The following is a guest post by Muhammad Najee-ullah, founder of Pelican Fly Concepts.
Pelican Fly Concepts works to develop a new Baltimore culture of S.T.E.A.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) based on physical and digital gaming, sporting activities via “design/build/compete” workshops, and gaming events that engage youth in a long term “No-Tech” to “Hi-Tech” development process.
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How does religion impact my work and business?
1. I work to enhance the lives of everyone around me.
Through my experience as a Muslim, African American male residing in Baltimore, I was exposed in my early teens to the daily grind, the customer service, and the constant hunt for information required of an entrepreneur. I carried peoples’ shopping bags to cars, shoveled snow, cut grass, raked leaves, incorporated my artwork into friends’ clothes, and more. Now at 40, I consider myself a social entrepreneur, in that I've dedicated my life’s trajectory towards enhancing the quality of life for my family, neighbors, community, our nation, and our planet. I believe there are vast benefits for all of us in operating from that mental and spiritual space of gratitude and of service to everything the Creator both has created and is currently creating.
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: “If any Muslim plants something or sows seed from which a people, a bird or other animal eats, it counts as a charity for him.” (Bukhari & Muslim)
2. I think deeper than the surface.
“Indeed, within the heavens and earth are signs for the believers. And in the creation of yourselves and what He scattered (through the earth) of moving creatures are signs for people who are certain [in faith].” (Quran 45:4)
My mom and dad convinced me early on that there is value in my thinking. That my ability to think is something to be treasured, and developed as a tool. They said that if I stayed “God-Conscious,” I'd make daily decisions with the Creator in mind, and with the Creator’s value system in mind I would be protected and empowered in my journeys.
Living with this perspective has enabled me to think deeply and recognize solutions to some of the social ills existing in my community and other communities like mine across the country, and I am in tune with my faith enough to continue working to support the forward progress of humanity regardless of the ups-and-downs humanity gets itself into. Too many people accept narratives handed to them with little-to-no thought, in time this becomes a habit. Eventually one loses the ability to distinguish with anything more than basic thinking and how one ‘feels’ about an issue.
3. I don’t look like you, but I still have to work to build you up, and vice versa.
"Not equal are things that are bad and things that are good, even though the abundance of the bad may dazzle thee; so maintain consciousness of the creator, O ye that understand; that (so) ye may prosper." (Quran 5:100)
It was pointed out to me at a young age that there is a weird, warped, and constructed perspective that the larger society here in America held about me and people who looked like me. That perspective is at the root of many policies and laws that have historically and continually created unique long term problems and pitfalls for us to avoid. However, through all this we are still obligated to support unfettered expression of the human spirit and never allow oppression of it in any form.
Disinterest, surface thinking, and fear contribute to the mismanagement of the vital resource which is our youth. Young people across socioeconomic divides are managing unprecedented compounded social pressures, and in my opinion too many organizations and corporations are profiting from this instead of committing to solution oriented practices.
I've built a business exposing young people across the socioeconomic divide to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) through pop-up robotic gaming events and drone racing tournaments. We provide robot building workshops introducing young people to STEAM education, careers, and entrepreneurship. Our goal is to make this “#Edutainment” available in a consistent “#NoOffButton” manner to address the pervasive city-wide idle and unsupervised time as the problematic backdrop it is, enabling violent acts, substance abuse and escapism, and gravitation towards youth gang culture.
Collectively our society is not doing a good enough job of harnessing the energy of our young people to power our community’s progress. Our energy is currently powering systems that contribute to the imbalances and the instability in society. It's my faith that presents an ideal that directly challenges this. My faith enables me to both see this and endeavor to change it.
The ICJS Entrepreneurs Lunchtime Series (ELS) brings together local entrepreneurial leaders to discuss the role that religion and ethics can play in building healthy communities. In this initiative, the ICJS will contribute the perspectives of local Jews, Christians and Muslims to the public conversation about religion and ethics in Baltimore. Each contributor represents her or his own opinion. We welcome and lift up this diversity of perspectives.