Panelists: Put MUI on the right track for the future

By Anisah Muhamma | Last updated: Feb 26, 2019 - 4:07:57 PM

CHICAGO—Saviours’ Day 2019 was in full swing February 16, as the Ministry of Education workshop focused on evolving the Muhammad University of Islam (MUI) in Chicago.

Ministry of Education delved into the importance and need for an independent education system. Jason Karriem is shown speaking during the workshop. Photo: Anisah Muhammad

Panelists and presenters included interim director Jason Karriem; Dr. Shahid Muhammad, affectionately called the “Math Doctor;” Gabrielle Muhammad, an MUI graduate who is studying the sciences; Samiyyah Muhammad, director of MUI in Atlanta; Troy 5X, who is experienced in online education; Dr. Abul Pitre, a college professor, via Skype; Chicago educator Abdul Muhammad; and Alan Muhammad, student minister in Raleigh, N.C.

The panel was moderated by Deborah Muhammad. She opened by explaining how Master Fard Muhammad, the Great Mahdi and founder of the Nation of Islam, expedited the educational process for the Honorable Elijah Muhammad.

“He took him all the way back into the mind of the Originator. Master Fard Muhammad fast-tracked the whole process of becoming God,” she said. The workshop centered around the theme “Independence Through Education.”

Phase one of the Ministry of Education included a Saturday school initiative, an MUI online pilot and an online conference. Jason Karriem talked about how MUI aligns with God’s aim and mission and some of the needs related to education.

“We have a need for more University of Islams. We have a need for more qualified teachers,” he said. He emphasized that the measurement of success is what God intended and what the Honorable Elijah Muhammad laid out.

“We want equal education, but separate schools up to 16 for boys and 18 for girls on the condition that the girls be sent to women’s colleges and universities,” he read from the Muslim Program.

One of the reasons for the workshop was to make progress on phase two: putting together a proposal for a MUI teacher’s college.

Presenter Samiyyah Muhammad taught MUI under the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan when he was the minister in New York. She reiterated how special MUI is.

“We’re producing gods. How? We have to pull out what the God put in, and the only way you can do that, brothers and sisters, is to get to know your students,” she said.

Shahid Muhammad presented on action plans under the name “The Time and What Must be Done,” and he laid out a course structure for Supreme Wisdom.

“We have to stop saying the youth are our future and then do nothing about it,” he said.

Many of the audience members were also educators.

Lydia Muhammad from Colombia, S.C., a pioneer of 44-plus years in the Nation, has a master’s degree in public administration, a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a teaching degree. “You can’t be an educator if you’re not rooted in the teachings of God,” she said.

Baton Rouge, Louisiana, resident Shelly X currently works in a private school. “As many of the panelists said, the Ministry of Education is one of the most important ministries. It lays the foundation for the Nation that we are building. I’m inspired as an educator to refocus and rededicate my work rooted in the Supreme Wisdom,” she said.

The Final Call