last time speaking at IKNA. But I've got to say something to you while I've got the stage. In the Quran, listen to what Shaitan says. In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful. I am better than him. You created me from fire.илиأسُكُ فِي الْ supervised by он pode friendship I am better than him. I was created from fire. He was created from mud, from dirt. The first racist was Shaitan, alhamdulillah. The first racist. To be racist has a satanic foundation. And honestly, what we see within the Muslim community is this racism. And this is a major problem. I don't mind standing with you for Palestine, or standing with you for any other country. But I need for you to stand with me for Tamir Rice, and stand with me for Stephon Clark and Sandra Bland. I don't mind standing with you. I don't mind standing with you. But was Stephon Clark your brother before or after you found out that he was Muslim?
He should have been your brother and you should have felt that pain because he's another human being. But the reality is that we are not impacted by it. We have to stand up for justice no matter what. But we have to understand and respect the foundation that we stand on here in America. And we stand on the backs of people like Imam Jamil Al-Amin. We stand on the backs of people who came and fought on behalf of us to be Muslims in this country. But if you don't respect the black and brown, those who stood up and fought for Islam to be here, then the Muslims will continue to fall back. We will continue to be where we are. I know we got some Trump supporters in here. Some of your cousins, I know it. But the reality is Trump did a lot. Trump did some good for the Muslim community. He brought us together. People who would never have spoken to one another are now working together. Are now working together. But as we are fighting for justice outside of the masjids, we have to fight for justice within the masjids as well. And what I mean by that is I want to talk to the Muslim women and let you know, sister, speak, sister. You speak up. Don't you sit silent. You are the face of Islam and don't let nobody tell you anything different. There's no reason why our Muslim women should be inside masjids across this country and feel like second-class citizens. Sister, I don't care about the fact. We talk about our sisters, wear this, wear that. You got a strand of your hair. Brother, we have Muslim women who are hungry and starving, who are being beat in their homes,
and you're talking about a strand of hair, brother. Stay focused. Who was a greater scholar of hadith when it comes to hadith than if it wasn't Aisha, radiallahu anha? Where would we be without Khadijah consoling her husband? Where are the Khadijahs of today? We don't need no more Nicki Minaj's, okay? I know you don't know who that is. I know you don't know who that is. I know you don't know who that is. But we don't need any more of that. Where are the Khadijahs who speak life into their husbands? Where would we be without Khadijah? Where would we be without Aisha? Where would we be without those Muslim women? Where would we be? Where would I be without my mother? Don't you tell me the Muslim women must be silent. You speak up. Invest in your manshid so our sisters don't have to come up and be in the basement of a cruddy man. Come on, man. Man, listen, man, listen. If we don't respect our women, we don't respect the very vessel that brought us to this earth. So I say to the youth, the Muslim youth, you are not the future, you are now. Don't wait until tomorrow to make a change. Start today. You can't plant orange seeds and expect mangoes tomorrow. Whatever you plant today is what you're going to get tomorrow. You don't have to be like little Yari Anam when you have Muhammad, salallahu alayhi wa sallam. You don't have to be like these examples. You got the coolest man to ever walk this planet and the Prophet Muhammad, salallahu alayhi wa sallam. But we are struggling. Every last one of us are struggling. In my closing, we are struggling. Every last one of us in here has issues. And if you say you don't, then lying is your issue. So you need to get that together. Work on that. We all got problems.
We're all going through something. But when we see one another and we say, As-salamu alaykum, we should mean it. How are you, brother? Are you good? Alhamdulillah, bye. We're not even really caring about what the people are dealing with. We have to address mental health in our communities. We have to address this in our communities. And the imams, many of them are not equipped to deal with mental health. I mean, I love my imam, but I'm not going to let him do heart surgery on me. It's not going to happen. I mean, I do love them, but that's not what he does. So let's bring in the people that know what they're doing to address the issues that we need for them to address. In my closing, I say I love you so much, and I appreciate the opportunity to represent you in city council in Cleveland. But also I say to all of us, specifically to the movements like the Dar es Salaam movement, like the movements like Imam Warhiddin Mohammed, the movements like the Nation of Islam that set the foundation for Islam and its country. And I appreciate you for all my aunties, grandmas, Taneefah, what's up? Love you. For all my folks from Masha Takwa and Masha Khalifa and in Brooklyn, and all the Muslims in Cleveland, I appreciate you for standing up and setting a foundation because I am the prayers that you prayed. I represent the tears that you cried for young Muslims, the next generation. I represent that, and I would not be here without you. I love you. I thank you so much. I love you all.
As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullah.
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