Islam is at the heart of an emerging global anti-hegemonic culture that combines diasporic and local cultural elements, and blends Arab, Islamic, black and Hispanic factors to generate "a revolutionary black, Asian and Hispanic globalization, with its own dynamic counter-modernity constructed in order to fight global imperialism. (say what!)
This is Chelby Daigle, aka The Funky Ghetto Hijabi.
I'm interested in learning more about the quote that describes your blog and about Hisham Aidi's work).
Have you read about the group Outlandish's "Outland Moro" philosophy?...seems similar.
My issue is that Islam has been used, like Christianity, as a path to liberation and social justice but also as a justification for colonialism, imperialism, racism and slavery.
As a Muslim committed to anti-oppression politics I can't deny these facts or white-wash them. Coming to terms with this I feel makes me a stronger person spiritually.
Living in Ottawa, Canada affords me the opportunity to interact with Muslims from a diversity of sects, ethnic groups and nationalities: Sunnis, Shias, Ismailis, Ahmadiyyas, Somalis, Eritreans, Ethiopians, Rwandans, Senegalese, Black Nova Scotians, Panjabis, Hyderbadis, Kashmiris, Palestinians, Lebanese, Hazaras, Tamils, Pathans, Uzbeks, Persians, Kuwaitis, Yemenis, Swahilis, Algerians, Turkomans, Moroccans, Iraqis, Amazigh, Bengalis, Kurds, Egyptians, South African Indians, Guyanese Indians, Hausas, Yorubas, Malays, Indonesians, Albanians, Bosnians, Libyans, Sudanese, etc.
It also affords me the opportunity to interact with a diversity of peoples whose experiences with Muslims and/or with life in Muslim-dominated states has been pretty oppressive: Egyptian Copts, Parsis, Lebanese Christians, Southern Sudanese Christians and animists, Iraqi Jews, Malaysian Chinese, Indonesian Christians and Indigenous peoples, Iranian Jews, Pakistani Christians, Sikhs, Hindus, Bah'ais, Syrian Christians, Palestinian Christians, Armenians, Nigerian Christians and animists, etc.
I'm regularly asked to do anti-oppression and anti-racism workshops for various community organizations.
I've decided to use my skills to help Muslim communities deal with some of our internal issues of racism and classism because, quite frankly, Ottawa's Muslim communities are pretty clearly divided along racial and class lines. Depending on how successful this is I might pursue developping materials to work around issues between Muslims and other non-Muslim communities.
i had started to write a response but then apparently my computer didn't want me to send it so this is my second attempt... lol...
i'll try to answer your various points in turn.. first thanks for your comments...
I honestly don't know much more about Aidi than is on my blog. My best suggestion would be to read the paper "Let Us Be Moors" (where I got the quote from) and then look for Robert Young's Postcolonialism: An Historical Introduction (London: Blackwell Publishers, 2001),where Aidi got part of the quote from.
I like Aidi because it seems like his academic interests overlap with subjects I'm curious about. I think in another life I might have "been" him (taken a similar career path).
Actually Aidi has "discovered" and occasionally has given me a heads-up about some of his other papers. MAybe later on down the line I'll do a search and talk about some other things.
In terms of Outland Moro philosophy, I don't think I've heard much about it but I now plan to look it up.
I agree that Christianity and Islam do have a certain amount of ambiguity to them. It continually trips me out that Martin Luther King and the KKK have the ":same religion" in some sense.
And we could find similar examples in Islam.
In this blog (especially in some of the earlier entries) I've argued that Islam is naturally a "liberation theology". I would say it is more clearly anti-racist and more explicitly opposed to economic exploitation. Also, due to the demographics of the Muslim community, (on the receiving end of globalization, living as racialized minorities in the West, or victims of colonialism and neo-colonialism in their own countries) will also encourage an anti-oppression politics.
At the same time, I can't really say that all Muslims are these mini-Malcolms walking around ending injustice. The Muslim community definitely has some deep problems as you point out.
Your community seems really interesting and your work is important. I hope that you find it rewarding. Keep it up!
2 comments:
Salaams,
This is Chelby Daigle, aka The Funky Ghetto Hijabi.
I'm interested in learning more about the quote that describes your blog and about Hisham Aidi's work).
Have you read about the group Outlandish's "Outland Moro" philosophy?...seems similar.
My issue is that Islam has been used, like Christianity, as a path to liberation and social justice but also as a justification for colonialism, imperialism, racism and slavery.
As a Muslim committed to anti-oppression politics I can't deny these facts or white-wash them. Coming to terms with this I feel makes me a stronger person spiritually.
Living in Ottawa, Canada affords me the opportunity to interact with Muslims from a diversity of sects, ethnic groups and nationalities: Sunnis, Shias, Ismailis, Ahmadiyyas, Somalis, Eritreans, Ethiopians, Rwandans, Senegalese, Black Nova Scotians, Panjabis, Hyderbadis, Kashmiris, Palestinians, Lebanese, Hazaras, Tamils, Pathans, Uzbeks, Persians, Kuwaitis, Yemenis, Swahilis, Algerians, Turkomans, Moroccans, Iraqis, Amazigh, Bengalis, Kurds, Egyptians, South African Indians, Guyanese Indians, Hausas, Yorubas, Malays, Indonesians, Albanians, Bosnians, Libyans, Sudanese, etc.
It also affords me the opportunity to interact with a diversity of peoples whose experiences with Muslims and/or with life in Muslim-dominated states has been pretty oppressive: Egyptian Copts, Parsis, Lebanese Christians, Southern Sudanese Christians and animists, Iraqi Jews, Malaysian Chinese, Indonesian Christians and Indigenous peoples, Iranian Jews, Pakistani Christians, Sikhs, Hindus, Bah'ais, Syrian Christians, Palestinian Christians, Armenians, Nigerian Christians and animists, etc.
I'm regularly asked to do anti-oppression and anti-racism workshops for various community organizations.
I've decided to use my skills to help Muslim communities deal with some of our internal issues of racism and classism because, quite frankly, Ottawa's Muslim communities are pretty clearly divided along racial and class lines. Depending on how successful this is I might pursue developping materials to work around issues between Muslims and other non-Muslim communities.
Keep blogging...inshallah.
The Funky Ghetto Hijabi
wasalaam,
i had started to write a response but then apparently my computer didn't want me to send it so this is my second attempt... lol...
i'll try to answer your various points in turn.. first thanks for your comments...
I honestly don't know much more about Aidi than is on my blog. My best suggestion would be to read the paper "Let Us Be Moors" (where I got the quote from) and then look for Robert Young's Postcolonialism: An Historical Introduction (London: Blackwell Publishers, 2001),where Aidi got part of the quote from.
I like Aidi because it seems like his academic interests overlap with subjects I'm curious about. I think in another life I might have "been" him (taken a similar career path).
Actually Aidi has "discovered" and occasionally has given me a heads-up about some of his other papers. MAybe later on down the line I'll do a search and talk about some other things.
In terms of Outland Moro philosophy, I don't think I've heard much about it but I now plan to look it up.
I agree that Christianity and Islam do have a certain amount of ambiguity to them. It continually trips me out that Martin Luther King and the KKK have the ":same religion" in some sense.
And we could find similar examples in Islam.
In this blog (especially in some of the earlier entries) I've argued that Islam is naturally a "liberation theology". I would say it is more clearly anti-racist and more explicitly opposed to economic exploitation. Also, due to the demographics of the Muslim community, (on the receiving end of globalization, living as racialized minorities in the West, or victims of colonialism and neo-colonialism in their own countries) will also encourage an anti-oppression politics.
At the same time, I can't really say that all Muslims are these mini-Malcolms walking around ending injustice. The Muslim community definitely has some deep problems as you point out.
Your community seems really interesting and your work is important. I hope that you find it rewarding. Keep it up!
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