another "palestinian martin luther king"

A Palestinian born in the Jabalia refugee camp of the Gaza Strip, Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish overcame tremendous odds to earn his MD. As an OBGYN he practiced in both Palestine and Israel, frequently commuting between the two countries. In January 2009, during a three-week long war, an Israeli tank fired two shells into the doctor’s home, killing three of his daughters and his niece. Dr. Abuelaish was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize because of his commitment to Israeli/Palestinian reconciliation. He is the founder of Daughters for Peace an organization that provides university scholarships as well as leadership programs on health and education to young women in the Middle East. On January 12 we sat down with Dr. Abuelaish after his public lecture about his new bestselling book, I Shall Not Hate, at the Los Angeles Public Library – a part of their ALOUD series. For further coverage of this conversation and Abuelaish’s bestselling book, you can access Ryan Bell’s piece Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish: the Palestinian Martin Luther King in the Huffington Post. See also: Our Enemy is Our Ignorance: An Interview with Dr Abuelaish

(To be honest, I have reservations about the term "Palestinian Martin Luther King". Although it is good to highlight the fact that Palestinians are making some creative, effective and powerful contributions to the peace process, I also don't want to take away from the specificity of what King did.)

ten other things martin luther king said

From Jay Smooth's the Ill Doctrine:

more from zaid shakir

Imam Zaid Shakir, the orthodox Muslim leader who is often called the "new" Malcolm X has some rather timely articles which came out recently on the New Islamic Directions website.

In Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Barack Obama, and the Fate of America Zaid Shakir reflects on a theme which has frequently appeared here on Planet Grenada; the idea that especially towards the end of his life Martin Luther King Jr. was a much more radical critic of American society and government then is suggested by his sanitized publically-approved image. Imam Zaid goes on to suggest that even today, America is not yet ready to tolerate the "real" King's message, and certainly would not elect him president were he alive today.

Herein lays Dr. King’s legacy, an uncompromising struggle against the “giant triplets of racism, materialism and militarism.” That aspect of his work and teachings is unmentioned in the mainstream media. Instead his baritone refraining of “I have a dream” fills the airwaves. After his death, the struggle against those evil “triplets” was not allowed to exist as his enduring legacy. Instead, that legacy has been whitewashed, sanitized and rendered “acceptable” for white middle class sensitivities.

What does all of this have to do with Obama? Obama is a viable African American candidate because he has steadfastly refused to deal with the issues Dr. King was dealing with at the end of his life, even though they are just as relevant today as they were forty years ago. That refusal has seen him distance himself from his activist pastor, Minister Jeremiah Wright. It has seen him avoid any public identification with Rev. Jesse Jackson, a fellow Chicagoan, or similar leaders who are identified with African American civil rights advocacy, and it has seen him ignore issues of relevance to African Americans and the urban and rural poor today.

That he has taken such positions is not an indictment against Obama. It is an indictment against American society which has deemed that an open advocate for such issues is unfit to lead this nation.

In his second article Reflections on Black History Month Zaid Shakir looks at the current situation of Muslims in the United States and suggests that American Muslims (especially African-American Muslims) rather than looking towards violent Third World liberation struggles should look back to the example of enslaved African Muslims in the Americas as role models in the struggles.

The question for us is, “How can we best address the oppressive mechanisms facing us, and those facing our co-religionists in so many redoubts scattered around the globe?” In answering this question, we can gain valuable insight from the lives and struggles of our African Muslim forebears. Superior erudition was the key to the liberation of Job Ben Solomon. Herein is a sign for us. As American Muslims we have been blessed to reside in the most intellectually dynamic society in history. Also, the primal command in our religion is to read. We should enthusiastically pursue the mandate created by these twin facts and push ourselves to become the most educated community on Earth –in religious and worldly knowledge. In so doing, the miracles which were so clearly manifested in the life of Job Ben Solomon will surely bless our lives.

cornel west on the santa clausification of dr. martin luther king jr.

Recently, on Tavis Smiley's show, Cornel West made some timely comments on “The Santa-Clausification” Of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.:
video clip on nobodysmiling.com
transcript from Tavis Smiley's website
I really liked West's comments but I also realize that, after hearing him speak several times and reading much of his work, his basic "rap" is pretty familiar to me so nothing he said was really surprising. But if you like West and haven't seen this yet, check it out. One important insight he shares (which I've tried to get across through many of the mlk posts here) is just that if you take him seriously, Martin's message of love is much more radical, demanding, "dangerous" and "funky" than most folks realize. Therefore his message is sanitized and deodorized for public consumption before it is allowed to spread.

More Cornel West from Grenada's past.
a philosophical view of easter
islam and the passion (for social justice)
that was kanye west, not cornel west -- kanye west
cornel west on katrina
"...he run venezuela"

old boondocks

On a Hill...

Huey to Ceasar: Soon our nation will pause and celebrate the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday. We will reflect on his legacy and his wisdome. Who can forget when he said, "Violence against your fellow man is never the answer...

"... unless you suspect your fellow man has a weapon that you yourself have but don't want him to have, then you should bomb the bejeezus out of 'em!"

Ceasar to Huey: Stop that.

the urgency of now

On the occasion of MLK day, from Chickenbones Journal here is The Fierce Urgency of Now: Martin Luther King Birthday Celebration 2008 by Grace Lee Boggs