More on “Just a Muslim”
Margari Hill’s take on the “Just a Muslim” phenomenon. I am in Atlanta at a MANA meeting and this is part of the many things that they are trying to address…
Someone called me a nationalist because I still participated in the Black Graduate Student Union. When I used to point out that they go to ethnic picnics, Lebanese iftar, Egyptian Day, Libyan picnic in the park, Bangladeshi dinner, Pakistani gathering, not to mention the ethnic after-eid-after parties. These were places I was never invited to. I pointed out that they all these ethnic functions. The argument someone made was that the people in their closed ethnic gatherings were all Muslim. For them, their ethnicity was intrinsicly tied to being Muslim. They were preserving their culture and language because one day, they hoped to go back home. Their functions or fundraisers could be completely secular and or for some nationalistic. But they were helping other Muslims.
Dr Umar F. Abdullah wrote a very interesting piece on this subject some time ago: Islam and the Cultural Imperative [.pdf]
Filed under: Black American Muslims, Convert Issues
“why don’t you wear a shalwar kameez?” someone just asked me the other day at a Muslim function. ::sighs: People just don’t get it.
Tariq and thinking it over - Where do you guys find these people? Seriously.
Mr,
That is is the million dollar question? When you read stuff such as the one that Mrs. Hill posted on her website, I’m just amazed at the fickle-mindedness that exist in the minds of people.
Ok,let me understand this: they tell Mrs. Hill that she is a “nationalist”for wanting to go her club meeting, yet they shut the door on her on their parties? What a load of crap. I’ve been to many ethnic parties at my school( ironically, one was Bangladeshi ). They invited students come to their events to understand their culture, but when it came to Muslim affairs, it was strictly for the Muslim Student Association(MSA) to handle.
The excuse they tell Mrs. Hill “We’re all Muslim”. Duh!( referring to the guys she mentioned in her story)Isn’t she is also a Muslim. It just sound stupid when people sat that. f she is just a Muslim, then they should include them in their Muslim associated clubs.
Mrs. Hill is proud African-American woman and she or nobody else shouldn’t give up her culture to prove their faith to them. She should be respected as their unconditional sister with no if’s and’s or but’s about it. May god lead her to people who will not judge her faith by her race. Hey! with friends like them, who needs enemies?
where do I find these people? ha! where do these people find me! i don’t ask for this sort of attention, they ask me for it.
But then again, I probably do ask for this because I am the one showing up in [nice] jeans, and a [nice] shirt to these little Muslim get togethers, while they are all in their cultural bg dresses. It’s something about a Muslim get together that makes them pull out these stunts.
I was practically floored when the girl asked me that the other day. I wanted to say, “Uhhh because I’m not South Asian”, but I avoided saying that because I didn’t want to hurt her feelings or make it seem that because of who I am i can’t wear it.
It’s really sad because now I have secretly burdened myself by avoiding beautiful foreign culture clothes at religious events (I really do love them!). Now I have taken on the burden to dress as western as possible AND act as Western as possible to let them see just who the heck I can be! Let Americans see who they can be as Muslims!
And it’s really hard, really hard to find something modest and beautiful, for a woman, when it comes to Western style clothes. I almost cried at the mall when I was trying to buy clothes for Eid. Omgosh I am almost about to cry just thinking about it. ::pauses, trying to not let this horrible memory overwhelm me::
And trust me I can talk a load of stuff about how it really isn’t hard to be Muslim and embrace American culture and values (I am an all American chick)… but formal clothes is something that I can’t do yet. There is always something wrong with any formal dress I come across… the back is showing, cleavage, too short, etc, etc. And slacks would just make me look way too casual.
And I am a woman, so I want to look just as beautiful as these girls at parties!
I mean, haven’t we all witnessed the “confused culturally child”? Who dresses this way, and does this and that to her hair, her eyes, etc yet who she really is (ethnically) on the natural surface makes her look like an idiot? I don’t want to be that girl at the Eid party dressed in some Shalwar Kameez and someone is looking at me like “She’s confused”… “poor girl”…. “she looks like an idiot” “she just looks funny in it”.
This year I think that I am going to go to a specialty shop. But then of course I don’t want to look like “PROM!!” lol.
I can go on and on about this… because I am so passionate about establishing our own identiy, especially for our future children God willing, so they can be content in who they are. Understand what they have to abdandon and not abandon as Muslims.
it’s just frustrating.
I’m glad this kind of dialogue is occurring, it means that we can start being American Muslims.
I was born in Turkey, into a family fairly ‘Western’ in its outlooks/values/culture etc etc, and I grew up in Australia. I always felt like I was between two worlds. I felt I wasn’t quite Australian, yet not quite anything else either. I’d feel much more comfortable around non-Muslims than Muslims, probably because a lot of the Muslims still introduced/identified themselves as whatever country they came from.
I guess I was a bit ahead of them in realising that we’re not living ‘back home’ anymore.
Historically speaking, each culture that came into contact with Islam adapted it to their culture. It doesn’t mean that new cultures have to completely copy those cultures to become ‘Islamic’. After all, there was a period of time when those cultures were not Islamic either. For some reason, a majority of immigrants seem to believe that American culture is somehow completely opposite to Islam, and their cultures are completely compliant with it. I completely disagree, and in fact I might argue the opposite.
So guys and gals, don’t feel embarrassed about wearing jeans and a t-shirt. I personally don’t give a rat’s ass what they think. If they make you feel uneasy about wearing ‘American’ clothes, ask them why they’re here if they feel its so unIslamic/uncultured (Hope that doesn’t come off racist to anyone).
BismillaharRahmanirRahim
as-salaamu ‘alaikum. MR you wrote,
I was wondering the same thing myself <a href=”http://azizaizmargari.wordpress.com/2008/02/16/am-i-just-a-muslim/#comment-4673″after commenting on Margari Aziza’s blog. So perhaps it is something to look into, I have my suspicions but not certain.
-Saifuddin
tariq could you fix the above link to read:
after commenting on Margari Aziza’s blog
Just to note:
Izzaykum? (cringe) better yet Salam alaikum!
On the Muslim tip, I read in some bloggers’ suggested New Year’s resolutions that we should just get over the identity stuff and focus on building alliances. The thing is, I have many alliances and daily intercultural contact. Contrary to some people’s misperceptions, I am not an isolationist. I will attend cultural events and events dealing with issues relating to different nationalist issues affecting the Muslim world, whether music or political rallies. the problem that I have is that in efforts to build alliances, when I try to put an issue that affects many people who come from my ethnic group and socio-economic background on the table, we get slapped down. Its been like for almost 15 years for me, whether in MSA or ISNA related events. So, it finally takes MANA to get some serious Black American leaders to say something.
As I stated in my blog, many of the people who had said some of the statements have changed their orientation. No longer do they have some utopian vision of Islam where there is no such thing as culture. They didn’t see how the political Islam they were fed was also pretty much nationalism in the guise of an Islamic movement. Basically, their Islamic movement operated within the context of a nationalist movement. I’m not trying to diss anyone’s causes. But I was so dissapointed when I found that I was being tapped to support so many causes overseas and no one was willing to address some of the disparities and injustices that I experienced. I personally believe that our alliances will be more effective once we have respect.
For example: One Black American blogger raised a question why are there so many Muslim doctors in America and not one hospital. Nor is there a Muslim run medical school. Now, if immigrant doctors see us Black americans as poor and downtrodden, they are not going to listen to a damn thing we say on an advisory board. Instead, we need to put our money where our mouth is and start making things happen. We have to develop a consensus in order to penetrate the uncles network the most influential communities and put some items on the agenda that will benefit not just Muslims, but all Americans (and not just Black Americans).
As far as pride. I have never seen myself as above anyone or below anyone else. Even for non-Muslim Black Americans who are bi-racial or come from another region of the Diaspora, I celebrate who they are. I can never try to erase the beautiful distinction of what it means to be Jamaican American or Black Brazilian or Nigerian American. In diversity there is beauty. We cannot just essentialize people’s identities and act like we are some monolithic group. We were created in different tribes and nations so that we can know each other, not for us to become the Borg!!
Second, how can I be an isolationist when I’m living in the Middle East living and breathing in the midst of an Arab culture? Like I have written, I grew up as a young Muslim in a diverse community where Black Americans were conspicuously absent. To this day, there are a few. It is not solely the fault of the MCA, but the demographics of the South Bay. There were also factors that led to many Black individuals choosing to travel to oakland for jumuah. But I went to MCA because that’s where most of my friends attended (and they came in all shapes, colors, and sizes). Anyways, sorry for the rambling thoughts.
salaams,
I agree that muslims are so much divided not only coz of origin but also school they represent in belief, it’s madness. we should think to unite rather than pointing minor differences.