*This blog is dedicated to my good friend Aimal Yousafzai Khan, may Allah (swt) keep you steadfast in faith and knowledge.

*A copy of Malcolm X’s Biography can be purchased from Kindle or most bookstores.

The issue!!

In my observation, the issue with the modern-day Muslim is a concoction of ignorance and a lack of interest. Considering the sensitive times that we live in, one would imagine that the Muslim community should be the most pro-active thinkers in society. The rise in Islamophobia has spiked considerably since 9/11 and other terror-related incidents have further strengthened the negative stereotype of the average law-abiding citizens that wishes to co-exist in this society. 

Since the rise of Islamophobia, we are seeing a spike in the number of Islamic-hate preachers rising to prominence, individual’s like Tommy Robinson and groups far-right groups like Britain’s First have manipulated the situation to forward their own agenda. People like Tommy and Britain First have an audience that have genuine concerns about Islam. Unfortunately, the media (narrative creators) have also fuelled the fire in supporting this rhetoric. With the growing popularity of the right-wing fascist, what should young Muslim’s be doing?

 The thought process with the average human is, if it’s not on my doorstep, it is not my concern? The question is, why wait for danger when you have every chance of averting it? Considering we (Muslims) call ourselves the standard bearers, we are not as pro-active as we should be in knowing our own responsibility towards our society. 

The other issue that we have with the Muslim community, is that we either have people who excel academically or those that solely focus on Islam. Notwithstanding the above, there are Muslims within our community that can balance both, but those brothers and sisters are few and far between. 

 The wider society lacks emotional intelligence. However, in our communities, there is an endemic issue with the way we deal with one another. As a community, we are very quick to judge a person/situation, rather than taking a step back to observe the situation to find a pragmatic solution. Being judgemental is innate in all humans, however, the degree in which we make these judgments, and the way we manifest our thoughts on those judgements, is essentially the measuring stick of how judgemental we are.  

 It was not too long ago that I spoke to a well-reputed Sheikh. I had a question for the him.  After forwarding my question to the sheikh, he responded back with a question to my question. The Sheikh’s question was quite patronising as it was based on a preconceived judgement of how I look. Had it been someone who looked more Muslim, would the sheikh have answered my question straight away, or would he have asked a patronising question? I guess the latter is neither here or there? I think the greater question is, what does a Muslim look like? Maybe that’s a response for another blog. The crux of this situation Is that our youth have become disenfranchised by the learned within our community because they dress or look a certain way? 

Selective Outrage endemic!!!

The last issue that I would like to touch upon is society’s craze for celebrities. Throughout the last decade, celebrities have used social-network as their platform to address socio-political and economic issues. The Kony and the ALS Ice Bucket challenge being two that have struck out for me in recent times.. People were in their numbers sharing their outrage of Peter Kony, and millions were spent nominating five names throwing buckets of Ice Cold water over themselves, in the aid of raising awareness of ALS (Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis). Like millions of others, I was unaware of what ALS was. The question is why the selective choice of awareness?

Saying that I don’t doubt any of these celebrity’s intentions but the question remains, why do we need celebs to raise awareness? Should we not be more self-aware, or do these concerns only make sense if a celebrity champions the cause?

We as a community need to be more holistic in our understanding of the world and its problems. The issue that we currently face as an ummah,  is that we are not pro-active in our understanding of Islam, yet we want to be ‘bastions’ for our faith when it comes under criticism.

Malcolm X:

Malcolm X was a leading figure in the Civil Rights movement during 1950 to 1960s in America. Malcolm first shot to fame when he was part of the NOI (Nation of Islam), his presence had a rippling effect across the country with loads of black-African/American converting to NOI.

Considering his overreaching influence within the Nation, many within the hierarchy of NOI became envious of Malcolm’s popularity. It was not too long after, Malcolm would be ousted by Elijah Mohammed for violating orders, in respect of speaking about President Kennedy’s death.

The famous ‘chicken’s coming home to roost’ statement was an act of defiance in the eyes of Elijah Mohammed. The Chicken coming home to roost fiasco had very little part to play in Malcolm’s removal, however,  this was only a subtext to Malcolm’s removal from the nation. The fear of Elijah’s extra marital affairs was known amongst the hierarchy of the NOI (including Malcolm), if this had become common knowledge amongst his followers, people would have revolted against the NOI. And here lay the issue?

Rags to Riches?

Malcolm was one of 10 children of Earl and Helen Little. Both his parents were activist against white oppression.  Whilst Malcolm was 6 his father was allegedly murdered by the black legion (white supremacist group), shortly after his father’s death, Malcolm’s mother was sectioned in a mental institute. Malcolm’s siblings were separated and they were all adopted in to different homes. Malcolm whilst adopted, excelled in school, however, he had dropped out of school at an early age; a race related incident played its part. It was not too long before Malcolm left Lansing Michigan to pursue a life in New York. Malcolm adapted to New York street life and engaged in all sorts of criminal activity, ranging from prostitution to armed robbery etc. Malcolm criminal life ended abruptly when he was sentenced to 10 years in prison for armed robbery and other such demeanours.

Whilst still un-repentant in prison. Malcolm came across a fellow black prisoner who was different from any black man that he had come across. This man never touched alcohol, never smoked and did not engage in worldly matters like the rest. Rather he was eloquent in speech, well informed and extremely disciplined. This man was a member of the NOI and had made a huge impression on Malcolm; it was not too long after that Malcolm embraced the NOI.

A new revamped Malcolm, with a new purpose for life; Malcolm was thirsty for knowledge. The remaining seven years of Malcolm’s time in prison was invested in reading and learning. Malcolm’s eyesight became affected by the vast volume of books he was reading, resulting in Malcolm being prescribed glasses. In addition to reading, Malcolm consciously worked on his writing skills; Malcolm’s writing style was compared to that of a professor.

After Malcolm’s release from prison. An incident had taken place in Brooklyn, in which a fellow NOI brother was assaulted by a police officer and later taken to police custody. Malcolm managed to use people power and his own influence to have his fellow brother released from prison and to be treated at a local hospital for his wounds. Never had the NYPD seen a black man have a co-ordinated influence over a group of black people in this state. Malcolm became a person of interest in New York. It would not take Malcolm too long to leave his mark on the world!

Elijah used Malcolm’s influence to forward his own agenda. Malcolm was up and down the country in lecture halls, radio station and TV studios conveying his views and debating his opinion. Through Malcolm’s efforts, the nation rapidly expanded across the U.S.  People within the nation grew envious of Malcolm’s position and it was not to long after that he would be ousted by Elijah Muhammed.

Malcolm was now out in the wilderness with his wife and four children. It had taken years for Malcolm to find something and now he was removed by this ‘divine’ man that he once loved and trusted the most. Any other person, under those circumstances, would have deviated, not Malcolm though. Malcolm went to Hajj (Saudia Arabia) to seek the real Islam. What he found was in stark contrast to the black supremacist Islam that Elijah had falsely preached.

Malcolm’s pilgrimage through the holy lands taught him that Islam has no colour-bias, prejudice or discrimination. These were only Western issues.  Malcolm’s conviction of his faith was revived and he was now a believer of the Sunnah. What also helped Malcolm was his travel through Africa. Africa taught Malcolm how rich Africa was in sense of culture, history and religion. Africa was always civilised, the imperialist masters decivilized, a civilised continent. This brought absolute resolve for an absolute man.

Not too long after returning. Malcolm X movement was about black betterment through black efforts. Malcolm was now willing to work with other civil-right’s leaders like Martin Luther King to solve black issues. Prior to this, Malcolm did not engage with other prominent black civil rights leaders, as Elijah had restricted him. Malcolm also accepted that not all whites were part of the problem.

Malcolm X departs:

Elijah was not very happy of Malcolm’s new-found belief in Islam, it wouldn’t be too long before Elijah would try to silence Malcolm forever, in the fear that people would follow Malcolm towards the Sunnah. On 21 February 1965, after 16 attempts of his life in one year, Malcolm was assassinated by members of the NOI.

Malcolm’s Legacy, similarities to Umar (r.a)?

*By no stretch of the imagination would I compare Malcolm X’s life to Umar (R.A), however, it would be crazy not to observe the similarities.

For one, both Malcolm and Umar were involved in jahiliya (ignorance) lifestyle prior to embracing their respective faiths. When Malcolm and Umar (r.a) did finally embrace the faith, they were the best of followers. Their convictions in faith were unshakable and not comprisable, these men rose amongst their peers. Both Malcolm and Umar (r.a) in their respective faiths became influential figures over such a short period of time. Malcolm’s influence lead to millions following him across the USA, and Umar (r.a) influence oversaw 25 countries during his caliphate.

Ultimately Malcolm’s popularity in spreading the truth came at a price. A price which ultimately cost him his life. In one calendar year, 16 attempts were made at Malcolm’s life, one which would eventually bring an end to his life. Both Malcolm and Umar would be martyred.

Malcolm’s death, nearing similarities to Uthman (r.a) death.

Uthman (r.a) was martyred in his own house. The murder of Uthman was writing on the wall. Muhammed (PBUH) prophecised that Uthman (r.a) would be martyred whilst he was a leader. Years from that prophecy, Uthman (r.a) would be martyred by his own people. Uthman could have survived the plot as the whole of Medina would have protected him, however, he refused to divide an Ummah and refused to be the reason of initiating the first fitnah in Islam. The brutal murderers eventually had taken Uthman’s (r.a) whilst he was in his house.

If we were to examine Malcolm’s death you could draw similarities to Uthman’s (r.a) death. Once again, the time, reason and situation for the two deaths are worlds apart. What we can extrapolate from these two great individuals, is that they did not fear their death and their belief (Imaan) was unshakable even from death itself. Malcolm was in the middle of a lecture when three men from the NOI had sprayed several bullets through Malcolm. The impact of the shots resulted in Malcolm being pronounced dead at the scene of the incident. What is fascinating about this situation is that Malcolm could have prevented his own death. However, Malcolm refused to have anyone searched which ultimately resulted in his death.

Those closest to Malcolm realised that he felt that the end was near. A week prior to his death, Malcolm declared himself a dead man on a radio station. Similarly, Uthman (r.a) himself had a dream in which Muhammad (PBUH) had invited him to break bread with him, Umar and Abu-Bakr (r.a). It is evident that both martyrs were relentless in their belief and were not in fear of being murdered.

How many players do you know?

Going back to the beginning, a lot of the role-models in today’s society are people within the entertainment industry. Other than filling their own pockets and providing entertainment, what have they provided for the betterment of society? The question I always ask the brothers who have an interest in football, how many players do you know from your football team and where do they come from? Then pose the next question, how many sahabas do you know and what were their qualities?

This is not a superiority contest of Islamic knowledge, rather it is a way to reflect; as to where we are, and where we need to be.

What is my proposal?

My issue has always been the celebrity craze that we all follow. It would also be a lie to say that am also subject to this as well.

For the mentioned reasons.  I would propose that Muslims should make an active engagement in reading. Reading is quintessential to the existence of a Muslim. There is wisdom behind reading; not only does it enhance your understanding but it also reduces our ignorance.

Allhumdulilah, our primary source is the Quran. However, Allah (SWT) also instructs us to learn from our brothers in humanity (people of all faiths and non-faiths). When we learn from our brother’s; it is important to take the good and reject which is bad from them.

The first verses revealed to Muhammed (PBUH) was Iqra (read). Now the word Iqra is mentioned twice in this verse. Allah (SWT) orders Muhammad (PBUH) to seek knowledge from the Quran and man himself.  This verse goes back to what I was mentioning earlier in this blog. We as Muslims either go one way or the other. It’s either we lose ourselves in the dunya (world) or we overburden ourselves with the deen.

There is nothing worse than a person who is ignorant. For when an ignorant person is provided with the Haq (truth) he will still appeal to cognitive dissonance or illogical fallacy. A seeker of knowledge will never turn away from the truth.

Brother Malcolm X in the last ten years of his life achieved so much because he wanted to make that change. His life is a lesson that we can all strive for greatness should we make the effort. Granted we may not scale the same heights, but we can make a conscious effort of making that change. If, every one of us, was to make the effort to change, as a community we could achieve great things, whilst also bridging the gap within our communities.

I often hear a lot of Muslims saying, ‘it is too late for me am old now’ or ‘I have sinned too much’. Brothers and Sisters look at the lives of Malcolm X and Umar (r.a), they both found their path’s in their 30’s, surely this is a sign, that too late is never.

To all our younger brothers who are still impressionable. Do not feel like you have failed. Continue to enjoy your life to the fullest but be steadfast in your belief and never stop reading and searching for the truth.

Let’s not resort to violence and forward the media narrative. Let our actions and mouths speak the kindest and wisest of words so that we can change the hearts of those who have ill-feeling towards our faith. The golden years were only successful because the Muslim’s were the best amongst the knowledgeable in all aspects of life. They never limited themselves to one understanding, they could accommodate their understanding across various sects of society to spread the message. Malcolm X is the perfect example of a 20^th century Muslim, who had his fair share of 20th-century struggles and could change it around in all fronts.

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