I said I want to ingredients a piece
welcome to the Deshawn MIDI your host
and before I bring out my next guess
let's get into this clip because the
topic we're gonna be talking about
actually revolves a lot around this
[Music]
okay say hello to my little friend while
my next guest has an incredible story to
share he was on his way before this film
came out he was on his way to get deeper
and deeper into this type of lifestyle
he was making millions you know he had
all the luxury cars luxury homes money
he had it but there was a great void in
his heart and he went through an
incredible journey and he's here with us
today to share his story so we can go
ahead and benefit get some gems derive
some good from it so it can help us help
our children help our families help many
people who are fallen into this
destructive lifestyle many people might
have watched some of these movies and
they're fascinated with this the
glorification of the Mafia and
glorification of this type of lifestyle
and hopefully from his story
there can be an awakening awakening
towards good we'll be right back
assalamu alaikum peace be upon you my
name is Ahmet Sade I'm at the Deen show
with brother Eddie we'll be talking
about my life from Jerusalem to the
States my gang involvement my
drug-dealing involvement my prison life
and into what led me to come to the fold
of Islam and my life now as it as it is
here with me on the Dean show him at UM
Dean
Salam alaikum well I like him salam wa
rahmatullah wa barakato it's a pleasure
being here thank you for having me how
are you brother house they're having a
little that hamdulillah hamdulillah
come on nothing is perfect but um do
live there and I'm Dylan ah you've come
a long way in hamdulillah al hamdulillah
I have I still have my struggles but
alhamdulillah I am in a much better
position even with the if even with some
of the problems I have now am in a much
better position a much happier person a
much thankful person then I was years
ago with all the luxuries of life or non
luxuries whatever I'm just a happier
person
when you say luxuries of life they
describe to us what do you from the
lifestyle that you were leaving well I
don't want to pretend that my life was
awful a luxury obviously it wasn't if
you read the book we were very poor
people but I am talking about in terms
of the beginning of the end for me was
hundreds and hundreds of thousands of
dollars any cars we wanted just those
luxuries materialistic things it wasn't
a happy life I've never felt like
anything that I had actually belonged to
me and I was waiting for it somebody to
come and actually take it no matter how
much money we had or made illegally
where you went what you you know how
much money you spent what kind of luxury
cars it didn't matter but I am much
happier now as a person then that time
but isn't that what usually people are
chasing anything ok if I get the luxury
car if I get that certain woman or if I
get that status the power usually you
want the power because with the power
then you get them you get all the other
perks that come with it that's what it's
all about isn't it yes that's what it's
like but it doesn't it doesn't fill the
void it does not fill the gap if that's
actually a reality then why do
at movie stars who have everything who
had much more than I ever had commit
suicide and they're never happy so it
you chase that but that's not actual
happiness that's not that's not the path
that's going to get you where you sleep
well where you wake up well where you
know life is just much easier where you
could deal with things on a different
level
you don't care if you don't have that
certain thing and that for me is Islam
and Allah if you don't have that
relationship if you get a rose Royce
tomorrow you're gonna want a Lamborghini
if you get a Lamborghini that the next
day you want to go back to a Cadillac
and you're never gonna end them if you
have five women you're gonna want ten
women and if you have a skinny one
you're gonna want a fat one and if you
have a fat one you're gonna want a
skinny one it just never ends it never
ends that does that's a road that never
ends and at the end of it at the end of
the day you know yeah you wind up the
void is still there there's no happiness
it sounds like it's just an illusion a
mirage that you keep chasing you get to
it didn't it another one pops up it is
it's a mirage it's an illusion and and
somebody can say you know and I'm not
trying to hearsay and sound like them
the money they owe nonsense about money
is the root of all evil
that's nonsense money without a law God
might become the root of all evil
but we need money to survive we need
money to live Islam does not say don't
go and get you know avoid money don't be
a business person but I just say without
that addition that most important
addition God Allah it's nothing
do you see people you're talking about
having the money but that's built on
Iman on faith and you can build off then
do really great things with that money
charitable things good things provide
for your family etc in a halal
permissible manner but when we see
people pretty much worshipping money
exactly and that and that and and we see
that we see that often even within the
Muslim community
yeah and I can only when I say the
Muslim community I can only talk as far
as my eyes can see I'm not talking about
the Muslim community at large I'm
talking about what I see within I live
on the south side of Chicago I you know
I live in the most of the Arabs don't
live too far from me I don't live in a
predominantly Arab neighborhood and I
see that I see that you know that that's
exactly that's what you see now you were
born in Jerusalem I was born in
Jerusalem in the neighborhood called
Sheikh Jarrah
which is probably about less than a mile
away from the old city the hold wall the
mosque now we would think that okay
you're born in Jerusalem that you got
Dean you just like you're praying you're
connected to your creator no your iman
is like floating high no no the land is
blessed that does not mean that people
are blessed and I'm not talking about
everybody I'm talking about me I'm
talking about some people that I know
know the land is blessed but just
because the land is blessed it doesn't
make you a special person there could be
somebody in the middle of New York in
the middle of Chicago in the middle of a
neighborhood that has bars and
nightclubs who's who's who's much more
blessed than then than a lot of people
within the area of Jerusalem why is that
what happened I would think that okay
you're there you're like in the Blessed
place there in Jerusalem next to this
you know sacred Masjid here and yeah
well did you have a did your parents
bring you up into the Deen into Islam no
they didn't my mother was illiterate but
she I one thing about my mother she
loved Allah and she loved Prophet
Muhammad alayhi salatu wassalam she was
a very strong woman she suffered a lot
but she did not know Dean even now that
I look back on some of the things she
told me it was it was hocus-pocus stuff
they had nothing was cultural stuff but
she died no she loved Allah she loved
but she lived a righteous life now my
father on the other hand was a communist
he didn't allow Deen he didn't want Dean
taught in the house so just because
you're there within those and then it
took me a long time it took me I've
really realized years later what our
problem was
as in the Middle East as why do we have
these problems why is this going on how
come I didn't know Dean it's because we
left Dean and that's the reality of the
situation we became very nationalistic
and we left the Dean and we separated as
a people
m'lady Shem split into Lebanon Syria and
Palestine and now the people in follow
steen their philosophy their
Palestinians and everything is Palestine
this in Palestine that Lebanon this in
Syrian that so there wasn't there was
more concentration and this I learned
later I mean I didn't know this then why
did why didn't I know religion why
didn't I know Islam why didn't I know
how to pray why didn't I know who Eman
Bihari was who Imam Muslim was who even
katheer was who even Tamiya was because
we weren't taught these things we were
taught more yes her airfare or on the
other side George Habash you know split
into a different organization Abu Nidal
and all these figures rather than Hamza
Omar Othman ali abu bakr radiallahu anhu
ma so that's that was the situation
there was nothing to teach you the Deen
for for most people
wow-whee you usually have a different
picture painted in our mind not in those
times yeah that's the picture I have in
my mind when you were there I left 12
years old so I remember quite well
mm-hmm and and and and we came to the
land of milk and honey but you know a
lot of people come from our part of the
world come to the United States for that
milk and honey and we're on the other
side us we came because father was
constantly in Israeli prisons
grandfather was arrested uncle was
serving a long stint he was the first
Palestinian to do an operation against
the State of Israel
unfortunately he was a communist he's
passed away in Gaza now so we were
forced to come here first my father came
here in 73 then we came in 1978
that's interesting a communist how how
does that happen in Palestine in the
Blessed land and well if you think back
when you had Pinochet Fidel Castro the
world was split into the the United
States on one side with its allies and
then you had the Soviet Union and they
had this Karl Marx ideology and and it
was the world was split into factions
communist and non-communist and so it
was thriving in the Middle East the bath
party the Popular Front for the
Liberation of Palestine Jamel Abdel
Nasser with his socialist movement in in
Egypt and and so on and so on so this is
this is what was eaten up the Middle
East at the time so the whole world yeah
so then you come over to the the land of
milk and honey and if the American Dream
yes yes and it was a place where I it
was it was a beautiful it was a
beautiful place
it was much different than I had heard
because you heard I mean I heard that
the streets were paved with gold when I
landed I thought it was actually I was
gonna see the streets paved with gold
that's what your impression was that's
the picture mighty just back home yeah
that's what you know to us kids if a kid
if somebody you know kids were coming
back home from the United States from
New York from Chicago and never say oh
the streets were paved with gold well to
me I thought it was actually paved with
gold you know which meant something
different yeah but as I was a I were
leaving poverty we're leaving we ate
bread with sugar and grease that was
given to us by the United Nations and
that's our food was that bad it was that
bad it was that for us it was there bad
for my family for my mom and our six
children it was that bad but some people
if they have Dean that's interesting who
they can be in a situation where they
have the minimal they don't have the
maximum and they can have but they have
Iman they have a connection with there
can be the most blissful situation for
them you know compared to someone let's
say sometimes someone can be here have
all the material things and inside their
heart haven't
nightmare well let me tell you this be
on Prozac be on all sorts of
antidepressants and yes let me tell you
this if I could bring time back I would
not even though I didn't know Dean what
my mom was teaching us even without our
father our family structure our
everything if I could bring time back I
would never leave there I even tell
people I wish that before I boarded
their plane that and it's not unheard of
that an Israeli soldier would have shot
me and killed me before I love their to
come here what do you mean I wish I
would have never left there I would have
rather been shot and killed by an
Israeli there rather than have come to
this country not because I hate this
country it's a great country it's a good
country Allah has is blessing it for
certain reasons there is more hock here
in a little finger than you have in
Middle Eastern countries and and I talk
like this because I don't want to be I
we want we want reality we want to deal
we want to be able to say a loss of
Hanazawa data says tell the truth even
if it's against yourself against your
own soul and I try to do it at the
beginning of my book you'll you'll see
that verse there because of coming here
without having any Deen knowing any Deen
thrown in a small business in the middle
of a neighborhood with an oppressive
father that didn't know Allah did not
want a law in the house and we we as a
family have been destroyed we have been
destroyed I lost one sister my brothers
and other sisters don't know anything
about Dean they're living their American
life they have no clue what a law is
they have no clue what Islam is my
mother's passed away my father still a
communist to this day so I would have
rather never left that land and stayed
there and I would have learned Dean and
my brothers and sisters were possibly
learned Dean things changed
especially in Palestine where people
there was no hey Jeb they're the only
ones that wore hey Jeb when I was there
was the old ladies from Jerusalem or
from the hebron the old old ladies a
hundred years old where they were you
know do you think that's because because
you have a lot of christians you have a
lot of god
well we'd say people who are god-fearing
people people who are trying to get
close to god who see what's going on in
the culture they see you know the
pornography
you know the illicit relationship with
the kids the promiscuity the gangs you
know the violence you know the mass
shootings all these things that
prettiman the disrespect for parents and
all these other things out here and here
they yeah here so the course that you
see a decapitation of the home the
family if you go back in American
history the further you go back you
don't even have to go back that far
yeah the change I've seen from 1978 to
to 1978 to 1987 forget now hmm the
change was so fast and so radical in
this society that it's unbelievable the
dismantling of anything to do with God
out of the out of the schools and and
and and and I mean the churches are
empty there is there's nothing the the
pornography the and it poisons all of us
mm-hmm it poisons all of us it drags all
of us into it you know and and and and
and Reba do you everything you just said
do you anymore now the the glorification
of the you know in Hollywood the
glorification of the the Mafia the Mafia
lifestyle the gangsters all this stuff
did that have an impact on you to go
down this route where you ended up
eventually joining a gang well to be
honest with you I joined the gang before
a lot of the stuff came about what made
me join a gang wasn't so much as TV
shows or anything like that it was what
was going on in the house and it drove
me to the streets and I found comfort
within the gang love and acceptance so
but then if that's that's that's how
my situation was but to expound on what
you said what destroyed where from what
movie that was produced that basically
destroyed this country and if you look
back the fall of everything was right
after the movie Scarface when she
remember that one yeah why do you say
that because look at the glorification
look how he went out look at the drugs
look at the money look at the power look
at who he was a soldier look how he went
out in the end and people to this day
can repeat I don't remember the words
but he can repeat what he said when he
was there what was that say hello to my
friend yeah yeah yeah he's got the big
18 I'm 16 with the rocket rocket rocket
or grenade launcher and hello to my
little friend Wow
exactly and and and that was that was
that that was where you noticed the
country going so you falling apart after
Scarface can you imagine now Al Pacino
in Scarface I mean it's you know because
in the Dean in Islam we got a certain
good trends you know it means imagine a
good trend nowadays people are doing the
most ridiculous things yes to get like
shares to to get people's attention kids
are finally so imagine like Al Pacino
now would say hello to my little friend
and now what you just associated with
the downfall and how many people now
really truly ended up true life stories
following our Pacino following that
lifestyle because of that movie yeah
yeah because they thought now I can make
it if he did it it's a movie but yeah
but that was the beginning of the end of
everybody you think so huh oh that was
that was scarf it was say hello to my
little friend that was not long after
that cocaine became so popular after the
movie you think now this increasing okay
so you think I had a I had a friend who
used to deal coke when I was just 15 16
years old and I used to hang with this
guy who's an older guy and and a white
guy and he used to come and hang with us
in
and he was buying ounces on the north
side from the Cubans for 2800 to 3,200
and bounce of powder and and then not
long after and and I believe I don't
know what kilos where I was just a
little kid but they were enough 50s and
60s to drop down to 12 13 15 18,000 a
key ounce went to 700 800 a bit
afterwards we're talking about the mid
80s but I mean the Scarface was was when
80 84 84 so yeah that was so how old are
you at that time then uh I was I believe
about 16 years old seven seventeen years
old maybe somewhere around there were
you did you turn towards that lifestyle
dad well no I don't know it no it didn't
I know I I didn't I was already in today
life's not really that without the drug
you were already in there I was already
gang banging I was already doing
shootings I was already Wow doing a lot
of different things I started my gang
life in 1981 19 1981 I was just dabbing
into it by 82 I was heavily into it up
to my neck you mentioned three things
what were they a sense of belonging
sense of belonging sense of respect and
acceptance and love that you felt you
were missing from your oh yeah my yeah
my my there wasn't going there wasn't it
was it was misery at home my dad was a
woman-beater
he was a he he beat the whole house up
it was you know later in life I found
where rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wa
sallam said may the peace and blessings
of god be upon him he said when a father
is no good in the household basically
I'm giving you a layman's term it's as
if the devil runs the house did I did
your father ever come back towards the
Dean today no and and is recently is
about a year ago I ran into someone at
the mosque who was from Jerusalem and
says who's I said that was talking about
whom you know who I was what my uncle
was and where I'm from he's he says
young man he was older older guy 70
years old 70 something years old he says
would you say
uncle was and I said Nabil of Kabul
Annie said does he have a brother I said
yeah he said what's his name I said
Naeem he said who's not even to you I
said that's my father he so I gave him
his number I don't deal with him much
and he called him and he said eh oh you
know who he found out who he was they
you know talk chitchat and he said you
know I met your son at the Masjid and he
said oh I hope you're not one of those
mustard people you're gonna try to
lecture me he's still a communist to
this day he wants nothing to do with the
Deen he wants nothing to do with a law
he's my father I respect him but I you
know but the other than that there's not
much else you've tried giving him down
were you trying
ah well he knows what I am he tries to
talk to religious stuff when he used to
see me but I'm gonna be honest with you
the things that happened to my mother
not so much as me I'm a man but I take
pain by the time he was done with me I
didn't feel any pain I didn't feel any
anything so I was I was at the streets
didn't do anything to me it was a place
where if I was to be killed be killed
but I don't think any doubt what would
do him any good he is just so far into
that communist ideology even told the
guy I hope you're not one of those
Masjid people I was given that one
basically Allah guide him may Allah make
it easy on your family when you came to
the States so you end up finding those
components and this is a for all of us
who have families this is something so
important to give that love and to give
you know this is one of those benefits
of your stories we don't want to happen
what happened too many you can drive
your kids into the street from the house
mm-hmm depending on what happens in the
house you can drive your kids out into
the streets and there are people out
there who are willing to accept them
with open arms the Predators the
Predators and people who are predators
unknowingly because it's the only thing
they know so they do things this is our
way of life I had friends who we wish to
go to house parties and and and and yard
parties who would
they're kids dressed in our gang colors
Wow tree your old kid dressed in gang
colors but that's all they know that's
all that that's what they loved
that's what loved them back so you can't
frown upon it because you don't know you
have to understand their mindset and
their mindset is that this is we have
the Dean on the other side before I had
the Dean I had that and that was and it
made you feel like the Dean they had
kind of love and that was our Dean
unfortunately at the end of the day
within a few years
most of the crew that's there they're
gonna be dead in prison or winos Wow and
that's you got to look at it like that
for those people who are living that
lifestyle who are chasing that and some
period alum some get up but that's the
best thing that you can do is get out
because you got to take it to the extend
route what is it like you said now it's
either in prison got dead or or drunk or
a drug addict or something some get out
now don't get me wrong there's there's
there's people that get out and they
make a life outside of it but you know
10 people to 3 people make out and then
the rest are done that's that's not a
good number or like Tony Soprano know
what's his a Scarface Al Pacino in the
movie he died also died and they all
they all die at the end
exactly we're all going to die at the
end but not yes yes hopefully hopefully
a good ending we were good ending so so
you know like people say to me I'm in
school right now as to be an to be
certified as an outreach worker and I
and I tell them the thing with me is is
I didn't leave my gang on a bed and bad
turns meaning I didn't snitch on anybody
I didn't rob anybody I didn't betray
anybody so I was that and and now I used
that to be at least spin it and do use
it in a positive
tell me so from there you end up moving
up what we perceive is moving up so you
have the gang at street corners and yes
the Ross goes on their shootings
drive-by exactly all that stuff Lee it
was it was a lot tougher than it was it
was much more you had to be a knock
around kind of guy to get into the gang
they didn't just we didn't expect accept
anybody there wasn't there was some
drive-bys obviously or shootings but it
wasn't as rampant as it is now there was
more what we called back in the day
humbugs
humbugs meaning two three cars get it
you know two three car loads of guys
driving to the next neighborhood and get
into fistfight bats chains
not much guns but now it's different
obviously you can see it's worse now I
remember 6o seeing people on the corners
like the it seemed yeah that was that
got cleaned up you don't see many around
and you don't see many because the
killings are so bad that people have to
not put yourself used to hang out in the
corners and then expect somebody to come
and fight you now the killing is so bad
I mean there's so much of it that you
yeah I mean there's the people have
enough sense not to stand on corners
anything because you're gonna get killed
now they're not using 22 caliber pistols
and 38 and 357 that was back in the day
yeah yeah I mean we had a 22 I had a 22
I had two eight shot 22 or six I had to
fire it twelve times to get off six
shots mmm
tick tick tick tick tick tick tick tick
tick tick Mariga ar-15s and ak-47s and
street sweepers a shotgun it has I don't
know how many rounds into it and and
yeah and it they're they're they're you
know they're mass killing machines it's
it's a different day and a different
time so when you don't see the people on
the street and the corners like you used
to see there was a bit of security back
in the day nowadays how do you have
security against an ar-15 or ak-47 so
what happens now you move up and you
start actually going to a whole nother
level yeah well I went to state prison
and and then I did some state time and
and I met people who I was enemies with
and became like brothers with them in
the in the joint so actually and I moved
up in the ranks
I had a nice position for the for the
organization's I was with and then when
I got out I decided not to gangbang so
much I learned the trade in prison and
but the drug game was kicked had kicked
in pretty good I said I steered away
from it for a while but then I got
sucked into it
mm-hmm when you're making you know
twenty thirty thousand dollars a day and
you know you're talking about someone
with no heck it's it was sucking in
people that had Dean
so imagine someone with no Dean so now
in the prison you actually start
reflecting about purpose of life a more
deeper first time in prison first time
this was the first time I did two years
in state prison two different times I
reflected just not so much religiously
because Islam wasn't strong and prisons
as it is now but I reflected on just
wanting to live a crime-free life you
wanted to get away from their life
because I've met so many people who I
was enemies with on the street and tried
to kill and they try to kill me that we
became like brothers in there we broke
bread together so in the present in the
prison so me as an individual who has
you know who I try not to be too much I
try not to be a phony I said how am I
gonna get out and I'm gonna see this guy
in two neighborhoods away and fight with
him yeah I was breaking I'm breaking
bread with him now so that was the
reflection on that kind of thing not
denied when you look back and you look
back like okay why was i fighting
shooting these people it's like for some
of the silly ones nonsense of course for
a fight that was there before I came
there how it started
god only knows but if we look back on
some of the gangs most of them or a lot
of them had been started by they started
like for instance the Saints what I was
was a baseball team of Logans the
neighborhood was a Lithuanian
neighborhood of a baseball team and it
carried from a baseball team to turn
into a gang a little fist fight another
fist fight another my neighborhood your
neighborhood now
and and and no one really knows
really knows even now the gangs are they
don't even and I'm not trying to down
anybody or anything they don't even know
why or what their history is or how they
became about and what they were ten
years ago and what what they are today
because everything has changed what was
today or what you were a part of is not
what you're going what's gonna be
tomorrow
and what you're a part of tomorrow yeah
you know they change it just changed is
that exclusive evolution of games is
that exclusively here to Chicago where
you had the folks and in the people and
then under that category people then you
have the subcategories of gangs Kings
like Kings yeah well yeah that's is
that's exclusively here to Chicago or
does that be on I'm sure it spreads
beyond but not to city's problems gang
problems are the same the issues in
Boston are not the issues of Chicago how
you deal with Boston is not the way you
deal with Chicago and I'm trying I'm
trying I'm talking about in eradicating
this problem and it's gonna take a lot
but it but no it's not exclusively for
Chicago I knows the top gang still do
they still have the folks and the people
yes but it disintegrated yeah it
disintegrated and I talked about it in
my book about when it disintegrated back
in the day you could go to a 2-6
neighborhood and find two two boys
saying disciples there these were all
folks are letting souls or what maniac
disciples Spanish Cobras and you can
find them all within each other's
neighborhoods cuz that you had the two
organizations which was the Latin folks
and then you had the Latin people which
was the Kings the deuces the Latin
brothers and so on and so on or stone
ken's counts and so on but now it's
disintegrated now everybody's fighting
everybody in within the joint so there
I'm sorry within the prison system it's
still that folks in people separation
and and in they're connected but on the
street everybody's fighting everybody so
they're still around those gangs but now
they're just weren't there
they're at each other's throats even
worse exact
yeah now I think you better just get
snort just it got worse it got worse and
it started it's all started to
disintegrate if you read the book I
don't want to tell too much about it but
it started about in 1986 for everything
to fall apart
mm-hmm 1986 where did this everything
started to disintegrate but these
leaders of these what's the the main top
gang in Chicago they're there I mean
there's there's really no main top gang
I mean you have big gangs what's the
biggest but the most numbers probably
the Latin Kings have a big number I mean
gangster disciples have a big number
Vice Lords have a big number you know
these are big organizations don't some
of these gangs like the Vice Lords and
the stones they kind of try to
incorporate into their teachings Islam
somehow well of course but not so much
on the folk side but even though a lot
of folks became Muslims but their
affiliation is one thing and they name
I'm sure they moved on I have a lot of
gangster disciples and black disciples
good good brothers who reverted to Islam
but unless I'm the other part on the
other way you're talking about is even
from way back in the day you're talking
about black p stones yeah some vicelords
el rukns at one time they had adopted
things from Islam into ya into into
there Oh a try to it and the Moorish the
Moors they call them you know which is
they've black p stones used to follow
the more science temple of america once
upon a time a lot of them I mean I don't
know and I wouldn't want anybody to feel
like I'm talking about what they how
they function now or what they do and
now things have changed I'm talking
about what I've seen in the past but
have you no soul have you had success in
your outreach because that's what you're
trying to do now I from I got out of
federal prison in 2004 and I volunteered
from 2005 back and forth but you always
have successes we've always done
outreach we've done outreach when we
were in gangs to the negative you won't
be the a bro you're a tough guy man we
do that you know this and that
we've always done that and
represented our cliques and our gangs
and so on and so on so we've always done
out reaching up negative and then when
in prison when you're whether you're a
Christian or a Muslim where you do
outreach to try to teach people about
Islam and people came to Islam so yet
there's there's there's there's those
success stories and then out here with
young people there's those success
stories you can't reach everybody but
it's it's it's it's it's a good start
yeah what was it about Islam now that
okay you came back you're in the prisons
and they say a lot of times when you're
in this environment now you're away from
all the luxuries of life and it forces
you you know being in a cage to think
now you started to think what was it
about Islam that had you convinced
because a lot of people follow in their
father's footsteps they follow in and
the adults that are around them so you
didn't have some of the best influences
you weren't well ground well Dean what
was it that had you really convinced of
Islam that you're here with us today
well let's let's let's start like this
men yeah De La Follette model illa woman
you little fella had yella whomever
Allah guides to the straight path he
guys and whoever Allah leaves astray
they're gonna be astray so first of all
it must be I must have done something or
Allah seen something in me that he
wanted he guided me to the straight path
even know what we're talking about I was
born a Muslim so but I had no there was
no nothing to show that was a Muslim but
what brought me to Islam of course first
was a lot guidance second Allah sent
these people to me to constantly harass
me and me seeing them that what is it
that makes them love the religion that I
was born into more than me those were
the african-american in how much can
endure in the prison in the prison yeah
who came to me constant the brothers in
the prisons one Avenue dollar after the
other after the other after the other
and watching them when Salah time came
and I'm sitting there drinking coffee
smoking a cigarette and they're in one
section one or two making Salah what
made them what is it that's making them
do that that's not making me do that
it's a good question
so finally I became envious enough to
when finally one came I said you bring
me things to read I'll study and if it
appeals to me we're good and that's when
they started bringing me all these the
shares in Danny's books this is the
truth the book of science by dr. maurice
bucoli
and I realized Wow you know what Islam
is much bigger than just saying Prophet
Muhammad Ali is so awesome that this
invisible entity Allah that I can't see
that it was assurance about the Seas and
about the creation and about the stars
and about the science religion mind
stimulating what shocked me he shocked
me shook me any made me feel happy and
understand that a law truly exists and
you look at his creation and he's not
wrong about any of his creation of a man
1400 years ago who could not read or
write can say these things and dr.
Maurice Bali says it best the things
about the creation of man
during Prophet Muhammad's time allahís
alotta wa sallam the knowledge we had
could have never been the work of any
man yeah and this uh dr. maurice
bucaille he was a French French
Christian French Christian yes he was he
was the best he was the top embryologist
in the world he was uh there's a couple
of them him he was he was actually I
think in Egypt he was studying something
with the mummification the other was
mentioned in the Quran yes with the the
mummy and then being preserved as a sign
for all to see exactly and then they
they approached them and he left at them
yeah and then he went to learn the
Arabic language in order to understand
the Quran so he would because he proved
the Christians wrong when they came to
him so he left that the Muslims and said
I'd prove you wrong too but when he did
study learn the Arabic in to go to the
actual yes went to the text he learned
the language yeah MIT it there that a
law was correct he didn't do a lot of
people do just intellectual laziness
they just brush it off no he wanted to
confirm he went some signs came to him
he didn't just brush it off yes and I
believe another one was jack crew stole
the Oceaneer who about the invisible
wall within the water in different
shades of of water that dr. Jack crew
stole these signs are there for anybody
it's not like many people associate
things with religion hocus-pocus you
know because you have these man-made
religions and you see the hocus-pocus
but Islam stands out it's unique it's
something if anyone sincere you know
humbly looks at the evidence they'll see
that this is from the Creator exactly
and and and a law allenge you to the
test
yeah to look and even I mean within even
within Christianity what brought me so
close what I don't hold any resentment
towards Chris Christians I brought me
closer to the Christians and to the Jews
and I'm talking about Jews the Torah
we're not talking about anything else or
any Zionism because that has nothing to
do with religion that's a nationalistic
ideology the Bible says love your Lord
with all your heart and mind well we
know what heart means the thing you feel
for your son the thing you feel for your
wife but what does it mean when it says
with your mind use your mind think so
that way you are loving correctly you
understand you study that's what the
mind is there for so even within
Christianity it says love your Lord with
all your heart and mind
and-and-and-and and I realized that it
wasn't Christianity and it wasn't Joe
deism Moses didn't say this is Judaism
so what did Moses teach la la la la
Moosa Rasool Allah and what did you know
there's no god but Allah one God that I
mean the Ten Commandments Jesus was
asked how do i attain good master how do
i attain eternal life go to paradise
he's what did he give him he didn't give
him anything worship me I'm God he no he
gave him the Ten Commandments your Lord
is one Lord and Jesus
heesu alehissalaam is the messenger of
God so until later people change the
names of these religions where the
difference in Islam there's nobody
called Islam that's submission you
submit yourself to God physically and
spiritually and that's what Moses taught
and that's what Jesus taught so in
reality
there were Muslims so we're all
connected we're Muslims of course
without the shirk and all this other
stuff associated partners with God I
like that when you when you define the
word Muslim one who has submitted his or
her will to the crater that has a
greater big law Aramaic the language
uses for Aloha
so now they understand the meaning and
this can help you appreciate a much more
at what point how long did it take you
how many books that you have to read how
much of the evidence how much of the
observation of the Muslims they're
giving you now how much time did it take
where you were finally convinced like
man this is the truth yeah 1994 I said
late 94 I switched from one prison to
another but before I went to that prison
I went to my first Juma I went there a
couple of times then I was transferred
to Illinois a federal prison I would say
it just six seven months of reading and
then I couldn't stop reading after day I
wanted to read I wanted to read the
difference was in federal prisons was
that we had different state you had TVs
in yourself and stay in feds you don't
and I didn't want anything to do with
the TV rooms because I didn't want to be
around people too much so I read and
read and read and the more I read the
more I had the more you know Africa was
and I had that where my feet were based
firmly on the ground
from from these books but you have to go
at it with an open mind you can't just
go at it and it would rather than fight
it go at it I'm gonna you know fight and
prove even some people have won at it
like that and became Muslims yeah I know
one one individual who ended up he was
from a Muslim family kind of similar
story where actually his father ended up
coming or practicing Islam they didn't
know much coming from the from Bosnia
and then the the son ended up getting
involved in drugs selling drugs and then
he went to prison he went to federal
prison and then someone came to try to
give him dower try to talk with him
and he turned his back he said there is
no good now he became an atheist he
turned his back because he said if there
was a God he'd be answering my my
prayers now so I was thinking I was like
what kind of you get yourself in trouble
you end up you know doing a crime you're
in jail and you SPECT you expect you
know like to rub a lamp like genie in a
bottle make a prayer inspector against
that prisons to open up for you to get
out exactly that was his logic now yeah
and and and and I mean I was an atheist
I was an atheist I was more than an
atheist I had I felt as stupid as I was
in this thinking I felt like I had a you
have a law I have a war with him stuff
for a law and that's where I was in my
life and that's I was I didn't believe
in anything and I started before the
prisoner in the prison even the
beginning of the prison till the
beginning it took me two three years
like to say two three years they even
start going to Juma I wanted no part of
it I wanted nothing and I used to I used
to kind of say look at you look at you
you think you're gonna fool if there's a
god you're gonna fool him you think he's
gonna open those doors for you ever you
read the Quran in that Bible it's not
gonna open there's no magic that the
thing is is this we look for our idea of
something coming from Allah God
Subhanahu WA Ta'ala is that a you know
for instance if it's money that a bag of
money should fall out the sky in front
of me that's a miracle yeah but we don't
realize daily we have these miracles
happening every single day but we don't
count those blessings because they don't
mean nothing because they didn't give us
a million dollars they didn't give us
ten girlfriends or ten you know houses
or whatever the case may be
those are miracles but we don't we
discount everything else that happens in
our life every day and if you pay
attention we're getting mercy and
miracles every single day mm-hmm every
single day and I only it sound like
hocus-pocus I'm telling you if you sit
and watch certain things you say and you
can't them play on them you there's God
it had to be a force that stopped this
particular thing something or gave you
this particular thing even a small small
small thing you know those signs that
are sent for the individual are amazing
things that happen if you look at your
life yes you know
harms that are pushed away the blessings
that were given people don't reflect
they don't think no I mean log I too saw
to be awoken and awake and now so so you
end up studying your using the common
sense the faculties that allah the
creator gave you and now that's it
you're like you're consciously making a
sijin that this is the truth and now
you're gonna submit exactly exactly
describe that feeling describe that a
day or a week or let me tell you
something it is it's it's the best
feeling in the world because you feel
you've you feel like you've reached a
mountaintop
there's no more climbing you're there
now do you still make mistakes
of course you stay and we're not talking
about big mistakes you still make
mistakes you still have those things but
that when I got when I I you know when I
came out of prison and and I and I had
certain things happen unfortunate things
happen daily life I said when was I
happy and I would think back and I said
wow prison the Brotherhood in prison was
unbelievable
was unbelievable a it that thing that
brothers coming out the joint should be
taught even from outside people or they
should know they should learn that don't
expect too much when you get out from
the Muslim community because if you do
it can drive you off the path the shape
that taught me the Dean wasn't a
prisoner he said if he said the
Brotherhood you guys have here you're
not gonna find it out there you're not
gonna and you don't and that can
discourage people and drive people awake
and it can cause a lot of different
things for an individual if you're not
firmly grounded in your Deen if it can
it can drive people after the straight
path if you're not firmly grounded in
fact what I mean by firmly grounded
you've studied enough to know that this
is actually the truth like sheiks and
Danny's book says this is the truth
that's a keen another key gem that we
can take from this is that is that you
really didn't appreciate the truth or
you didn't
really start to implement the truth know
the truth until you got grounded in the
truth we see a lot of people now being
grounded grounded in the deen they might
say some phrases a disaster but there's
it's a shallow empty show exactly you
got to be grounded exactly and then and
then and then and and and and the thing
is is to be humble and not to learn the
deen to argue about the demon certain
people read one book and they become
scholars they become scholars and then
they want to argue about the deen and
they want to fight about the deen it
takes time i don't know i said six
months it could have been a year it
could have been a year and a half from
from the time I got out to now it's been
16 years it seems like 16 months so time
flies I don't know but I know one thing
you have to come at it if Allah guide
you to this you have to come at it with
it open mind and have patience and study
and not listen to what people say study
unless it's a shake and a Masjid and
he's teaching you and it's a it's a
well-known message that it's on the
Quran and Sunnah then then yeah of
course what advice do you have for
people younger old who are still stuck
on the mirage illusion of Scarface and
they've joined the gangs they're in the
gate watching this maybe their parents
are someone their friends hey watch the
Dean show they're watching this and this
can be in Australia we got a lot of
gang-on-gang Muslims even fighting each
other see each other you hear all sorts
of horror stories doesn't matter they
can be Christian Muslim just human
beings their parents want them to live a
good wholesome life and they are seeing
how you pulled out of that and you're
doing outreach what advice what do you
tell well people who are in that
lifestyle here's the thing what exactly
what you said first it is an illusion an
illusion a mirage there's nothing there
that's one two let's put the blame or
the blame lies to a lot of Muslim
parents are in denial and they don't
want they pretend that their kids are
not doing anything I went to the Masjid
and 92nd and I volunteered when I got up
and I said I'll help your kids why
because I had been seeing in the news
that their kids were getting involved in
all kinds and these are suburbanite kids
these are kids where their families have
money living in beautiful homes okay
pretending to be gangsters and not
gangsters pretending they want this
because I went there and they said oh we
don't want the parents don't want to
expose their kids to this stuff
expose their kids to what stuff your
kids as if this is gonna make corrupt
and corrupt them this is exactly there
already but they're already corrupt yeah
they are already corrupt so what I tell
you is this looking at you from my eyes
the eyes that have seen a lot looking at
you if you could take video I told
somebody if you could video your actions
throughout the day and just sit at home
at the end of the day and watch yourself
I guarantee you if you have any sense
you'll be embarrassed at yourself the
way you wear your clothes the way you
talk the way you act it's it's it's it's
even worse than when I was at the time
because in that time be honest with you
in that time some of the things that
so-called gangsters are doing would be
considered almost homosexuality you know
not that they're home but that's kind of
you know the old term man that's pretty
yeah I think and of gay you know what I
mean
and I'm not I'm not harping on gays
that's not my business I am just saying
that's not gangster that's not gangster
there's I got I got a good friend in New
York who was a big-time dude once upon a
time a lot of celebrities and stuff like
that and we're talking on the phone we
still still stay in touch
african-american brother beautiful
brother he's not a Muslim but he's a
great individual and I told him I said
you know I said uh it's funny we lived
the life we make no money out of it the
rapper's they rap about the life they've
never lived it and they make all the
money
mm-hmm it's amazing and that's what you
expect if you're out here on these
streets you're gonna be a drug addict
you're gonna be a drunk you're gonna
lose your family and everyone that loves
you because you just you burn all your
bridges or you're gonna be dead or
in prison those those are the only
options there is no other option that's
it that's your options it might look
glory today but I guarantee and gang
life is only it's not a long life it's
within two years though the whole crew
changes or new people come to it and the
other ones are gone if you know for my
gang you ask people you know who is
stony who is Malo they're forgotten yeah
if I could bring those guys back I bet
you they would I bet and Allah knows
best they would say I'd rather live my
life inevitably long life and enjoyed
life in peace maybe not rich but in
peace and enjoyed life rather than die
for nothing
have you gotten to talk to some of the
higher-ups some of the old-timers who
are in the gang and you shared your
experiences now with the Dean with the
purpose of life and this is what this
class I'm going to now is it's amazing
that I use it in a class and I'd like to
give a shout out to Metropolitan Family
Services that's who's doing this whole
thing they're doing great work is that
they have a classroom at Kennedy King
College with people who were heavily
into this some of them are are my age
older than me or a little bit under me
who were heavily into this they're all
there working together to try to make a
better so gang leaders gang gas
gangsters yes people who are on running
the show they're actually in this class
with you yes or have graduated from
previous classes yeah it's a 18 18 week
class Tuesdays and Thursdays and what do
you what what isn't how long is the
class what do you guys do there what we
basically learn how to do outreach the
indirect way and learn from experience
and stories and so on and so it's
success stories failure stories with
dealing with people who are on the
street at risk people mm-hmm yes have
you had a in your years have you ever
seen some guys in a corner have you had
some kind of situation where you just
walk do you feel confident walked up to
them and say hey what are you guys doing
you know and it was kind of share some
of these yeah yeah it was much
well it was not quite walking to the
corner but dealing with them on a
regular whether you run into them and on
in their car your car at a car wash in
the neighborhood walking in the
neighborhood on a phone through social
media Facebook things like that much
more than just finding people on the
corner that's what this is now that's
what we do now do they do you feel
they're more receptive knowing that
because they're like that void you were
saying you had okayed the hundreds of
thousands of dollars you're making you
know that there's millions millions all
the time millions so making the millions
you've got all the lugs are everything
everything the man wants yes right but
they're still the void in your heart of
course they're you're not you're not
you're not like some would think you're
just you you've made it it's a Jimmy
Dean Lifestyle Lift fast die young Jimmy
Dean Lifestyle Lift fast die young
that's what it is you know Jimmy Dean
was a young guy he was living the fast
life he died in a crash yeah flying in
his car but and that's what it is a
Jimmy Dean lifestyle you live fast you
die young and the thing is with with
these individuals is there's not much I
wish on the other part of outreach I
wish there was more we could do in given
bringing back the the trade schools in
and and and and given these kids
something other than to sit there idle
in a neighborhood where they don't exit
this tree to this tree that street to
that street and where the love is in
reality it's a destructive love it's not
it's a illusional love yeah sure we love
each other yeah I love my boys yeah they
loved me and and that's true it was
there but there's not much more you need
more than just love and negativity you
need love with some positive and you
gotta do something to build upon the
foundation is weak so it always falls
Wow
this is uh hopefully people whatever
tuning in they can especially people who
are espousing who are just still caught
up in to the glorification of watching
some of these movies Godfather
Goodfellas
and now the other gangster movies that
are out there and flipped that from
being a gangster to being a upright
warrior I like the term warrior this
image is someone who is outstanding
character exec who's a upright and
honest human being who's trying to make
the societies a better place and to the
Muslim community I when I talk to
Muslims to the Muslim community a bit of
advice in sha Allah not out of arrogance
but out of respect I talk too much as
when I'm done talking to them and
express some of my background their
shock their jaw hits the floor and the
first thing they say well you know Allah
will forgive you that's not what I told
you the story about I know Allah will
forgive me I don't need for you to tell
me Allah forgive me the issue is with us
Muslims we need to understand that just
because someone was in that dunya bad
they couldn't have known especially if
they didn't know about Islam let's go to
one of the best Muslims ever in the
history of Islam Omar Abdullah poverty
Allah and Omar Omar was the biggest thug
in Mecca he was a drunk he was a
womanizer and he became a Muslim we
don't hold everything he did before he
was a Muslim against him and say he what
he be Aslam spread to this furthest
horizon under his rule yeah you know
rasulullah sallallahu salem said if
there was another prophet that was it
would be omar radiallahu han so we need
to humble ourselves as people and accept
someone when they come to us especially
if they have proved 16 years out of
prison my whole 13 years in prison when
I was in prison by the time I got out I
would go to team meeting every six
months they would look my file over over
and over over again to try to find
something you've been in here 10 years
you haven't received the incident report
it's almost unheard of it's almost
unheard of so we as Muslims we need to
pull brothers like me into the into the
fold and try to help out these young
individuals instead of trying to pretend
we don't have a problem yeah once upon a
time I came from a Muslim fan now that
was one example but there's a ton of
examples those
yes who hated Islam they were anti Islam
they were the as you someone they were
the best in the dunya you would say but
then ya became the best asset in the
Deen like Rasul Allah said yeah
absolutely yeah and that's and that's
the thing we need to we need to we need
to accept it and then you know III deal
with people I said look I walked into a
brother's office and you know he's got
all these Quranic verses across all this
stuff and I know you know certain things
about this in there and I said you know
what so on so he said what I said all
this stuff if we followed one hadith
let's just say we put everything outside
you will not believe until you love for
your brother what you love for yourself
if we followed a hadith of course we can
follow everything that hadith we would
be a much better people but you know
Allah knows best we have our problems
our I am a firm believer that most of
our problems especially in the Middle
East are by our own doing because of
certain things we have done in the past
and still doing this specially this
nationalism stuff yeah it reminds me
yeah there's where the Prophet SAW some
said you know leave this nationalism it
stinks cause you know and when we
abandoned the verbatim word of God
Almighty Allah the Quran and the Sunna
yes you can just imagine you know yeah
we go away from the mercy of wars of
course where can people get this book
because everything you're talking about
is in that book is in and more i I
didn't want to get this is this is my
book I actually a Syrian doctor I met at
a fundraiser said I should write a book
I thought it was nuts yeah I was
introduced home and I thought he was
nuts but you did it but I didn't know
that I had a story yeah I didn't know
that I had a store I thought my whole
life was just normal life yeah but when
people hear it and it wasn't him it was
a ton of pee that was 2005 it was until
2000 and maybe 15 that I started to
write the book or 16 something like that
yeah that I started to write the book
you know six
that I started to a friend of mine
gangster disciple wrote a book true
gangsters don't fold I went to visit him
in Dalton Illinois and I was sitting
there chitchat with him and I saw the
book and I lifted it and he was the last
one to tell me he made you have a story
to tell
write it and I saw that and it gave me
encouragement and by the will of Allah I
wrote it but it was from 2005 to 2016 or
17 whatever the time was when I started
to write the book that it was a slew of
people on between even bikers from
Chicago outlaws one of them was say man
you got your interesting guy you got to
write a book man you need to write a
book about your life and alhamdulillah I
wrote it and I've been getting great
reviews on it really great reviews I the
Imam that taught me the Dean has a PhD
he was gonna edited and I decided you
know what no I don't want it there's a
couple of misspellings in there but I
had somebody read it and it was great I
didn't want I wanted it to be from a kid
who failed grammar school never went to
high school and received his GED in
federal prison I wanted to be just that
and I'm today I'm getting news on and
the book is at Walmart online Barnes and
Noble or Amazon but please if you read
the book and you think it's good more
importantly than by purchase in the book
is the reviews a better cut lovely thank
you so much I'm thank you for sharing
some of the pieces of your life from the
book thank you for having me better
Qaddafi wealthy Qin and may the Creator
Allah use you to use you for good to
help those who have circum who have
fallen into that pit of destruction that
lifestyle inshallah get them out so they
can be good righteous human beings
connected with their Creator Michelle a
lot and she'll I can become on your
level I see your stuff all the time and
I love it it's awesome it's bits
beautiful may Allah reward you and you
are a soldier of Islam and and and and
and I envy you in a good way not in a
bad way may Allah forbid and and and and
you and people like you are after seeing
the the lack of unity within the Muslim
community out on the streets here it's
your people like you
whoo I can see someone when I saw you
and I said what is this the Dean show
buddies and I listened a couple of times
and I said ma sha Allah things like that
if a brother's going to stray off he
comes right back Vica and that was long
before I did my book or or or wanted to
meet you and Hum didn't like thank you
brother so we said I mean I'm so let us
say Mohammed and thank you guys for
tuning in and we'll see you in sha Allah
God willing next time here in the deen
shall subscribe if you haven't already
peace be with you assalamualaikum