Welcoem to posts!!
in the future - u will be able to do some more stuff here,,,!! like pat catgirl- i mean um yeah... for now u can only see others's posts :c
A BRIEF AND INCOMPLETE HISTORY OF BLACK AMERICAN MUSLIMS
Some estimates state that between 13% - 25% of the Africans brought to the US as slaves were Muslims. However, within a few generations, those Africans would have lost their Islam, and their enslaved progeny were likely enslaved Christians.
After the Civil War, many blacks moved out of the South to the North and Midwest. There, they were exposed to other cultures, and a few began practicing quasi-Islam.
Some examples include the Moorish Science Temple, or they joined the Ahmadiyya movement.
Of course, the most popular example of this quasi-Islam that some Black Americans were attracted to was the Nation of Islam, NOI.
The NOI blended the cultishness of the Moorish Science Temple, the messianic doom-and-gloom of the Ahmadiyya, and the nationalism of Marcus Garveyâs movement.
NOI doctrine also borrowed a lot from Christianity.
Meanwhile, Muslims across the Muslim world were immigrating to the United States. Not in the numbers weâd see in the 60s and 70s. But many did come.
For instance, one of the oldest mosques in the country was established by Muslims from central Europe in Brooklyn, NY, in 1927.
Mosques were also established in Cedar Rapids, IA (1934), Dearborn, MI (1938), and Washington, DC (1952.)
Unfortunately, our brothers from the Muslim world who came to the US in those early days were not trying to give da'wah. They were usually here for economic reasons.
Nonetheless, pockets of Sunni, or mainstream, Islam began to take root in some parts of the United States, particularly in Cleveland, OH, and Brooklyn, NY.
First Cleveland Masjid was established by Wali Akram around 1942. In Brooklyn, Sheikh Daoud established State Street Masjid in 1955. However, heâd been giving daâwah since at least the early 1940s.
These first Black American Muslims were often people who, for whatever reason, wanted something different. They were searching, going from one religious movement to another before settling on Islam.
My father was part of this. He grew up in Chicago and went from Christianity, to the Black Israelites, to the NOI before finally settling on Sunni Islam.
Islam continued to grow among black Americans for some time, but it was very slow. Things didnât start taking off until the 1960s.
I believe the first major wave of black Americans accepting Islam came with the murder of Malcolm X in 1965. When he died, it sparked interest in Islam, and people started looking into it more.
This is how my mother came to Islam. With Malcolmâs death and the Civil Rights movement growing more militant, she was introduced to Islam in the early 1970s.
Elijah Muhammad died in 1975, and his son, WD Mohammed, began taking the NOI towards mainstream Islam. By the early 1980s, they were mostly in line with mainstream Islam.
Around this time, Imam Siraj Wahhaj (who had started with the NOI) broke off from Imam WD Mohammed to start his own community.
In 1989, Imam Siraj Wahhaj gained worldwide attention when he made the news after shutting down several local crackhouses.
This was the beginning of a second wave of Black Americans accepting Islam. The main drivers of Islam in the black community in the 90s were the Gulf War and Spike Leeâs Malcolm X movie.
Also, the Salafi movement gained steam in the 1990s, taking deep root in Philadelphia and New Jersey.
Allah knows best, but I think we're seeing a third wave now.
Iâm not sure whatâs driving it this time. The ethnic cleansing of Gaza has something to do with it. However, this was happening before 10/7/2023.
There have been several celebrity conversions in the past few yearsâfor instance, Lil Durk, Lil Jon, Amerie, and Shaun King.
Perhaps Janet Jackson will be next, inshaâAllah. She has a Muslim brother, a Muslim child, and a Muslim ex-husband.
Iâve also witnessed young black men and women coming up to take Shahadah after Jumuah nearly every Friday.
It also appears that Islam is growing in the Latino community and among white Americans. Unfortunately, I donât have as much insight into those communities.
May Allah help our Masaajid and leaders support these new Muslims through the difficult early years.
The pictures in this post are:
- Imam Wali Akram
- Sheikh Daoud and Malcolm X
- Imam WD Mohammed
- Imam Siraj Wahhaj
- Lil Durk
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Recently, the popular black activist and speaker, Umar Johnson, made some crazy statements about Islam, black people, and Muslims. Insha'Allah, I will try to refute them in this video. https://youtu.be/ZeZqIeWmNJ0
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The history between Muslims and Vikings is interesting. https://youtu.be/iqNF9SMAylg?si=PD10d...
What's even more interesting, is that so much modern scholarship about the Vikings relies on Muslim accounts. That's because accounts from Christians (whom the Vikings were culturally and geographically closer to) were usually biased.
You'll understand why after watching the video.
This is not your typical video where I'm breaking down politics or warfare. Instead, I discuss the story of Yahya ibn Ghazal's visit to a Viking stronghold in the 9th century.
Ibn Fadlan's manuscript on his visit to the Vikings is more reliable (and dramatic) than Ibn Ghazal's account. Still, I'm sure you'll find this to be a good story.
If it turns out this is a popular topic, I'll definitely move forward with a video about Ibn Fadlan, insha'Allah.
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What did the Muslim world do when the Muslims of Bosnia were attacked by their non-Muslim neighbors?
In short, thousands of Muslim mujahideen volunteered to fight in Bosnia. Most of the Muslim governments provided humanitarian aid and shook their fists at the United Nations.
Watch here: https://youtu.be/bsnAKZzAmq0
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It always bothered me how great Muslim empires like the Ottomans and the Mughals, resorted to fratricidal war in their early days.
Eventually, both empires abandoned this self-destructive practice. But until they did, it caused such unnecessary suffering, death, and destruction.
In this video, we discuss the first fratricidal war to take place in the Mughal Empire: https://youtu.be/Y7UhOBIEtNA
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THE PEOPLE OF THE WEST AFRICAN MUSLIM EMPIRES
Ghana, Mali, and Songhay are the most famous medieval Muslim African empires.
All three empires were based in West Africa.
Most of the people in these empires were from different Mande subgroups. The Mande, found mainly in West Africa, are one of the largest ethnic groups on the continent.
Most Mande subgroups observed a highly organized caste system. This system included royalty, nobles, merchants, smiths, artisans, peasants, and slaves. The Mande generally socialized and married within their caste.
There was minimal opportunity for someone from a lower cast to move to a higher one.
The only exceptions were Islamic scholars. Any male could become an Islamic scholar if he obtained the knowledge.
The Soninke is a Mande subgroup and was the largest ethnic group in the Empire of Ghana. They are mostly Muslim and live in the modern nations of Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, Cote dâIvoire, Gambia, Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau.
The Malinke is one of the largest Mande subgroups, numbering almost 35 million people today.
They were also the largest ethnic group within the Empire of Mali. Today, most Malinke are still found in the modern Republic of Mali. However, they also have large populations in Gambia, Guinea, Cote dâIvoire, and Burkina Faso.
The Malinke were one of the first African peoples to accept Islam. They would go on to build the University of Sankore in Timbuktu, one of the oldest Islamic universities in the world.
Another important Mande group is the Songhai. Songhai was originally the name of the ruling class of the Songhai Empire. However, over time, the various subjects within the Empire took on the same name.
The Songhai have a long and tumultuous history with the Berbers of North Africa. Through centuries of fighting and intermarriage, they have absorbed some of the Berber lineage and language. This makes the Songhai one of the most unique ethnic groups in Africa.
The Soninke, Malinke, and Songhai are primarily Muslim and have been so for centuries.
However, the Soso, another Mande subgroup, used to be animist and were violently anti-Islam. They fought many wars against the empires of Ghana and Mali and committed several atrocities against their Muslim enemies. But today, the Soso are also almost one hundred percent Muslim.
In addition to the various Mande subgroups, many other ethnicities were found in West Africa.
These included significant populations of Arabs, Berbers, and other Africans, such as the Toucouleur, Fulani, Serer, and Wolof.
Before the arrival of Islam and Christianity, most Africans practiced one of many traditional African religions, or T.A.R. for short. While many TARs included pagan elements, most of them are forms of animism. Animism is the belief that all things, including animals, plants, and people, contain a spirit.
Most TARs incorporated a belief in a supreme being. The Edo of Benin called Him Osanobuwa, or The Source and Sustainer of the World. The Ibo of Nigeria called Him Chukwu, or the Great Source of Life. The Ewe of Togo called Him Nana Buluku, or The Eternal One.
Before accepting Islam, the Soninke of Ghana had this Supreme Being as Onyame, meaning the Great One. The Soninke believed Onyame created the world and established order in the universe. But then, he left the day-to-day running of things to lesser deities.
Though the pre-Islamic Soninke were animists, they also held their dead ancestors in high esteem. Though not quite ancestor worship, the pre-Islamic Soninke believed their ancestorsâ spirits could punish or reward them in this life.
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AVDO PALIC - A BOSNIAN HERO
It's a common misconception to think the Bosniaks did not fight against the ethnic cleansing of the Bosnian Serbs in the 1990s. In fact, the Bosniaks fought bravely in the face of insurmountable odds. Even though the entire world had abandoned them, Bosnia had its heroes.
One of those heroes was Avdo Palic.
Srebrenica and Zepa were both designated UN safe areas. This meant that no fighting was to take place in these areas and civilians were supposed to be safe there.
On July 12, 1995, the day after Srebrenica fell to the Serbian force, Serbian leader Radovan Karadzic warned the Bosnian defenders of Zepa to lay down their arms and surrender.
Before the war, Zepa was a small, predominantly Muslim village, with a population of less than five hundred. Like Srebrenica, it had the unfortunate luck of being in eastern Bosnia, where the Serbian forces were hoping to create their super state.
By the summer of 1995, however, it held over 16,000 refugees.
No one thought Zepa had any chance of resisting the Serbian forces. US and UN officials predicted Zepa would fall within a few days.
It actually fell within a week. Here's how it happened.
On July 17, Zepaâs Bosnian Muslim defenders turned back a Serbian assault. This was astonishing, considering the Bosniaks were outgunned. But their situation was growing desperate.
Bosnia's government demanded the UN or NATO do something to prevent the fall of Zepa. The Bosniak defenders even threatened to take the Ukrainian UN Peacekeepers hostage if NATO did not send warplanes.
Meanwhile, the Serbian force replied they would kill their UN hostages if NATO did send warplanes.
They neednât have worried. The United Nations had written off Zepa, stating it could not be defended. The UN had stopped trying and had stopped pretending to look like they were trying.
By July 18, 1995, the Serbs were less than a kilometer from Zepa.
By this time, thousands of refugees from Srebrenica had arrived in Tuzla, another so-called UN Safe Area. The refugees brought stories of mass executions at Srebrenica.
As these stories spread, Bosnian President Alija Izetbegovic grew frantic. He scrambled to negotiate a surrender of Zepa, but Radovan Karadzic refused to talk to him.
The President was straightforward when asked to explain why he was willing to give up Zepa.
âThis is ethnic cleansing,â he conceded. âBut ethnic cleansing is, in a way, better than ethnic murder.â
On July 19, 1995, Zepa surrendered to the Serbs.
And this is where we get our hero.
Colonel Avdo Palic was the commander of the Muslim defenders of Zepa. He led the stubborn Muslim defense that held off the Serbs for nearly a week. Colonel Palic's wife and children were with him in Zepa.
Having heard the stories of the massacre at Srebrenica, he was determined to give his men a fighting chance at survival.
Avdo Palic, along with the local Imam and a village official, negotiated the surrender of Zepa with Ratko Mladic. The Muslim commander drew the negotiations out for five days, even after the Serbs had already begun occupying Zepa.
Those five days gave his men enough time to leave Zepa and flee through the wooded hills to Tuzla and other Muslim enclaves. This brave action prevented Zepa from becoming another Srebrenica.
When the Serbian forces realized theyâd been fooled, they arrested Palic and the other two men. They were taken to a prison camp and never seen again.
Thirteen years later, in 2008, a mass grave in Republika Srpska was unearthed. Among the many bodies pulled from this grave, DNA analysis positively identified one of them as Colonel Avdo Palic.
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WESTERN EUROPE BEFORE THE CRUSADES
In the decade leading up to the Crusades, Western Europe was emerging from the Dark Ages. The best European culture came from the Eastern Roman Empire, which we now call the Byzantine Empire.
To the Muslim world and the Byzantine Empire, western Europe was backward and barbaric. The most advanced culture in Western Europe was Iberia, which Muslims mostly ruled.
The great empire forged by Charlemagne two hundred years earlier had broken into a collection of smaller, weaker kingdoms.
These kingdoms were further divided into smaller regions controlled by dukes and counts who were little more than glorified warlords. These warlords were nominally loyal to a local monarch but werenât necessarily subservient to them. Some of these warlords were wealthier and more powerful than their king.
These warlords ruled over vast tracts of land and commanded legions of specialized warriors called knights. These warlords often sent their knights into battle against other warlords, making this a very violent period.
Divided by feuding warlords, constantly shifting boundaries, and various languages, their faith was the only thing that united Western Europe.
Christianity was divided into Eastern and Western realms. Eastern Orthodox Christianity was the state religion of the Byzantine Empire and most of Eastern Europe. But Western European Christians, forerunners of todayâs Roman Catholics, believed the Pope was Godâs earthly representative.
Despite these beliefs, the office of the Pope itself was very weak. Local bishops were more loyal to their king or warlord than to the church leaders in Rome. As such, several popes were looking for ways to increase their power and influence during this time.
In 1074 CE, Pope Gregory VII tried to build an army that would only be loyal to the church. He wanted to assist the Byzantine Empire in its constant struggle against the Muslim Seljuk Turks. However, few people responded to Pope Gregoryâs call, and his grand army never materialized.
Though it failed, Pope Gregoryâs attempt to create a Christian army set a precedent. Two popes and eleven years later, Pope Urban II would use this precedent to justify the Crusades.
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THE MUSLIM WORLD BEFORE THE CRUSADES
Regarding science, culture, and technology, the Muslim world was well ahead of Western Europe. And while there were few active wars between the two faiths when the Crusades began, the Muslims had been pushing on the edges of Christian territory.
In the west, Muslims still controlled most of the Iberian Peninsula. The Christian kingdoms were slowly gaining ground, but Islam continued to rule there for hundreds of years.
In the east, the Seljuk Turks were constantly at war with the Byzantine Empire. Muslims had been trying to conquer the Byzantine capital of Constantinople for hundreds of years, and the Seljuk Turks continued this tradition.
The Seljuk Empire was once the most powerful Muslim force in the region. The Seljuk Turks originated from the steppes of southern Russia, near modern-day Kazakhstan.
At its height, the Seljuk Empire included most of the modern nations of Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Syria, TĂźrkiye, Iraq, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman.
Three years before the Crusades began, the Seljuk emperor, Malik Shah, and his prime minister, Nizamul Mulk, died within months of each other. The Seljuk Empire descended into civil war as the various princes tried to hold on to as much power as possible.
The other primary Muslim powers in the region were the Abbasid Caliphate in Baghdad and the Fatimid Caliphate based in Cairo.
Though Muslims did not consider the Abbasid Caliph Godâs representative on earth, he was the spiritual figurehead of the Muslim world. He extended the authority established by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the first four Righteous Caliphs. As such, Muslim rulers gave him nominal pledges of allegiance even though they were often several times wealthier and more powerful.
The Fatimid Dynasty was a rival Caliphate in Cairo. One hundred seventy-six years earlier, a small group of Ismaili Shiites founded a state in North Africa. From there, they would expand to cover much of Egypt, Palestine, and Syria.
But over the years, constant regicide and civil wars had decimated the Fatimid Caliphate. By the time the Crusades began, they had already lost Damascus to the Seljuk Turks and were barely holding on to Jerusalem.
Hence, by the time the Crusaders came through, the Muslim world was divided into dozens of smaller states, some no larger than a single city.
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THE HISTORY OF SUFISM PART II
HASAN AL BASRI
Al-Basri can be said to be the founder of Sufism. He was born in Medina in 642, nine years after the Prophetâs death, to Yaser and Khayra, both freed slaves.
He met several companions of the Prophet. Hasan went to Wadi al-Qura for studies. Anas ibn Malik, a companion of the Prophet, was his tutor.
Al-Basriâs family moved to Basra after the Battle of Siffin. Basra served both as a commercial port and as a military base. Military expeditions disembarked from Basra to the east, some of which al-Basari participated. As his clerk, he accompanied Rabiâ ibn Ziyad, the commander of one of such expeditions. He also participated in another military expedition in Kabul.
After returning to Basra, Hasan acted as a qadi (Islamic judge) without pay for a while upon the governorâs request, Suleiman ibn Harb. After quitting the job, he began to preach to Muslims. In his preachings, he mostly underlined that a true Muslim should not only avoid sins but stay in continuous anxiety against the fact that death was certain and nobody could be sure of their own destiny in the other world. This cautious mentality would lead to the foundation of asceticism and mysticism in Islam.
Al-Basri promoted asceticism, saying that Muslims should avoid the color and taste of this world for the sake of the benefits to be collected in the other world. He focused only on the hereafter and preached doing nothing for this world. According to al-Basri hypocrite is capable of doing more harm to Islam than infidel (kafir). Because Muslims do not believe in what the kafir does or says, but they could be cheated by a hypocrite.
These two concepts about giving up the pleasures of this world and working against the hypocrites formed the basic creed of the Sufis.
For most historians and critics, al-Basri was the founder of Islamic asceticism and mysticism, meaning that the Sufis are right to place him at a critical stage in their history. He was the connection of the Prophetâs companions with the next generation. Al-Basri died in October 728.
RABIA BASRI
Rabia Basri was the first female sufi and a contemporary of Hassan Basri. Both lived in Basra.
Rabia was born between 95 and 99 Hijri in Basra, Iraq. Much of her early life is narrated by Farid al-Din Attar, a Sufi saint and poet who used earlier sources. Rabia herself did not leave any written works. She was the fourth daughter of her family and was therefore named Rabia, meaning âfourth.â She was born into an extremely impoverished family.
After her fatherâs death, a famine overtook Basra, and Rabia parted from her sisters. Legend has it that she was accompanying a caravan, which fell into the hands of robbers. The chief of the robbers took Rabia captive and sold her in the market as a slave.
Rabia's new master used to make her work hard on household chores. She would pray the whole night after she had finished her household jobs. She spent many of her days observing fast. Impressed by her piety, her master freed her.
Her Love of God, poverty, and self-denial throughout her life did not waver. They were her constant companions. She did not possess much besides a broken jug, a rush mat, and a brick, which she used as a pillow. She spent all night praying and contemplating, chiding herself if she slept because it took her away from her active Love of God.
As her fame grew, she had many disciples. Though she had many offers of marriage (tradition has it), one even from the Amir of Basra, she refused them as she had no time in her life for anything other than God. However, the concept of Divine Love that she introduced is more interesting than her absolute asceticism. She was the first to introduce the idea that God should be loved for Godâs own sake, not out of fear. This also became a creed of the Sufis.
When she passed away, Rabia was in her early to mid-eighties, having followed the mystic Way to the end. She always believed she was continually united with her Beloved. As she told her Sufi friends, âMy Beloved (God) is always with me.â She died in Jerusalem in 185 A.H.
IMAM GAZALI
Imam Ghazali was born in 1111 CE and was one of the most prominent and influential philosophers, theologians, jurists, logicians, and mystics of the Muslim world.
His full name was Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Muhammad at-Tusiyy al-Gazaaliy, but generally known as Imam Ghazali. He was born in Tabaran, a town in the district of Tus, Khorasan (now part of Iran).
In 1095, he left his native Tus for a spiritual journey. After some time in Damascus and Jerusalem, visiting Medina and Mecca in 1096, he returned to Tus to spend the next several years in 'uzla (seclusion). The seclusion consisted of abstaining from teaching at state-sponsored institutions. Still, he continued publishing, receiving visitors, and teaching in the zawiya (private madrasa) and khanqah (Sufi lodge) he had built.
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Al-Ghazali contributed significantly to developing a systematic view of Sufism and its integration and acceptance in mainstream Islam. As a scholar of Sunni Islam, he belonged to the Shafi'i school of Islamic jurisprudence and the Asharite school of theology.
Al-Ghazaliâs autobiography âThe Deliverer from Errorâ describes his spiritual journey. That was during a time when many scholars had undertaken the study of Greek philosophy, and rationalism was taking a stronghold in the Muslim lands and had the ears of the ruling classes. Al-Ghazali said that the rationalism of the scholars could not satisfy their longing for the soul.
He then âturned with a set purpose to the method of mysticismâŚ.I knew the complete sufi tariqa (mystic way) includes both intellectual belief and practical activity; the latter consists of getting rid of the obstacles in the self and stripping of its base characteristics and vicious morals so that the heart may attain freedom from what is not God and to the constant recollection of him.â
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CONFLICT WITH THE STATE
The Sufis, with the idea of oneness with God and self-annihilation, were seen by many as heretics.
In the days of Islamic expansion and for a good part of Islamic history, Sharia was the law of the land. As such, the ulema (scholars) who interpreted the Sharia, and the Qadis (Judges) who enforced, it were considered very powerful. They sometimes would even challenge the authority of the ruler, who by this time had taken a more secular outlook.
The Sufis considered the ulema and the Qadis to be a hurdle to the path to God for their strict enforcement of rules instead of letting people improve their inner selves and search for God in their hearts.
Unlike the Sufis, the ulema believed that the path to God came through the study of the Quran and Hadith; Sharia and theology also played a significant part in their beliefs.
The harsh attitude of the Sufis towards the ulema and qadis brought them into direct conflict with the mighty pillars of the state.
The ulema considered the Sufis to be heretics and dangerous to public beliefs and morality. They used the full might of the state to suppress them.
During the Ummayad regime, the popularity of Sufism may have been because of the stateâs suppression of the followers of Ali and Hussain. This is why the Sufi tradition started earlier in Shia Islam, and even the Sunni Sufi tradition adopts some ideas about the position of Ali and Hussain from the Shia traditions.
The suppression of Sufis continued even under the Abbasids. In 922AD, Masur Hallaj was tried and executed under the Abbasid rule for saying, âI am the Truthâ (i.e., I am God).
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The President of Bosnia during the war was Alija Izetbegovic.
Alija Izetbegovic was born in Bosanski Samac in what is now Republika Srpska. His family descended from a Belgrade-based Ottoman aristocrat named Izet-beg. However, the family fell from grace when Serbia became independent.
Even at a young age, Izetbegovic was politically active. While still a teenager, he joined a group called Mladi Muslimani. Mladi Muslimani wanted to blend Islamic principles with modern government practices.
Alija got a law degree from the University of Sarajevo and then got into politics.
Alija Izetbegovic was a devout Muslim politician in a communist atheist state. His views often got him in trouble.
He ran afoul of the law in 1970 when he published his manifesto, Islamska Declaracija, or Islamic Declaration. In it, Izetbegovic discussed how Islam, politics, and society can work together. He also argued that an Islamic society could modernize, but that modernization must be based on the Quran.
Titoâs communist government banned his book then threw him in prison. Years later, in 1983, Izetbegovic was imprisoned again, accused of plotting an Islamic revolution. This time, he spent five years behind bars.
The Serbs justified their rebellion by accusing Izetbegovic of wanting to turn Bosnia into an Islamic Republic like Iran. But in reality, Alija Izetbegovic wanted to create a modern Bosnian state that preserved its Islamic heritage.
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Amazing stories about Islam and Muslims from around the world!