"The white man is the devil."
This is what Malcolm X used to say.
"I shall never rest until I have undone the harm I did."
This is what Malcolm X came to believe.
What changed such a divisive and hate-filled man into someone who fought for racial harmony?
The Hajj.
After performing the annual Muslim pilgrimage, the Hajj, Malcolm X wrote in 1964, "There were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the world. They were of all colors, from blue-eyed blondes to black-skinned Africans. But we were all participating in the same ritual, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had led me to believe never could exist between the white and the non-white."
Meanwhile in Florida, half a century after Malcolm's passing, the death of a 17-year-old unarmed African American, Trayvon Martin, at the hands of a half-white man makes one wonder: Where is the Christian Hajj?
For a change, please resist the temptation to reject the whole argument since it's coming from a Muslim. And let's not make a big deal out of the fact that the killer (George Zimmerman), a catholic altar boy, was half-white. Instead focus on the next Trayvon Martin. We all know he exists. We all know he is not a criminal. We all know he will be shot by a white man. So do we have a platform where Christians from all races can gather to change deadly stereotypes?
Far from it.
Forget about a universal gathering; the multiracial congregation project shows that Christians are failing to even bring all racial hues to the local pews. More than 92 percent of American congregations are not multiracial (where the term "multiracial" is defined as a congregation having no more than 80 percent of any one racial group.) Churches in some areas are 20 times more segregated than the nearby public schools. Things haven't changed much from half a century ago, when Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. noted, "The most segregated hour of Christian America is 11 o'clock on Sunday morning."
So it's fair to ask: How come Muslims -- despite their problems -- have recognized man as man, but Christians, who believe in a man embodying the turning of the cheek, could not protect so many Trayvons?
The conclusion is inescapable: the white church -- not the state -- has failed to instill true love for the black race by answering fundamental biblical questions. Questions like, how could all human races come from Noah, his three sons and his wives? Are black people the result of a curse on Ham? Does the Scripture prohibit interracial marriage?
That apathy is so palpable after Trayvon Martin's death as much of the outcry is emanating from black America. In Florida, students from 19 predominantly black high schools demonstrated to demand justice. Across the nation, only black church leaders are calling for Zimmerman's arrest. Even the White House, according to an official Twitter feed, invited only black faith leaders to learn more about government services.
There are reasons for it. Starting from Billy Graham's mercurial positions on race relations to the interracial lethargy of the Christian Telegraph's "Ten Most Influential Christian Leaders," none has attempted to take on race relations as a calling. Despite their international clout, none of white Christian leaders have attempted to engineer a "Christian Hajj."
The Muslim Hajj, while commanded by God, truly became a symbol of unity and brotherhood by the call of Prophet Muhammad, who in 630 C.E. declared in front of a multiracial gathering of 100,000 Muslims, "a white man has no superiority over a black man nor a black has any superiority over a white except by piety and good action."
Trayvon's death is an opportunity for white church leaders to make it their calling, as it has been done before. White Quakers, white Methodists, white Presbyterians and white Catholics have all argued that Christianity and slavery were incompatible. Abolition would carry over into the Civil Rights Era, with millions of white Christian-Americans rejecting any notion of racial superiority. And if it weren't for millions upon millions of white voters in 2008, we would not be saying "President Barack Obama."
A similar effort by the white churches is needed this time. Neither repealing the "stand your ground" law nor appealing to commemorate "hoodie days" will solve the problem.
We all know a Zimmerman exists in the future. We all know he is white, prejudiced and armed. As a first step, that future Zimmerman must experience interracial harmony at his church or he will shoot, subconsciously believing the black man is the devil.
Dr. Faheem Younus is an adjunct faculty member for religion and history at the Community Colleges of Baltimore County and a clinical associate professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. He can be reached at Faheem.Younus@Ahmadiyya.us
Follow Dr. Faheem Younus on Twitter: www.twitter.com/FaheemYounus
“I remember one night at Muzdalifa with nothing but the sky overhead I lay awake amid sleeping Muslim brothers and I learned that pilgrims from every land--every color, and class, and rank; high officials and the beggar alike--all snored in the same language.” -- Malcolm X, Autobiography of Malcolm X
All of humanity snores with fatigue, and also smiles with glee, winces in pain, laughs with joy, and cries in sorrow ... all in the same language. Thank you for making a lesson we can all draw from.
- Yes, Islam in principle is anti-racist and in my experience, Muslim congregations in the US tend to be very racially mixed and integrated (more so than churches). At the same time, I don't think Muslims from immigrant backgrounds should necessarily pat themselves on the back too hard and take their anti-racism for granted. There is always work to do. And Muslim countries certainly aren't immune from ethnic/racial/caste problems.
The story of Malcolm X's hajj is beautiful but I don't think that we should assume that all hajjis have the racism magically removed from them. And there actually are Christian pilgrimage sites. Many Christians visit Israel and many Catholics also go to Rome. But those are largely at the symbolic level.
More importantly and concretely, there are some Christian groups talking about "Racial Reconciliation" in serious ways. An Amerasian Christian friend of mind from college was involved in such a project. She moved to Mississippi to consciously live in a multiracial community to help promote cross-racial understanding.
On the Muslim side, there are groups like IMAN (Inner City Muslim Action Network) based in Chicago which serves and gets involved in their local community including services for young people.
How could it be? The Muslim prophet owned black slaves.
- Muhammad (saaws) was "black" (of recent African descent) according to Al-Jahiz the 9th century black Iraqi author.
- Slavery in the Islamic world wasn't racialized in the same way as chattel slavery in the US . Slaves were African, Persian, Turks, etc.
Islamic laws are set up to ultimately allow slavery to gradually disappear and the early generations of Muslims actually worked to free thousands of slaves.
http://www.central-mosque.com/fiqh/slav3.htm
"The result of this policy was that by the time the period of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs was reached, all the old slaves of Arabia were liberated. The Prophet alone liberated as many as 63 slaves. The number of slaves freed by 'Aishah was 67, 'Abbas liberated 70, 'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar liberated one thousand, and 'Abd al-Rahman purchased thirty thousand and set them free. Similarly other Companions of the Prophet liberated a large number of slaves, the details of which are given in the Traditions and books of history of that period. Thus the problem of the slaves of Arabia was solved in a short period of thirty or forty years."
His name was Zayd, and the Prophet was very fond of him.
"MARRIAGE
[...]
m4.2 The following are not suitable matches for one another:
(1) a non-Arab man for an Arab woman (O: because of the hadith that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,
“Allah has chosen the Arabs above others”);" [...]
http://www.shafiifiqh.com/maktabah/relianceoftraveller.pdf
m4.0 A SUITABLE MATCH (KAFA'A)
(N: The definition of a suitable match should not be misunderstood as a recommendation for whom to marry. It is merely a legal restriction to protect a woman's interests when the father or grandfather of a virgin marry her to someone without her consent (dis: m3.13, 15). As for when she wishes to marry someone who is not a suitable match, and her guardian has no objection, there is nothing wrong or offensive in her doing so.)
m4.1 Suitability concerns lineage, religiousness, profession, and being free of defects that permit
annulling the marriage contract (def: m7). (N: As for color, it is of no consideration in suitability.)
===========
If your intent is to argue against the proposition that Sharia law violates American law in major ways--and thus needs major renovation--this is not the way to do it.
-From the Prophet's Farewell Sermon (accepted by Sunni and Shia Muslims)
Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Sythian, slave or free but Christ is all and is in all.
Therefore as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentlenss and patience.
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you,
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Saint Paul words which were consistent with Christ's teachings.
"
The Arab Muslims enslaved Sub-Saharan Africans for over 1,000 years. They also enslaved Europeans and other Asiatic peoples whenever they got the chance.
Being a non Arab Muslim living in America, I am surprised. It will be good backup with any facts as Faheem has done. For us Muslims, black/white/Arab/non-Arab matters. While I stand for prayers next to me could be a black- or a white - or an Asian. And this started right during the time of Prophet Muhammad who used to emphasize and made it a practice it in an otherwise Arab superiority region. This is written history and undisputed in the academia.
What is important is to focus on the point that Faheem has raised. This is a real issue we have today. Whether you agree with multi racial Islam or not, the question here is if we have overcome with racial prejudices while affirming one nation under God. Faheem is right that more than politicians, churches have the responsibility and power to come forward and take this up. I see the church leaders being vocal in all political issues . It is high time they motivate their congregation to realize all people are same under God and dignity belongs to everyone. More than laws and litigation, what is needed is a change of heart. We need to make sure any 7 year old Trayvon Martin can grow up as equal citizens and with peace with his neighbor 7 year old Zimmerman. And let them take our nation forward rather than we have these discussions again in another 10 years from now.