i ching and the tao of islam

Seek knowledge, even as far as China
-well known saying attributed to the prophet Muhammad

I've been reading the I Ching these days. I have a couple of different translations. One of them is the "Taoist I Ching" by Thomas Cleary (who has also translated the Quran, the sayings of the prophet [saaws] and a collection of the sayings of Ali [ra] called "Living and Dying with Grace).

The I Ching is used by some people as a form of divination, but Cleary suggests that this is a corruption and a misunderstanding of its original purpose as a book of wisdom.

In fact, one could speculate that the I Ching could be a "kitab", i.e. a version of a revealed book given to one of the earlier prophets. Some might object that the concepts of Chinese religion don't seem to fit into an Islamic framework, there are a number of works out there which strongly make the opposite case. The most popular work along these lines has got to be Tao of Islam by Sachiko Murata (also a favorite among many bloggers on the Su-Shi webring)

The book persuasively makes the point that in the Islamic tradition there are many different examples of pairs of opposites which are held in some kind of tension which is not dissimilar to the Chinese idea of Yin and Yang. (Heaven and Earth, the Pen and the Tablet, the Right and Left hand of God, Immanence and Transcendence, Mercy and Wrath, Male and Female, Khalifatullah and Abdullah,etc.) So perhaps Chinese thought isn't incompatible with Islam and its just a matter of properly "translating" the concepts from one "language" to another.

(And here is a second review for Tao of Islam by Muhammad Legenhausen)

Actually a similar point is made by another work by Sachiko Murata, Chinese Gleams of Sufi Light which contains translations of certain historically significant texts by Chinese Muslims but also discusses how the Muslims chose to borrow some of the pre-existing concepts of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism in order to explain and express Islamic teachings.

And thirdly, there is also Sufism and Taoism: A Comparative Study of Key Philosophical Concepts by Murata's teacher, Toshihiko Izutsu, which compares and contrasts the thought of Lao-Tzu with that of Ibn Al-Arabi.

All these works serve to bridge the apparent superficial differences between Islamic and Chinese thought. And I would suggest, point to the possibility that many of the classics of Chinese philosophy might be kitabs which can be read fruitfully by Muslims for their benefit.

race and sex

Things get strange when matters of race and sex intersect with one another. And issues get especially charged when a man of color is accused of attacking a woman. Recently I had a conversation with a female (self-identified feminist) who said that she always believes the woman. (We were talking about a white woman we both knew who had made certain accusations against her Indian ex-boyfriend) But especially since the whole issue of lynching had been on my mind these days I made a point of telling her that sometimes women lie and that you need to have a more balanced perspective. There is a long history of certain people using protection of "feminine virtue" as a club to reinforce racist stereotypes and practices. I'm not saying this with the intent of delegitimzing valid concerns and interests of women. Men can certainly be pigs most of the time. But that doesn't necessarily mean that men are every bit as evil as their ex-girlfriends say or that women are always blameless. The truth is usually more complex...

The whole situation is tricky. For example, the argument is often made that certain nationalist, or politically progressive groups tend to be patriarchal and sexist. (e.g. Black Panthers, the Nation, etc.) But it is also true that feminism can tend towards racism. In fact, according to the DadsNow website (DadsNow is a men's rights organization, so I would take what they say with a grain of salt but the claim is interesting nonetheless) the origins of radical feminism in the United States actually lie in the WKKK (Women's Klu Klux Klan).

WKKK women basically went around talking about what black men might do to them, and white men preached of the sanctity of "white womanhood". The sexually hypercharged imagery, together with economic desires of slave-owners, made widespread violence and discrimination against blacks acceptable and even necessary in the public eye. Women got what they wanted by motivating men with horrid sexual imagery about blacks, and men took up their dirty duties protecting the sanctity of "white womanhood".

The WKKK had over 4 million members by 1925, a substantial organization in those days. In Indiana, an estimated 32% of white native-born women were members of the WKKK.. Their work was largely promulgated through networks in the Protestant Church, the Y.W.C.A., and a variety of "vice squad organizations" which blamed all vice on men, but never questioned women's part in it.

By the 1920's, a congressional investigation into the KKK concluded that a woman named Elizabeth Tyler was the "true power" behind the KKK -- the grand dragon serving as little more than a figurehead. Tyler had achieved controlling power by catering to the weaknesses of men, and being the leading fundraiser of the WKKK and even the KKK itself.

And of course, another well-known connection between feminism and racism lies in the fact that Margaret Sanger (the founder of Planned Parenthood) was also a believer in eugenics. So historically the push for greater reproductive control by women was linked with a racist desire to "purify" the population of undesireable elements.

None of the above should be taken as an argument against feminism. We should all work towards creating a world which is fair and just to everyone, especially women. But at the same time, while we are doing so, we should be careful not to get there by demonizing other groups of people.

heru

wow I went to high school with this cat. I knew him back when he was Henry. Now he's Heru the pan-African spoken word artist. I'm not hatin' or anything. Everyone goes through changes. It's just cool to find out a little bit about what he's been up to all this time.

afro-asian crosscurrents in contemporary hip-hop

These days I have been thinking alot about the I Ching (I'll probably write about it more in a different entry) but as I was reading about the subject online I came across this article about numerous ways in which elements from Asian culture appear in hip-hop along with talking about fertile cross-fertilizations between Asian- and African-Americans.

The article is called Afro-Asian Crosscurrents in Contemporary Hip Hop by Ellie M. Hisama

Interactions between African Americans and Asian Americans are, however, multi-faceted, and involve much more than acts of bias, distrust, and violence. Vijay Prashad investigates the political and cultural connections between Blacks and Asians over five centuries, uncovering a history of anti-racist struggle fueled by activists such as Malcolm X and Yuri Kochiyama.2 Robin D. G. Kelley has coined the term “polycultural”—derived from the term “polyrhythmic”—to describe products of different living cultures. In contrast to multiculturalism, which “implies that cultures are fixed, discrete entities that exist side by side—a kind of zoological approach to culture,” 3 polyculturalism acknowledges the simultaneous existence of different cultural lineages in a single person. It recognizes the past and present solidarity between people of color.

an open letter from latinos to african american sisters and brothers

This beautiful statement of unity and positivity has been circulating rather widely online but I decided to use the version of: An Open Letter to African American Sisters and Brothers by Elizabeth Martinez (and signed by a number of Latino activists and intellectuals) from off of the Al-Jazeera website.

interesting weekend...

So I went on a trip to a competition in Milwaukee this weekend. A very sweet friend of mine gave me a four-leaf clover for luck. I don't "believe in" four-leaf clovers but I thought it was a really nice gesture so I took it, put it in a plastic baggie which I kept in my wallet...

So on Friday, when we were on the expressway on the way to the competition we hit a pothole and one of the front tires comes loose from the car, bouncing 20 feet in the air, and then bouncing across several lanes of traffic. The driver was able to maintain control and we reached a median strip on the expressway. We called several towtruck companies who said they wouldn't pick the car up from the expressway but we eventually found one who could. Our group of four was too big to all go in the tow truck so we split up. Two people went with the car in the tow truck to a mechanic where we could try to get it repaired. And the other two of us played a live-action version of Frogger and dodged expressway traffic to get to the street level, and then wandered around the "inner city" of Chicago looking for a public bathroom. Then we got on the L to meet up with the rest of our group downtown. We stopped to eat. Then walked several blocks in search of Union Station and wandered around a good chunk of time before we learned that the train we had planned to take wasn't running any more that night (one teammate had a friend in Evanston and so we were trying to reach their house for the night). So then we had to backtrack to an L station to find an alternate route to the suburbs. To make a long story slightly shorter, we were eventually able to make it to Evanston and crashed there. The next day we had to buy Amtrak tickets for the rest of the distance (which we had planned to drive). So instead of arriving at our destination at 6pm Friday we ended up arriving 10am on Saturday (So we missed some of the preliminary events on Friday evening)

Now comes the competition itself. Our team actually did really well. We made it to the finals. Except that in the finals, when it was my turn to go on, I got an excessive time penalty called which made the difference between winning the competition (and $500) and coming in second place (and getting "nothing"). A number of people told me that something fishy had gone on with the time keeping and so we got more of a penalty than we should have and so we deserved to win. (In fact, they actually had announced our team as the winners of the competition and it was only later that a "correction" was issued) The fact that there were even people on other teams who agreed that we were robbed made me feel better but we still don't get the $500 (which the team could have used).

On a really bizarre note, the afterparty for the competition was held in a bar named Mecca! One of my teammates remarked that in other parts of the country (like DC) the "Muslims" (including Sunni, Shia, Nation or 5%-ers) would have been more active and protested the choice of name but in this city apparently that wasn't the case here in Milwaukee.

Anyway, after a full weekend, we hit the road again on Sunday, taking the train to get back to Chicago where the tire had fallen off. Took the L and a bus to get back to where the car had been fixed. And went the rest of the way by car to go back home.

And on a final note regarding the trip, somewhere along the way I lost my cell phone and I'm still in the midst of trying to get it back.

I'm generally not one to complain so I'm not going to say whether I've been lucky or unlucky this weekend. But it was certainly an adventure.

a moment of silence before i start this poem

After having a very poetry-filled weekend, I thought I would share the following piece by Emmanuel Ortiz called: A moment of silence before I start this poem

Ortiz's piece, along with Suheir Hammad's piece first writing since have got to be my favorite 9/11 poems.

Emmanuel Ortiz is a third-generation Chicano/Puerto Rican/Irish-American community organizer and spoken word poet residing in Minneapolis, MN. He is the author of a chapbook of poems, The Word is a Machete, and his poetry has appeared in numerous publications.In addition to other activities, he is the coordinator of Guerrilla Wordfare, a Twin Cities-based grassroots project bringing together artists of color to address socio-political issues and raise funds for progressive organizing in communities of color through art as a tool of social change.

this just in: it is wrong to lynch people

So in its ever so timely manner of doing things, the senate finally passed a resolution to apologize for the complicity of past Senates in lynching black folks.

Basically, in between 1882 and 1968 nearly 5000 blacks had been lynched in these United States of America. Sometimes under cover of night by angry mobs but other times they happened in the middle of the afternoon where the men, accompanied with their wives and children would watch and bring along their picnic baskets. Several hundred bills were introduced in the House to try to put an end to the practice of lynching but they were all filibustered by southern senators and so they never became law.

So here is a Seattle Times Editorial to provide some historical perspective

And here is a piece in the Clarion Ledger which reminds us that we still have miles to go before we sleep. Basically, even today, there were apparently some (Republican) Senators who give the impression of not wanting to be on the record in public support of the resolution.

the blog is more powerful than the sword...

Here is a BBC News piece entitled Bloggers' 'victory' over Iraq war memos on the role that blogs have played in recent current events (specifically the whole Downing Street Memo issue).

the downing street memo

Many believe the infamous Downing Street Memo is the smoking gun which can be used to impeach Bush... the proof that he lied about the reasons for the Iraq War.

Here is www.downingstreetmemo.com for more information about the memo and what people out there are doing about it.

And Here is the Wikipedia page on the memo

but it would be a good idea

Reporter to M.K. Gandhi: What do you think of Western Civilization?
M.K. Gandhi to Reporter: I think it would be a good idea.

The above comment came up in the course of a late-night conversation on which civilization is the most "culturally advanced" (whatever that means).

It seems to me that it is rather difficult to come up with truly objective standards for the level of progress achieved by a certain group of people. My take on it is that people make what they value and value what they make. If they are Westerners who value speed and efficiency then they will invent microwave ovens and digital watches. And then they will proceed to pat themselves on the back for inventing microwave ovens and digital watches. If they are Middle Easterners or Indians and value spirituality then they will found major religious traditions and then pat themselves on the back for founding major religious traditions.

(It never ceases to trip me out that between Islam, Christianity, and Judaism, not to mention those that follow nearby religions like the followers of Elijah Muhammad, Rastafarians, Hebrew Israelites, Mormons, Mandeans, Karites, Jehovah's Witnesses, Bahais, Druzes, Samaritans, Noachides etc. most Earthlings are in religions which are connected to Abraham somehow. And then between Buddhism, Hinduism, the Sikh faith and the Jain religion, most of the rest follow religious paths coming out of India.)

For some reason, those digital watches are looking less and less impressive.

I remember certain intellectuals trying to make a sharp distinction between civilization and technology. It's one thing to have neat gadgets but the real hallmark of civilization lies in how people are treated.

Other Gandhi Quotes

star wars: an islamic perspective

Irfan Rydhan put together a paper on the connection between Star Wars and Islam (which incorporated some info from Planet Grenada) but you might be interested in seeing the final product or checking out other links and projects on his website.

So the paper is Star Wars: An Islamic Perspective

And the homepage for Jam Productions (An International Video and Film Company) is here.

and also...

The Islamic Artists Society seems to have a good set of links as well.

for instance...

following up with the literary theme... you might want to check out Writeous Sister, Aaminah Hernandez
Moorish Girl (Who seems more interested in Middle Eastern/Arab literary topics than things specifically religious)
Brother Dasham at Muslimpoet.com
and the folks at Rendering Islam
(all either on my blogroll in my links area) to check out what Muslims are doing on the cultural front.

on the road again 2

This weekend I plan to be competing in a poetry slam so after Friday there probably won't be too many entries till Sunday or so.

Going back to an earlier discussion about the formation of an American Muslim culture: I think it would be great if more Muslims decided to create journals, readings, or other kinds of forums to promote our own creative endeavours. The slams have their positive aspects (open, free, democratic) but they also have their negative elements mixed in as well and I sometimes wish there were more alternatives. It would probably be easiest to start with a talent show or a small reading/writing group and move on from there. Bring Muslim poets and writers to perform at your events. etc. They are certainly out there and it would be good to support them.

the reyes brothers

The Godfather of Latin Rap, Mellow Man Ace (Ulpiano Sergio Reyes) and his brother Sen Dog of Cypress Hill (Senen Reyes) will soon be coming out with an album this summer called The Reyes Brothers. Its sort of sad from a certain point of view. They are easily the two biggest Afro-Cuban rappers out there. I used to listen to them when I was younger. But now, I really can't expect much enlightenment from them, spiritual, political or otherwise. Just some grooves and beats.

On the other hand, Sen has appeared on Mellow Man Ace's "Brother with Two Tongues" album and they also both appeared on the Silencio=Muerte: Red, Hot + Latin album (which was made to raise money towards AIDS/HIV research). And their projects together have actually turned out pretty well. (Without too much weed smoke).

ladybug mecca

Before the Fugees... there was Digable Planets... another 3-person crew with good beats, a loosely spiritual (specifically Five Percent Nation of Islam) lyrical landscape, two dudes, and a beautiful woman. They won a Grammy with their first album, Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space). Their second album, Blowout Comb, made less of a splash. And the group essentially broke up to work on their own projects.

But recently, according to Latinrapper.com, in an interview with Ladybug Mecca (who is of Brazilian heritage) she is coming out with a solo album, and she has also been performing with the other members of Digable Planets at a few dates and will soon start to work on a third DP album.

immortal technique

Here is a website for politically-minded Afro-Peruvian rapper Immortal Technique. (includes pictures, interviews, soundclips and more)

cuba without castro

An interesting Associated Press article by Todd Lewan about what will happen to Cuba after Fidel is out of the picture. It suggests changes will happen but that they won't be as sweeping or as radical as some people might imagine.

Quoting Antonio Jorge, economics guru and professor of political economy at Florida International University:

"Cubans have never been pure, savage capitalists, the way Americans are," Jorge says, wistfully. "People forget that. Cuba will have to be rebuilt in the model of a Scandinavian country — say, Sweden." In other words, a socialist-leaning state?

shut down guantanamo!

Taipai Times: Guantanamo Bay prison should be shut down, Republican senator says
Alter-Net: After Guantanamo

Ok, it's one thing to hear Amnesty International or even Jimmy Carter suggesting that the prison at Guantanamo should be shut down. But recently the REPUBLICAN US Senator Mel Martinez is joining the chorus. Maybe someone should take a hint.