43 Years after Malcolm X: Barack Obama

43 Years after Malcolm X: Barack Obama

One of the recent examples of the evident negative impact of prejudice based on name has been that of one of the senators running for president. In fact, never before has the middle name of a U.S. senator gained as much print coverage as that of Senator Barack Hussein Obama of Illinois. To make matters worse, the similarity between "Obama" and "Osama" has led to all kinds of jokes and media slips that are quite revealing of the continuing apprehensions about Islam and Muslims that so many citizens continue to feel across the land . (We also remember how the recent decision to take an oath on the Quran by the Muslim congressman, Keith Ellison, from the state of Minnesota created such an unnecessary uproar as well.

42 Years after Malcolm X
Malcolm X, one of the greatest and most exemplary activist, assassinated on February 21st, 1965, (43 years ago this week) became an icon for justice, equality and human dignity. This former criminal who underwent a spiritual, moral, ideological and intellectual transformation while in prison; was ultimately transformed by the experience of Hajj. In responding to the ancient call of the prophet Abraham to perform the Hajj, Malcolm X took a step that would transform him: he would rise above what the then racist America had made him; and he realized that at his core he was no different from the whites he resented. He realized that you cannot become what you need to be by remaining what you are. In experiencing the equalizing event of the Hajj, he recognized that

• it was only true belief and submission to the Creator that could remove from people's minds a focus on the incidentals of race and color and allow them to realize that everyone is equal before Allah.
• racism is not based on fact, but rather on the fallacy of prejudiced mind

Racism is not really about Color
No person of color actually suffers discrimination because of the color of their skin. The problem is not skin color, but biased value systems that perpetrate and perpetuate the evil of prejudice against others and then justify that evil by focusing on outward differences. These outward differences, such as color, gender, language ... are just that; differences. In and of themselves they contain no positive or negative value; there are merely biological realities or cultural necessities.

This is evidenced by Prophetic Tradition, that "Allah does not judge anyone by their physicality nor appearances, but by the sincerity of intention and quality of action." Thus, there is nothing wrong with the color black, brown or yellow. It is not skin color that forms the basis for discrimination, but the negative meaning and value given to the color of skin; a meaning not inherent in the color nor the skin but in the mental culture that discriminates. We need to realize that color is neutral; it is the mind that gives it meaning; it is not color that is the problem, rather it is prejudicial attitude that is the problem.

Islam: Freedom to...

It is important to remember that freedom, as a fundamental right of any human being, in Islam means freedom to do good, not freedom to do just anything. In the Arabic language the word hurr does not only mean "free" but it also means "noble." Islam promotes the type of responsible freedom: A type of freedom that respects the other. Freedom in Islam is not freedom from moral obligation and responsibilities or freedom from truth, justice, virtue, and righteousness. Freedom from these values is not freedom, but rather anarchy and corruption.

From the very outset, Muslim civilization was built on foundations supplied by ideology. It has never had anything to do with the concepts of race or nation, color or cast. Not all civilizations were thus simply and clearly motivated. In most of them, religion was but an accompaniment to other, equally or even more decisive cultural forces - for instance, in European civilization, where Christianity was always only one of several factors of development. This being so, one can well imagine that the West might one day discard and yet retain the identity and continuity of its culture. An example is Soviet Russia, where Christianity has been rejected as a basis of social ethics: and, in spite of this rejection of Christianity, the communist experiment in Russia is still "Western".

Islam, on the other hand, has always been an ideological civilization and the revolutionary concept of the fraternity of human beings united, not by ties of blood or race, but by their consciousness of a common outlook on life and common aspirations for the greater good of the creation of one Creator: a concept realized nearly fourteen centuries ago in the establishment of the Islamic ummah - a community open to every man and woman, of whatever race or color, who accepted this common ideal: in brief, a real "social contract".

Being a Khalifah

Islam teaches its adherents that their role on earth is to be God's khalifah/vicegerents and to carry out His commands for the welfare and benefit of all of existence. Such a role relies heavily on the interpersonal conduct, behavior, character and morality of each and every individual Muslim, in essence, the "quality" of each personality. This is one of the foremost responsibilities of Muslims, following the example of the Prophet, to model good human relations. Each human personality is unique. The Qur'an expounds in very clear terms a distinct concept of individual growth and development. A human being is body and soul, matter and spirit. It is the unique balance between these that makes humans uniquely what we are; and according to Islamic belief, the highest of all created beings [Qur'an 95:5].


Our Present Dilemma

We need to realize understand why it is that in our days the general run of Muslims do not follow Islam in spirit or even in form, and follow only a number of customs vaguely associated with Islam. With most of our contemporaries, "faith" has become a figure of speech, a mere empty word devoid of that spark of enthusiasm which in the early days of our history inspired the Muslims to imperishable deeds of cultural and social achievement. No doubt, Islam is still alive as an emotion. It is alive in the instinctive love of countless millions of people who vaguely feel that its principles are "right": but only very few of them grasp those principles intellectually and are able, or genuinely prepared, to translate them into terms of practical life. The revolutionary example of the great American Muslim, Malcolm X, still needs to be imbibed by many of us who live in this land, claiming to be Muslim.

By: Br. Sadullah Khan