An Interview with Dr. Wesley Muhammad author and researcher

An Interview with author and researcher Dr. Wesley Muhammad

A native of Detroit, Michigan, Dr. Wesley Muhammad is the founder of the Truth of God Institute. After receiving his Ph.D. from the University of Michigan in Islamic Studies in 2008 he has taught at the University of Michigan, the University of Toledo he began to speak to audiences interested in studying his lifelong passion, understanding the reality of God. He has spoken at dozens of universities in the United States including the University of Chicago, Duke University, Emory University and Morehouse College (his alma mater) just to name a few. He has traveled internationally to present his work and research in Canada as well as Germany, where he presented his findings at the University of Mainz.

According to its website, The Truth of God Institute “is committed to providing scholarly materials, written by its members as well writings by scholars in various disciplines, confirming and/or elaborating upon these various aspects of the answer offered by the ancient texts (read critically and independent of dogmatic presuppositions) to this important question: Who is God?”

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Ashahed M. Muhammad (AMM:) What are your reasons for writing books on the all encompassing subject of God?

Dr. Wesley Muhammad (WM:) Nineteen years ago, as a student at Morehouse College I encountered the teachings of The Honorable Elijah Muhammad. I was fascinated by these teachings, particularly The Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s teaching on God. But as a recovering atheist at the time the most immediate and inescapable question for me was: are these teachings true? So I began studying them academically and, to my surprise, I discovered that the empirical evidence supported and many times confirmed The Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s teaching on God. I fell in love with this teaching and set off on a mission to academically vindicate this aspect of what The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us.

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(AMM:) Clearly, you believe it is important for people beyond just religious scholars to study the topic correct?

(WM:) There is in my opinion no more important a topic than God, neither theologically nor even practically considering the time in which we live. Indeed, in this day and time the proper knowledge of God is not just a matter of theological speculation; it is a matter of life and death. As the Honorable Louis Farrakhan has made clear, the great and dreadful War of Armageddon – that war between God and Satan—is no longer imminent; it is here, now, though in its early phase. The preservation of life will now depend on choosing the right side in this war. But how can we choose God if we don’t know Who God is?

Also, and equally important, the transformation of certain segments of our communities across America from communities of violence, death, indecency and endangerment into communities of peace, productivity and righteous progress depends on our individual and collective acquisition of the proper knowledge of God. Why do I say this? Knowledge of God is knowledge of self, and it is generally accepted that w/o sufficient knowledge of ourselves, our history and culture, our progress as a people is stifled at best. So our great scholars of our history such as Dr. Yosef Ben Yochannan, the late Dr. John Henrik Clarke, Dr. Leonard Jefferies and others, have labored tremendously to educate our people on our past that we may correct and improve our present and forge a much brighter future. But a knowledge of self that does not include a proper knowledge of God is inadequate.

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(AMM:) In your books, you deal with the subject of anthropomorphism. A complex topic, not much is known about it, though it is thoroughly dealt with by theologians and biblical scholars. Please explain further.

(WM:) The term anthropomorphism is a Greek compound from the terms anthropos meaning “man” and morphe meaning “form” and it denotes, as I use it in the Truth of God and The Book of God, belief in God’s possession of a human form or body. This was the belief of the entire ancient world of color, at least those cultures for which we have documentary evidence of their theological/mythological thinking. In ancient Kemet (Egypt), ancient Sumer (Chaldea), ancient India and Arabia, in the ancient Near East generally God and the gods were divine men, with divine human forms. The God of Biblical and early Islamic tradition was/is anthropomorphic as well, as I demonstrate in the books.

This is important because, of course, we who believe in the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad do not accept that God is an immaterial, bodiless spirit. The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us that God is a man, with a human form. Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike condemn this teaching as unbiblical and un-Islamic. I have demonstrated in the Truth of God and the Book of God that they are wrong and The Honorable Elijah Muhammad is right.

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(AMM:) What do you want the reader to come away with after reading your books?

(WM:) I would hope that the reader comes away from the books recognizing that the scriptures in their original languages support The Honorable Elijah Muhammad’s teaching on God. I would hope that the reader comes away with a deeper understanding of the reality of God, at least as presented in the scriptures. I would hope also that such a deepened understanding aids the reader as we are today called upon to choose between God and Satan as these two prepare for open warfare. Knowing better helps one make better choices.

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Dr. Muhammad's new book "Black Arabia and the African Origin of Islam."

Dr. Muhammad’s most recent book is titled: Black Arabia and the African Origin of Islam. For more information regarding the Truth of God Institute, visit http://www.truthofgodinstitute.com. A listing of his books and writings can be found at http://theblackgod.com/ateam_publishing.htm.