Thursday, March 24, 2005

The Forbidden Dialogues

One of my favorite books is "The Forbidden Dialogues : The Impact of Islam on the Future of the African Diaspora" by Uthman Ibrahim-Morrison. I sometimes think it's the kind of book which would have written by Malcolm X if he had lived (and gone to grad school). The "dialogues" in the title were an actual series of discussions held in England among the community of young Black intellectuals on issues related to Pan-Africanism, although Ibrahim-Morrison doesn't pretend to transcribe or even represent the full range of opinions of the various groups. The dialogues were only a starting point, and Ibrahim-Morrison really just spreaks from his own unique perspective as a Muslim, with strong Garveyite leanings.

One of the many things I find refreshing about the book is that it is a book by a Muslim, who deals unapolegetically with racial issues from a Black perspective, but without getting into the-white-man-is-a-blue-eyed-devil mess of some organizations, and on the other hand, without retreating to just a vague in-Islam-we-are-all-the-same-and-equal-just-like-Malcolm X-at-hajj approach.

The book really explores the situation of young educated Afro-Caribbeans (especially in England but the conclusions are still relevant to others) from an Islamic perspective.
Check it out

(When I have more time I'll add my favorite passage from the book)

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