A
San Francisco Bay newspaper ran a full-page ad announcing, "Our
Savior Has Arrived." When going to the website listed,
it was seen that our savior is none other than Solomon.
His site has this: " Solomon, Allah in Person, is
the Spiritual Head of The United Nation of Islam, which is a different
entity than the Nation of Islam."
Whether this ad has been run in other parts of the nation wherever the
so-called Solomon is to speak, it is hard to say, but an ad such as
this takes us back in memory to the bad old days of Elijah Muhammad,
when he was so brazen in speech and so assured of a certain
ignorance
quotient in certain parts of the Black community he could tap
into that he ventured to make similar outlandish claims. So smug was
he that a sufficient quotient of ignorance was present in the part of
the Black community he dealt with that he would make shocking claims,
if he thought they appealed to the self esteem and affirmation
needy
. And he gathered a number of followers, made merchandise of many, and
extremists of others.
Now, another person, but still in Elijah Muhammad's shadow, has arisen
and claims himself to be something he is not. This strangeness of
claim is not a problem for intelligent people; indeed, such
foolishness is only an occasion for musing; and being so far out of
their orbit of acceptable reasoning, they think such an effort is
fatally flawed. But a glib person, speaking the desired words to a
certain class, poses a problem to the weak and less thoughtful
members. Those members cannot or will not see that before him were
others pretenders making claims of a status they did not possess,
leading people to destruction.
Their type of message is intoxicating
to some
.
There is a similarity between the so-called Solomon and Bin
Laden more than just their supposed call to Islam. Bin Laden does not
boldly say he is God/Allah, but his behavior is to gather many
extremists to himself and lead them to a jihad of destruction. Solomon
says that he is "the Almighty God Allah himself." And he,
too, is attempting to gather to himself followers; where he will lead
them is anybody's guess. But when one is claiming he is God and
appealing to many in our community to take his claim seriously, he can
only lead them to their destruction.
How unabashed it is to give himself the name Solomon and make no
showing of wisdom, when, indeed, the very name is synonymous with
wisdom. Indeed, after going to his website, reading his speeches and
articles, hoping to learn, it is difficult to appreciate the Solomon
affectation
with
which he has crowned himself. During the Elijah Muhammad era, we read
his literature and his book; we debated his followers about Islam, and
we were, in large part, unconvinced of insight, as we are about Solomon.
Appeals to blind, unquestioned leadership are not a product of just a
Black Nationalist movements. Many Christian churches make similar
appeals and seduce their memberships out of millions in the name of
God.
A few weeks ago, it was revealed in Bankruptcy Court that a Black
Christian minister, Rev. Phillip Goudeaux, and his congregation in
Sacramento, California were swindled out of $620,000 by a religious
scam game that had glib talkers selling worthless ideas that promised
quick and significant returns. All was done in the name of God. The
money went to the leaders of that scheme, while the congregation was
poor. This, indeed, is a picture that is repeated over many times in
the Black community among our poor and uneducated, and also in the
Black church--a place where it should never occur.
This and other types of scams will looked at more closely by IRS and
other governmental agencies starting next year. Because people will do
anything in the name of God, many opportunists take financial and
other advantages of the people.
Rev. Ike was one of the first in the Black churches to openly flaunt
his scammed wealthy with high life living, Rolls Royces, boats, homes,
etc. There were others before him to fleece their congregations for
themselves, but he was unabashed in the high life he lived with their
resources. Jimmy and Tami Fay Bakker were a few of the White church
high rollers. They not only took the money, like Jim Jones, they took
family members to themselves for sexual liaisons. They were pulled
down, but only after having taken houses and the life savings of many
in their congregations.
These leaders made outrageous claims and led their followers away from
their money and most from God, all in the name of the Lord. Such
leadership blesses the leader primarily and not the membership. Such
leadership is very expense to the poor.
Tragically, many Blacks are uncommonly receptive to religious scams
because of our church/mosque-oriented nature. We have thousands of
churches and mosques; most are unregulated bodies, allowing the
leaders to do as they will. Anyone can decide her or she is called by
his/her god, start a church or mosque, use the Bible or the Koran to
proselytize people into their cause, and take them to financial,
mental, and spiritual Guyana or any other place of destruction. And
all is done in the name of their gods.
In an Associated Press article, authorities are quoted as saying,
"Religious appeals might be the most insidious of all, based
not on logic, but on faith--faith in God, faith in the pastor, faith
that a fellow believer can be trusted." Such trust will allow
a Solomon to declare that he is god and be taken seriously. In 1989,
there were over $500 million Affinity scams, as they are called.
There is an obligation of those who are in
light
and have a greater insight to share information, and uncover scams and
absurdities, lest many are harmed and some destroyed. Solomon
has a right to speak and claim what he will, but all should question
his words, his claims, his affectations.
Finally, the poor and unlearned, to whom a Solomon and swindlers
appeal, should be aware that glibness is not wisdom, and wisdom is not
all of God. Anyone claiming he is God should be viewed with a healthy
dose of cynicism and much more--an introduction to a good
psychiatrist.
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