For 6 years now, I have been blessed to be one of the digital soldiers in the Farrakhan Twitter Army (FTA). I was introduced to the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan’s Twitter presence when I was 12 years old, watching him on a live stream in my living room. He was answering questions from Twitter in the first Twitter Townhall Meeting with Bro. Ashahed Muhammad. I came into the FTA a year later because of my mother, who wanted me and my oldest brother, Ayinde, to take part.
I began tweeting with the FTA during the historical “The Time and What Must Be Done” Lecture Series. While on Twitter, I noticed how many people actually do not like the Minister or The Nation of Islam in general. I started replying back to people and challenging their outlandish statements. Because of my consistency in doing this I, by the Grace of Allah, was later given the title by Brother Jesse (affectionately known as ‘Uncle Jesse’) as the ‘FTA Top Defender’ during our Saviours’ Day FTA 100 Twitter Awards. Being in this army has opened up many doors for me within the Nation, whether it be publishing articles or speaking on the rostrum. Being in the defense (and offense) on this digital battlefield has helped prepare me in other avenues offline so that I can be a helper in this mission of resurrecting the dead.
During my time in this digital family, I have been pushed towards becoming more studious and interested in research. On the timeline, where people are disagreeing with the Minister, it is wise to be scripturally, historically, and academically prepared in order to counter their arguments. Simultaneously, it is best that you know how to get your point across to various people. I learned that those who come from strictly an Islamic background needed to have a dialogue with the Holy Qur’an and Hadiths. Those who are not religious at all required scientific and historical sources. Through this, I could bear witness that Islam is in fact everything, and that the proper application of Invincible Truth is what got me to be able to defend in the best of manner.
This translated from Twitter to writing entire thinkpieces and articles.
Because of my work in the FTA, Uncle Jesse asked me to write for the Brother Jesse Blog. I did not know that I would later be writing out lectures to teach from mosques and study groups, being known for “battling on Twitter”. I could not have done that without the FTA and my Uncle Jesse.
There are so many historical events that the FTA has been part of. One memory was during ‘10.10.15 Justice or Else’, which was the 20th anniversary of the Million Man March in Washington DC. The FTA had a conference call the night before getting instructions from Brother Jesse. I and my brother Ayinde were on the bus listening and taking notes of where we should be and what we should do. When we arrived in DC, we were set up by the stage under a hot tent with laptops, phones, iPads, and multiple extension cords. Like any other event that the Nation puts on, the FTA is part of the media, sitting right next to the Final Call. We are not reliant on news outlets to broadcast what we are doing; we are telling our own story in real-time.
I remember the excitement I felt when I found that the Million Man March had its own story on Snapchat, explaining the history of the original event in 1995, and the significance of 10.10.15. I went up to Brother Jesse and told him, “Uncle Jesse, they gave us a story on Snapchat!” He, not knowing anything about Snapchat, paused for a second then asked, “Is that good?” I said, “Yes, it’s really good!” At 15 years old I was starting to understand the power in numbers and how important that is when it comes to making something trend. I knew that this was important because the Minister was able to get into different avenues and platforms of social media that had not been possible before.
It feels good to know that I have been part of the FTA for so long, because I know I was part of the recording process of different historical events the Minister walked us into. Those of us who were not physically present at any auditorium the Minster was speaking, we were home tweeting out what he said word for word. We did this during his college tour around the country, the Caribbean tour, or even when he spoke to various churches. Everywhere he went, we did, with the help of technology, and he became a trending topic every single time. We have the awesome responsibility of making revelations go viral.
Lastly, this digital militia serves as an avenue for truth trafficking but also as a community of righteous people who share your love for the Truth. I have made some pretty amazing relationships along this journey. I have many uncles, aunts, cousins and close sisters now because of my time within the FTA. This is more than a group of people on an app; this is a family and I am so grateful to be part of it.
