imani

Today is the last day of Kwanzaa and today's principle is Imani or faith; to believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.

I'm a little pressed for time today, so I will limit myself to a few brief comments:

First, I would point out that here there is an obvious but superficial similarity between Karenga's notion of imani and the Islamic concept of iman (also commonly translated as "faith" or "belief"). While Karenga seems to be talking about having faith in created things, the Islamic concept of iman is centered on the Supreme Being who is uncreated.

So, secondly, unlike two days ago when one could argue that Nia and Niyyah could co-exist and complement one another, I would say that here the two terms, iman and imani are harder (if not impossible) to reconcile. Karenga seems to be turning Blackness into an idol, but from an Islamic perspective idolatry is the one unforgivable sin.

So, thirdly, what we should do is start with God and an inclusive notion of justice and taking care of your neighbors and "kinfolk". That might allow for some general feelings of racial solidarity, but it shouldn't reach such extremes that race becomes an idol.