African American Muslims Lament Loss of Islamic Heritage

CAIRO , January 23 (IslamOnline.net) – A perusal through the annals of American history brings back bittersweet memories for African American Muslims, who pride themselves on being the indigenous people of this country and lament the loss of the Islamic heritage throughout ages.

“Not only were there African Muslims who were here in America as explorers before Christopher Columbus, but a third of the African slaves who were brought here during the slave trade were Muslims,” Imam Al-Hajj Talib Abdur-Rashid told The Seattle Times Saturday, January 22.

“We, the indigenous Muslims of America, particularly the African Americans, are still waking up from a 400-year coma.”

Abdur-Rashid acrimoniously recalled how his Muslim ancestors were brought to America as slaves and forced to convert to Christianity.

“We suffered psychic and blunt-force trauma to the head, and forgot everything, including who we are and what we are. We were told, 'Your name is not Ahmed, your name is Charlie. You don't worship Allah. You worship Jesus,'” he told the paper.

“But this could not erase the genetic code. So lo (sic) and behold, 400 years later ... our historical memory as Muslims is being rebooted,” added Abdur-Rashid, who was born a Baptist.

Stereotypes

Many African American Muslims further decry the prevailing stereotypes that their community was mainly made up of criminals, as some of them embrace Islam in prison.

“I have never been in prison except in my work as a chaplain,” said Abdur-Rashid.

“And I have people in leadership in my mosque who are college professors, and I also have people who are ex-offenders.”

African American Muslims also feel offended by affiliating the whole community with the Nation of Islam, especially that estimates showed that only a few thousands of some two million African American Muslims follow the group’s tenets.

Leading Muslim scholars have ruled that “the teachings of the Nation of Islam were extremely far from mainstream Islam in many matters especially those of doctrine”.

The Seattle Times said that the community is keen on playing an active role in developing American society.

It cited one of their famous mosques, the Islamic Brotherhood in New York , as a case in point with boy scout meetings, breast-cancer fund-raising and programs to combat AIDS and homelessness.

“Many here see Islam not just as a path to salvation but also as a social-action program and an authentic expression of black American identity,” the paper commented.

Marginalized

Many African American Muslims also complain about being marginalized not only by American society but, alas, by Muslim immigrants from Arab and southeast Asian countries.

“We are the single largest Muslim community in America . Yet the media often relegates us to the margins,” said Amir Al-Islam, a professor of Islamic Studies at Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York.

He further regretted that other Muslim communities in the States treat African American Muslims as less authentic despite the fact that they have been practicing Islam for decades in the country.

“Muslim organizations from the immigrant community often view us as new Muslims who are seen as not proficient in the Islamic canons and, therefore, lacking in authenticity,” Al-Islam told the paper.

Abdur-Rashid added that the marginalization of his community was very much evident in the presidential election.

A number of major US Muslim groups gave a “qualified endorsement” to Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry, calling on Muslims to vote for him.

“There was no consultation whatsoever with those of us who have any history in this land. And then, to project their collective decision as representative of all Muslims in America was an insult,” Abdur-Rashid said.

“As Ralph Ellison would say, we are the invisible Muslims in this country,” Al-Islam concluded.