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Unusual Collaboration Grows Between Scientology and Nation of Islam Amid Turmoil In Ferguson.
St. Louis Public Radio: Unusual Collaboration Grows Between Scientologists and Nation of Islam Amid Turmoil In Ferguson
http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post...ogists-and-nation-islam-amid-turmoil-ferguson
Audio at link.
Excerpts:
St. Louis Public Radio: Unusual Collaboration Grows Between Scientologists and Nation of Islam Amid Turmoil In Ferguson
http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post...ogists-and-nation-islam-amid-turmoil-ferguson
Audio at link.
Excerpts:
The anti-violence initiative Stop the Killing has been wildly popular among street demonstrations in Ferguson since the death of Michael Brown at the hands of a Ferguson police officer on August 9.
The campaign’s simple message with a design of purple hands held aloft, hearts on each palm, has seemed almost tailor-made to fit the protests of Ferguson's most popular chant “hands up, don’t shoot!” The chant stems from witness accounts that Brown’s hands were up when he was shot and killed by Officer Darren Wilson last month.
The initiative, however, started three years before Brown’s death and, according to Kevin Bryant, who designed the anti-violence campaign with his company Conversions Global Marketing, it means something different now.
As Bryant explains, the Nation of Islam initially commissioned the campaign to target urban violence among young black males. “It doesn’t necessarily point to gang violence as it did then,” he said. “Instead, it’s kind of a one size fits all. So, now if you holding up a sign that says, ‘stop the killing,’ it kind of sounds like police violence.”
As the message has come to be associated with Brown’s killing over the past seven weeks, Bryant says demand for Stop the Killing materials has increased one hundred-fold.
“It was just dumb luck,” he said. “Using the symbol of the hand with the heart that it just stopped you and grabbed your attention. Now it applies to the hands-up thing and that’s just cosmic coincidence.”
Though founded by the Nation of Islam, Stop the Killing is supported by a coalition of local groups including Mount Carmel Missionary Baptist Church, Washington Metropolitan AME Zion Church, St. Alphonsus Liguori Catholic Church, the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church and St. John United Church of Christ.
The Way to Happiness
In Ferguson, the message has been distributed most widely by a group sponsored by The Church of Scientology called The Way to Happiness.
When Bryant created the Stop the Killing campaign, “the Church of Scientology grabbed hold of it,” he said, “and [said], ‘Hey look, we want to help you all spread this message.'”
The Way to Happiness is a list moral of codes written by the founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard. Its content is rather non-controversial, comprising 21 generally accepted principles such as: be temperate, do not murder and respect the religious beliefs of others.
Roughly 20,000 of The Way to Happiness booklets, printed with the Stop the Killing design on their covers, have been distributed around Ferguson since last month, said Barry Cozaihr, CEO of Response! Targeted Marketing, who has spearheaded effort.
While The Way to Happiness program is supported by the Church of Scientology and individual Scientologists, the outreach effort is not intended to promote the church, said Cozaihr
“This book, regardless of the author, is a message that doesn’t belong to any religion. It’s just a universal message. It’s based on what the society knows is right,” he said.
The distinction, said Cozaihr, is similar to Noah Webster’s dictionary, a secular text authored by a devout Christian and intended to benefit society at large.
“Like the YMCA. I’ve never once gone to the YMCA and had somebody try and turn me into a Christian, but I have gone there to play racquet ball,” said Cozaihr, who has been a Scientologist for 27 years.
A representative for the Church of Scientology’s International Center in Los Angeles confirmed that “the Way to Happiness Foundation in St. Louis has been quite active in distributing the book in St. Louis and in Ferguson,” but also emphasized the effort “embraces a respect for and tolerance of the religious beliefs of all people.”
The representative did not respond to questions regarding how much the effort has increased interest or membership in the Church of Scientology from the community. It is also unclear how much the outreach is part of a broader effort to reach black communities in the U.S.
But, as Kevin Bryant sees it, the program’s outreach in Ferguson is part of a new push to reach more diverse groups.
“The Church of Scientology had been trying to court the black community for a while in terms of recruiting members. I don’t think they’re going to have a great deal of success because I don’t see black people giving up Jesus.”
He said, however, it has been making inroads with the Nation of Islam. Since 2010, Minister Louis Farrakhan has strongly encouraged members to study Dianetics. The Nation currently claims it has trained more than a thousand auditors, or personal spiritual counselors, in Scientology.
According to Minister Donald Muhammad of local Mosque 28 on West Florissant Ave., that includes 30 auditors in the St. Louis area.
“Actually, we have here at Muhammad’s Mosque become auditors in the field of Dianetics. In other words, we provide therapy on each other through the process of auditing,” said Muhammad.
He said Scientology offers a framework that helps members better realize their spiritual potential without compromising their beliefs.
“In the Hadith of the Prophet Mohammed, he said ‘go and get knowledge even if it’s as far as China,’ so we are very open to knowledge, very open to knowledge, wherever you find it, as long as it is true.”
