Islam
and The African American Ethos:
Malcolm/U.S Muslim Legacy Abused
by Imam Ghayth Nur Kashif
Imam Kashif is a noted
Washington writer and resident Imam of Masjidush-Shura
in Southeast Washington D.C.
Let
me begin by listing just a few names in a test of your recognition skills. If
you recognize the name, just nod your head: Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Kareem Abdul
Jabber, Jamal Wilkes, Muhammad Ali, Ahmal Jamal, The
singer Kashif, the sports commentator Ahmad Rashad.
Perhaps you can help me with more names.
The
point we are making here is that the Islamic influence among African-Americans
is an acknowledged fact and growing. If you would visit any day care or
kindergarten class, you would find often up to 30 percent of the class with
names such as Sheriff, Saudi, Jasillah, Kareem,
Akbar, Ahmed, Ali, Muhammad, Daud and others. These
reflect the phenomenal growth, saturation and permanency of the Islamic
movement in America. This aspect of American and African-American history has
been so neglected, and we feel quite deliberately. Even when it is
acknowledged, it is distorted or slanted in such a way that it is portrayed as
an aberration rather than a major factor in the development of positive
self-awareness or social and economic advancement of African-Americans.
Islam
essentially means peace or 'Submission' to the Will of Allah, the nature in
which Allah has made man. A Muslim is one who submits himself to Allah (God).
Moslem is a Westernized way of pronouncing Muslim. Muhammadanism
is an offensive label that Western detractors placed upon Islam in imitation of
Christianity and other religions named after their prophets or 'founders.' The
basic pillars of Islam are the Belief in One God (no
associates nor kindred), Prayer, Fasting, Charity, and the making of
Pilgrimage to Makkah at least once in a lifetime. Muslims believe in all of the
Prophets equally, from Adam to Abraham, from Moses and Muhammad. Muslims accept
Jesus as an elevated Prophet and Messiah, a Word of God. The Muslims accept the
Qur'an as the final revelation of Allah, clarifying and affirming the previous
scriptures, i.e., the Torah and Injil.
Knowledge of Islam
I
am sure that if I asked you, if you are a non-Muslim, to expound upon your
knowledge of Islam, you would perhaps say that you have heard of Malcolm X or
read his biography. Or perhaps you would say that you have read newspaper
accounts of the 'Black Muslims,' Louis Farrakhan, or you have met some Muslim
followers of Imam Warith Deen
Mohammed, or some immigrant Muslims. What do you really know, however, about
Islam or its true relationship to the African-American thrust for freedom and
equality?
Let
us look at the material on Malcolm. How much of this material deals with Islam
-- that is, the fundamental beliefs, the values, morality and traditions of
Islam -- that made him the man he later became? No, we hear only of his
militancy, only of his nationalism. He is in fact disconnected from Islam the
religion, except that he had been a member of the Nation of Islam the better
part of his life and reportedly accepted its universal aspects in the last days
of his life. They do not attribute the values of Islam, its inspirational
message and other aspects to Malcolm’s rise from his nefarious life to that of
a role model.
Is
this not the same with Muhammad Ali? Notice that the focus is on the heroics
and the man, and not on the principles of his belief nor
his practice of his faith. Let us look at the case of Alex Haley, the 'as told
to' author of Malcolm's biography, and the author of "Roots."
Actually Roots was written because of a Muslim challenge to Haley suggesting
that he did not have true knowledge of himself nor his Islamic heritage. When
Haley was able to get funding, he proceeded to do the research and behold, it
turns out that his ancestors were in fact Muslims.
As
you recall, however, this fact was presented in a very minuscule way in the
movie "Roots." When the TV series was completed, we recall that the
Islamic aspect was all but forgotten. At one news conference, I reminded Haley
of the challenge and his findings. I asked whether in the light of his
heritage, he would consider himself a Muslim. He countered that since his
"immediate ancestors" had adopted Christianity, he would remain Christian
out of respect for them.
Distortion of History
Nevertheless,
returning to Malcolm’s history (I might say -- the exploitation of his life's
struggle) and to assess the Impact of the Islam which he embraced, (first
narrowly and then universally), we must ask many uncomfortable questions. What
do we mean by exploitation? We need only to notice the literature initially
published on Malcolm following his assassination. Who were the authors? What
was their persuasion? You will find that they were mostly Socialists, Communists,
or otherwise miscreants. They were clever promoters of their unstructured
genocidal 'revolution.' They were in fact cooperating with other antagonists of
Islam and the African-American struggle.
These
sycophants portrayed Malcolm primarily as a 'Militant Revolutionary,' an image
that negated his emphasis upon constructive community building which stemmed
from his Islamic orientation. Their focus distracted a significant number of
the African-American community from the serious work of social, moral and
economic reform needed to succeed in the future. The culprits knew that the
elevation of Malcolm to the "tragic hero" image and the deification
of the rhetoric, in the abstract, would satisfy the emotional character of the
African American, who in turn would revel in hero worship and forget the
economic and social responsibilities inherent in the message Malcolm sought to
convey. These African Americans, they surmised, would not feel the need to
investigate further the religion of Islam, but rather would become pacified by
having a "hero." They seemed to know that by emphasizing the
"hero," the community would begin to rely upon the crutches of ethno-centricism. Much of this we see in the extensive searches
for historical kings or queens of Africa to validate the humanism of African
Americans.
Muslims,
in fact, are to be credited with helping African-Americans in overcoming the
stigma of 'Black' by introducing its original connotation of dignity, regality
and moral excellence. African-American later allowed this name to re-degenerate
into a fad designed to assuage feelings of inferiority: "I'm black and I'm
proud." The Islamic concept of dignity can be symbolized in a given word
or slogan, but it is never a substitute for genuine self-respect and the attendant
responsibility of societal contribution. Frankly Islam represents the universal
forces of change -- but within a stable environment -- like the gradual changes
from night to day, all within a structured span.
Islamic Philosophy
Granted
such history should be rendered true and historical credit given to each
peoples' place and contributions in history, and especially when it exposes
ethnocentric myths which have been used to psychologically enslave the
oppressed. But it is no panacea for true self-development, growth and human
excellence. Only a fundamental and universal way of life, founded upon
universal principles, can serve as such a panacea. Even then, it must be
practiced in its totality. Let me say that I began this paper with emphasis
upon the myths and distortions surrounding the life of Malcolm because the
media introduced you to Islam in this way, and sought to condition your
thinking through many open and subtle misrepresentations of Islamic
personalities and communities.
Impact Upon Society
Islam's
growth in America really represents an infusion of these universal forces in a
situation that has broken down. The moral and religious community in America
has allowed the neglect, distortion and misuse of the essential principles of
the unity of life. Only through the infusion of these principles which are
essential to human life and excellence will the coming generation be saved. Is
it any wonder that Islam would not be the inheritance of the African-American,
especially when it says that 'The meek shall inherit the earth?'
We
as African-Americans, have been trying to fight
racism, bigotry and hate all of our lives. However, what has been our strategy?
What have been our tools? The philosophy and way of life of the opponents has
become the philosophy and way of life of the slave. There has never been a case
where the oppressed truly overturned a system biased against them by
incorporating the same philosophy. Where this has happened, you find the once
oppressed slaying and killing one another as did the oppressors. You can see
signs of this in the killings in South Africa and in the Mountains of
Afghanistan, where brother is killing brother because of their incorporation of
alien philosophies -- philosophies alien to their
nature.
African Studies
We
find that many African-American study classes are an attempt to graft on a kind
of African ethnicity to the prevalent Euro-ethnic religion. There is a strong
movement among Black Catholics in this direction. I am sure you know of the
Stalling Movement which combines an African and Islamic vernacular,
"Immune" with the 'Roman' aspect of the Church. We must be careful
that African Study classes neither become classes of pacification or isolation
nor 'feel good Sessions.' If this happens, the oppressors will have completed
their job. These classes must explore the hidden? Why for instance, has the
'Dream' of Martin Luther King's 'Dreams' been unrealized? Because
the essential idea there was to be 'accepted.' There is the rub. When a
people strive all their life to be accepted by their oppressors or otherwise
dominant class, they, by implication, have accepted and inculcated the concept
of inferiority. Now does that mean that one should go to the other extreme to
become an 'Island' unto one's self? No, but it does mean that one should
separate one's self from the ethics and morality of the oppressors, including
conflicting religious values and practices.
Although
it has not been acknowledged, the movement of Islam, which does not portray man
as a 'sinner' from birth but proclaim that man was made in the best mold, has
infused true dignity, confidence and well being in
thousands of African-Americans, beyond the crutches of heritages and roots. Of
course, we acknowledge that we live in a political world where heritages and
roots are going to be important for a long time, (till the end of time
perhaps). Nevertheless, we must put these things in perspective,
otherwise we lose our sense of perspective and most importantly, our
relationship with the universal laws that govern our existence and the Source
from which they originate.
Islam,
like the home thermostat, becomes a self-regulating system or physical,
spiritual and emotional balance. The month of 'Ramadan,' a month of fast, and
an essential part of Islamic principles, is an example. During this period, the
excesses caused by gradual deviations from Islamic essentials over the year are
confronted by a strict self-disciplinary practice of fasting, prayer, charity
and emotional restraint. Islam’s introduction into America has actually served
to brace the country against run-away debauchery and immorality, although this
is not immediately evident. Nevertheless, the Islamic emphasis upon basic
morality, discipline and industry in the lives of its adherents has had a life-saving
effect, especially upon the African American who desires to imitate or
integrate into the ‘mainstream," which has cost him his traditional moral
high-ground.
Parallel Advancement
As
a people, we must learn from our history. For instance, we must recognize the
parallel development of the strategies of advancement. As you may recall,
during the very early times there was the philosophy of Booker T. Washington,
who called for 'self-help': "Put your bucket down where you are." He
advocated the work ethic and education in the existing work technologies at the
time. In addition, there was W.E.B. Du Bois who stressed integration and
education in the social and political sciences. The twain philosophies were
never joined. Then during the sixties there was the Honorable Elijah Muhammad
who introduced Islam in a nationalist framework and who advocated separate and
economic development along the lines of Booker T., but different in that it was
underpinned with the Islamic philosophy of human dignity. At the same time,
there was Martin Luther King, following the Du Bois approach, underpinned with
the philosophy of Ghandi. Still the twain remained
apart.
The
Islamic philosophy of dignity and self-respect is rooted not in cosmetic
self-adulation or motivational self-esteem, slogans and rhetoric, but in a
fundamental and basic principle of submission to the Creator. A Muslim is
considered 'Abd', servant or slave of the
Creator. His personal confidence is thus derived not artificially, but by his
knowledge that no man can be his master and he needs no 'acceptance' from
others to enhance his feeling about his worth as a human being. The Nation of
Islam movement began in 1930. The founder, W.D. Fard,
also known as Wallace Fard Muhammad and W.F.
Muhammad, remains an enigma today. He was said to be have been of Arab or
Indian ancestry. His features were also noted to be quite oriental. In 1930
terms, he was like a 'Negro who could pass for white.' This mixed identity
aided the mystique in portraying him as a person acceptable to all of the range
of colors of the Black race. He was light enough, for instance, to appeal to
the Black's love and obedience of a white image, inculcated by the worship of
Jesus as blond and blue eyed.
In
early Muslim literature, Fard was cited as a 'Savior
of the Lost-Found Nation of Islam in the West. After his mysterious
disappearance in 1933 and the ascendance of Elijah Muhammad (born Elijah Poole)
as leader, he was referred to as not only a Savior, e.g. Jesus imagery, but the
spirit of God in his person. This characterization was later short-handed into
'Allah in the person of Master Fard Muhammad,'
although the catechism remained unchanged in its original portrayal of his.
Although the 'Islam' of the Nation of Islam was characterized as 'trappings,'
'pseudo,' and shirk (heretical by Islamic orthodoxy), there was an
unusual toleration of the movement. The NOI suffered none of the public
condemnation, threats or attacks usually reserved for non-traditional factions
in the Muslim ummah (community). Perhaps this
was due to the suspicion that the movement actually was a strategic arrangement
to forego traditional orthodox methods of propagation to deal with the
'peculiar' situation of the African-American as a target of conversion.
Some
claim that this toleration has been rewarded in the fact that today, the majority of the indigenous Muslims have accepted
the universality of Islam (not just for the Black man) over the racially
oriented projections of the earlier days. Today, Islam among the African
Muslim-Americans is flourishing. Imam W.D. Mohammed, the son of Elijah
Muhammad, has been able to bring about a near miraculous
"transition," (often referred to as the "second
resurrection"), among thousands of African Americans who have accepted the
tenets of Islam from varied perspectives. More importantly, Islam in America
appears to be setting the stage for the long-desired "unity of
Muslims" around the world. With the indigenous Muslims -- home-grown of
the Western mentality (America in particular) -- joining forces with Muslims
arriving in greater numbers from around the world, the media (often in alarmist
terms) is correct to proclaim that "Islam is the fastest growing religion
in America." Although not officially acknowledged by the last census, the
Muslim numbers have clearly surpassed those of the Jewish community.
Webmaster's note: For an edited hard copy version of this article,
please refer to the May 1999 issue of the premier magazine "Islamic
Horizons," published by the Islamic Society of North America.
Posted June 3, 1999