I've been thinking about the role of religion and politics/economics these days.
At one point I remember thinking that Islam in certain respects seems leftist. Or to be more precise, it is critical of capitalism in a deep way. I mean, there are too many ethical constraints on the uses and abuses of wealth for anyone to say with a straight face that Islam gives unqualified suport to a laissez faire economy or gives unfettered freedom to the market. There are rules against charging interest, on hoarding wealth, on price gouging, limitations on sharecropping, on the uses of natural resources. etc. Not all economic behavior between consenting adults is permitted. One of the 5 pillars of the religion is a wealth redistribution program. Ramadan is a month-long reminder on the plight of the hungry. The Eids come with their obligation to feed the hungry as well. The money that we "have" isn't really ours anyway. It is just a trust, and we are accountable to God for what we do with it.
And then on top of that, due to "recent" historical events, the Muslim world has been very much on the receiving end of colonialism, globalization, and the modern manifestations of McWorld.
In varied ways, Muslims suffer from imposed identities. Where that could mean "Russian" (instead of Chechen) or "Chinese" (instead of Ughyar) or "Filpino" (instead of being from Mindanao) or "Indian" (instead of Kashmiri) etc. Instead of naming themselves and defining an autonomous existence they/we are being defined by others. It seems like an all-too-common story.
Islam is almost perfectly suited and situated to be the ultimate liberation theology, not just in terms of its principles but in terms of its demographics.
In terms of economic principles it would strive to moderate the excesses of capitalism. And in national struggles it can be a strong force for unity and solidarity.
So why should progressive Islam be so contraversial in some circles?
Some elements of the Muslim community are conservative, but it isn't exactly clear to me where their attitudes and beliefs are grounded. In the US presidential election before last, a coalition of Muslim organizations actually endorsed Bush ?!?! But in the election before, Clinton was the most popular candidate among Muslims. And actually, in both of the last two elections, Nader did rather well with Muslims.
The factors which conceivably played a part in all this are varied. Perhaps some wealthy immigrant Muslims were simply voting their pocketbooks and went Republican. Perhaps they believed the family values rhetoric. Anti-Semitism against Gore's choice of Lieberman as a running mate played no small roll. Perhaps a naiveness about how America treats non-white immigrants was also an issue. Allegedly one factor was that in one of the debates, Bush made a few comments suggesting that he was going to address the secret evidence laws, while Gore was relatively silent on the issues. And so somehow by some bizzare "thought" process some came to the conclusion that the Republican party would best defend their civil rights... go figure. Of course many African-American Muslims generally voted Democratic and in the wake of the umbrella endorsement of Bush, Black Muslims founded a few progressive Muslim political organizations to express dissent.
But this is all a rehash. But in the future I think it still remains an open question how the Muslims will fit into the American political spectrum. One possibility is that traditional concerns for family values along with a concern for social justice will put Muslims in a balanced position where they would be courted as a group because they would form a swing block. In some sense that would be the ideal. Regardless, it will be interesting to see how Muslims will assert themselves in the US political spectrum.
Anyway.. enough for now.. more later.
Friday, March 18, 2005
It's a black thing?
According to the Nation (of Islam), Islam is the natural religion for the original Asiatic Blackman, the maker, the owner, the cream of the planet earth, father of civilization, God of the universe. And for them, Christianity is the white slaveowner's religion.
I'm not sure that I would say all that, but it is *slightly* more true than not true.
But I really don't mean to embrace the exclusive aspects. It would be better to frame this as a rejection of the Afrocentrist (in particular Asante's) argument that Islam is an "Arab" religion and that Blacks who accept Islam have somehow gotten off-center. Blackness and Islam interweave much too tightly, too intimately, too frequently, too deeply for Asante to make his claim.
I once saw the National spokesman for the Hebrew Israelites being interviewed on tv (cable public access) by Munir Muhammad. He basically said that the Middle East should be thought of as Northeastern Africa. In alot of ways, I think that is the correct argument to make. Islam and "Afrocentricity" can be reconciled because the Muslim world overlaps with the African.
At the same time, Islam manages to be universal. As Schuon puts it, Islam is about the meeting between God as such, and man as such. And to show this it should be sufficient to point to the various groups of ethnic Muslims outside of the Middle East, in Subsaharan Africa, in China, India, Pakistan, Indonesia and the rest of Southeast Asia, in the United States, and of course in the former Soviet Unions. Just think about the situation of the Chechens, who are ethnic Muslims from the Caucus region... where the Muslims are so white that they named white people after them... lol... By no means is Islam merely bound to 7th century Arabia.
I'm not sure that I would say all that, but it is *slightly* more true than not true.
But I really don't mean to embrace the exclusive aspects. It would be better to frame this as a rejection of the Afrocentrist (in particular Asante's) argument that Islam is an "Arab" religion and that Blacks who accept Islam have somehow gotten off-center. Blackness and Islam interweave much too tightly, too intimately, too frequently, too deeply for Asante to make his claim.
I once saw the National spokesman for the Hebrew Israelites being interviewed on tv (cable public access) by Munir Muhammad. He basically said that the Middle East should be thought of as Northeastern Africa. In alot of ways, I think that is the correct argument to make. Islam and "Afrocentricity" can be reconciled because the Muslim world overlaps with the African.
At the same time, Islam manages to be universal. As Schuon puts it, Islam is about the meeting between God as such, and man as such. And to show this it should be sufficient to point to the various groups of ethnic Muslims outside of the Middle East, in Subsaharan Africa, in China, India, Pakistan, Indonesia and the rest of Southeast Asia, in the United States, and of course in the former Soviet Unions. Just think about the situation of the Chechens, who are ethnic Muslims from the Caucus region... where the Muslims are so white that they named white people after them... lol... By no means is Islam merely bound to 7th century Arabia.
Thursday, March 17, 2005
not tonight...
I didn't make it to dhikr tonight. But today was otherwise decent.
I wonder to what extent clubs and dancing and drunkeness really are a quest for the divine. Rumi's hymns for a love to deep for idolatry, are quickly converted to anthems to ass and titty.
For a change of gears: Making some reasonable progress on the academic front. But consistency is important now. Slow and steady wins the race.
I wonder to what extent clubs and dancing and drunkeness really are a quest for the divine. Rumi's hymns for a love to deep for idolatry, are quickly converted to anthems to ass and titty.
For a change of gears: Making some reasonable progress on the academic front. But consistency is important now. Slow and steady wins the race.
My name is Kunta
To continue with the theme, blackness appears from the very beginning of Islamic history. Not just with a token appearance from Bilal (ra) but in more significant ways. I mean just look on a map and consider how close the Arabian Peninsula is to Africa. Bilal wasn't the only "Black" companion. There were many people from Ethiopia. The Arabian Peninsula and Ethiopia were part of the same cultural world. From the incident of the elephent which occured the year the prophet (saaws) was born and which was mentioned in the Quran. To the time the companions were refugees in Ethiopia before the community of Medina was established. According to some accounts, Umar was part Abyssinian. In fact according to one Black "Iraqi" classical writer, Al-Jahiz, Abd al-Muttalib, the guardian of the sacred Kaaba, "fathered ten Lords, Black as the night and magnificent." One of these men was Abdallah, the father of the Prophet Muhammad (saaws).
Conversely, Islam plays an important role in Black spaces. From the convergences mentioned above we can look at the Black Muslim civilizations of Africa, the development of Swahili, to the diaspora where aspects of Muslim experience survived the middle passage experience (even if in some cases, it was difficult for certain practices to last more than a few generations.) But then we see a resurgance in more recent African-American experience as Blacks rediscover and reclaim Islam, through the Nation of Islam, the Five Percenters, Dar-ul-Islam, etc. We see Black Muslim political organizing with organizations like Project H.O.P.E (Helping Oppressed People Everyday) in LA or in cultural groups and movements (e.g. in the recent past there were the many African-American Muslim jazz musicians or the Last Poets, and more currently in groups or individuals like Mos Def, the Roots, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest or even Dave Chapelle)
The original Afrocentrist, Molefi Kete Asante, seems to think that Black Muslims are off-center (i.e. not centered on Africa as he thinks we should be) but he fails to see that there are real long-standing organic connections between the Muslim world and the Black world. It is interesting to note that in fact, a fair number of the individuals claimed by the "Afrocentric" movement themselves also identify with Islam; Malcolm X, Naim Akbar, Cheikh Anta Diop, and others.
Well, that should be it for now. More later
Conversely, Islam plays an important role in Black spaces. From the convergences mentioned above we can look at the Black Muslim civilizations of Africa, the development of Swahili, to the diaspora where aspects of Muslim experience survived the middle passage experience (even if in some cases, it was difficult for certain practices to last more than a few generations.) But then we see a resurgance in more recent African-American experience as Blacks rediscover and reclaim Islam, through the Nation of Islam, the Five Percenters, Dar-ul-Islam, etc. We see Black Muslim political organizing with organizations like Project H.O.P.E (Helping Oppressed People Everyday) in LA or in cultural groups and movements (e.g. in the recent past there were the many African-American Muslim jazz musicians or the Last Poets, and more currently in groups or individuals like Mos Def, the Roots, De La Soul, A Tribe Called Quest or even Dave Chapelle)
The original Afrocentrist, Molefi Kete Asante, seems to think that Black Muslims are off-center (i.e. not centered on Africa as he thinks we should be) but he fails to see that there are real long-standing organic connections between the Muslim world and the Black world. It is interesting to note that in fact, a fair number of the individuals claimed by the "Afrocentric" movement themselves also identify with Islam; Malcolm X, Naim Akbar, Cheikh Anta Diop, and others.
Well, that should be it for now. More later
It's not easy being...
I just went for lunch at a Mexican restaurant today and the tortillas and rice were dyed green! I believe this is one of the signs of the apocalypse.
Wearing Green
Well, I just woke up and am about to go off to meet with my professor soon. Every year about this time I think about that line from the song, Split Personality. I think it is by an alternative black rock group called Basehead. And the line goes "My pride is racist/people say/ yet no one minds/St. Patrick's Day"
On a somewhat unrelated note, now in North America there seems to be an issue playing itself out in a number of ways. What does Progressive Islam mean? What does it mean to be a Progressive Muslim? The specific issue these days is whether it is permissible for a woman to lead a Friday prayer with mixed-genders and/or give the khutbah. Also, this is only "somewhat" unrelated to the above because, if I understood the story correctly, the woman in question this time was Amina Wadud, the African-American Muslim woman who wrote the book "The Quran and Women" about how to re-approach the Quran in ways that are more liberating to women.
When (Or if) America finally develops a specifically American Muslim culture, a very large component of that mix will be African-American. And it seems important and necessary to articulate what the relation is between being Muslim and being Black. There are wide, varied, deep, concrete intersections between the Muslim world and the Black world. But more work could be done to map out that territory.
On a somewhat unrelated note, now in North America there seems to be an issue playing itself out in a number of ways. What does Progressive Islam mean? What does it mean to be a Progressive Muslim? The specific issue these days is whether it is permissible for a woman to lead a Friday prayer with mixed-genders and/or give the khutbah. Also, this is only "somewhat" unrelated to the above because, if I understood the story correctly, the woman in question this time was Amina Wadud, the African-American Muslim woman who wrote the book "The Quran and Women" about how to re-approach the Quran in ways that are more liberating to women.
When (Or if) America finally develops a specifically American Muslim culture, a very large component of that mix will be African-American. And it seems important and necessary to articulate what the relation is between being Muslim and being Black. There are wide, varied, deep, concrete intersections between the Muslim world and the Black world. But more work could be done to map out that territory.
Second Things Second
It is very early in the morning and I have been up late. I am getting tired and will probably close my eyes soon. In the evening I hope I will be in a position to go to the Shadhili dhikr in the area. I've only been a few times now but it is interesting. It is important for me to have some kind of serious spiritual practice that nurtures me and helps me to come back to where I should be. To remind me, after all that's what "dhikr" means.
Some interesting things about the Shadhilis. Their language is actually similar to the Bahais in some ways. It makes me wonder how deep the connection runs. Actually, I also wonder how close this particular group is to Rene Guenon's crowd. (which was also Shadhili)
Also, the first time I went for dhikr, that was the first Muslim gathering I'd ever gone to where everyone else was a white American. It makes me wonder how different the demographics of Islam in the United States would be if it weren't for groups like the Nation of Islam, Dar-ul-Islam, the Hanafis (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's group), etc.
Well, that's it for now. Good night.
Some interesting things about the Shadhilis. Their language is actually similar to the Bahais in some ways. It makes me wonder how deep the connection runs. Actually, I also wonder how close this particular group is to Rene Guenon's crowd. (which was also Shadhili)
Also, the first time I went for dhikr, that was the first Muslim gathering I'd ever gone to where everyone else was a white American. It makes me wonder how different the demographics of Islam in the United States would be if it weren't for groups like the Nation of Islam, Dar-ul-Islam, the Hanafis (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's group), etc.
Well, that's it for now. Good night.
First things first
This is the first post for Planet Grenada and my first attempt at "blogging". To be honest, I didn't spend a long time trying to find "just" the right name for this blog but I think this will do nicely. Grenada was last stronghold of the Muslims in Spain when the Christians took back the country in the Reconquista. Grenada is also the the name of the Caribbean country whose temporary Marxist regime was toppled by the Reagan Administration in the 1980's. (I can identify with both uses in interesting ways) Calling it *Planet* Grenada seems fitting to me since I've been thinking about and intrigued by the Afro-futurism movement recently and its ideas seem to resonate with some of my recent thoughts and activities. So for the moment, the name seems to evoke all the right things.
It also seems a bit fitting to get this thing going in the early hours of St. Patrick's Day. At least, according to one version of the the St. Patrick's day legend, the usual story of St. Patrick driving the snakes out of Ireland was actually a kind of bait-and-switch and the snakes are in reality a stand in for the Moors.
Anyway, this is enough introduction for now.
More to come later.
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