As many of you may know, the body that was created after World War II, the United Nations, was an extension of earlier plans for global governance, such as the ill-fated League of Nations. The Industrial Revolution enabled a select number of nations to colonize the globe. In an attempt to avoid disastrous conflicts between these imperial powers, the idea of world governance through a body in which nations could talk out their plans, their aspirations, and their differences emerged and became a reality.
After World War II, many changes took place in this body that we today refer to as the United Nations. The UN Charter is essentially a huge treaty to which all countries in the world become signatories and therefore join the UN. The UN has had many failures and many successes, and whether the failures exceed the successes is something for history to judge. Here, when I say “failures” or “successes,” I mean by the terms of the very treaty that the United Nations is based on, the UN Charter. The UN Charter, as a multi-party global treaty, enunciates its own aspirations and goals, and what is critical to this document is the idea that we, as human beings, must avoid war, we must resolve our conflicts and disputes peacefully, and that people have a right to self-determination, meaning people have a right to decide their own fate, to serve their own welfare, and to pursue their own interests without coercion, compulsion, or oppression. That is what we refer to as self-determination.
All of this, of course, is anchored on the presumption of continued human existence, the principle of the preservation of human life, and the promotion of human welfare. It is based on the idea that we must serve the interests of humanity because, otherwise, everything would be defeated. All would be pointless if the UN was unable to preserve or serve the interests of humanity. Put simply, if human beings perish, any talk about peace, self-determination, and promoting human welfare becomes nonsensical. This is an obvious point. If human beings perish, it would entirely defeat the point of any type of international body and any talk about a humanity united by a set of moral goals.
If we understand this context, one must hasten to say that within the UN, for a variety of reasons, there emerges a language that is quite particular to this body. In other words, there emerges a language specific to the way that representatives of nations speak to one another in the UN. This is what we normally refer to as diplomatic talk. It is a linguistic practice, and what emerges from the UN is a culture of linguistic practice for communicating goals, aspirations, ideals, and objections. Diplomatic language, depending on the context, often needs a sharh (commentary) that can decipher and communicate the language used in this body that has been created ostensibly to serve the collective interests of human beings.
Of course, the minute we speak of a body created to serve the collective interests of human beings, we are immediately reminded of the paradoxical roots of this organization. We are reminded that this organization was created by imperial powers, after the Industrial Revolution, largely to avoid the hell of war between imperial powers, and from these rather inglorious roots emerged the organization that exists today, an organization that is supposed to be charged with the duty of serving the collective interests of humanity. If we understand the history and the paradoxes of this organization, the UN, then we understand the significance of the coded language it uses.
The UN Secretary General is a thoroughly politicized office. The Secretary General of the UN bears the paradoxical historical legacy and all the oxymorons of the UN, its history, its present, and its future. And the Secretary General understands very well that this is an organization with rather inglorious roots. While often speaking the language of morals, ethics, and principles, it is often at the mercy of very immoral and unprincipled powers. This is precisely why the office of the Secretary General of the UN, which is, again, a highly politicized office, is very careful about what it says, proclaims, and declares. This is precisely why my ears, my intellect, and my consciousness perked up and listened very carefully when the UN Secretary General was forced to make the declaration, in a recent speech, that we are no longer in an age of “global warming” but we are, in fact, now in an age of “global boiling.”
Understand what it takes for an office like the UN Secretary General to be pushed to make such a statement. The Secretary General is well aware of the fact that this statement is not going to sit well with numerous forces in industrialized and powerful countries. Again, coming from this highly politicized office, the Secretary General is well aware that this claim directly clashes with what the superpowers of the world have planned for this globe. This, indeed, demands that every moral human being pause and pay careful attention. What pushed this politically-compromised office to take such a categorical position that will bring it into direct tension with powerful forces within the UN?
It is because the data on the matter is truly terrifying. It is so undeniable that one is truly challenged as to where to even start or how to address such an issue. We are all aware that this July was the hottest on record. We are all aware that when we burn fossil fuel, we release pollutants into the air, and heat becomes trapped in the earth's atmosphere because of these pollutants. As heat is trapped, it warms the earth. But according to the Secretary General, we are no longer talking about “warming” the earth. We are, in fact, literally boiling the earth. That is why it is extremely significant that this summer was the hottest on record. We all know that because of the heating of the earth, fires ignited in many parts of the globe, the closest to us being in Canada, which burned no less than 25 million acres. The smoke produced by these 25 million acres burning exacerbated the problem of global boiling, and these fires promise to not be the exception, but rather the rule in the future. It promises to be a rising problem.
Since the Industrial Revolution, with the global institutions they created, human beings are murdering Mother Earth and, in the process, murdering each other. The statistics on casualties from “global boiling” are not just alarming, but truly terrifying. We see this across all studies. By 2050, much of the earth will become literally uninhabitable. But what is truly terrifying, when we pay attention, is that the historical crimes created after the Industrial Revolution and after the creation of our present world order will only continue and become exacerbated. Let me take a minute to unpack this. The areas of the world that will be most impacted are not the industrial powers of the world. Nor will it be the colonial powers that created the present world order. Yes, countries like Canada, Italy, and England will be impacted, but the brunt of the effect of global boiling will be felt in the so-called “underdeveloped” southern countries of the world, in countries in Africa, Asia, and South America. Temperatures will rise so much in the coming decades that it may even become impossible to perform Hajj in the summer in Saudi Arabia. This is just one example.
Many of these countries are cursed with governments that are unresponsive to the needs of their people. These countries, including Pakistan, Iran, and Egypt, are so ill-prepared to meet the upsurge in global boiling that what will result in these countries is what is often called “great population displacement.” So many of these countries will run out of water and become unbearably hot, and because the country itself is so mismanaged and corrupt, the wealthy rulers of the country will escape to Europe and the U.S. They will transfer the resources and the wealth of their countries into their own private accounts, which they will deposit in Europe and the U.S., and they will let their own people suffer. When they let their own people suffer, it is predicted that no less than 1.5 billion people will become displaced. They will be forced to leave their homes because they have simply become too hot and there will be no food, water, or resources. Where are these people going to go? They will try to go to the countries that have controlled the world since the Industrial Revolution. The “great population displacement,” then, will result in a surge of migration to the dominant nations in the world.
This is precisely the paradox about the right wing in the West. While the right wing keeps proclaiming the environmental crisis to be “fake news,” they do not really believe it. I submit to you that, in their conscience, they know what is happening. But what they are saying is, “We can survive so long as we keep out the displaced, dark-skinned people of the world. So long as we tighten our immigration laws, tighten our borders, and keep these dark-skinned people away, we can maintain our standard of living. We can maintain the colonial paradigm. We can remain the elite race, and we can enjoy the fruits of the Industrial Revolution.” This has been the paradigm for centuries. The Industrial Revolution needs energy, the energy we need is in fossil fuel, and we burn the fossil fuel to create the energy we need to maintain our privileged position. What happens to the rest of the world as we extract, obtain, and enjoy fossil fuels and exploit our energy needs? That is not our concern. We let the dark skinned people starve, die of thirst, and have civil wars. For that is what happens when people run out of resources—they start fighting one another. But what is most important, in order to obtain the fossil fuel we need, is that we cannot afford for these people around the world to wake up and govern themselves. If they did, they would stop signing these highly corrupt contracts that provide us with fossil fuel at a very cheap price.
We have the ultimate paradox, do we not? The UN is supposed to be a representative body anchored on the principles of self-determination and the promotion of human welfare. But the fact is that this world is not governed by the UN General Assembly. It is governed by the UN Security Council, which has six permanent members, including the victors of World War II and, for the most part, the fathers of the Industrial Revolution.
The fathers of the industrial Revolution are murdering Mother Earth! They know it will eventually catch up with them because, eventually, the boat will sink, but how does Satan trick human beings? Satan injects into human beings false and irrational hopes. Hopes that are not based on any evidence or reality. False hopes based solely on egoism. Satan tells these nations—the same nations responsible for the Industrial Revolution, for colonialism, and for extracting fossil fuel—to continue to burn fossil fuel at unprecedented rates to fulfill their energy needs. And these are the same nations that run the world because they have permanent seats in the UN Security Council. Yes, there will be a great displacement. Yes, over a billion people will find their homes unlivable. Yes, these people will try to run away and find new homes right next door to you, as your neighbors. But these nations can close their borders and let these people perish, vanish, drown, die, and be killed in civil wars. These nations can forcibly install dictators to rule them. If people do not obey these dictators, they can be thrown into prison and tortured to death. The truth is that the masters of the Industrial Revolution, who never cared about the dark skinned world, have false, demonic hopes. They are not concrete hopes. They are not based on anything. But they are well imagined and well-established fantasies. “I enjoy an elitist, exceptional position. My great-grandchildren will find a technological miracle that will allow them to continue in their privileged position in New York, Paris, London, or Geneva, and to hell with the rest of the world.”
God tells us in the Qur'an that human beings have corrupted this earth. The Prophet Shuaib tells his people, “My people, be just!” (Q 7:85). Do not mistreat people and deny them what they deserve” What comes next in the same verse? “Do not corrupt the earth” (Q 7:85). God tells us in Surah al-Baqarah about people who believe they are special. They say, "We are good-doers'' (Q 2:11). Look at the results of their actions, however, and they corrupt and damage the earth (Q 2:12).
Someone sent me an article he wrote. His pseudonym is Shaykh Socrates, and this person wrote an interesting article called Friday Reflections: Al-Ard is our Mother, and We are Harming Her. I encourage everyone to read this article. Again, this is not just a failure of our current historical moment, but the very direction since the Industrial Revolution has been a thoroughly moral and racist failure. A privileged race imagined that they had answered cosmic questions through science, but all they did was create a world with voracious energy needs. They became determined to fulfill their energy needs however they could. They used the entire world as their playground, exploiting it to fulfill their energy needs so that they could maintain their privileged and elitist lifestyles. While they created organizations that speak of aloof aspirations and high moral values, the reality of the world system they created remained categorically immoral.
The world is led by the elite nations of the UN Security Council, France, Britain, the United States, Russia, and China. These nations dominate the globe and have endless energy needs. They have to fulfill these energy needs, so while France, the UK, and the U.S. may talk about human rights and democracy, in reality, when we look at their actual policies, democracy and human rights are something they enjoy for themselves. What they promote for the rest of the world are dictators like Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia, Mohamed bin Zayed in the UAE, and Sisi in Egypt. These dictators act as guarantors and protectors of the energy needs of this racial elite. These dictators oppress, suppress, and silence their own people, for they know they will stay in power so long as they supply the energy needs of the industrialized world. So when you hear of a planned environmental conference in the UAE, you cannot help but laugh. The industrialized nations that are murdering Mother Earth are holding these conferences in their satellite states, in the states of the dictators they put in power.
The UN Secretary General is right. The earth is literally boiling. The earth is boiling with heat. The earth is boiling with injustice. The earth is boiling with oppression. This is precisely why we come to the greatest tragedy of all. Who is the number one drug supplier to the industrialized elite in murdering Mother Earth? Muslims. God tested Muslims by giving them oil, and Muslims allowed the most corrupt dictators, figures like MBS, MBZ, and Sisi, to take power and become the drug suppliers to the White elite that has oppressed the world since the Industrial Revolution. This is the greatest tragedy of all. In this grim picture, as Mother Earth is dying, where, as the Qur'an describes it, we are corrupting the earth, where are Muslims? Muslims are freaking out because an imam in Indonesia allowed women to pray next to men, to have their lines side by side.
Study the Qur'an to know your priorities. Muslims should be an uncontained and irrepressible revolution against injustice and oppression. Imam Hussain, who would not accept injustice, corruption, and oppression, said, "I would rather die as a martyr to make a statement through the spilling of my blood." If we only knew that the UAE is pouring millions of dollars to encourage theologians in the Sunni world to demonize Imam Hussain and sanctify Mu'awiyah and his son, Yazid, for they know that Mu'awiyah and Yazid defended despotism, autocracy, and oppression. Try it for yourself. Create a YouTube channel and make it your goal to defend Mu'awiyah and Yazid, and watch the millions of dollars that will be showered on you. You will become so rich that all your financial troubles on this earth will be over. You will likely go to Hell, but that is something else. It boils down to the individual. This is why awareness is the first battle to win. Simply understanding what is happening is 90% of the game.
I read in recent articles that the UAE funded a campaign to malign and slander a mosque in Didsbury, England, after a terrorist attack that took place in the country. The UAE again paid a Swiss firm known as Alp Services, which is a ferocious dog for hire. Pay this company, and they will malign whoever you want. The UAE paid Alp Services to link the Didsbury Mosque to the terrorist attack that took place in Manchester, England, although police investigations indicated there was no such connection. If you keep abreast of news, you will notice that Alp Services, this Swiss firm, has popped up on so many occasions whenever there is Islamophobic propaganda. When Alp Services wants to create a link between a mosque and terrorism, it is forced to use all the stereotypical tropes about Islam, jihad, jihadists, militants, fanatics, and extremists. These dictators, the loyal servants of their energy hungry masters, cannot be bothered with Islam. That is why the “servant of the Two Holy Sites” does not care. MBZ does not care. Sisi does not care. They do not care, for they are drug pushers. They supply the industrial countries, they get paid, and they are wealthy. They buy a protected position with the elite, even though, racially, they will never be accepted as equals. They will never be allowed into the White class, regardless of whether they live in Park Avenue, Beverly Hills, Geneva, or anywhere else. No matter how many clubs or sports teams they own. They will never be accepted as equals. And this is precisely why these rulers find Islam to be such an obstacle, for Islam says, “Do not corrupt the earth.” Islam says, “Empower the people.” Islam says, “Have values and morality.” Islam values justice, and they do not want any of that. This is why we must pay attention.
I mentioned in previous khutbahs a respectable and honorable man, Abdelaziz al-Ansari, in Qatar who spoke the truth about Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Egypt, and Israel on his YouTube channel. I disagreed with this man on many things, but it does not matter. He at least existed with a morally conscious discourse. He was arrested for the statements he made in his videos. I have since learned, just yesterday, that he has been released but he cannot leave Qatar for the next ten years nor is he allowed to use social media at all. He was told that if he answers any questions about what happened to him, he will be re-arrested and made to disappear again. As a condition of his release, he cannot tell people that he was arrested, tortured, beaten, and mistreated. In this same country, Qatar, there was a poet, Muhammad ibin al-Dheeb, who wrote a poem for which he was tried and sentenced to 25 years in prison. On appeal, his sentence was reduced to 15 years. Somehow, Muhammad ibin al-Dheeb managed to escape—his story of escape is fit for a Hollywood movie—and sought refuge in one of those countries that controls the world, that has a permanent seat in the UN Security Council, one of those guzzlers of energy. This is Qatar, the country that created the Al Jazeera channel. But even Qatar, when it comes to the actual exercise of self-determination by its own people, will arrest and torture its own people to keep them quiet. Qatar tortured Muhammad ibin al-Dheeb, sentenced him to a long prison sentence, and forced him to live in exile as a political asylee.
This is where we are trapped. Our dictators, despots, and oligarchs are the servants of the racial elite that has been in power since the Industrial Revolution. And these dictators come to the so-called “scholars” that you and I know, saying, "Come here, we will give you all types of privileges. We will give you VIP treatment. We will give you cash payments in the form of gifts, fellowships, and grants. But we want an Islam from you. For you see, Muslims who live in the West are dangerous. You in the West may be reminded what Islam is really about. You may be reminded that Islam screams out, ‘Do not kill Mother Earth.’ You may be reminded that Islam rejects despotism, oligarchs, dictatorship, and oppression. You may be reminded that Islam is a revolution against racism and racists. You may be reminded that worshiping God means liberation vis-a-vis everything and everyone else. You may be reminded that you are charged with becoming godly people with dignity, morality, and principles. We cannot imprison and torture you. We cannot do to you what we do to Abdelaziz al-Ansari, Muhammad ibin al-Dheeb, or a million others. But we sure can buy you. So, what we want from you is an Islam without perspective, an Islam focused on where women pray in a mosque, an Islam focused on whether women show their hair or not. Forget all other issues. They are not that important to God. Are we in agreement?" These so-called scholars reply, "Yes sir! We are in agreement." And they are given endless gifts for their trouble.
Meanwhile, my dear brothers and sisters, we are nothing but sheep. In this game, they treat us as if we have no mind, no intellect, no morality, and no principles. It is as if we are nothing. The only question is: will you allow them? When are you going to wake up? When are you going to say, “enough”? When are you going to uphold your covenant with God?