by Jehron Muhammad

A group of over 500 followers of the Hon. Elijah Muhammad, under the leadership of the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, recently joined an examination of the Nation of Islam and world events through discussion, presentations and lawful deliberative dialogue.

This daylong conference sponsored by the Commission for the Restructuring and Reorganization of the Nation of Islam (the Atonement Commission) and hosted by Mid-Atlantic Regional Minister Abdul Khadir Muhammad, not only created an environment where people fully joined discussions, but also acquainted participants with a method designed to develop consensus.

According to the Commission Chair, Min. Abdul Alim Muhammad, the process of lawful deliberative dialogue isn�t "an empty academic exercise. It�s the way to arrive at proper decisions that lead to direct action," he explained.

The meeting directly led to a July 17 Peace Rally on Freedom Plaza just two blocks from the White House and three days after the conference. The gathering, complete with placards and banners in support of Min Farrakhan�s peace mission to the Middle East and Africa, attracted over 300 supporters.

The rally grew out of the conference�s second session. All sessions were held at the H.D. Woodson High School in Washington D.C.

The crowd overflowed the auditorium and breakout sessions later in the day were packed.

During the session, Commission members demonstrated the value of deliberative dialogue. A topic was chosen spontaneously based on relevant issues of the day. The consensus was the most relevant issue was Min. Farrakhan�s Peace Mission, the threat of his assassination and an attack on the Nation of Islam.

During the conference breakout session, nine separate groups representing nine major government ministries were formed. Each group discussed a specific area of concern, such as education, health, agriculture or defense.

At the conclusion of these sessions, each group had a spokesperson to report on its findings. To the surprise of most participants and group spokespersons, though quickly, arbitrarily chosen, they were able to speak with an amount of authority. The collective ideas of the group were impressive, though participants weren�t divided up based on areas of expertise.

The dialog process itself distills the best ideas from individuals, which can only be enhanced once individuals work in areas where they have a great amount of knowledge, conference organizers said.

Min. Khadir compared the Commission to America�s founding fathers. He mentioned the Constitutional Convention meeting in Philadelphia�also the first place for the Atonement Commission�s dialog conferences�and believes this to be the first step in developing a new government. Also like the founding fathers, after finishing the first draft of the New Constitution, he doesn�t feel in the least that his work is done.

Min. Khadir said he planned to telephone other cities on the importance of the Commission�s work. Conferences are scheduled for Houston July 27, Los Angeles Aug. 3, and San Francisco Aug. 4. Other meetings may be held in Miami and Detroit. For more information, visit The Atonement Commision website.