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…but you can’t leave your demographics. Gun violence is an issue facing all people who live in urban centers but the dangers facing Blackamericans is even greater. Is this a danger that faces all African-Americans? No, but if you are Black and living in a major urban city, the chances are you may be involved or caught up in it. And being Muslim does not exonerate you. Your shahadah will not invalidate your demographics. The following links are to a study that was produced by the students at Swenson High School here in Philadelphia, assisted by Learning Lab and presented by WHYY. Here’s a blurb page as well as a direct link to the movie. And in case you think your shahadah is bullet proof, there are Muslim names amongst the dead.

One of the most common questions put to me is, “so what was it about Islam that made you convert?” It is interesting on how the demographics of this inquiry break down. Overwhelmingly, the vast majority of those who seem [and this is putting it “politically correct”] puzzled are of a Whiteamerican background. Today’s interlocutor was a white woman, raised in Minnesota, who has had very little to no real world experience with Muslims. Instead, as admitted by her, she’s only informed by popular media.

Our conversation started out on another track but ended up on her realization that I was a Muslim [a fact, that she stated, she “never knew about me before”]. She followed up her new found view of me by asking why I became a Muslim. It was phrased as, “what was it about Islam that made you want to be a Muslim?” I replied that it was not a mere single item but yet the amalgamation of my 19 years as a human being, my rearing from my parents, who being moral people, led me to be attracted to the moral teachings of Islam and so and so forth. She became irked, stating that I was “dodging the question”, which I in turn asking what that question was. Instead of clarifying her point, she instead asked why so many Muslims adhere to extremist views! I asked her what she meant by this, where she added that in the Middle East, so many Muslims are willing to blow themselves up with innumerable innocent people. She found that a “curious morality”. I asked her, keeping in line with her apparent way of thinking, what she thought of the Ku Klux Klan, David Duke, or Timothy McVeigh? She quipped that despite these groups or these individuals partaking in violent behavior or association with violent groups, “it didn’t measure with the numbers of peoples hailing from the Muslims world”. She pointed to Iraq as well as the 9/11 attacks on New York City. When I then questioned her about the atrocities committed by Christians against the indigenous peoples of the Americans [North, Central, South and the Carribean] as well as the countless millions who were slaughtered in the Atlantic slave trade as well as the numbers of Germans [who were not all Nazis], who were white and of Christian backgrounds, who supported the extermination of millions of Jews, she again appealed that the still didn’t compare the barbarity of the Muslim world.

Our conversation took a turn toward the heated as I fed her back her words, leaving her perplexed, that essentially, whenever someone white or European, who was also a Christian, performed some heinous act, that it was an unfortunate event, somewhere far off in History, that was made “alright” by the kindly efforts of the Europeans to accommodate these groups in the aftermath [Civil Rights, Black History Month, Latino Heritage Month, etc.]. That it is somehow valid for millions of brown-skinned people to be murdered, subjugated and wiped out, all in the name of Progress - that their actions were accidental, unfortunate but somehow justifiable and ultimately redeemable. Yet, when similar actions [even if they were to a far lesser extent or intensity] on the part of Muslims, it was precisely their Islam that informed them, with no chance of being just “fallibly human”.

I am sharing this because these conversations are becoming more frequent, at least as far as me being the target/participant. Muslims are going to have to find a way to not simply counter these attacks or measures but find a way to “deal with them”. This will prove to be extremely difficult when the other half of the conversation believes they never evolved out a history.

And God knows best

If there is one primary characteristic that Modernity spells out to me, it is in the way in which certain schools of thought or groups of people, who deemed antagonistic or undesirable, are cast, part and parcel, as barbaric and backwards. The underlined point in this type of casting is that the target group has always been so. Modernity, in all of its technological advancements, falls short in analytical thinking. Islam, as an example, a highly sophisticated entity [no different than any other religious tradition] is reduced to simple barbarism [as if it has always been so]. Ironically, many Muslims have fallen pray to this line of thinking as well. Recently, I was reflecting on the user of the word, kafir, and how it is used and understood now, in this Modern context, and then how it was used and understood in contexts prior. And while I do not subscribe to the apologists’ theory that the word some how does not have any application for Modern Muslims, I do think there is a sincere and important need to revisit the history of this word in the Muslim tradition. Sample if you will, as articulated by Dr. Sherman Jackson:

“Premodern and even early modern jurists spoke quite casually of the “non-Muslim wife” [al-zawjah al-kafirah], the “non-Muslim mother” [al-umm al-kafirah], and “non-Muslim parents” [al-walidan al-kafiran] as human beings worthy of respect as such. For example, in Bulgat al-salik li agrab al-masalik ila madhhab al-imam Malik 2 vols. [Cairo: Mustafa al-Babi al-Halabi, n.d.] [an authritative Maliki text still used on the graduate level at al-Azhar seminary today], after indicating that a Muslim must be good to his parents regardless of their religion, al-Dardir [d. 1201/1786] writes, “and he should guide the blind parent, even if he or she is a kafir, to church, and deliver him or her thereto and provide him or her with money to spend during their holidays” [2: 523]. Also, the Maliki and Hanafi schools unanimously agreed that a non-Muslim mother [umm kafirah] had a primary right to custody of her Muslim children in cases of divorce from a Muslim husband, assuming that she would not attempt to steer the children away from Islam. […] It should be noted that the Maliki school bore the brunt of the atrocities inflicted by the Christians upon their expulsion of the Muslims from Spain and Sicily and the Hanafi school bore the brunt of the Mongol invasions. Still, these views on the non-Muslim relatives remain standard in the Maliki and Hanafi schools right down to the present day.

Essentially, in the Modern context, both used by Muslims and understood by non-Muslims, kafir has come to no longer be a religious term for those who are outside the belief-fold of Islam but rather a subset of humanity, unworthy of respect, completely devoid of value. In the Modern context, the kafir is someone who is rejected, not on moral or religious grounds, but some deeper, innate characteristic that is wholly incompatible with Islam. Sadly, this philosophy was common in much of the rejectionist rhetoric I heard as a young Muslim in the Blackamerican community as well as the need-to-dominate propaganda I head from immigrant Muslims. This is completely inconsistent with the view of many of the jurists and great personalities from Islam’s past that Modern Muslims evoke! When one examines this, the [hostile and unfortunate] nature of relationships between Muslims and non-Muslims becomes more clear. Does this mean that the word kafir has no place in Islam today? I would argue it certainly does have a place but it should have nothing to due with placing or determining “human value”. Instead, as it has been understood in times past, it is merely a demarcation, signifying someone who is outside the religious fold of Islam. And as in a recent conversation with a non-Muslim, who stated, “this is the problem with Islam”, in that as long as Muslims see the world in a Muslim/non-Muslim dichotomy, then we will inevitably have this issue. My rebuttal to her was to quite frankly, “grow up”. There is no reason why I should be forced to not recognize those who are outside of my religious fold whilst still keeping good relationships with them. To claim that I have to make up my mind, to either jettison the word [and join the rest of the “reformist” Muslims who would just as soon sell the religion for a chance to gain the approving nod of the dominant culture] or use the word in its current state, dehumanizing all those who fall outside the classification as Muslims, is erroneous and childish. Life is not a true or false exam - I will make my own choices and operate by my own rationals, thank you very much. In truth, this classification, kafir, would apply in my case with many members of my family and even friends - it is no way a classification of their worth as human beings.

And God knows best.

It’s really warming up, he thought to himself as he crossed the street. Ten minutes - I should be able to make it. He stepped up on to the curb and waited patiently in line.

This guy has the best chicken wrap in town. The line was short and in no time he was greeted by the foodcart vendor.

“as-Salaamu ‘alaykum, ya shabaab. Kayfahaluka?”

“al Hamdu lillah, q’ways. Atiyniy ad-dajjah ‘alaa ar-Ruwl wa hut ‘alayha honey mustard. Shukran.”

The man smiled back and turned his gaze to the next woman in line. “You know this young man?”, he asked.

“No”, she smiled towards the tall man. “Should I?”

“This man”, proclaimed the vendor with a broad smile, “he speaks perfect Arabic”. Brandishing a toothy grin, as if he had had some hand in it, he turned his attention to the grill. The tall man shook his shoulders at the woman, smiled and rolled his eyes upward. She giggled in return.

“You know”, said a boy’s voice from within the cart, “the Arab way is the best way”.

The tall man had to stoop down to look under the awning of the cart to see where this curious voice came from. A boy of perhaps seventeen stood next to what appeared to be his father, wrapping sandwiches as they came off the grill. “What’s that supposed to mean, exactly?”, asked the tall man. The boy kept wrapping his sandwiches but never took his gaze off the tall man. “You want some pork on your sandwich, man?”

The vendor turned from his grill, his look a mixture of outrage and embarrassment, “hey, man. You can’t talk to him like this. He’s Muslim, you know! Brother, I’m sorry. This my son”, he apologized, trying to keep his voice low, though it was apparent that the woman in line could hear him clearly. “He’s born here you, you know.”

“Right…”, replied the tall man slowly. “No worries.”

The woman gave the tall man a pensive look and then placed her order.

—

“Okay, finish his order”, instructed the vendor in a stern voice to his son. “Hadha ibniy…, ya’aniy, laa tahkiy ‘arabiyyah”, his voice soaked full of lament. “Wulida hunaa.”

“I was born here”, retorted the tall man hotly. “What’s that got to do with it? Wa lastu ‘arabiyyan. I’m not even Arab.”

The vendor licked his lips nervously and nudged his son. The boy began wrapping the sandwich with a grin on his face. “You want some bacon bits on here?”, he quipped.

“Look, boy. Just wrap my damned sandwich or there’s gonna be some trouble, okay?”. He leaned in real close, imposing his considerable bulk inside the awning, face to face with the boy, who was now swallowing slowly. “Don’t start no S. H. - won’t be no I. T. Got me?”

“Yeah, man. Sure. Here you go, sir. Ma’a salaam”, he offered up weakly.

The vendor looked out from his hot grill and gave the tall man an apologetic smile, “wulida hunaa, akhi. Born here”, he said, shaking his head and then turned back to his grill.

Passing the woman in line the tall man said, “the chicken with provolone and honey mustard is really to die for”, he said, chuckling under his breath.

If Islam failed to find a mooring to ground itself in this version of Modernity or Post-Modernity, the phenomenon of 9/11 certainly has done so for it. The offshoot from this grounding has been the creation of a new class of “intellectuals” and pundits, all claiming from various angles to be experts on Islam. The dominate culture and media engine then picks and chooses its star players like selecting sides at a salad bar. The preferred choices seem to rank with “Progressive Muslims”, liberal Muslims, and the great crowd pleaser, the Apostates. Interestingly enough, these three groups share some interesting characteristics, primarily, that many do not “practice” Islam [it is instead a social club or cultural experience] and are often detached and aloof from the very communities they either berate or in some form of pity, attempt to “reform”.

The other day, I was sent a link from a popular Muslim critic and “reformer”, Ali Eteraz, informing me he had written a piece on Noam Chomsky and the linguist’s lack of sufficient dissent. I am familiar with Ali and have been in correspondence with him, off and on, over the past couple of years. So in the spirit of his article and critique of Noam and “those who invoke him”, I too shall offer a reprisal of Ali’s post and offer some insights as well as possible alternatives. Read more this entry »

It is not my customary approach to be preachy. On the whole, I despise self-aggrandizing rhetoric but I feel compelled to share the thoughts that came over me this morning. I had an experience today while going to take my final. Not exactly an epiphany but something significant none the less.

To give a little background, I have been re-reading Tafsir Ibn Kathir over again lately as well as some biographical material on the Prophet, sallahu alayhi wa sallam, as well as my general Qur’anic readings for memorization. And as I was striding up to Temple to hand in my final paper, I lamented about having to drop a course this term. My initial reaction was, “Damn. One more class I gotta make up.” And as my mind started to crunch the data as to how far that might set me back a little light went off in my head…

It is so often that we humans think of things in both linear fashions as well as leaning towards individualistic tendencies. It’s normal, I suppose, though that should be no excuse to not combat those innate characteristics of our being that are less desirable. So to begin to bring this together, the Qur’anic verse went off in my head [all translations by yours truly]: “Laa yukallifu Allahu nafsan illaa wus’ahaa” (Allah does not place a burden on a sould greater than it can bear) suwratul Baqarah, The Cow, 2:286.

For the first time in my fifteen years as a Muslim, I reexamined this verse [a trend I seem to be doing more as of late]. What did it mean? Was it straightforward as it seemed or could there be something further, something more subtle or even more expansive. As this thought was bouncing around in my head another verse went off, from the suwrah I’m currently memorizing, Yunus [Jonah]: “Wa idtha massa al-Insaana ad-durru da’aanaa ljanbihi aw qaaidan aw qaa’iman,” (And when a calamity touches Mankind, he calls upon Us, laying on his side, sitting, or standing), “Fa lammaa kashafnaa ‘anhu durrahu marra ka’an lam yad’unaa ilaa durrin massa, kadhaalika zuyyina lilmusrifiyna maa kanuw ya’lamuwn” (And when We remove his calamity he proceeds upon his way as if he had never called upon Us for that calamity! Such is the way that the ingrates make what they do seem fair) suwratu Yunus, Jonah, 10:12.

To complete the triumvant, the next two verses also chimed in, “Inna al-Insaana lirbbihi lakanuwd, wa innahu ‘alaa dthaalika lashahiyd” [Without a doubt, Mankind is ungrateful to his Lord and He (or he) is a witness to it] suwratul ‘Aadiyaat, The Steeds, 100:6-7. Ingratitude? Arrogance? All in face of God’s bounty? That’s what started to piece together. It is so often that Man [and I lump myself in here] sees his calamity from his own perspective, judging it from his/mine/our limited scope or viewpoint. But God sees everything from all stances. Was it lamentable that I had to drop a course or could that in itself be the burden I was unable to bear? Sadly, at the time of dropping my course, not once did I give thought that this may be a rahmah [a mercy]. Ibn Kathir points out two valid opinions on interpreting, “wa innahu ‘alaa dthaalika lashahiyd” [and He (or he) is a witness to it], meaning that God is most certainly aware of Mankind’s ungracious attitude. But the second opinion is that Man himself is aware of this. Perhaps now, in hindsight, I have become aware of my ingratitude.

Again, I hope this will not be taken as grandstanding but as one brother who just wants to share some thoughts – and God knows best.

In the DC area this weekend? The Dar Al Hijrah Islamic Center is inviting you to attend their first Hispanic Muslim Day, “The Pathway to Islam”, Saturday, May 12, 2007, starting at 11:00AM to 5:00PM. Presenting: The Beauty of Family in Islam, By Muhammad Isa Garcia from Argentina, a graduate of Umm Al Qura University in Makkah, College of Da’wah, Hadith and Tafsir followed by Understanding New Muslims: My experience as an Hispanic Muslim. A panel of Hispanic brothers and sisters discussing their experience in Islam. All lectures will be in English and Spanish. Hosted by Imam Abdul Malik Johari and Sheikh Shaker Al Sayyed, imam of Dar Al Hijrah. The program includes a tour of the mosque and lunch. Be sure to bring your family and friends. For more information please contact imam Abdul Malik Johari at 202-345-5233 or at musulmanes_hispanos@yahoo.com [Google maps].

The Living Islam Show is a presentation of Threshold Media Group, LLC. Please join us live, Saturday May 5th, 2007, on the Living Islam Show at our new time: 5-6p.m. E.D.T., on 900amWURD. We’ll have as our guest brother ‘Umar Lee, author of the article, “Rise and Fall of the ‘Salafi’ Da’wah in the US”. Brother ‘Umar will discuss his analysis of the Salafi movement, one of the most influential and controversial movements in contemporary American Muslim history. With retrospection, we will explore its early development and its fleeting success which left some with fond memories and others cynical, jaded, and scarred. To read brother ‘Umar’s article, go to his site at UmarLee.com. Calls are welcomed at 215-634-8065 and toll free calls at 1-866-361-0900. We’re also live on the web at 900amwurd.com.

As an addendum to this, you may wish to revisit the issue that brother ‘Umar and myself took up nearly two years ago right here on this blog. I will be curious to see what ‘Umar’s comments will be as I was labeled an apparently “middle of the road mushy” [see comments here and here namely].

Here’s the chain as it went: The Salafi Problem, The Salafi Problem: Part II, Salafiyyah - The Conversation Continues, and Salafiyyah - The Conversation Really Continues.