FB Firestorm, Racial and Intra-ethnic Bias in Black Muslim Marriages

The Deflection Game

Deflection continues to be a problem in racial/intracultural dialogue between Muslims. NBPoC Muslims appear to be particularly allergic to discussing race issues, but it also seeps into Black Muslim communities. Black American Muslims are trained by their non-Black contemporaries that talking about race or advancing race-specific problems is “un-Islamic.” Consequently, racial systems marginalizing Blacks in Muslim communities remain and those who resist the suppression of their voices against their oppressions encounter condescending and platitudinous rhetoric.

The first comments to show up on Noor’s Facebook post included Muslims attempting to deflect from issues of racism and colorism by employing some common terminology about love and feigned indifference about skin color.

The problem with these types of notions is that they completely ignore the realities of racism and colorism in society, with which Muslims of varying tones must contend. Fortunately, Asha and Muslims shut down that noise.

Kameelah Rashad poignantly addressed the posts’ deflective nature.

Interestingly, these types of posts came mainly from NBPoC and African Diaspora Muslim Women, basically the least negatively affected. That’s not to say that problems of fetishizing such women don’t exist, something clearly mentioned in some posts, but the Black Muslim men’s bias favoring them arguably provides them with more options than their Black/African American sisters.

The lesson here is that one of the worst things Muslims can do is to try to obliterate the socio-cultural perspectives of their brethren. We are not having it.

Next: Misogynoir – Yeah, It’s a Thing