“O son of Adam, I asked you for food and you fed Me not. He will say: O Lord, and how should I feed You when You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: Did you not know that My servant So-and-so asked you for food and you fed him not? Did you not know that had you fed him you would surely have found that (the reward for doing so) with Me?” (Muslim) – Visiting the sick – Attending to the needs of needy – Helping the Helpless – Social service & feeding parallels

One of the slogans of the Occupy Movement is, “We are the ninety-nine percent.” In this provocative lecture, Dr. Abdul Hakim Quick examine this slogan in light of global realities, with specific reference to his time in Africa, to show how North Americans, rich or poor, collectively are the global 1%. We are the beneficiaries of schemes of economic and political exploitation and oppression. What is our collective responsibility to our less fortunate brothers and sisters in humanity? This is just one of the many questions Dr. Quick will address in this presentation.

In this lecture, Imam Siraj Wahhaj discusses what it means to be a Muslim man in an inner-city environment characterized by poverty, crime and the other well-known challenges existing in the typical American urban environment. He not only discusses what is needed from our brothers, but how he was able to lead an urban renewal scheme around Masjid al Taqwa and his vision for the future of the Masjid and the coming role of Muslims in our urban communities.