FREEMASONRY: SOMEONE PLEASE TURN ON THE LIGHT

FREEMASONRY: SOMEONE PLEASE TURN ON THE LIGHT

By Fahim A. Knight-El

I am of the belief that most Freemasons after they were raised, still remained engulfed in darkness and this often leads to a un-fulfillment in the journey that they have embarked upon, because many of them never understood what the journey was really about. They became victims of stagnation and the quest for enlightenment dimmed and the lodge becomes a revolving door (brothers enter and exit at an alarming rate) where brother's membership is reduced to the status of inactive dues card carrying members (Jesus said faith without works is dead). But their interest in Masonry immediately begin to wan relative to the duties, charges and obligations they swore to uphold; moreover, our inability to retain them, is a direct correlation to the limited amount of emphasis placed on knowledge and study (most Masonic jurisdictions are overly consumed with the social aspect--drinking liquor and partying, but I have always been one of the serious minded brothers who had a low tolerance level for ignorance).  

How can you wear the Muslim Islamic Holy Fez in the Shrine temple and chant Allah and Muhammad (turn to the East towards Mecca and Medina and offer up prayer as all righteous Muslims do)? And open up with the Holy Qur'an on the alter (quoting Al-Fatiha or the Opening)  and yet advocate drinking alcohol and committing all types of un-Islamic acts downstairs in the Shrine Club moments after closing the Temple in the name of Allah—I find this blasphemous and a contradiction to the righteous teachings of Islam. Here is my challenge to my Prince Hall Masonic brothers, as well as to other black non-Prince Hall Masonic Orders every lodge should have a library and an Afro-Centric study group where the knowledge of self is being taught and discussed—we have Shrine Clubs and bars, but no libraries. This will possibly assist in keeping brothers interest in the craft and its work.

However, the greatest challenge to Freemasonry across the United States is that the membership has gotten old and are dying off (say what you may about the old timers, it is their foundation that we are standing on) and most of the young members joined the order for all the wrong reasons (Masonry is no social club and it's not about being able to throw a sign and/or being able to give a word or token to manipulate society). It is not enough just to place an emblem on the back of our automobiles and or purchase a Masonic ring—these things are superficial and they do not make us Masons (I should have taken many Brothers Masonic rings off their hand because they could not defend the square and compass). These things only let the outside world know that we are part of the fraternity and they do not demonstrate that we are true Masons. But it is important to know and accept that you were first made a Mason in your HEART. And next on the ground floor of King Solomon's Temple. We call another Mason Traveling Man because we are on a personal and spiritual journey. It is about mastering all the principles The Grand Architect of the Universe has laid out on the Trestle Board.

When you wear the Masonic ring on your finger, it openly symbolizes that you are a Masons and it invites other Masons to acknowledge another brother in peace and fellowship. However, if they so please to conduct a Masonic trial of your knowledge to determine, if you are truly a Mason—it is their right to do so. You openly confessed in the Third Degree that you had been 'tried, never denied and was ready to be tried again'. So if I pose a set of Masonic catechism questions to you and you cannot give the proper responses to those questions, I am suppose to take that ring off your finger and give it to your Worshipful Master or if you are illegally wearing a Masonic ring, it is my duty to destroy it. How may I know you to be a Mason? By certain signs, token, a word or by lawful Masonic information (we are taught how to identify a brother in darkness or light). This is why I tell every newly made Masons to be patient and do not rush to put a Masonic emblem on your finger or car that you cannot yet defend. In some Masonic jurisdictions they will try you on sight and they are serious about protecting the fraternity.

We are taught that true knowledge is equated to a circle in which every end of the knowledge is connected and a circle represents 360 degrees (completeness) and those of us who really study knows that water freezes at the temperature of 32 degrees Fahrenheit and yet the so-called honorary degree of 33rd ends the Masonic travel and quest of knowledge—meaning he is just thawing out (this is actually referencing Caucasian Freemasons). The wise White men and powerbrokers who were the masterminds in establishing our Republic were touched by this enlightenment (but today they only use Freemasonry as a Front and they are now hidden in powerful secret societies such as the Bilderberg, Trilateral Commission, Council on Foreign Relations, etc.). Moreover, throughout the history of the United States of America from our first President George Washington, as well as many of the Founding Fathers (and the signers of the Declaration of Independence) of this nation was Freemasons and many of the historical and recent U.S. Presidents and other Elitist political officeholders have always used Freemasonry as a system of empowerment to create the present day political, economic and social dominance over the globe.

History has proven that 33rd degrees of knowledge served as being more than sufficient in shaping this new nation and establishing our democracy on Freemasonic principles (unknowing to those who are in darkness)—it was this knowledge that distinguished themselves from those common men and it allowed them to confound the ignorant and establish a prosperous nation. He did all this with 1/3^rd degree of the knowledge and the present day rulership still operates off pristine Masonic principles. Our original knowledge was always taught in 360 degrees and they took just a portion of that, which has allowed them to extend their 6,000 year rule over the original man and humanity. So, the Moors, Five Percenters, Nation of Islam, etc., they will tell you quickly that their knowledge is based on 360 degrees and is very critical of us stopping at 33rd degrees.

I think it is always a good thing to be exposed to all the universal knowledge. The CIPHER will always lead to us seeing the interconnections and interrelations with Freemasonry, in particular when you learn how to decode the symbolism—the knowledge is astonishing and self-empowering. The Black Hebrews, Moors, Afrocentrist, Nation of Islam, Ausar Auset, Pan-Africanism, Black Nationalism, etc., all of it is rooted in teaching us the knowledge of self, as a despised and rejected people. This is the greatest knowledge that one can attain.

Furthermore, the Founding Fathers saw power in the esoteric, occult and Gnostic teachings that was preserved in the Vedas, the Book of Coming Forth By Day, Torah, Gospel, Kybalion, Qur'an and mainly in the teachings of the Rosicrucians—many of our politicians today are members of the Ancient Arabic Order Nobles of the Mystic Shrine and they practice Islam (360 degrees) in secrecy and most of all they know the truth, but they desire to give you the false impression that Islam is this great enemy against the West and these same politicians have a Qur'an hidden in their office and house, and sneak in the Shrine Temple and recite the same Islamic and Muslim prayers that Osama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, Muammar Qadaffi, Ayatollah Khomeini, Bashar Al-Assad, Anwar Awlaki. Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, etc; recite, but in public they desire for you to believe how much they detest Islam by putting on this anti-terrorism persona. How hypocritical were those reactionary Congresspersons who were critical of Democratic Congressman Keith Ellison, an African-American Sunni Muslim that won a congressional seat in the 2007 in the House of Representatives from Minnesota’s 5th District (with a heavy Jewish population and a heavy Somalian immigrant population), but was condemned by some 'Negroes' and Whites for daring to be sworn into office on the Qur'an (Reference: Keith Ellison; "My Country ‘Tis of Thee: My Faith, My Family, Our Future"). Yet, many of the same congresspersons are Freemasons and some of them even belong to the Mystic Shrine where the Honorable Elijah Muhammad teaches us that they are called "Moslem Sons" and practice Islam in secrecy.

But to the new Masonic brothers be careful of what you intellectually consume in your new Masonic travels—we give every entered apprentice a new name upon being initiated, which is caution. Now, to all my newly made brother Masons and even those seasoned Masons, It is important to take time to study and master all the book materials, as well as lessons you have received from the Blue Lodge and those given by the Worshipful Master (if you did not know this there is no degree higher than the third degree of Master Mason). When I first joined the lodge, it was so much information and knowledge coming my way, but the more you stay involved in the work of your lodge, it allows for many things to unfold and manifest itself in due time and due season. Understanding that the ritual is what gives life to Masonic theory and builds the intellectual foundation that allows Speculative Masonry to rest upon.

There is so much to be revealed to you in your ritual book (learn it by re-reading and taking notes) the knowledge becomes applicable and useful when you see it’s given in a redundant fashion over and over again (it even lives more as you attend raising ceremonies). I also would recommend for any newly made Brother Mason to read Robert Lomas book titled, "Turning the Hiram Key: Rituals of Freemasonry Revealed", he does in my opinion, an excellent job of explaining the three Blue Lodge degrees without revealing the oaths and obligations and/or rituals in which he systematically walks us through the first three Blue Lodge degrees in this book. I still reference this book quite often. It is written in the first person tense and you as a Master Mason will be able to identify with what you experienced by hearing and reading it in a narrative sense from a third party; it will even give you the impression that you are there again and it is you who are going through this but in a literary interpretation. So be patient, take your time and become a skillful Master Mason. I will always advise those that are in quest and search for knowledge, wisdom and understanding to be patient and take your time because Freemasonry is a huge philosophical body of information. This is why you were slowly brought from darkness to light (imbue patience) and as we search for knowledge, we must continue to accept that knowledge and wisdom is infinite and we will always be the poor blind candidate. 

The more you delve in to and study the more the knowledge will reveal itself. One of the great spiritual books, which is the Qur’an it says knowledge is revealed in degrees. You will start to see how your study will begin to connect the dots and the knowledge and Masonic wisdom will come to life (and you will proudly yell out "let there be light") if you allow yourself to be patient. The more you study, the Masonic world will continue to open up to and your comprehension of the vast body of symbolism will only expand. Start by working the Masonic chairs in the lodge and learning the value of all the offices including the three principle offices (Worshipful Master, Senior Warden and Junior Warden) because it is the ritual that lays the foundation of Freemasonry.

Freemasonry is like jigsaw puzzle (i.e. nothing is going to fit perfectly but each part of your study will eventually quantify and validate the science of being plumb, level and square); you have to search, look, discover, uncover and must have a keen awareness of symbolism, metaphor, similes, allegory, etc. One must be willing to entertain the science of epistemology and etymology these are the pieces that we must know in order to go to the depth of some of the ancient wisdom and knowledge that is associated with our Craft. The square and compass are symbolic tools (which possess a duality in meaning and interpretation), but look at how these instruments are used in every day life as tools of building trades (Operative Masonry shrouded in both the physical and spiritual). The symbolism is telling us that we are on a journey in search and in quest for knowledge (the compass symbolize direction), wisdom and understanding (this is why in the Masonic catechism language we refer to each other as 'Traveling Man').

The compass is a tool design to identify how to find and locate direction where you are physically in space and time, which give us celestial, meaning relative to the positioning of the sun, moon, and star—this is why you are taught to be traveling from east to west in search of Light and/or more Light in Masonry. I authored a piece titled, "The Square and Compass: Masonic Tools, How Many Know How to Use Them? The title was intentionally given to be provocative and insightful designed to challenge those of us who are Freemasons to remember how the Guild workers of old used these tools in Operative Masonry (they were building masters), but remember we were taught that we should use the working tools for a more noble and glorious purpose and view them as being emblematic of  the great work that the square and compass were used relative to building erect physical foundations, which were rooted in the science of being plumb, level and square. It was to teach us that our personal lives and conduct should always be erect and depict some moral purpose.

Our striving as a Mason is to build character and enhance self-improvement, if we knew how to properly use our working tools, it would reflect better in how we are viewed by humanity (and most of all our Masonic lodges would be overflowing with new candidates seeking to be balloted on). The Bible is given to us as one of the working tools (rule and guide), but only to serve as a moral guide for us to structure ourselves which to better serve Deity. Speculative Masons rest on the principles of morality, friendship and brotherly love as our mantra and standard bearer. A good skilled craftsmen know how use their operative working tools better that us who have been raised from a dead level to a living perpendicular on the square. 

My Brothers, it has taken me many years and a lot of twist and turns to get to where I am in my Masonic knowledge; I had to learn to humble myself and I do not see myself as a Sage, Guru or Master teacher, but I am humbled by the universal order of things—the universe is upheld by energy in which every thing happens in its own space and time. The knowledge will forever reveal itself to you, if you are a good receptacle of the knowledge by always practicing patience and allowing your study to scientifically and mathematically verify due diligence and create balance (the universe will open up to you, if you allow yourself to work in harmony). Freemasonry has so many links and it easy to get excited because the more you delve into this ancient wisdom the "Light" gets brighter and often it naturally points you to another direction, but all of it is interconnected and interrelated. It took me years to revisited some concepts that I may have come across years prior (however the Supreme Being knew that I was not prepared to receive those lessons at that time) and I was not ready to properly assess and evaluate the intricate of the wisdom; which would have been of little value to my spiritual growth and development.

Thus, in old British Masonic customs an entered apprentice had to study three (3) years, a Fellow Craft had to study five (5) years and Master Mason had to study for seven (7) years—there you have it 357 (the level of proficiency was high). This is just my opinion, in American Freemasonry we are allowing candidates to Enter, Pass and be Raised without the proper benefit of study and I know in some jurisdiction they give all three degrees in one night. This is ludicrous and it serves to the detriment of Masonry and the candidate. The glue that holds the sum parts together is the knowledge, it isn't the Masonic emblem on your ring or your car, but if you are properly rooted in the knowledge, this will secure you and give you a solid foundation to ward off negative energy while remaining true to the principles of Freemasonry. Look at is as though you are running a marathon race and you are taught as a distance runner of how to preserve your energy by pacing yourself.

The journey will ultimately take you in many directions. For example, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism and all the eastern base philosophical schools of thought in order that you may continue to connecting the dots. If you are serious about becoming a student of Speculative Masonry, it will require and openness to research conventional and some unconventional information; some Masonic lodges try to make Masonry a Christian fraternity, it is not because it bigger than Christian dogma. Dr. Malachi Z. York-El's works gave me the most serious understanding of King Solomon's Temple because he had a serious Biblical and Quranic interpretation of King David and King Solomon; thus, it was me studying some of his scrolls that prepared me historically to connect Masonry in particular, decoding the ritual. I do not necessarily agree with everything that York-El has written, but he was a wise philosophical thinker.

I think Malachi Z. York-El is one of the most enigmatic and controversial Black Nationalist leaders that you will ever read on this side of the early part of the 21st Century and in some of the conscious brothers and sisters minds; he will always stand as one of the most wisest and enlightened minds (York's critics have always viewed him as a fraud, conman and a manipulative cult leader).

People often ask me, where do I fall when it comes to Dr. Malachi Z. York-El?  Perhaps squarely in the middle of the controversy and I know some of Dr. York’s scholars have been critical of me in a book written by Michael Berkley and Kedar Griffo titled, “Religion, Politics, and Freemasonry: A Violent Attack Against Ancient Africa”. Some of what his critics have written and said about York I too find valid. However, I can appreciate that Dr. York has been a student of ancient history, religion and symbolism for a very long time and was a knowledgeable man. He was a master teacher and there are not many Masons who have committed the level of research and study to Freemasonry as Dr. York. He knows the Bible and Qur'an (and is well versed in Hebrew, Arabic, Amharic, and other ancient languages) he has knowledge in Egyptology, Anthropology, ancient religions, Archeology, etc. His linguist skills allow him to uncover primary information for himself.

His research resembled a lot of some of the things that Manly P. Hall (33rd Degree Scottish Rite Mason and perhaps one of the most well respected modern Masonic scholars of the 20th century) has written about. Hall authored the book titled, "The Secret Teachings of All Ages" in which it took me over 10 years to read this book, it is not a book that you read, but a book that you study. This book takes us behind the ancient symbols and symbolism and ties the continuity of pagan culture and ancient societies to modern religious practices. Dr. York established what we, perhaps would call a 'clandestine' Masonic Order because he traces his Masonic elevation to the Masonic lineage of John G. Jones who was a formal excommunicated Prince Hall Mason that in the early 1900s was suspended by a PHA Grand Lodge in Illinois, in which his departure led to a historical rift between the Prince Hall Order and black Ancient Free and Accepted Masonry in the United States (AF&AM). So Dr. York's Masonic credibility in many Prince Hall Mason's circles is questionable and very few would have Masonic intercourse with his perceived 'clandestine' order, but his knowledge is irrefutable. I am a student of the truths that he has taught and not many Masons in the United States can match Dr. York's works and knowledge. 

I do not think the question of 'irregular or 'clandestine' is ever going to get solved or resolved unless Prince Hall Masonry (they are the big elephant in the room) exercise a willingness to show forth leniency and perhaps overlook the Masonic lineage of how some of these three, four and five lettered Masonic organizations received charters. And how do we contain these pop up renegade Masonic organizations who are without a doubt operate as 'clandestine' (bogus) organizations (the value of Prince Hall Masonry is that we do not give them credibility and this in turns benefit all of Black Freemasonry in the United States of America). Prince Hall is perhaps the most single outstanding Black personality in all of American Freemasonry. His Warrant/Charter has proving to be legitimate. No other Black Masonic order in this country has that type of credibility. So when I was seeking to join Masonry, I wanted to be connected to a regular body of Black Freemasons. So Prince Hall's history stood out as being credible. It is this history that separates us from clandestine Masonic orders. However, I do think that our dependency on the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) for affirmation depicts a slave mentality because I have traced Freemasonry back to ancient Kush and ancient Kemet (lands established by black African Nubians) and this takes us much further back than Greece, Rome and England. Why do we need them to sanction our Masonic legitimacy?  But here is the ultimate question, how do we as Black Masons breakdown these artificial barriers and at least establish some aspect of operational unity amongst ourselves and recognition with those Masonic organizations that have been long standing and has demonstrated goodwill towards humanity by carrying out Brotherly love, Friendship and Morality?

 

Thus, when you rob a people for 310 years of the knowledge of self and strip them of their land, culture, families, names, religion and imbue in them self-hatred, it is these variables that have left us as survivals of one of the greatest challenges (or crimes against humanity) to overcome, which is the psychology of self-hatred that has been taught to people of African descent.

This is an atypical problem that exist inside of Black Freemasonry (meaning the brainwashed mindset), it is the lack of knowledge of self that has created this social and psychological dilemma. How can you negate the great Nubian history associated with Kemet (Egypt) and Freemasonry? The historical evidence allows us to see the symbolic linkages to all the ancient mysteries and this knowledge enhances our THIRD EYE (the eye of Heru). The study and knowledge seeking should serve as a vehicle of empowerment for the true knowledge seekers. I was in Los Angles, California some years ago and a friend invited me to the Shrine Auditorium and I was shocked to see all the ancient Kemetic artifacts, art and symbols associated with the history of people of African descent; this visual reaffirmed and validated for me the contribution the Nubians made to the Nile Valley Civilizations.

The key to resolving the greatest crime ever committed in human history, is to bring our people into the knowledge of self (we have to be taught see ourselves outside of being just 'Negroes'); thus, most of the great Pyramids in Egypt (Kemet) were built by original people in which each neophyte who entered the Egyptian Mystery Schools had to embrace the bold inscription etched in stone on the walls of the sacred temples, which read "Man Know Thy Self"; this was, perhaps the most important lesson giving by the ancient Sages to those neophytes who desired to enter into the Esoteric, Gnostic and the Occult schools of thought. The Greeks according to George G.M. James in book a titled, "Stolen Legacy" published in 1954, stole this Egyptian Philosophy and called it Greek Mythology. All Freemasonry goes back to Kemet and it did not begin in 1717 when the United Grand Lodge of England formulated. It was Nubians (Black Africans) who built the Operative scaled Pyramids. The Kaballah is the mystic teachings captivated by the ancient Jews in which these scrolls were first taught in Kemet. Sufi Islam  is the mystical teachings of Islam and Muslims. There is a lot of wisdom in the Kybalion.

I am a student of knowledge--look at what it says in "The Kybalion: Hermetic Philosophy", Chapter 1 has always laid out where all the world's knowledge originated: "From old Egypt have come the fundamental esoteric and occult teachings which have so strongly influenced the philosophies of all races, nations and peoples, for several thousands years. Egypt, the home of the Pyramids and the Sphinx, was the birthplace of the Hidden Wisdom and Mystic Teachings. From the Secret Doctrine all nations have borrowed. India, Persia, Chaldea, Medea, China, Japan, Assyria, ancient Greece and Rome, and other ancient countries partook liberally at the feast of knowledge which the Hierophants and Masters of the land of Isis so freely provided for those who came prepared to partake of the great store of Mystic and Occult Lore which the masterminds of that ancient land had gathered together." (Kybalion pp. 15-16).

I do know there is overwhelmingly solid historical evidence, which validates and proves that the Nubians of Kemet practiced Sacred Geometry (Freemasonry is a derivative of this science). And there is little doubt that before the European Guild workers there was a sophisticated and high science being practiced in Kemet that was rooted in architecture, astronomy, geometry, physics and engineering. It's perhaps the only loose evidence that links modern Freemasonry to the ancient craft, which was mastered by the so-called ancient Egyptians. These crafts and building sciences were being performed (worked and mastered), perhaps thousands of years before the Europeans had knowledge of such. 

The post Medieval Europeans (those that were brought out of the hills and cave sides of Europe in which Musa had the first mission to civilize them) and became learned based on their early relations with the Moors of North Africa who took a high tech civilization all the way from North Africa to the borders of Southern France led by General Tarik Ibn Zaid. Dr. John Henrik Clarke maintained in his writings that it was the Blackmoors who in the 8th century that brought Europe out of the Dark Ages into an age of enlightenment and these people are un-doubtable in debt to our ancestors.

The Europeans galvanized themselves around skilled labor that evolved into these labor guilds whereas they began to organize their tradesmen and skill labor into a systematic process based on levels of initiation and workmanship (apprentice, fellow craft and master mason); moreover, this allowed them to determine merit (skill-set, quality of work and experience were just some of the factors involved in this equation in order to demonstrate proficiency) which also allowed them to determine the suitability of wages.

This practice evolved into the science of Operative Masonry (this included: metal workers, stone workers, wood workers, brick and mortar workers, etc., and this practice ultimately led to the makings of the first westernized labor unions). Early European Freemasonry mimicked these practices in establishing a fraternal brotherhood that used the building tools and trades as a symbolic gesture to teach morality, which gave life to Speculative Freemasonry. Some of the early European explorers and expeditionary figures were exposed to secret societies via the legacy left behind by the Jesuits and Knights Templar and of course there were older orders such as the Essenes.

Now, I to have embraced this worldview because I truly believe in the overall mythology of Kemet, Freemasonry and how the Nubian race fits into this historical paradigm that allows us to reclaim some historical dignity as a dispossessed people of African descent. 

Fahim A. Knight-El Chief Researcher for KEEPING IT REAL THINK TANK located in Durham, NC; our mission is to inform African Americans and all people of goodwill, of the pending dangers that lie ahead; as well as decode the symbolism and reinterpreted the hidden meanings behind those who operate as invisible forces, but covertly rules the world. We are of the belief that an enlightened world will be better prepared to throw off the shackles of ignorance and not be willing participants for the slaughter. Our MOTTO is speaking truth to power. Fahim A. Knight-EL can be reached at fahimknight@ yahoo.com.

Stay Awake Until We Meet Again,

Fahim A. Knight-El

LETS SHOW AND PROVE: I FEEL LIKE BUILDING WITH THE FIVE PERCENT LESSONS

LETS SHOW AND PROVE: I FEEL LIKE BUILDING WITH THE FIVE PERCENT LESSONS

By Fahim A. Knight-El

I have not had a good Build in some time and this caused me last week to pullout my ‘120 (degree) Lessons’ and started studying them as I once did some years ago. I must admit to my reading audience, I feel like a closet Five Percenter (may be I view myself more of an honorary member) who belongs to the Nation of Gods and Earths (NGE) because I have been a student of the "120 Lessons" for a very long time and it is this affinity that has kept me close to this culture in spirit and thought. However, it has been years since I attended my last Parliament, which was held in Asbury Park and Neptune, New Jersey (New Jerusalem). Also, just the other night, I started reading Michael Muhammad Knight's book titled, "Why I Am a Five Percenter", let me set the stage for my readers relative to Michael Muhammad Knight who considers himself to be a Five Percenter.  Firstly, he is a Caucasian who is also known in the NGE circles as "Azreal Wisdom"; I cite his racial and ethnic nationality because the Nation of Gods and Earths is commonly viewed as a Black Nationalist organization (and as an offshoot of its forerunner organization the Nation of Islam) by mainstream media—the thought of a 'white god' cannot be phantom by some of the black gods that I have spoken with, but there are others who have accepted Michael Muhammad Knight as a brother Five Percenter and he has the rights and privilege to attend Parliaments and free range to let knowledge be born. What he doesn't fully have is the raw street credentials that most of the Gods have attained which is always a plus on the street category side of things.  

Michael Muhammad Knight (Azreal) based on reading and assessing his history and relationship with the Nation of Gods and Earths that probably began in 2004, he seems to have won credibility amongst some of the leading Five Percenters over at the Allah School in Mecca, which is the Headquarters of the Five Percenters located in the heart of Harlem (MECCA) its address is as follows: Allah School In Mecca 2122 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd.; New York, NY 10027. Knight has a serious intellectual and academic advantage over many grassroots members of the Nation of Gods and Earths because of his high level of literacy and academic training. His formal academic training was seen in his research investigative book titled, "The Five Percenters: Islam, Hip-Hop and the Gods of New York", and if nothing else his scholarship has rescued the Nation of Gods and Earths from being a fringed organization that has lingered in obscurity relative to the academic community and now because of his academic treatise more so-called mainstream scholars are starting to take a serious interest in this fifty year old organization that has for the most part existed under the radar (the black community has always been very aware of the existences of the Five Percenters better known today as NGE). Let me also be clear about this Build my somewhat focus on Michael Muhammad Knight is not written with the intent of overshadowing the NGE with this white NGE scholar and leave my readers with the idea that he is a central focal point of the Five Percenters movement because he is not and I could have approached this article from many different directions minus my attention given to Knight.  

However, Michael Muhammad Knight is a serious student of religion and is, perhaps unmatched by most NGE members when it comes to having a knowledge of comparative religion. He also, has a serious grasp on traditional Islam—Sunnism, Shia, Sufi and other mystic Islamic theologies; yet, reading his book you get the feeling that he is entrapped by the mathematical truths, high science and the unorthodox path to enlightenment offered in the culture of the Nation of Gods and Earths. I believe in heart and mind inside the NGE, Knight found a level of conscious peace that he could not find in Sunni Islam; and although, many of the tenets contradicts what he had previously accepted and come to believe as a Sunni Muslim (nevertheless he views himself as a Five Percenter). However, the NGE seem to have a gravitational pull toward his inner spirit and it didn't matter about the conviction of his Shahada (the Muslim openly attest that there is no God, but Allah and Muhammad is his Messenger). He seemed to have rationalized the Nation of Gods and Earths' body of philosophical school of thought as being equal to the Isma'ilis or seeing the NGE as a modern version of many of the Sufi Persian mystics schools of thought; perhaps to Knight these black street poets are viewed in the same realm of the writer of the "The Prophet" by Khalil Gibran and possess the philosophical insight of a Jean-Paul Sartre or Rene Descartes.

I think Knight has found a sense of spiritual and intellectual comfort in the esoteric, Gnostic and occult interpretation of the "Supreme Mathematics", ‘Supreme Alphabet’, ‘The Student Enrollment (1-10)’,  ‘The Lost Found Muslim Lesson No.1 (1-14)’, ‘English Lesson No. C-1 (1-36)’,  ‘The Lost Found Muslim Lesson No.2 (1-40)’, ‘The Actual Facts’, etc., and he seemed torn between, perhaps his association with traditional orthodox Islam and his affinity towards this so-called movement that has been perceived by traditional Islam as being defined as heretic in its teachings and philosophy. I will never abandon the 'Lessons' regardless of how mainstream Islam view them and I think that would be Michael Muhammad Knight’s sentiments as well.

The Nation of Gods and Earth is considered to be a secularized culture with no system of clergy and/or clerics or systematic theology or philosophical edicts and tenets, which is not mandated and/or governed by a hierarchy leadership presiding as supreme Master Teacher or leader over the Nation of Gods and Earths (the Gods proud themselves of their Free Thinking, Independent and Sovereign minds, which to manifest and explore the truth without dogmatic boundaries). Thus, each God has Freewill to study and interpreted ‘120 Lessons’ as they please and tap into the mathematical sciences and master the Universal Intelligence to build and let knowledge be born. They don’t look to Chicago, Mecca, Rome, or Jerusalem for guidance—praying and turning to the East is not obligatory and they do not look to be led by Minister Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam or any other religious cleric. The true Five Percenters respect Farrakhan and the Black Muslim teachings, but they adamantly reject being labeled and classified as Muslims and members of the Lost-Found Nation of Islam.

However, former NGE members such as Dr. Wesley Muhammad (aka True Islam) who authored the book titled, "The Book of God: An Encyclopedia of Proof that the Black Man is God" has straddled the fence and has made attempts to bridge the gap between the Nation of Gods and Earths and Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam. Dr. Wesley Muhammad/True Islam now serves as a spokesman in the Nation of Islam and they have formed a quasi NGE ciphers called the ALLAH TEAM and subgroups called the Five Percent Nation of Islam that also includes Wakeel Allah who authored two definitive volumes on Father Allah and the Five Percent Nation both titled, "In the Name of Allah Vol. 2: A History of Clarence 13X and the Five Percenters". Father Allah is probably turning over in his grave and denouncing Dr. Wesley Muhammad (True Islam) and Wakeel Allah for mixing mathematical truth (quantitative science that can be counted and measured) with unscientific theology (faith that often lacks reasoning) in their attempt to synthesize the Five Percent teachings into some formal Islamic school of thought (most Nation of Gods and Earths members reject any such notion).

Yet, as I have written in the past that both the Nation of Gods and Earths and the Nation of Islam shares a fundamental document called the "Supreme Wisdom Lessons" and other knowledge that originated with the Honorable Elijah Muhammad. The Nation of Islam has a sacred theological value associated with the 'Lessons' these 'Lessons' originally were only given to registered Muslims and the NGE view the 'Lessons' as a philosophical secular set of catechisms that requires a full range of interpretations and definitely not limited to the theology of the Nation of Islam. Many of the Gods who are 50 years and older and even some younger Gods attained this knowledge in the American correctional and penal institutions. But do not think for once that there is not an apologists body of Nation of Gods and Earths scholars that represents the intelligentsia in particular, writers such as Allah Jihad who authored a definitive book on the NGE titled, "The Immortal Birth" and "Knowledge of Self: A Collection of Wisdom on the Science of Everything in Life" authored by Supreme Understanding; edited by Sunez Allah and CBS Alife Allah; they represent legitimate voices inside the Nation of Gods and Earths and have undergone the study of the 'Lessons' in which this is also seen in another work co-authored by CBS Alife Allah and Supreme Understanding titled, "The Science of Self". There are some less flattering works such as "Gods, Earths and 85ers" authored by Pen Black.

I do think in this new era of research and publishing, it has allowed the NGE message to be better communicated amongst the general public because since the assassination of Father Allah in 1969 up until the last ten years, it was difficult finding a body of collective Five Percent history in book form (even the '120 Lessons' were often disseminated from scattered and piecemeal documents). I personally was first introduced to the teachings and 'Lessons' of the Five Percent Nation from a brother who had done time in prison in which the 'Lessons' were often being transferred by another God via orally and/or who had handwritten copies of the ‘Lessons’ or were photostat copied. The Hip-Hop community poets and rappers such as Wu-Tang Clan, Big Daddy Kane, King Sun, Lakim Shabazz,  Nas, Brand Nubian and Lord Jamar, Erik B and Rakim, Method Man, Erykah Badu, Poor Righteous Teachers, Pete Rock and CL Smooth, Roots, Busta Rhymes, Jay Electronica, King Sun, etc., who have been either members and/or sympathizers to the philosophical ideology of the Nation of Gods and Earths; they are the true ‘clerics’.

The Hip-Hop artists have served as the greatest ambassadors of conveying and teaching the ‘Lessons’ in a poetic genre and acquainting us with the NGE social and political views through musical lyrics. Many years ago, I became intrigued with the ‘Student Enrollment’ question: "Who is the 5% in the Poor Part of the Earth?" ANS: “They are the poor, righteous Teachers, who do not believe in the teachings of the 10%, and are all-wise; and know who the Living God is; and Teach that the Living God is the Son of man, the supreme being, the (black man) of Asia; and Teach Freedom, Justice and Equality to all the human family of the planet Earth. Otherwise known as: Civilized People. Also are: Muslim and Muslim Sons".

I like to reflect a lot in particular, when I find myself at a quiet moment and this allows me to physically enter into a spiritual space, which also allows me to tap into my subconscious reality and it drives me to embrace I SELF LORD AM MASTER (I.S.L.A.M).  I live in North Carolina, which has four seasons (spring, summer, fall and winter), I have over the years observed the beauty, we find in nature in particular, during the Fall or Autumn time in North Carolina as you travel west from the mountainous regions in and around Ashville, North Carolina during the months of October and early November—the range and hues of the leaves on the trees changing colors (bright yellow, orange, red, rust, brown, olive, etc.) and falling back to the earth, it is a stunning sight—nature at its best. It's one of the most beautiful metamorphosis that takes place in the scheme of nature that you would ever want to see (the time clock is relevant to the natural schisms of the positioning of the solar system). And as those leaves in the western part of the state continues to change colors and fall back to the earth—there is a continuance of the same natural occurrence taking place as you travel from West to East, the changing in nature starts to accelerate on its own timetable in the central and eastern region of North Carolina as well. 

Thus, duplicating the same natural phenomenon that takes place initially and early on in the mountainous region of the state. It is a very pictorial time of the year and people travel from all over the world to catch a glimpse of the external beauty of the various rays of colors relative to the leaves changing and the evolution of the seasons (it represents the perfect example of life and death). The earth is approximately 5 billion years old and this ecological paradigm must be as old as the earth itself. The teachings tell us that God self willed himself out of total triple darkness and from an atom of Light over 76 trillion years ago. Question # 9: ‘Why does the Devil teach the eighty-Five Percent that a mystery God brings all this?’ ANS. "To conceal the True God, which is the Son of man, and make slaves out of the 85% by keeping them worshipping something he knows they cannot see (invisible) and he lives and makes himself rich from their labor. The 85% knows that it rains, hails and snows; also, hears it thunder above his head, but they do not try to learn who is it that causes all this to happen—by letting the 5% teach them. He believes in the 10% on face value".

When we study our Solar Facts we are taught that, "Out of all of the Planets in the Solar Facts, only the Earth has a distance and a relative position with respect to the Sun that Born the Same, which is Understanding. This Understanding is the Resonance at which Life is manifest in this Solar System, which Fruit of the Seed of Knowledge shown on the Planet Earth. In fact, the Planet Earths attribute as far as distance is Born Understanding, or which is Borning a Child into existence. This not to say that Life can not exist on the other planets, or other points of view of the Light of the Sun of Man, its just that the Life that does exist in these other points of view has extra challenges of maintaining such a conditions to allow Life to flourish."

Wow, as a philosophical thinkers my mind is constantly turning just like the earth turns on her Axis and we who live in this part of the western hemisphere starts to receive lesser Sun Light (27 million degrees) as the earth begins its tilt away (23.5 degrees) from the sun, which is 93 million miles away from the earth, it is the degree of this tilt that starts the regeneration process of allowing death to occur in nature in order for that which is new to evolve and come to life (resurrection) in due season relative to how the earth orbits around the sun (that complete itself at 365 days). The days in the winter time gets shorter and the nights get longer as we in western hemisphere move closer toward the winter solstice (nature gives the appearance of death). This is the universal law of cause and affect; it also represents the scientific challenge to the question of, ‘who is that mystery God?’ ANS: "There is not a mystery God. The Son of man has searched for that mystery God for trillions of years and was unable to find a mystery God. So they have agreed that the only God is the Son of man. So they lose no time searching for that that does not exist" (Reference: Elijah Muhammad and Father Allah Lost-Found Muslim Lesson # 2. 1-40).

Father Allah was suspended from the Nation of Islam in 1963 or 1964 and went back to the streets of New York on a new mission other than just being an emissary for the Nation of Islam, but to win new recruits and allies for his budding Five Percent Nation; Father Allah and Justice started teaching the babies and the youth on the street corners—not Islam, but began teaching them the 'Lessons'; thus, before Master Fard Muhammad (this mysterious man prior to his disappearance in 1934 adopted many different alias such as W.D Fard, Wali Fard, W.F. Muhammad, Prophet Fard and many other alias); before this mysterious man disappearance he told the Honorable Elijah Muhammad that his name was 'W.F. Muhammad'. He stressed to Elijah that he needed to master and answer the ‘Lessons’ nearly 100 percent correctly before move on to said ‘Lesson’ number 1 (we must study the 'Lessons' to show our self approved). Master Fard Muhammad required that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad to commit the 'Lessons' to memory, which was taught in the form of catechism (subsequently all Nation of Islam converts had to learn them in the same manner), because there would come a time that the Devil will take our 'Lessons' from us. Messenger Elijah Muhammad taught that Master Fard Muhammad came as a thief in the night (seeking that which was Lost, which was none other than the so-called American Negro and that Elijah was the first begotten of the dead) who made his presence known on July 4, 1930 in Detroit, Michigan and was a half-original man who was very light skinned and on the surface looked white and Caucasian.

Father Allah Clarence 13X started to question this half-original God who was being taught as having more theological validity than the original man. But in Father Allah’s mind Master Fard Muhammad’s genetic DNA and his lack of melanin content created doubt and suspicion relative to his higher god status because his ethnicity brought into question that he wasn’t a full original Asiatic Black man and this became the bases for Father Allah rationalizing his opposition to Master Fard Muhammad's Godhood status as it was presented in the Nation of Islam. Father Allah went directly to the 'lessons': Question: "Who is the Original Man: ANS: "The Original man is the Asiatic Black man, the Maker, the Owner, the Cream of the planet Earth, Father of Civilization, God of the Universe". 

Yet, in the teachings, it was taught that Master Fard Muhammad gave his racial and ethnic identity of being from Mecca, Saudi Arabia and was from the linage of the Quraish tribe of Prophet Muhammad Ibn Abdullah of 1,400 years ago. Fard Muhammad initially did not teach Elijah Muhammad Islam (he initially was given the name Elijah Karriem) but he placed high demands on teaching Elijah to internalize and commit the ‘Supreme Wisdom Lessons’ to memory. The "Lessons" in my opinion, took precedent over the teaching because they were rooted in the science of the Universal Intelligence. Elijah Muhammad has stated that Master Fard Muhammad taught him day and night for 3 1/2 years and he and the Master had an enjoining room and he got up late one night to peep through the key hold to see if Master Fard Muhammad was asleep—only to see Master Fard Muhammad peeping back at him.

Some historians have argued that it was two things that got Father Allah (Clarence 13X) excommunicated and kicked out of the Nation of Islam—his so-called blatant disrespect for the "Restrictive Laws of Islam", which was a set of rules established by the Honorable Elijah Muhammad that governed moral and ethical conduct of the believers who received their 'X' and became registered Muslims in Muhammad’s Holy Temple of Islam and the Nation of Islam. Minister Malcolm X was head of Temple # 7 (Harlem, New York) when Father Allah joined the Temple (Father Allah's wife actually joined the Temple before he did) and by all accounts Minister Malcolm X and Captain Yusuf Shah (Captain Joseph) were strict disciplinarians and governed the Temple in an authoritarian manner. Some have written and even living eyewitness testimonies have stated that Clarence 13X loved to gamble and consume alcohol, smoked cigarettes and marijuana, as well as chased women, which went against the Honorable Elijah Muhammad's strict code of conduct teachings. It was alleged that it was Minister Malcolm X who placed him in F-Class and suspended him for un-Islamic conduct.  

The Nation of Gods and Earths (Five Percent Nation) founded by Father Allah (Clarence 13X) who gave us the ‘120 Lessons’ as a tool to be used to go after the eighty-five percent (85%) those who were made blind, deaf and dumb to the knowledge of self.  And in my discourse, I strive to be Right and Exact with the understanding that all truth is based on mathematical reasoning and irrefutable logic that can be proven in no limit of time, then it begs to reason that all truthful knowledge is interconnected and interrelated (okay lets show and prove).

Fahim A. Knight-El Chief Researcher for KEEPING IT REAL THINK TANK located in Durham, NC; our mission is to inform African Americans and all people of goodwill, of the pending dangers that lie ahead; as well as decode the symbolism and reinterpreted the hidden meanings behind those who operate as invisible forces, but covertly rules the world. We are of the belief that an enlightened world will be better prepared to throw off the shackles of ignorance and not be willing participants for the slaughter. Our MOTTO is speaking truth to power. Fahim A. Knight-EL can be reached at fahimknight@ yahoo.com. Copyright © 1999 – 2014

Stay Awake Until We Meet Again,

Fahim A. Knight-El

THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN: WAS NOT THE WORK OF HOUDINI OR MAY BE IT WAS

THE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN: WAS NOT THE WORK OF HOUDINI OR MAY BE IT WAS

By Fahim A. Knight-El

Who was really behind the U.S. Government shutdown? This unceremonious event caused the U.S. economy to lose over 24 billion dollars during the so-called sixteen (16) day government shutdown. Will someone please tell me what sense does this make when here is a nation already strapped for cash and has become one of the leading debtor nations in the world; unless those in control had some covert manipulative scam in the inner workings, which has gone undetected by the masses and has yet to readily reveal itself relative to the unseen agenda. I suspect the same culprits who were behind the government shutdown, are the same ones behind inducing all past social phenomenon and will continuing having their hands in determining the future direction of humanity.

The Confederates in the U.S. Congress are bent on destroying America's first black president by any means necessary, even if it means, holding the American people hostage and if these good ole boys totally had their way, it would be easy to imagining them summoning federal and state troops and seizing the White House (imprisoning the sitting president and his cabinet) and declaring Texas, Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama and may be even Ohio as the 'New U.S. Capitol'.  This is the type of vitriol and mean-spirited hatred that is running through the veins of some of these modern confederates who dresses up in dark business suits and neck ties (and is called senators and congresspersons). 

Yet, I do think when the government fails the people, as in the government shutdown case and did not act responsible towards the political and social interest of the American people then there should be a provision in the U.S. Constitution that gives the people the legal right to suffer no unwarranted tyrannical and oppressive actions by lawmakers who were intentionally being derelict in their duties to defend and protect the United States Constitution from foreign and domestic enemies (the actions of the U.S. Congress posed a clear and imminent danger to the overall stability of the people and the U.S. Government). I am not a legal or constitutional law expert, but perhaps some would argue that this type of language is already covered in the U.S. Constitution. The government shutdown should have been viewed as a breech and compromise of U.S. National Security, but these elected low-level operatives were allowed to just walk away from this economic disruption and the elected government officials led sabotage only became a sign of business as usual. Many of them continued to receiving their government salaries (taxpayer’s money) during the shutdown. I am all for the right to dissent and I believe that dissension brings about balance to governmental power and authority. Ted Cruz and Rand Paul and others, their dissention were racially motivated coupled by an attack on the poor and simanteously ensuring that the wealthy continues as the beneficiaries of our misery. This was nothing but a shrewd game of chess that has been rigged like some Las Vegas poker game and the winners have already been predetermined (the cheating is so sophisticated and high tech that it cannot be detect by the naked eye).  

Now, the conventional response to this type of derelict in political duty would be that our focus should be on organizing grassroots voter's mobilization strategies and devising tactics and establishing a real political movement in order to effectively bring about change. I am intentionally hinting at Third Party Politics which has always been stifled by the power of the two corporate political parties. What political strategies after this debacle do we have to alter the upcoming midterm elections and change the faces of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate? However, the two corporate parties wield so much power and influence in which I lost optimism in the voting process along time ago. I will continue to echo this, our vote don't mean a damn thing, it is just an exercise design to keep the masses pacified and believing that we have the influence to determining how we desire to see our democracy shaped by engaging in the electoral process (what an ideological sham) .

The true wealth holders of the United States and the globe, they do not cast ballots, but it is they who determine the outcomes of all influential elections and all big elections are won and lost in their financial and political interest. Voting has never been about the empowerment of the masses, it is only a symbolic illusion to give the impression to the U.S citizens of being a participatory democracy and government led by the people. I was taught in my eight grade civics course that this was what made our democracy unique, which set us apart from other forms of government. But it was because of my personal brainwashing and indoctrination (public education) that early on naively entrapped my thinking (it was design to make all of us robotic), it was drilled into me that Communism and Socialism as forms of government did not allow the people to openly disagree with the State (no doubt U.S. propaganda at its best—destroy young fashionable and impressionable minds from having the ability to ever become critical thinkers).

They trained us to believe that we so-called enjoyed a high level of freedoms and individual rights under our American system of democracy (capitalism has away of creating illusions and it confuses fact from fiction)) and it has always been easier for us to point out the oppression and atrocities that have taking place on distance lands and have difficulty coming to grips with our own oppression being carried out under the banner of democracy. Yet, since 9/11 the United States has become a totalitarian form of government (and a police state) and President Obama is equal to any Despot that has entered into recent world history.

The American people are steadily losing all of their civil liberties and we have become so dumb down that we are applauding the government and do not have a clue that this new level of heighten security has very little to do with domestic terrorism or global terrorism; this is well documented in Noam Chomsky work titled, "Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest For Global Dominance". The sun is just about to set on western society and her decline is inevitable. Obama has issued in a new form of imperialism, which in reality, is a continuation of George W. Bush's Foreign Policy agenda (Bush Doctrine)—either you are with us or against us—this is the ultimatum that Islamic and Developing Nations faces today in particular, those that disagrees with the U.S. present day political course and have the courage to express some type of independence and sovereignty such as Iran, Syria, North Korea, Cuba, Yemen and a few others are immediately demonized and isolated. Obama’s era should be called ‘Drone Diplomacy’ he is responsible for high level international assassinations, as well as using drones to reap havoc in the Middle East, Central Asia, and Africa, which has led to the killings of innocent people around the world.

But we have an even greater problem, which is some of our state governments and elected federal government officials have been hijacked by far rightwing Tea Party conservatives who are putting forth a reactionary political agenda.  Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) and his rightwing Tea Party Constituents are only convenient patsies put in place by the Hidden Hand to further carryout the agenda of the Rockefellers and the Rothchilds disguised in the name of being so-called good American patriots who are leading the charge for liberty and a decentralized Federal Government. The poor is not the enemy to the stability of the United States of America, but Paul knows the driving force of America’s economic instability are the international bankers (if he didn't know he could have just asked his father former Texas Congressman Ron Paul surely daddy Paul understands the Triangle of Deception), but these type pawns are about political self-interest and they are paid informants to keep the charade going. Gary Allen and Larry Abraham in their book titled, "None Dare Call it Conspiracy" the authors maintained that the Power Elite systematically apply pressure from the bottom and pressure from the top (interpreted to mean they control the militant radical thought as well as the conservative thought and everything else in-between).

Yet, Senator Paul's home state of Kentucky is one of the poorest states in the union (plagued with high unemployment and is simanteously a haven for Big Corporate Shelters and is an anti-workers union state) when it comes to per capita income. Why would the U.S. Congress, John Boehner and the Republican Party and President Barack Obama and the Democrats desire to see the 'havenots' even more destitute? The Wall Street Bankers never loses they often profit more during times of fear and panic—they have the power to summons the president and the Speaker of the House (often it is their lobbying money that has financed U.S. Congressional leaders and these puppets are mandated to hear and obey). The decisions they are mandated to make, are not about the feelings and emotions or interest of neither the voting electorate nor their loyal constituents—American politics is about money and the positioning of power. The two-party system functions from the same premise, which is to do nothing to interfere or impede the interest of the wealth holders; therefore the laws and rules are written to ensure wealth will continue to flow in their coffers uninterrupted. Perhaps many of you might even believe that the GOP and the Democratic Party are politically different and fail to understand that both parties only serve the interest of Fortune 500 companies and the Super Elite.

This is moving us closer to the final frontier in preparation for another Great Depression. How prepared are we to having to deal with food being rationed out, no running water and/or electricity, as well as the government declaring Martial Law? The government is broke and strap for cash (they must find ways to jettison useless human baggage and the poor has become expendable). The federal government doesn’t have the financial reserves it had just 50 years ago but the dismantling process started many years ago, I advise my readers to go back and read Alvin Tofflers book titled, “Creating a New Civilization: The Politics of the Third Wave”; corporate down sizing and corporate outsourcing were calculated business decisions in which the social scientist (at least the wise amongst them) knew early on that this trend would have a tremendous negative affect on the economic, political and social outcome on the future of the United States to remain a world economic superpower. This along with massive debt has rendered at least five unborn generations who will be plague with digging themselves out of a hold that was created for them by those who practice greed as a trade and was not concern with America’s future.  

This ultimately isn’t about who has the best fiscal plans (neither party has a real solution to solving the 17 trillion dollar national deficit—its greed that has brought the global economy to its knees that 1% who controls 99% of the world’s wealth is the most dangerous sector to the freedoms of all humanity. It is China that is keeping our government afloat in which we will never be able to fully pay the debt back and a total economic collapse of the United States economy is on the immediate horizon and is inevitable and at the same time they are steadily sensitizing the poor even more with their own poverty. They actually used the 9/11 hoax to steal massive national and international monetary reserves (huge amounts of gold and silver were never recovered) that were housed in underground vaults beneath the World Trade Center—Larry Silverstein and the Secret Cabal got off like fat rats in a cheese factory—Federal Reserve Bank of New York was a key player in this deception.  

The American people life styles since 2008 have depreciated. Some have this faint idea that these crisis are going to blow over and we are going to return to pre 2008 living standards, but many of us have not taking notice that we have economically digressed to almost substandard living conditions that will soon equal to what we (the working poor and the middle class) see in developing nations (or what Capitalist and bloodsuckers of the poor refer to as 'Third World' nations). We have allowed the Elitist and the Hidden Hand to move towards stripping us bone raw of the wither all to exist as human beings (life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness). They are now consistently passing on the debt to the poor by blaming the 'havenots' for America's economic woes and using our elected officials in congress as front men to dupe us into believing that President Obama and the Democratic Party are responsible for the escalating national deficit. Just ask yourself, who do we owe this astronomical debt?

This article was not written as an apologist and in defense of President Obama or to exonerate this operative because he too works in the interest of the Hidden Hand and is very much down with the duping. Most people are not familiar with the Bank For International Settlements (the mother of all Central Banks) located in Basel, Switzerland, which dictates how the global Central Banking systems functions and determine the value of the world currency, but most of all dictates the inflation index—they allow the U.S. Federal Reserve and the Bank of England to infuse the printing of worthless currency as a short term monetary solution to propping up their economies in which the Federal Reserve Chairman knows that this is not even a temporary fix, but it is this variables that will also fuel future wars and the stealing of defenseless nations resources (this is the real objective behind those that manipulates the global flow of money). The printing of worthless currency should be outlawed, it is this phenomenon that also feeds the necessity for the Military Industrial Complex. For example, Syria, Mali, Iraq, Egypt and Afghanistan are prime examples of this agenda—the entire African continent is in trouble in particular, as resources becomes more scarce weaker nations will become prime targets for exploitation by Eastern Powers and Western European Powers.

The European Common Market and the power of the Euro have lost value in Europe and around the world because similar to the United States Dollar it is driven not solely by global markets and/or how well commodities are performing, but wars/debt/famines are the primary social variables that impacts on the economic and financial projections of how the Euro performs. European nations in recent history have not created sustainable domestic and international trade surpluses in which could prohibited what we saw taking place the last few years in Greece—a European nation on the brink of economic collapse—this could have had a serious domino affect throughout the entire European region. This also includes European nations such as Italy, Spain, Portugal and Ireland.  

Alan Greenspan, the former Chairman of the Federal Reserve authored a monumental book titled, "Alan Greenspan: The Age of Turbulence" who was appointed to the Governors of the Federal Reserve by President Ronald Reagan in 1987 and served until 2006. Mr. Greenspan was one of the most brilliant 'Money Changers' of the 20th century; yet I was taking aback after spending a few weeks reading a 531 page book written by this global economist guru in which he did not dedicate one paragraph to explaining how the Central Banking system function. I read the book because I was in search of some inside information relative to international banking and the Federal Reserve System. How much money is enough money?

Fahim A. Knight-El Chief Researcher for KEEPING IT REAL THINK TANK (http://fahimknightsworld.blogspot.com/2013/10/the-government-shutdown-was-not-work-of.html) located in Durham, NC; our mission is to inform African Americans and all people of goodwill, of the pending dangers that lie ahead; as well as decode the symbolism and reinterpreted the hidden meanings behind those who operate as invisible forces, but covertly rules the world. We are of the belief that an enlightened world will be better prepared to throw off the shackles of ignorance and not be willing participants for the slaughter. Our MOTTO is speaking truth to power. Fahim A. Knight-El can be reached at fahimknight@ yahoo.com.

Stay Awake Until We Meet Again,

Fahim A. Knight-El

TALKING AND THINKING OUT LOUD: WHAT TIME IS IT?

TALKING AND THINKING OUT LOUD: WHAT TIME IS IT?

By Fahim A. Knight-El

Let me start this article off by sharing this principle: Whatever Path that we are on and, perhaps unknowing to the majority of humanity this march had already been preordained before we embarked upon our earthly trek and even started before our birth conception); and it's not accidental or incidental nor even coincidental of where we are in space and time. We are supposed to be on our journey, whatever that may be and wherever it has taken us up until that point in our lives and the beauty in it all, it does not necessarily means this is where the journey begins or ends. But in the essence, of space and time relative to the universal order of things various Paths are shown and given to us as principles of spiritual preparation. These lessons will eventually give us meaning to this thing called life and as we travel our personal journey, the road will eventually continuously reward us with enlightenment (in particular the Prepared Ones and those who are opened to receive). I am a living witness that it will always provide us with some answers along the way—experienced through trial and error. However, as I just stated wherever, we are in mind, body and spirit, it will always provide us with the acknowledgement of the Now. It is only our experiences good, bad and/or indifferent, which gives life meaning and purpose in particular, those experiences that we have already had, and those that we will eventually have in the future and beyond, that will move us along in our spiritual journey; and this is the only true reality and it was this that brought me some years ago to the crossroads with organized religion.

This reality, will at time cause us to debunk some things in order to clear a way for another necessary Path, but each step along the way will either validate the truths that we have previously found and embraced, or require us to rethink those positions. I think those of us who professed to be awake and conscious, see all forms of religion as being reactionary; however, this at times can deny us the opportunity and privilege of being the beneficiary to walking into a sanctuary where truth and enlightenment may be taking place. I think Western Christianity has this negative stigma and it becomes difficult to see beyond the church historically serving as the chief vessel of white supremacy, oppression and global tyranny. Yet, I do think it is shallow not to investigate and determine for ourselves, if there is some real philosophical, theological and spiritual validity being offered by whomever regardless of the title and label of the institution.

The social and psychological make up of the so-called African American (American black man and woman) and his present day behavior and dysfunctional conduct cannot be downplayed in relation to being tied directly to his 310 years of brutality and forced servitude in which they were victims of one of the most inhumane systems ever recorded in human history, which was Chattel Slavery (citing facts not crying victimization or seeking a pity party).

The Transatlantic Slave Trade and the Middle Passage in relations to the inhumanness carried out on the slave plantation cannot be overlooked (I have documentation and proof of scholars who have provided us with empirical studies validating that the slavery experience was horrid and traumatic—the psychological effect is on-going). Our forcible travel to the Americas, as slaves, which historically has tied our roots to all the major and minor slave ports of South America, North America and the Caribbean region of this western hemisphere. We have to be open to receiving the knowledge of self because we were systematically made blind, deaf and dumb by a wise perpetrator of evil and not knowing this, places all of us at a disadvantage. There are still many so-called African Americans evoking the slave master's God and often fail to understand that our belonging to Christianity was forced upon us on the slave plantation; surely many of our African ancestors were not Christians. I cannot accept his religion nor his God; I can only accept and receive the God of the Oppressed and he definitely would not be in the form of no blue-eyed white God falsely depicted as Jesus.

I disagreed with Elijah Muhammad's son, Imam Warth Deen Mohammed on many theological and philosophical issues who in 1975 started revamping the Nation of Islam after the death of its patriarch (note: Those who are followers of Minister Louis Farrakhan do not teach or believe that the Honorable Elijah Muhammad is dead) and in essence betraying his father’s teachings and mission. But Imam Mohammed started a campaign may be in the early 1980s called the Committee to Remove All Images of Divine (CRAID) and I have always felt that this was a good concept because the Eurocentric mind had for centuries perpetuated the inferior races being associated with dark skinned people and the so-called superior races being associated with white skinned people in which they portrayed themselves with the racial likeness of God in particular embodied in a Caucasian image of Jesus. 

Imam Mohammed’s CRAID concept was a challenge to how the Divine was depicted in western culture in which he believed these false images of the Divine have had a negative and devastating effect on human relations. Imam Mohammed went on a public crusade to remove all images of the Divine, but I do not think his efforts ever gained any serious steam (other than Imam Mohammed’s book titled, “An African American Genesis” and his CRAID movement there was not to much else that I agreed with the Imam on and I definitely did not accept his position on Sunni Islam). I also do not accept the white man's God or his religion of Christianity—it has always been the missionaries’ mission to rob the indigenous people of their minds and lay the theoretical framework for the imperialist and the colonialist to steal original people's lands and resources throughout the planet—this agenda is even being continued under the so-called African American President Barack Obama.

There is a historical and cultural collective conscious that bonds people of African descent and I advise all my readers to reference Dr. Joy DeGruy-Leary’s book titled, “Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America's Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing”. Our Black youths need to know: who, how, what, where, when and why they entered; moreover, and we cannot have this type discussion in mid-sentence and not give them the historical reason of why we are in this present day condition, as opposed to given them the abbreviated version and the watered down truth, why not give them the unadulterated truth with no chaser. The system of white supremacy cannot exist without blame and our present day political, economic and social status must be viewed in that context and the indictment of a criminal system that made us "Negroes" and vagabonds of the earth is justifiable. So I am challenging all of my readers to look deeper into black human personality and not just be surface thinkers and compassionate intellectuals.

Why are we in this present day predicament? And to understand this will give us an even greater understanding of the root causes of why present day black families have broken down, black men walking away from their families (wives and children), and our lack of love for one another, it now constitute a pervasiveness of violence seen among young black males between the ages 18-24. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) has reported that homicide has become the number one killer of young black males in this particular age group—the lack of opportunities, high unemployment, drug and alcohol addictions, poor housing, underfunded school districts and often the selling of illicit drugs are seen as the only way out of the black ghettos of America. These conditions have become systemic and it plays into the question of genocide and we must question, who is really behind this state of emergency? The vicious cycles of poverty and lack of real opportunity has created a permanent black underclass, which also includes poor whites and Latinos within this equation in the United States of America. But race and class gives other oppressed and marginalized people the false perception that somehow their racial status allows them to view themselves and their oppression from the realm of white privilege and it is this that separates them from other oppressed people in the United States of America (this is perhaps the biggest trick that keeps people divided in the U.S.). 

So-called Black leadership has failed to render any tangible solutions to these crisis facing black people other than preaching our dependency on the federal government—they have failed to adhere to the handwriting on the wall, which is, our government is bankrupt and we may see the end to social programs in the United States within the next decade. The so-called shutdown of the U.S. Government and the debt ceiling needing to be raised in order to keep the U.S. economy from collapsing and having global implications are clear signs that something terribly wrong has gone on inside of our government, it more importantly points to the fact that someone has the power to induce these type symptoms in order to profit from human misery. Senator Rand Paul and his Tea Party cadre will never attack the real enemies of American freedoms because to do this would represent the demise of his and their careers as a politician (no liberty is going to take place until the power brokers are dealt with). 

Therefore, it is easy to hide behind fiscal conservatism and attack the poor and scapegoat America’s economic woes to the least of these (poor people has no power to fight back). Yet, those who control the smoking mirrors will continue to masquerade under the guise of the Hidden Hand and Congressman Paul will do everything in his power to shield them from being exposed. I am of the opinion, that God himself would directly has to intervene in the affairs of men and women in order to deal with these diabolic evil forces that are governing and leading humanity. But here is the reality, since 9/11 and 2008 economic depression or conveniently referred to as an economic meltdown, it forced some of us to wake up, but most people will continue to be only good 'sheepel' and voluntarily led to the slaughter. The entire money system has been set-up to benefit the international bankers; they intentionally sold us a false bill of goods. Minister Malcolm X said in the early 1960s that the American dream was more like an American nightmare. There is no real ownership in America this is an illusion and they systematically carryout this illusion by selling us money (when you buy by credit they are actually selling you money) in which money of itself has no value, but it is given as an accepted form of medium of exchange.

The Congress would rather see a total collapse of the U.S. Government and its brought to its knees before working to establish a long term budget that serve and meet the needs of the American people (this attitude is beyond political opposition, but its rooted in the deepest sentiments of American style racism and they have determined to take no orders or directives from a America’s so-called black president). The Fall of America is at hand and it is inevitable because the pendulum has swung in the wrong direction for America and its 6,000 year rulership is coming to an abrupt end. Black Leadership in 2013 has to be innovative and creative in order for us to make the transition from 20th century ideas because 9/11 and the year of 2001 marked the beginning and demise of this world's order and it has forced us to move towards finding our place in the 21st Century concept of globalism. And this will be the indicator to determining, if we meet the challenges of survival and/or do we fizzle away as an obsolete people who has out served their usefulness and purpose.

The leadership and the United States Government should be focusing on how do we move our nation more towards this competitive and fast moving global economy. We were thirty years ago once the number one creditor nation in the world and now have become the number one debtor nation of the world. Something has gone terribly wrong with the course and plight of the political, economic and social direction of the United States of America. How willing are the people to truly move beyond a dumbfound Tea Party era that has taking our nation on a collision course and in collusion with a conservative and reactionary U.S. Congress who are behind shaping and molding public policy? 

The recent events (government shutdown) threaten the economic stability of the entire U.S. Government. There already exist a wealth disparity in which 95% of the world's wealth is in the hands of 1% Elitist population and it's this basic inequality that keeps poor, middle class and working class people fighting for economic crumbs (there must be a redistribution of the world's wealth and resources with the masses of the people). They have literally created two classes of people the "haves and the Have nots' Our immediate focus should be on how do we move, perhaps one of the most industrialized and technological nation’s in the world from being number 35th in science and 29th in math forward in the 21st Century. We are far behind China, Korea, India, Japan, etc., in the sciences and this is why we are lagging in technological advancement.

Most of our so-called leaders are cloned puppets who are always looking to appear politically correct and are often bought and paid for by corporate entities—this is where their interest lie. The best example would be Reverend Al Sharpton typifies and exemplifies the term opportunistic (here is his latest venture a new book titled, “The Rejected Stone: Al Sharpton and the Path to American Leadership“); he is more concern about window dressing and what he and his organization National Action Network can get from corporate sponsorship, as opposed to championing real civil right causes to benefit the black poor and oppressed—these ‘Negroes are playing the money chase game and justice and freedom is a second distances to lining their personal pockets with corporate grants and other financial incentives. These type 'Negro' leaders are paid millions of dollars to keep the black masses under control and depended upon white America for food, clothing and shelter.

What would Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. think of today’s black leadership who fifty years ago in 1963, perhaps delivered one of the most symbolic and iconic speeches ever to be spoken in American history (the ‘ I Have a Dream’ speech). The Fifty Year Commemoration Celebration of the March on Washington held on or about August 28 2013, was not even a shadow of the sacrifices that was associated with the King led civil rights movement, it has become a movement of nostalgic dreamers and have lost King’s ideas about transformation and activism—since King’s assassination the civil rights movement is at a point what I call political stagnation. Our political, economic and social conditions are worst off today than they were fifty years ago because they lured us to sleep with integration and sold us on the fight for accommodation and so-called inclusion as being the ultimate solution to social progress. 

However, Jim Crow laws, racism and discrimination forced African Americans to create a separate economy and to build independent enterprises (this should have led us by now to reassess and reevaluate the question of separation versus integration). I think history would prove that blacks were better off under segregation because it forced us to do for-self and to build black institutions. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad called integration a hypocritical trick indeed this man was a visionary in which he stated, “my teachings can be summed up in six words, ‘accept your own and be yourself’. King put it all on the line for the quest of justice and freedom and had reached a zone that only has been reserved for the prophets, spiritual teachers, gurus, sages, etc., where their lives were meant to have meaning beyond the ordinary, but would be called to shape and serve humanity in extraordinary ways. Many of us in two life times will never reach this ultimate spiritual place. King got there and he was able to meet Buddha, Confucius, Zoroaster, Jesus, Muhammad, etc. 

The Honorable Elijah Muhammad stated there were three things that the Caucasian did not teach us Black people: 1). The science of mating. 2). The science of warfare and 3). The science of business. They (the Hidden Hand and/or Elitist) have mastered the science of symbolism and is moving around quite effectively in systems of codes and has allowed them to built an internal and external networking system that further allows them to dictate high/low finance which constitutes their present day past global success; how business will play out and who are going to be the players, is beyond are allowable capabilities as pawns in their system. Their networking system is impenetrable because of class and race (we will never get an invitation into his Dynastic world because of the lack of generational wealth) and although, his present world looks to be striving and moving forward, but in reality it has reached its zenith and it is in a decline and downward spiral (his 6,000 year rule is coming to an end).

The United States Dollar is worthless and weak and the evidence of its vulnerability was seen in 2008, when the United States almost entered into a second Great Depression relative to the banking system and the financial markets experiencing a drastic meltdown. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad said in "Fall of America" that when we see the automobile and the steel industries collapse that will be the indication his total economic decline was nearing (the pendulum has swung opposite and contrary to his favor). So me believing in this reality, it's difficult for me to advise anyone to follow after any of their economic models and using any portion of his success as a model would be a terrible mistake. The Messenger taught us for 44 years to get some of this good earth that we can call our own (land is the basis of wealth and sovereignty) and he also said that we should have money, good homes and friendships in all walks of life (but his most profound principle was get up and do something for ourselves). 

Yet, if I was a commodity tradesman or adviser, I would advise my people to secure and invest in gold markets (and silver) and even when the dollar totally falls, gold will still have value (this is why the wise amongst us are buying up the gold). Also, the concept of bartering should be explored where no currency is exchanged for goods and services, but skills, intellectual property and tangible goods are exchanged and interchanged as non-monetary forms of commodities. The Jews in Tel Aviv, Israel and in Europe, as well as the United States are heavily involved on every level of the lucrative gold market (most of these precious metals can be found right there in black Africa) and yet we have no trade arrangement with our people in Africa in which many are Muslims.

Fahim A. Knight-El Chief Researcher for KEEPING IT REAL THINK TANK located in Durham, NC; our mission is to inform African Americans and all people of goodwill, of the pending dangers that lie ahead; as well as decode the symbolism and reinterpreted the hidden meanings behind those who operate as invisible forces, but covertly rules the world. We are of the belief that an enlightened world will be better prepared to throw off the shackles of ignorance and not be willing participants for the slaughter. Our MOTTO is speaking truth to power. Fahim A. Knight-EL can be reached at fahimknight@ yahoo.com.

Stay Awake Until We Meet Again,
Fahim A. Knight-El