QSI: Raleigh "Good Neighbor Interfaith"; Charlotte Book Tour Presentation

I thank you, not as a Muslim, in the sense that the world sees Muslims, nor as a Christian or a Jew or as a member of any religious denomination.  We all have so much in common that is interchangeable and inter-related that I find it better to ignore religious labels and to deal only with a person’s true beliefs.  Therefore, I join with you as one who believes in an Almighty, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, for all of us have the right to speak and feel comfortable among people anywhere on earth.   We are all of one creation and G’d unites us in spite of artificial divisions of race, color and natural origin.  We are united by the most powerful bond of all—our common human origin.  The real issues that concern us and affect our social and economic destiny and the destiny of our childrens’ children are vital to all and are more profound than any ideological differences that we may have.

Our enemy is not the free world or the communist world, nor Christianity, Judaism or any other religion.  It is ignorance, racism, oppression, greed and corruption.  To eliminate these enemies, we must remake the world and establish truth, justice, opportunity and compassion for all people.  I have whole-heartedly accepted this mission with the guidance of Allah.  Please join me and unite to reconstruct our American lives.

W. D. Mohammed Hyatt Regency Chicago, June 7, 1977