A Black Muslim History Message From Brother Hakeem Muhammad

One of my favorite poets, Amir Sulaiman, once said, “We’re just trying to make Black History but it’s like they’re trying to make blacks history.”

In order to justify its existence, the white power structure tells lies. In its parasitic and demented mind, slavery and colonialism was needed to ‘civilize’ Africans. The contemporary impoverished status of Africa, is seen as result of the inherent intellectual inferiority of the African mind.

In a challenge to these myths, political scientist Walter Rodney published the book How Europe Underdeveloped Africa. Prior to chronicling how Europe Underdeveloped Africa, Rodney reminds us of the high level of civilization and culture that existed in pre-colonial Africa. He points to the Islamic civilizations of Sokoto, Songhai, and Mali, as evidence of the high standard of civilization achieved in pre-colonial times.

In particular, he shines light on the Islamic University of Timbuktu in West Africa as testimony to the high standard of education achieved in Africa before the colonial intrusion.

Yet, it is in the vested interest of the white power structure that we view the Islamic civilizations of Africa as mere history instead of continuing the Muslim principles these great civilizations embodied.

With Shell Oil’s exploitative practices destroying the indigenous Ogoni people of Nigeria and the World Bank and IMF maintaining Nigerians in poverty through usurious loans, the white power structure does not want us fighting for the economic justice that Uthman Dan Fodio strove for.

As Western countries and their corporate proxies gluttonously loot Africa’s resources, the white power structure does not want to see us continuing Maba Diakhou’s valiant battle against European colonialism.

Let us act upon the Qu’ran messages against greed by challenging Firestone, a parasitic company which build its wealth by using black folks in Liberia as its slaves to manufacture tires.

Let us act upon the Qu’ran message against exploitation and thievery, by challenging the parasitic Apple company, which takes advantage of western backed proxy wars in the region to extract coltan from the black people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Let’s study our history to transform our present as we seek to eradicate white supremacy off the face of the planet earth.

Let us take inspiration from Bilal’s overcoming of his slavemaster to liberate humanity from modern slave masters. Let’s learn from Summaya,a black woman who was the first martyr of Islam, in order to have absolute conviction and certainty that Islam offers an alternative and clear solutions to the problems of an African continent torn asunder by white neo-colonialism.