islam needs radicals

From In These Times: Islam Needs Radicals by Mark Levine gets at some of the label issues I have been wrestling with for a while now. Radical, Left, Right, Liberal, Moderate, Conservative, Traditional, Reformer, Extremist, Fundamentalist. All these labels have their nuances and they all mean different things and answer different questions: Do you follow traditional scholarship or do you try to re-interpret the source texts apart from tradition? Should Islam accomodate itself to the larger secular society or the other way around? What is your attitude towards American foreign policy? What is your attitude towards wealth and political power in general? Do you tend to read the texts literally or figuratively? Do you tend to read the texts in ways which restrict conduct/behavior or are permissive?

It is common to find Western commentary on Islam which seems to assume that there are two camps; "good Muslims" and "bad Muslims" who can be easily distinguished based on their answers to the above questions. But on the contrary, these questions actually outline a multidimensional space where for almost any given combination of answers one could probably find a group which espouses that particular combination.

Past Grenada entries on related subjects:
take a step to the left
progressive islam?
the spiritual left
what is progressive islam?
lily munir on indonesian islamic liberation theology
tariq ramadan and globalization
muslim anarchism
how progressive is the progressive muslim movement?

muslims in the caribbean

Muslims in America & the Caribbean - years before Columbus is an interesting article giving a historical overview of some of the early contacts between Muslims and the people of the Caribbean.

While Muslim Situation in the Caribbean from the Muslim World League Journal and Muslims in the Caribbean by Larry Luxner summarize the current condition of Muslims and Islamic institutions on the Caribbean islands.

octavia butler

When I started this blog I called it *Planet* Grenada to try to evoke Afro-futurism as a theme. In reality, I've only touched on the subject occasionally. So I figure that now would be a good time to mention it again.

Recently, on Democracy NOW! there was an interview with Octavia Butler on Race, Global Warming and Religion. The interview deals with Butler's new book Fledgling about a Black female vampire and also touches on the two books Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents which are about a near-future world where ecological problems and certain other factors have led to a much more brutal and violent society. One of the few bright signs of hope in this future world is a particular woman with a unique gift for empathy. On top of that, her journal, a collection of revelations and insights she makes for herself at first, becomes the scripture for a new religious movement which helps to bring new life to a crumbling world.


Some excerpts:

Choose your leaders with wisdom and forethought. To be led by a coward is to be controlled by all that the coward fears. To be led by a fool is to be led by the opportunists who control the fool. To be led by a thief is to offer up your most precious treasures to be stolen. To be led by a liar is to ask to be lied to. To be led by a tyrant is to sell yourself and those you love into slavery.

and

Beware, all too often we say what we hear others say. We think what we are told that we think. We see what we are permitted to see. Worse, we see what we are told that we see. Repetition and pride are the keys to this. To hear and to see even an obvious lie again and again and again, maybe to say it almost by reflex, and then to defend it because we have said it, and at last to embrace it because we've defended it.

Good advice in any world.

a history of the african-olmecs

From Race and History: A History Of The African-Olmecs

clippings on latino muslims

In fact, the Pluralism Project also has links to other brief human-interest stories about the Latino Muslim experience:

Chicagoland Eid Celebrations Expand with Immigrant Muslim Communities

Columbia Students Discuss Role of Islam in Latino Culture, Break Fast with Tex-Mex

Number of Latino Muslims Increases Significantly in the US

Growing Number of Latinos Converting to Islam in the US

Latino Muslim speaks about religion

the emerging latino muslim community in america

The Emerging Latino Muslim Community in America is an academic report prepared by student researcher Abbas Barzegar as a part of something called the Pluralism Project. The following is just an excerpt (for the whole report, click the link above) but it raises some interesting questions on where Latino Muslims are headed in the future.

Future research that aims at understanding the significance of the rising role of Islam amongst Latinos in the United States needs to be placed along a comprehensive matrix that allows for the analysis of a number of variables simultaneously. Some of the factors that need attention include the religious tone of the Latino community, the role of Latinos in the United States, the location of Islam in American civic life, the relationships between immigrant Muslim communities and Latinos, along with a host of other concerns. I briefly present a few directions for possible future research.

As alluded to before the presence of African American Muslims in major metropolitan areas has, in various ways, contributed to the rise of Latino Muslim conversion. Islam’s visible presence in the black community dates back to the early years of the 20th century and has grown exponentially since. Today the African American Muslim community is extremely diverse in its makeup, which has produced multiple layers of cultural contribution to American society by way of religious orientation. Furthermore, because most Latinos live in metropolitan centers and thus share the same space as many African American Muslims, it is safe to say that Latino Muslims have been influenced whether, directly or indirectly by the African American Muslim community. Researching the correlation between African American Muslim cultural visibility and contribution and its effect on Latinos who convert to Islam may require more than survey questions and interviews. An ethnographic assessment of Islam as it is portrayed in inner city life may produce the information we need to examine the larger implications of Latino conversion to Islam. We may soon be in a position to ask whether or not there exists an identifiable indigenous American Muslim culture, that is, a culture of Muslims in America that is a product of conversion and not immigration.

The fact that Latinos and African Americans are converting to Islam tempts the question of race and ethnicity in America. Why is it that segments of these two historically disenfranchised communities have found meaning in the religion of Islam? Does Islam provide something unique to these communities that they have not found in other religions? Many testimonies of both African American and Latino American Muslims address the way in which the structure of Islamic belief systems serve to combat deteriorating social conditions in both communities, such as drug/alcohol abuse, gang and domestic violence, the decline of traditional family settings, and so forth.

It is also interesting to note that at a time when Islam is dubbed in public discourse a hateful, dangerous and violent religion, conversion rates increase. What might explain this phenomenon? Can it be related to the different ways different communities perceive Islam? If so, what are the contours of these differences? Furthermore, it seems that there is a tendency to emphasize religious identity above cultural and ethnic identity in most Muslim communities, how might this factor into the lived experiences of community members, who have to occupy the Latino and Islamic worlds simultaneously? Are communities forging new identities or manipulating new ones? It is also necessary, no matter how fascinated we are with the idea of Latino Muslims, to ask why there are dozens of millions of Latinos who have chosen not to convert to Islam, and perhaps the thousands that were interested but decided not to? Opening a discourse on Latino Muslims in the United States can be a fruitful endeavor and should be considered.

The simultaneous presence of Islam in the national consciousness of the American public and its rapid growth among various groups in the United States raises an interesting set of questions. To treat the phenomenon of Latino Muslim conversion laxly would be a mistake. Roughly a half century ago there existed a group of ‘so-called’ African American Muslims. Leading opinions of the time considered the movement to be temporal one based off of the charisma of various leaders. However, today there are over an estimated 4 million African American Muslims in America. The empirical trend leads us to question the potential future of the current 40,000 Latino Muslims. If trends continue the landscape of American society in just few decades may look dramatically different. The study of Latino Muslims as a component in the Muslim American landscape may yield insights, not only in related academic fields, but also into the uncertain yet impending future of American society.

npr on malcolm x

Here are a number of reports related to Malcolm X which appeared on NPR for the past couple of years. Enjoy.

npr on latino/hispanic muslims

Here are two older reports from National Public Radio on Latino/Hispanic Muslims:

Islam and Hispanics From Chicago Public Radio, Shirley Jahad reports on the thousands of American Latinos who are members of the Muslim faith. The Islamic Society of North America is met to focus on the link between Islam and Hispanic populations.

Latino Muslims NPR's Laura Sydell reports on the increasing conversion of Latinos from Christianity to Islam. The number of Latinos Muslims remains small but mark a significant change. Sydell attended a gathering in Stockton California of Latino Muslims and has this report.

the unfinished dialogue

Well, I won't be going to California to see Zaid Shakir and Cornel West speak on the legacies of Malcolm and Martin. But I can read: The Unfinished Dialogue of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X by Clayborne Carson

Also from the Malcolm X Project journal:
Premillennium Tension: Malcolm X and the Eschatology of the Nation of Islam by Wayne Taylor

Going Back to Our Own: Interpreting Malcolm X's Transition from "Black Asiatic" to "Afro-American" by Liz Mazucci

which superhero are you?

Aww...Bruce..
You didn't ask to be like this! But you do have to
admit, you have some reaaaal repressed anger
issues. You're a good guy! Until someone pisses
you off! You aren't really a superhero..You're
more of a monster who can go either way in
situations.


Which superhero are you? (This is for the boys)
brought to you by Quizilla

beware of the hand...

Beware of the hand
When it's comin' from the left
I ain't trippin' just watch ya step
-Public Enemy, "Can't Truss It"

i'm rick james, ukhti?

I totally didn't know this until Da (whose blog is called Crime of Aquinas) mentioned it in a comment to a Grenada entry. But yes, apparently Rick James did come to identify with Islam before he passed. Here is an excerpt from an old interview with Jigsaw at AllHipHop.com

AllHipHop.com: Are you Muslim?

Rick: I study Islam and prefer to call God, Allah. I have studied Islam for 7 years. I am a spiritualist, I believe in God but I prefer to call him Allah

AllHipHop.com: What attracted you to Islam?

Rick: Because Islam is one of the most powerful dedicated regimented religions that I have ever studied. And it opened up a whole new light for me.

AllHipHop.com: Did you study this on your own, or did you have someone….

Rick: Allah, or God, leads you towards what you are supposed to do, when I was thinking about my stroke, and my mother and stuff, the only person I could turn to was God. Christianity, I didn’t believe in. Islam is not interested in what you wear, and it doesn’t care for all of that.

AllHipHop.com: I had expressed converting to Islam, with a girlfriend of mines…

Rick: When you convert to Islam you have to be ready, you have to pray five times a day. You have to know what you are getting into.

AllHipHop.com: She was immediately turned off, now with mainstream and in accordance with situation in Iraq…

Rick: There has always been in every religion, warriors and soldiers, you have fanatics. Bin Laden, we are the Bin Laden terrorists of the world, we have killed more people than Bin Laden and Saddam put together with Adolf Hitler. We dropped bombs and killed millions of people in Japan.

AllHipHop.com: Do you consider the current war, a holy war?

Rick: No, it isn’t a holy war, it is a war based on money. The only reason we went over there was to kill Saddam to get the oil. It’s a shame, ‘cause Bush’s racist brother was stopping blacks from going to the polls.

AllHipHop.com: Have you seen Fahrenheit 9/11?

Rick: I loved it. What do you think? I mean, Republicans believe it’s not true, but it is fact based. The media seems to not be as critical of the President. The President does not have the ultimate power; the largest power seat in the US is Chairman of the House. Because you can’t f**k with him. That’s what Arnold Schwartzenegger is going to run for. Louis Stokes is my first cousin and he has been a congressman for over 50 years. Me and him talk a lot, and he told me that’s the most important position. People don’t know that big brother’s are going to be watching them.

The entire interview is in 6 parts and available at AllHipHop.com

a day in the life of damali ayo

I've mentioned the work of conceptual artist Damali Ayo before (see tokens aren't just for buses and damali ayo). And now that she has come out with her new book "How to Rent a Negro", ABC News recently did a story: A day in the Life of Damali Ayo.

state of emergency declared in france

AlJazeera: State of emergency declared in France

the malcolm x project

Under the direction of Dr. Manning Marable and with the guidance of members of the Shabazz family, the Institute for Research in African-American Studies at Columbia University has launched the Malcolm X Project. The project would bring together electronic, media and film records related to malcolm x, as well as compiling and organizing the full range of written materials related to Malcolm X (correspondence, speeches, interviews, unpublished writings).

Here is the home page for the Malcolm X project and here is the Malcolm X Project Journal which is a related blog where some interesting articles and films are already available.

what's my name, fool?

To be honest, I don't often watch sports and I tend to think of them as pretty inconsequential. The topic reminds me of the Boondocks strip where Huey is sitting in front of the television and the announcer's voice (filtered through Huey's mind) says: "And today in sports, a black man somewhere ran with a ball and jumped with a ball and threw a ball and people got really excited as if they hadn't seen it a million times before". But in fact, there are certainly times when athletic competitions can have deep political/cultural implications.

This is an excerpt from Dave Zirin's new book, What's My Name, Fool?: Sports and Resistance in the United States (Haymarket Books, 2005).

No sport has chewed athletes up and spit them out -- especially black athletes -- quite like boxing. For the very few who "make it," it is never the sport of choice. Boxing has always been for the poor, for people born at the absolute margins of society. The first boxers in the United States were slaves. Southern plantation owners amused themselves by putting together the strongest slaves and having them fight it out while wearing iron collars.

After the abolition of slavery, boxing was unique among sports because it was desegregated as early as the turn of the last century. This was not because the people who ran boxing were in any way progressive. They make the people who run boxing today resemble gentlemen of great character. Those early promoters simply wanted to make a buck off the rampant racism in American society by pitting black vs. white for public spectacle. Unwittingly, these early fight financiers opened up a space in which the white supremacist ideas of the day could be challenged. This was the era of deeply racist pseudo-science. The attitude of the social Darwinist quacks was that blacks were not only mentally inferior but also physically inferior to whites. Blacks were cast as too lazy and too undisciplined to ever be taken seriously as athletes.

When Jack Johnson became the first black heavyweight-boxing champion in 1908, his victory created a serious crisis for these ideas. The media whipped up in a frenzy about the need for a "Great White Hope" to restore order to the world. Former champion Jim Jeffries came out of retirement to restore that order, saying, "I am going into this fight for the sole purpose of proving that a white man is better than a Negro."

At the fight, which took place in 1910, the ringside band played, "All Coons Look Alike to Me," and promoters led the nearly all-white crowd in the chant "Kill the nigger." But Johnson was faster, stronger, and smarter than Jeffries, knocking him out with ease. After Johnson's victory, there were race riots around the country -- in Illinois, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Colorado, Texas, and Washington, D.C. Most of the riots consisted of white lynch mobs attempting to enter black neighborhoods and blacks fighting back.

This reaction to a boxing match was the most widespread simultaneous racial uprising in the U.S. until the riots that followed the 1968 assassination of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Right-wing religious groups immediately organized a movement to ban boxing, and Congress actually passed a law that prohibited the showing of boxing films.

(click here for the full page on AlterNet)

venezuela and free trade

BBC News: Massive Protests in Venezuela against Bush and Free Trade

najee ali v. the boondocks

Ok, Najee Ali has done a lot positive things in the past. I like the brother. I'm often glad he's out there doing the things that he's doing. Some of which I've blogged about:

najee ali and project islamic h.o.p.e.
interview with najee ali
an open letter to minister louis farrakhan
the mexican stamp controversy

And I don't want to take anything away from the good he has done, but sometimes I think that he should work harder to find more constructive targets for his efforts. It's almost as if he is picking targets who will draw more attention to his organization rather than thinking about which efforts will make the most positive impact. Case in point: Najee Ali v. The Boondocks. The first episode of the Boondocks only just aired this Sunday, and Najee Ali is already organizing protests against the show's liberal use of the n-word. Given that The Boondocks represents a rare opportunity to insert a "still small voice" of positive consciousness into the mainstream television media, I definitely wish he would pick his battles more wisely. Of course, the controversy helps raise the profile of his organization, but if he "wins" he might succeed in getting rid of a uniquely positive Black voice on television.

on the paris riots

This is just a summary of some of the previously included links with news/commentary on the Paris riots, plus some new ones. (Coincidentally I'm currently in the middle of reading a book about the French Revolution and am right around the Storming of the Bastille). The similarities are arguably superficial, but then as now, the status quo can't last for long and France is going to have to do some serious soul searching about what kind of country it wants to be.

From MSNBC:New French curfew laws as euro falls on riot fears
BBC:French riots rage despite warning
From Common Dreams:Explosion in the Suburbs
From Alt.Muslim:Paris is Burning: What's Religion Got To Do With It?
From Alt.Muslim:Paris Is Burning: Religion Has A Lot To Do With It
From Black Looks:Mort pour rien - Dead for nothing
From The Moor Next Door:The Violence
From Izzy Mo:Paris is burning and New Orleans has drowned
From Umar's blog:To Riot, or not to Riot
From IslamOnline:France Riots Spreading, Gov't Says 'Organized'

digging below the underground

So the other night I saw Ladybug Mecca and the other 2/3 of Digable Planets (Butterfly and Doodlebug) perform on their reunion tour. Opening for them was the Muslim rapper, Nashid Sulaiman, better known as One.Be.Lo.

There were some interesting contrasts between the two performances. Coming from a mainstream Muslim background, Nashid's songs were generally "positive", but they actually didn't have much specifically Islamic content. (He is much more explicit about his religious beliefs on the S.O.N.O.G.R.A.M. album). Nashid's delivery was clear, cool and laid back. And he performed a number of pieces which I don't think I have heard before.

On the other hand, Digable Planets' songs are intricately laced with Afro-futuristic Five Percenter references ("I got crew kid, seven and a crescent") which gives their language a very unique feel. Digable played mostly old, warmed-over material from their first two albums, Reachin' and Blowout Comb. The only piece which I'm sure was new was performed by Ladybug Mecca from her solo album. The whole evening, it was funny to watch Mecca because she seemed so geeked to see the audience recognize and sing along to their old hits. I was disappointed that they didn't do Femme Fatale. But as expected, they 'ended' with "Cool Like That" before doing a few more songs for an encore.

All in all, it was a good show. And I think it is exciting to think about what will happen as more mainstream Muslims participate in creating popular culture and effectively compete with alternative representations of Islam.

lessons of the five percent
islam and hip-hop
more on muslims and hip-hop
unofficial Digable Planets website
Digable Planets reunion on NPR