Imam Sundiata Rashid

Sundiata Rashid | Imam at The Lighthouse Mosque (Oakland, CA)

بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

Imam Sundiata Rashid: Bismillah [with Allah’s name]

My name is Sundiata Rashid. I'm with The Lighthouse Mosque in Oakland, California. I wanted to talk a little bit about the importance of educating the next generation.

I want to say first of all that every people has a shared history. In the same way that every tree has roots. And for every people to thrive and be successful they got to know where they came from and what furnace they were forged in.

And when you see a lot of the negative behavior amongst black youth. Is because these black youth, a lot of times they don't know who they are. They don't know how beautiful they are. They don't know how intelligent they are. They don't know the legacy that they come from. So they don't behave accordingly. And so they're being self-destructive. Is a direct reflection of the lack of transgenerational education.
And so we're going to survive as a people. We gotta make sure that we're able to transmit our history and our shared identity to the next generation, so that that generation could know how important they are in the grand scheme of life. And that they'll thrive and live life with a purpose, and they'll prosper. And the way we do that is through education.

Wa’ssalatu wassalamu a'la rasulillah [Blessings and peace be upon Allah's Messenger].

Brother Sundiata Rashid is the Imam of the Lighthouse Mosque in Oakland where he delivers Friday sermons, teaches classes, manages the transitional house, and oversees various communal programs. He is currently pursuing a PhD in Historical and Cultural Studies of Religion from the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, CA.