Truth to Power: Black Muslim Oration from Malcolm, Ali, Farrakhan to Tynetta Pt 1

Last updated on: June 10, 2016 at 1:10 pm By Hakeem Muhammad

“The Most Merciful, taught the Qu’ran, created man and taught him eloquence.” — 55:1-13 Black Muslims developed an unrivaled oratorical tradition that would convey the grievances of Black Americans and articulate complex concepts covering topics such as history, sociology, and political science in an accessible manner and in a rhetorical style that invokes call and response, rhythm, and contained a voice of profound eloquence and defiance to the powers of white supremacy. In his autobiography, Malcolm states: “Sister Tynetta Dynear... Read more

Muhammad Ali: Islam and the Power of Faith

Last updated on: June 4, 2016 at 12:20 pm By Hakeem Muhammad

“The day I met Islam, I found a power within myself that no man could destroy or take away.”—Ali It was the power that Ali garnered though Islam that not only allowed him to excel in the boxing ring but to challenge U.S imperialism, racism, and militarism without any fear of reprisal. Ali was proud of his Blackness and deeply convicted in his Islamic beliefs, which he utilized as the theological basis for his protest of the anti-black oppression that... Read more

The Life of Nana Asmau

Last updated on: June 1, 2016 at 9:42 pm By Hakeem Muhammad

Nana Asamu was an African Islamic scholar who was born in 18th century Sokoto (modern-day Nigeria). She was a poet, social activist, intellectual and a politician who was personally commissioned by the Caliph of this West African spiritual community known as the Sokoto Caliphate to oversee an entire educational campaign including mass literacy for women. She formed sisterhoods for the purposes of spreading and exchanging knowledge. The influence of the Prophet(PBUH)’s wife, Aisha Bint Abu Bakr on the West African women educational... Read more

Bill Maher’s Islamophobia: A Black Muslim Response

Last updated on: May 27, 2016 at 1:15 pm By Hakeem Muhammad

Bill Maher, a prominent liberal television personality, has frequently critiqued Islam, believing that it promotes violence, irrationality, and chaos. In an interview with Keith Ellison, the first African-American Muslim congressman, Bill Maher jokes, “You were not raised in the Islamic religion. You were raised Catholic; I didn’t even know you went to prison.” This microaggression against Keith Ellison plays upon a common social phenomenon in which African-American convicts convert to Islam in prison. While Maher’s anti-Islamic beliefs stem from his belief that “liberals... Read more

Hijrah and slave Marronage (Islamophobia and Anti-Blackness pt 3)

Last updated on: May 22, 2016 at 8:55 am By Hakeem Muhammad

Part One: Islamophobia and Anti-Blackness: The Historical Connection pt. 1 Part Two: Licutan’s Affirmation of Bilal & the idols of Anti-Blackness. (pt 2) Hijrah and Marronage For Black Muslims who had been captured and kidnapped to the western hemisphere, they would be separated from the classical tasfir texts of Ibn Kathir, the hadith collections of Imam Bukhari, and, most significantly, the textual transcriptions of the Qur’an. Yet, the Islamic scholarly tradition is heavily predicated upon an oral tradition that places a heavy emphasis... Read more

Stop bickering and instead continue the work of Malcolm X.

Last updated on: May 19, 2016 at 8:36 am By Hakeem Muhammad

The anniversary of Malcolm X’s assassination and birthday often accompanies debates that I’ve regurgitated over and over again, since I was a kid: who is responsible for the assassination of Malcolm X? In my family, which consists of both Sunni and NOI Muslims(as well as Christians), I witnessed the controversy over this particular issue sometimes grow intense. My grandma told me the first time that she heard Farrakhan speak in college that she began to cry because it was the first... Read more

Licutan’s Affirmation of Bilal & the idols of Anti-Blackness. (pt 2)

Last updated on: May 17, 2016 at 11:47 am By Hakeem Muhammad

“Brazil was repeatedly threatened by a series of Islamic uprising among black slaves.” – Dr. Dennis Walker. In the first part of the series, Islamophobia and Anti-Blackness pt 1, we raised the question: what is the significance of Licutan, a Black Islamic scholar and one of the key masterminds behind the Islamic Slave Revolts of Brazil, proclaiming himself to be Bilal in the courtroom of his oppressors? To fully Licutan’s bold actions one must be cognizant of the anti-Black theology that... Read more

Black Muslims reject extremism and Call For Moderates.

Last updated on: May 14, 2016 at 5:03 pm By Hakeem Muhammad

As Black Muslims, we are calling for an end to terrorism and extremist ideologies. We have grown weary of heinous actions being committed by fanatics which take the lives of innocent human beings. This has propelled us to demand that more moderates take the initiative to step up and vehemently denounce, reject, and actively work against radicalizing ideologies. In light of this, where are the “moderate white” Americans in the media to highlight how European colonialism led to the direct... Read more

Islamophobia and Anti-Blackness: The Historical Connection pt. 1

Last updated on: May 13, 2016 at 10:56 am By Hakeem Muhammad

Editor’s Note: This is part one of a ten part series exploring how anti-blackness and Islamophobia are interconnected. A world which is anti-Black must be anti-Islam, because Islam in the psyche of white civil society has been a formidable force in catalyzing resistance among Blacks to not acquiesce to the position of the slave. The historical record of European political theorists gives clear indication that the power of Islam functioned to them as a menacing impediment to their attempts to secure an unjust racial caste system that marked Blacks as... Read more

The Triple Evils & The Prophetic Cure

Last updated on: May 6, 2016 at 8:10 am By Hakeem Muhammad

For Friday Prayer, I went to Masjid in the West End of Atlanta that belonged to the community of Imam Warith Deen Muhammad. There, the Imam passionately spoke about his teenage years in which he was vehemently opposed to Dr. King Jr., viewing him as an “Uncle Tom” s who tried to pacify the black community through his message of turning the other cheek. Having been fed up with lynchings, black codes, Jim Crow laws, and other nefarious tools utilized to inhibit black social... Read more