happy blog day

.... wow, it's 11:57pm on World Blog Day. The idea is for there to be more cross-pollination in the blogosphere by getting participating bloggers to recommend 5 other 'unknown' blogs to their readers, especially ones which are very different from their own in terms of culture, perspective etc.

I found about this a little too late to participate but it turns out at least two blogs picked Planet Grenada to be one of their 5. One is islamicate (which has actually been on my blogroll for a while now). And the other is my kid's dad by Stuart Berman. I feel honored to be named by both.

Even though I am finding out about this a little late, World Blog Day still seems like a really good idea. I am definitely tempted to come up with a list of 5 or 10 blogs and have my own personal Planet-Grenada-Give-Shout-outs-to-Blogs-Very-Different-from-Mine-but-Which-I-Think-Are-Still-Really-Cool-Anyway-Day. Maybe in a week or two.

if i was president...

...I'd get elected on Friday
...assassinated on Saturday
...and buried on Sunday.


Here is a recording of Wyclef Jean on the Chapelle Show doing the song "If I was President" from the Christians for Dean website. The movie might have some problems but the Mp3 version should be complete. And here are the lyrics (at least one version of them)

negrophobia, hope and gasoline

Interesting day:
Today I went to perform poetry with a buddy of mine at an event for Black incoming students at a nearby University. The performance itself went ok, we were well received. Afterwards a professor approached us for possibly coming to a class of his to talk about hip-hop. (He mentioned the possibility of $$$ compensation which was kinda nice)

Unfortunately on my way there I ran out of gas. (Alhamdulillah it happened close to a rest stop) But this white guy who I never met before saw me having car trouble and actually drove me the rest of the way to my friend's house so I could make it to the performance. Wow, my sense of hope and trust in my fellow man gets a great big boost.

After the performance, and some pizza, my friend and I get a little gallon container of gasoline so I could drive my car to the next gas station. My friend and I go back to that wonderful rest stop which increased my faith in humanity. But after putting the gas in my car and making sure that it would start, an older women with a major case of negrophobia pulls out of the spot next to mine and ends up bumping into my buddy's car while it was standing in the middle of the parking lot. I say she had negrophobia because when my man approached her car to exchange information she absolutely refused to roll down the window or get out of the car until the police came. Apparently based on what she told the police, she must have thought that me and my buddy were going to carjack her or something. She even told the police that my car had "appeared out of nowhere" (even though it had been unmoved and gasless for nearly four hours). Fortunately we had enough evidence to back up our story (my car engine wasn't hot under the hood, we had the receipt for the gas container, the positioning of the cars, etc.). The cop concluded that the incident was the woman's fault but didn't give her a ticket. I think he basically realized she was being paranoid and told us as much after she left.


Negrophobia is something which I think I understand but it is not a condition for which I have a great deal of sympathy. I figure I'm doing my part against negrophobia by going around and NOT mugging and raping folks. But maybe I should do more? Maybe negrophobes need their own telethon? I can just picture it now. Martha Stewart and Wayne Brady could co-host: With performances by Cuba Gooding Jr., Bill Cosby, Levar Burton (He hasn't been Kunta-Kente in a long time), Gary Coleman, Emmanuel Lewis, and Hootie (yeah, I know its not really his name but it is fun to say "Hootie")

But seriously, what is the cure to negrophobia?

the name guadalupe

More on La Virgen De Guadalupe from La Voz de Aztlan:

As the Moslems swept through Spain in the 8th century, a great religious treasure was buried for safe-keeping in the earth, in the Estremadura Mountains. It was a much venerated statue of Our Lady holding the Divine Child Jesus that was a gift of Pope Gregory the Great to Bishop Leander of Seville. After the overthrow of the Moorish occupation, the image was uncovered in the year 1326, subsequent to a vision of Our Lady to a humble shepherd by the name of Gil. Our Lady's very special statue was enshrined in a nearby Franciscan Monastery next to the "Wolf River."

The Moslems, during their Spanish occupation, had actually named the river. The Islamic term for Wolf River is "Guadalupe" (Guada = River; Lupe = Wolf). Hence, the famous Catholic image in Spain has been known, since the 14th century, by the Islamic name of "Our Lady of Guadalupe."

But it appears as if that etymology is probably mistaken. A more probable version (Which also makes a nicer story) is:

Guadalupe. A river in the Spanish region of Extremadura was named by the Moors in Arabic wad(i)-al-hub 'river of love', due to the reputedly aphrodisiac qualities of its water. This river gave its name to the original sanctuary of Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe which contains a portrait of the Madonna as a woman with dark, Spanish features, nicknamed La Morenita 'the little Moorish woman', the patron saint of the Spanish world. The Spanish town of Guadalupe in Cáceres province is still a centre of pilgrimage.

source

more thoughts from the guadalupe candle

Finding the Virgen de Guadalupe candle also reminded me of how sainthood exists within Islam as well. And traditional Islam has always recognized the closeness (wilaya) which some individuals have to Allah, and has also recognized the merit of seeking intercession (tawassul [1] [2]) through a righteous intermediary. Moreover, even in Islam, Mary herself is seen as the holiest woman who ever was. Some even consider her to be a prophet (because the Annunciation was arguably an example of revelation from Gabriel, not unlike the prophet Muhamad [saaws]). In fact, except for the "mother of God" line, the Hail Mary prayer is pretty much (Islamically) orthodox. Alot more could be said on the subject of Mary in Islam, especially in ways which resonate with Planet Grenada (Fatima is one obvious example which comes to mind.). I'll proabably write up certain ideas in the blog in the future as they become clearer.

joan of rice

Image from Project for the OLD American Century

islam in mexico - the spanish conquest

Someone in my building recently threw out one of those big tall candles to La Virgen de Guadalupe (this one happened to be "rose"-scented) and it got me thinking about certain issues and looking up stuff online (which is how I discovered alot of the recent articles I just posted).

One more such interesting article is a piece on the Spanish Conquest from the website of the Muslim Center De Mexico in Morelos which talks about La Virgen and other religious issues in Mexico.

once upon a time in andalusia

A nostalgic look back to Islamic Spain by Dr. Abdellatif Charafi

muslims in the caribbean before columbus

Muslims in the Caribbean Before Columbus by Abdullah Hakim Quick The title of this informative and rich article says it all. Check it out.

jamaica - the muslim legacy

Jamaica - The Muslim Legacy by Sultana Afroz

The spirit of jihad in Jamaica and the West Indies entered a new phase of peaceful consolidation following the jihad of 1831-32; that of replacing slavery by indentureship (1838).

About 16 percent of the 37,000 indentured Indian immigrants who arrived between 1845 and 1917 were Muslims. Despite their small number and the adverse environment, they established Islamic institutions. The inner struggle for self-purification replaced the defensive jihad of the Maroons and the Muslim African slaves. This revitalized Islam in Jamaica. India had been ruled by Muslims from the early 13th century. The Moghuls (1526-1858) enriched India by building a great empire that still is a source of pride in modern India.


Slavery had lost its importance by the 1830s. India and China were prominent in Britain's commerce ad trade, making enormous contributions to its industrialization and economy.

After losing the North American colonies, Britain sought to make India a classical-style colony. The British exchequer knew of the East's immense wealth, as the East India Company's trade in silk, muslin, cotton and piece goods had generated great wealth for Britain since the late seventeenth century.

India was the home of cloth manufacturing and the greatest and almost sole supplier of cotton goods, precious stones, drugs, and other valuable products. Evidence suggests that "all the gold and silver of the universe found a thousand and one channels for entering into India, but there was not a single outlet for the precious metals to go out of the country."

The empire's opulence and religious harmony gave way to violence and plunder as Britain, following its victory at the Battle of Plassey (1857), pursued a divide-and-rule policy. Evidence suggests that probably between Waterloo (1815) and Plassey a sum of £1 billion was transferred from India to British banks. Between 1833-47, another £315 million flowed into the British economy.

But Britain was not content. To meet its labour needs in the British West Indies, Britain exported about 500,000 East Indians to the Caribbean (1838-1917).

Out of 80,000 Muslims, about 6,000 came to Jamaica during the indentureship period. Their small numbers and challenges of plantation life (starvation, un-Islamic diet, deplorable living conditions in barracks shared by 25-50 adults of different origin, ages, sex, religion, kinship, and 9-hour work days) strengthened their spiritual struggle.

Many came from such predominantly Muslim cities as Lucknow, Allahabad, Ghazipur, Gorakpur, and Shahabad, all of which had witnessed the zenith of Islamic culture and social life. These Muslims ensured the preservation of Islamic identity through community solidarity, adherence to Islamic culture and values, and Islamic education.

This unity manifested itself in the establishment of 2 masjids, which institutionalized Islam in Jamaica.

Muhammad Khan, who came to Jamaica in 1915 at the age of 15, built Masjid Ar-Rahman in Spanish Town in 1957, while Westmoreland's Masjid Hussein was built by Muhammad Golaub, who immigrated with his father at the age of 7.

This masjid was named in honor of its first imam, Tofazzal Hussein. The two masjids became the community's spiritual centers, and united the Muslims by teaching them about Islam and its practices. They functioned like the Holy Mosque in Makkah in worship, and like the Prophet's Mosque in Madinah in terms of the community's spiritual, educational, social, and political life. The indentured Muslims laid the foundation of the 8 other masjids established in Jamaica since the 1960s, with the advent of an African Muslim community that now forms the largest Muslim ethnic group.

With the Indian indentured Muslims, and then with others from the Subcontinent, came the rich Moghul culture's culinary arts, fashion, lifestyle, and aesthetic arts. Gastronomy and exotic delicacies and entertainment dishes have been appreciated at state functions, special ceremonies, and restaurants bearing such Moghul names as The Taj Mahal and Akbar.

Since the 1960s, the variety of Moghlai dishes has increased by new immigrants from the Subcontinent. These Moghul-inspired delicacies are cherished in Jamaica, and more particularly in Trinidad and Guyana.

source

christopher columbus: the facts vs. the myth

The title of this speaks for itself:
Christopher Columbus: The Facts vs. the Myth by O. Altalib looks at the "discovery" from the perspective of at least one Muslim.

spain's islamic past

This is a very brief piece called Spain's Islamic Past by Gerald Butt which uses the Alhambra in Spain as the principal signpost for the Islamic contribution in Spanish history.

remembering (and forgetting) african muslims in the americas

Remembering (and forgetting) African Muslims in the Americas by J A Progler is an interesting discussion of the ways in which Islam was still manifested in the lives of Muslim slaves brought to the Americas. Starting with the Amistad Rebellion and the events of Alex Haley's Roots, this article also mentions that Makandal, a national hero who led a slave revolt in Haiti and was thought of as a "conjurer" was probably Muslim.

islam and columbus' america

I recently found another website with a series of articles on Islamic Spain. One is Islam and Columbus' America: Lessons We Can Learn from the Fall of Islamic Spain by T.B. Irving a Muslim scholar who also produced an "American" English translation of the Quran.

in da club...

Just a quick question I felt like putting out there:
Which is weirder, seeing a Muslim in a nightclub, or seeing a handicapped person in a nightclub?

mind reading puzzle

Ok, this is off the beaten path for Planet Grenada but it really weirded me out until I understood it. I figured some of you might get a kick out of it.

The Flash Mind Reader

islam and the cultural imperative

Here is an interesting paper from the Nawawi Foundation called Islam and the Cultural Imperative by Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah

(description from Nawai Foundation website)
This article addresses the fundamental need for American Muslims - among the most promising, wealthiest and educated Muslim minorities in history - to consciously establish a new, unique cultural identity. To lay down roots and survive, Islam must reflect the good in America’s diverse races and ethnicities. Historically, Islamic jurists have upheld the Prophet’s legal precedent for respecting non-Arabs’ ethnic and cultural differences as long as they did not contravene his teaching. Islam’s spread and triumphant past reflects this glorious global culture. Like a crystal clear river, Islam and sacred law are pure but colorless, until they reflect the Chinese, African, & other bedrock over which they flow.

olé to allah

At Hispanicmuslims.com there are several dozen articles about Latino/Hispanic Muslims written from different perspectives But one piece I wanted to highlight is the following about "modern-day Moors" in New York:

Olé to Allah: New York's Latino Muslims
by Hisham Aidi
November 11, 1999

On a recent crisp Friday afternoon in El Barrio, the Puerto Rican heart of East Harlem, Ramon Omar Abduraheem Ocasio, Imam of the Alianza Islamica, delivered a khutba (sermon) in Spanish, English and Arabic on fatherhood and responsibility to a motley congregation of Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Panamanians, Spaniards, and African Americans. Although it might seem surprising to find a Muslim mosque thriving in such a traditionally Catholic community, organizations like Alianza Islamica represent the ongoing growth of Islam among Latinos in North and South America (pictured).

Founded in 1975 by a group of Puerto Rican converts, the Alianza Islamica (Islamic Alliance) was the United States' first Latino Muslim association. Before its current location at 106th Street and Lexington, the Alianza coordinated its social programs and grassroots initiatives from different bases in East Harlem. The Alianza was founded by men who came of age during the 1960s and were involved in anti-war protests, civil rights protests, and Puerto Rican nationalist movements. Amin, the caretaker of the masjid (mosque), removes his skullcap to show his scarred scalp -- "all from police batons," he chuckles.

The Alianza's social and political engagement resembles the activism of African American Muslim groups. In the Barrio, Latino Muslims have been at the forefront of battles against gang activity, drug dealing and prostitution. The Alianza has confronted gangs and drug posses, trained young men in martial arts as community law enforcers, brokered truces between rival gangs, and mentored jailed members of the Latin Kings, a local Puerto Rican gang. The Alianza's director, Hajj Yahya Figueroa, speaks about Islam and spiritual health at prisons, explains the difference between "el Islam" and "el Farrakhanismo" at rallies, gives "sensitivity talks" to police officers, and has even addressed the United Nations.

And in addition to community work, the Alianza also holds cultural programs, celebrations and weddings which are a fascinating display of the rich syncretism of "Latino Islam," featuring congregational prayers in Arabic, sermons in Spanish and English, traditional Puerto Rican pork dishes served with lamb instead, Spanish poetry slams, and conga jam sessions.

A growing number of Latinos have embraced Islam during the past two decades. In the U.S. alone, Latino mosques now exist in Los Angeles, New York, Newark, and Chicago, and the community is estimated to be 40,000-strong. The appearance of Latino Muslims is due in part to the growing Latino presence in U.S. inner cities and their subsequent exposure to African American Muslims. On an ideological level, Latino Muslims have been profoundly influenced by their African American counterparts, adopting similar ideas of spiritual self-discovery and emancipation in their approach to Islamic theology.

Like many African American Muslims, Latino Muslims celebrate a glorious past rooted in Africa -- their rhetoric often romanticizes Islamic Spain, the civilization established by the Moors, the Muslims from northern Africa who dominated Spain from the 8th to the 15th century.

Like most Latino Muslims in the U.S., Imam Ocasio acknowledges the influence of African American Muslims, but also points to important differences. "Yes," he smiles, agreeing that black American Muslims have had a significant impact on Latino converts, but unlike our African American brothers, we do not change our last name upon conversion. "Latino Muslims don't have to," he proudly explains, "because many Spanish last names -- like 'Medina' -- are actually Muslim."

Members of the Alianza Islamica share a view of Latin American and Spanish history that is increasingly aired by a younger generation of intellectuals who question the "Westernness" of Western culture. Latino Muslims like Imam Ocasio reject the idea that their culture came wholly from Europe, and instead trace their cultural ancestry to northern Africa. "Most of the people who came to Latin America and the Spanish Caribbean were from southern Spain, Andalusia," Ocasio explains. "They were Moriscos, Moors forcefully converted to Christianity. The leaders, army generals, curas [priests] were white men from northern Spain... sangre azul [blue bloods] as they were called. The southerners, who did the menial jobs, slaves, artisans, foot soldiers, were of mixed Arab and African descent. They were stripped of their religion and culture, brought to the so-called New World where they were enslaved with African slaves. But the Moriscos never lost their culture."

According to Ocasio, there are many Islamic and Moorish elements in Latin culture; he says that the Spanish "ojala" is derived from the Arabic "insha'allah" (both expressions mean God willing), while the Spanish exclamation "olé" comes from "Allah." Some scholars seem to agree. "In a sense, no single word could be said to encapsulate as such Spanish history as that three-letter word 'Olé,' " one historian wrote recently. "'Olé' is the Spanish adaptation of 'Allah', the Arabic word for God. So when Spaniards say 'Olé' at a bullfight, they are saying Praise 'Allah'." Ocasio also sees Islamic influences in Spanish and Latin American architecture. "[Just look at the] fountains, tiles, arches," he says. "You want proof that many artisans and workers were secretly Muslim? There are churches and cathedrals in Latin America which were built facing Mecca."

The debate over the Moorish influence in Spanish culture dates back to the early 20th century. While at that time many scholars refused to acknowledge Spain's Muslim and African past, or saw it as a negative influence if they admitted it at all, a few sought to celebrate that heritage. The poet Manuel Machado proudly declared himself a member of the "Moorish race, a race from the land of the sun," and the celebrated Spanish writer Federico Garcia Lorca confessed his "feeling for those who are persecuted...the Negro...the Morisco." But it was much more common for Spanish intellectuals to dispute the extent of the Moorish influences and to look on that past with hostility.

Now, younger critics are questioning and challenging the origins of Spanish literary and philosophical traditions that have previously been held to be quintessentially and inviolably "Western." Many scholars have identified African and Islamic influences in Spanish literature, music and thought, and have even traced those influences to the New World, particularly the Spanish Caribbean. The work of scholars like Lucia Lopez-Baralt, a professor of literature at the University of Puerto Rico, and the Cuban historian Maria-Rosa Menocal, would seem to support the contention of Latino Muslims like Imam Ocasio, that the Spanish Caribbean owes a tremendous cultural debt to the Moors.

Many even claim that the first non-Indian language to ever be spoken in the New World was Arabic -- Columbus set sail for the Americas, the story goes, with a crew of Moriscos and a Jewish translator, Luis de Torres, who spoke Arabic; upon landing in La Hispa?ola (now the Dominican Republic), de Torres is said to have addressed the local Indian chief in the language of the Koran: "Asalam Aleykum." With such history to refer to, for Ocasio and members of the Alianza Islamica, converting to Islam is like reclaiming a lost Muslim and African heritage.

The Alianza's banner, hanging proudly in front of the organization's two-story converted townhouse, unabashedly celebrates this revisionist view of Latino history: against a red, white and blue backdrop stands a sword-wielding Moor, flanked by a Taino Indian (one of the indigenous inhabitants of Puerto Rico) and a black African. The Spanish Conquistador -- "who raped and pillaged" -- is simply left out.

Cultural pride, alienation, and the Barrio's wretched social and economic situation, have at least partly influenced the Latino Muslims' rejection of Christianity, which many regard as the faith of a guilty and uncaring establishment.

But in rejecting Catholicism, many Latino Muslims have alienated friends and family. Khadija, who "reverted" to Islam 26 years ago, says her family was opposed to her becoming a Muslim. "My father used to pull the veil off my head," she recalls. "My mother used to cook with pork tallow. It was war." One evangelical group on 107th Street, a block from the Alianza, was also aggressively opposed to the Muslims' activities, but most Barrio residents now view the Alianza with curiosity and respect because of its community service work. As part of an AIDS outreach program, the Alianza gave lectures on HIV infection and drug abuse, helped the sick get treatment, and gave free iftar meals (festive gatherings at which Muslims break their day-long fast) during the holy month of Ramadan. "We were called the AIDS group," remembers Mohamed Mendez, the Alianza's Education Officer.

Although the local Latino community has been largely supportive of the Alianza, some non-Latino Muslims have not. Mendez says many Arab and Pakistani Muslims seem critical of the Latinos' efforts to adopt Islam. Immigrant Muslims sometimes attend djumma (Friday) prayers at the Alianza, but they often criticize the group's command of Arabic and their understanding of Islam; one Pakistani Muslim even said that Puerto Ricans are "too promiscuous" to be "good" Muslims. And in fact, the Alianza is actually being ousted from its current location by an immigrant Muslim landlord.

Despite the hostility of some Asian and Middle Eastern Muslims, the Alianza's director, Hajj Yahya Figueroa, is undaunted, and hopes to establish a dawah (proselytizing) center in the South Bronx. "In Harlem, about three people take the shahada [convert to Islam] each month," he says. We could get a bigger following in the Bronx."

Wherever the Alianza ends up, it will probably continue to grow and thrive, and will certainly continue to celebrate the Spanish Caribbean's Muslim African roots. "We are reclaiming our history after a 500 year hiatus," Imam Ocasio proclaimed at a recent Alianza event. The Catholics never successfully stripped the Moors of their identity. "We are the cultural descendents of the Moors."

Massive Anti-War Event Sept. 24 in Washington DC

Two groups: United For Peace and Justice and A.N.S.W.E.R. (Act Now to Stop War & End Racism) are both planning events in D.C. for the weekend of September 24.The primary purpose of the gatherings is to speak out on the war in Iraq, but larger issues are also being invoked.

Past Planet Grenada entry on the event

a turning point

United for Peace and Justice (UFPJ) is coordinating a three-day antiwar mobilization on September 24–26 in Washington, D.C. Here is a brief interview between mobilizing coordinator L.A. Kauffman and In These Times about preparations for the event.