Dr Amir Saeed
Department of Media and Cultural Studies, University of Sunderland
Sunderland, United Kingdom
Abstract
Just as the Civil Rights and Black consciousness
movements have inspired human rights activists around the world, Malcolm X has
been a motivating figure for such people (Marqusee 1999). Malcolm X’s appeal
and recognition have transcended the boundaries of “race” and national borders.
Given the anti-Muslim rhetoric espoused by leading
social commentators following 9/11, Malcolm X’s appeal and message of social
justice seems more relevant than ever. Recent anti-war demonstrations in the UK
saw Malcolm X’s image employed by young British-Muslims demonstrating what they
perceived as social injustice being committed to Muslims around the world in
the name of fighting terrorism (Saeed 2004).
This article examines why Malcolm X has been such a
key figure and role model for many non-white communities and especially the
Muslim and South -Asian Diaspora in the UK (Saeed 2003) In order to do this the
article highlights historical developments in Malcolm X’s political career that
helped make him a symbol of anti-racism and the personification of an assertive
black consciousness (Van De Burgh 1992).
These historical developments are further linked to
the issue of identity politics. Thus terms like “black” and “Muslim” are
explored in relation to Malcolm X and his appeal in particular to British-Asian
Muslim communities
Encountering Malcolm X
[1] My
first recollection of Malcolm X was watching a Muhammad Ali fight in Scotland
in the mid 1970s. Ali fights were
received with great anticipation in my family household. My mother (not even a
sport fan never mind boxing fan) would cook special South-Asian dishes, the
house would be filled with an air of excitement, and my brothers would enthuse
about Ali’s greatness. The fight itself would be watched, commentated and
enjoyed in admiration. Any small act of “defiance” or “playful misdemeanour” by
Ali was lapped with great applause and recognition. Quite simply Ali belonged
to us and we would look with a
mixture of awe and envy, especially in how white people respected Ali the
Muslim. Ali’s conversion to Islam
introduced us to Malcolm X. Initially our knowledge of Malcolm was vague. My
parents who like many first generation immigrants warned us that Malcolm
believed in violence, and that we must turn the other cheek when confronted
with racism. My brothers and I would listen to our parents’ wishes but secretly
admire Malcolm’s stance. Here was a Black man who was not scared and dared
challenge the “white racist colonialist.” Malcolm gave us pride and a positive
self-esteem. By reading Malcolm’s speeches my brothers and I had a strong
affinity with the racism suffered by Black Americans and also other colonized
people around the globe. In short, Malcolm X gave us an internationalist
outlook on our politics and an understanding of racism and capitalism.
[2] This concluding statement is in part
what this essay attempts to explore. How can a Pakistani family living in
Scotland have such strong feelings for an African-American who had died some 10
years previously and who had no real following within the British South-Asian
communities? In order to examine these issues, the essay explores in-depth key
events in Malcolm’s political and religious development. These historical
considerations are further debated in relation to questions of ethnic minority
cultural identity, namely the use of ethnic and religious labels. Furthermore,
the representation of Malcolm has an apostle of violence is linked to the media
image of Muslims today.
A Personal Reflection
And
just you see the oppressed people all over the world today getting together,
the Black people in the West are also seeing that they are oppressed.
Instead of just calling themselves an oppressed minority in the states,
they are part of the oppressed masses of people all over the world
today who are crying out for action against the common oppressor.
February
11 1965
(Malcolm
X 1992, 63)
[3] I am a British
citizen of Pakistani origin. If asked, I would describe myself as being
Scottish-Pakistani. From a personal perspective I used to argue that I was part
British, my argument being that I was literate in English, and had citizenship
rights and responsibilities. In short I had adapted to the ambiguous notion of “British”
culture, to a degree at least. Religion was an element of my personal identity
but not an essential part of my life. Unlike other Muslims my faith was not of
overwhelming importance. What was important was to have the right to practice
(if I chose) my faith without fear, intimidation and ridicule. This willingness
to put secular rights over religion mirrored my political maturity that was
awakened in the 1980s, a time when, in Scotland at least, skin colour seemed
more important than religion. In many respects my political identity was
modelled around inclusive definitions of “black.” I understood the term “black”
as meaning people of Third World origin who were victims of European
imperialism whether they were Latin American, African or Asian; to me they were
part of the colonised globe thus deserved my support.
[4] My citizenship
responsibilities entitled me to be at least part British or Scottish. Indeed
the notion of hybridity was my initial research area in academia. From national
identity to sport to music, my research was initially focused on how minority
groups adapted to, accepted, challenged and formulated cultures (of
incorporation and resistance) within a different context. The events of 9/11
and the subsequent levels of hostility have made me question my own notion of
hybridity. Increasingly I experience and see Muslims having to emphasise their
Britishness. It seems they are given a stark choice of being British or be
Muslim; to assimilate, not just integrate.
[6] In short, the events
surrounding 9/11 and especially the War on Terrorism have made me pay much
closer attention to my religious roots. My secular outlook, in recent months,
has been replaced by a more religious and (I say so hesitantly) more Islamic
perspective. Rather than seeing Islam just as a religion, closer examination of
the Koran showed me that it embodies a political ideology that could provide a
framework for me to understand contemporary capitalist society. For many,
capitalism is inherently unjust and unequal; for me, capitalism quite simply
(using the classic socialist phrase) puts “profit before people.” While popular
culture and public opinion seemed to decry the inhumane nature of Islam
following 9/11, the following passage from the Koran seemed highly relevant,
Whoever
slays a soul … it is as though he slew all mankind, and whoever
keeps it alive it as though he kept alive all mankind (Al
Quran 5:35).
In Islam it is clear that life
is to respected and that the right to life is accorded to all beings. Unfortunately
those who appeared to be strongest critics of Islam seemed to have the weakest
knowledge of it.
[6]
It is with this personal background that I have to approach any further
research within race and ethnic studies. Given that academia is supposed to be
rational, objective and scientific, my conclusions may be open to criticism.
However the writing of As’ad Abukhalil (describing his most recent book, Bin
Laden, Terrorism and Islam) may provide some thought to critics of a subjective
approach,
The style and tone of this book are
emotional, and may strike the academic reader as odd. But hiding behind the
cloak of objectivity is often used to more to conceal than to reveal (Abu
Khalil 2002, 11).
[7] In contrast to much
mainstream research that generally seeks to attain value neutrality and so-called
objectivity, feminist researchers often incorporate personal experiences into
their research. Personal experiences are not perceived as making the methods
and results of research invalid. Rather, many feminists argue that experience
actually helps to validate and support their research: "Feminist women
must deliberately … integrate their repressed, unconscious female subjectivity,
i.e. their own experience of oppression and discrimination into the research
process" (Maria Mies in Reinharz 1992, 263). Collins (1990, 202)
summarizes her view of her research as very personal and subjective:
I
often use the pronoun "our" instead of "their" when
referring to African-American women,
a choice that embeds me in the group I am studying
instead of distancing me from it. In addition, I occasionally place
my own concrete experiences in the text.
Brother Malcolm and Raising Consciousness
Malcolm’s weakness and strengths must be rigorously
examined if we are to have a richly hued picture of one of the most intriguing
figures of the twentieth-century public life in the United States. Malcolm’s
past is not yet settled, savaged as it has been in the embrace of unprincipled
denigrators while being equally smothered in the well-meaning grip of romantic
and uncritical loyalists. He deserves what every towering and seminal figure in
history should receive: comprehensive and critical examination of what he said
and did so that his life and thought will be useful to future generations of
peoples in struggle around the globe (Dyson 1995, 75; emphasis added).
[8] The Nation of Islam (NOI) was
organised during the Great Depression and rapidly grew into the biggest
African-American nationalist organisation since Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro
Improvement Association (UNIA). Gardell (1996, 24) notes that The NOI combined
pseudo Islamic doctrines alongside Black Nationalist thought:
The Nation was from the very
beginning exclusively black and formulated emphatic political demands. The
United States was depicted as the modern day Babylon soon to be destroyed by
the wrath of God, whereupon the blacks would
ascend to their predestined position as world rulers (Gardell 1996, 65).
It is often assumed that, what has been
termed the “Black power era” (Van DeBurgh 1992) had its roots and blossoming firmly
in the 1960s. However, this underestimates the various strands of Black
nationalist thought that greatly influenced this era from African-American
movements in the 19th and 20th centuries (Moses 1988;
Lincoln and Mamiya 1990; McCartney 1992). In short, the black consciousness
movement of the 1960s /70s had ideological influences that could be traced back
to the Moorish Science Temples and the Garveyite movement among others (Gardell
1992; Lincoln 1994:Egg 1998).
[9] The Nation, unlike other black organisations,
tried to recruit members from prisons and poor inner cities. The migration of southern
blacks to northern cities also provided a vast source of potential recruits.
The Nation grew modestly until the 1950s; however, the release of another ex-prison
convert, Malcolm X, quickly changed that.
[10] Born Malcolm Little, the son
of Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) activists, Gardell describes
Malcolm X’s life as the alternative American dream,
Malcolm’s life was to become the symbol of
the black version of the American dream. When Malcolm was six years old, his
father was murdered by white racists. Louise Little (Malcolm’s mother) was
unable to provide for her family and had a nervous breakdown when state welfare
workers wanted to place her children in foster homes. She was sent to an
asylum, the children were scattered, and Malcolm grew up in different homes in
Michigan. A talented student, but discouraged from higher education because of
the colour of his skin, Malcolm embarked upon another career. Leaving for
Boston and then Harlem, Malcolm became a street hustler and a burglar, which in
1946 brought him a ten-year prison sentence. While incarcerated, Malcolm was
reached by the message of the NOI, and his life took yet another turn (1996, 65).
Upon release from prison,
Malcolm X rose quickly in the NOI hierarchy and toured the United States
extensively, establishing 27 mosques in different cities. He was also renowned
for his rhetorical skill and oratorical mastery and appeared on various shows
and in lecture theatres. After leaving the NOI in 1964, Malcolm X converted to
orthodox Islam and visited Africa and Asia to help comprehend his religious
change:
You
should not feel that I am inciting someone to violence. I’m only warning of a powder-keg
situation. … There are 22 million African-Americans who are ready to fight for
independence right here. … I don’t mean any nonviolent fight, or
turn-the-other-cheek fight. Those days are gone. Those days are over.
Malcolm
X
(Benedict
1970, 195-96)
From these kinds of passionate
and determined words, many blacks drew a sense of courage, pride and
motivation. Malcolm X also emphasised the deep structural conditions that
created racism. For example rather than continuing an essentialist notion of race
and crime, Malcolm X focused in on the social, political and economic
inequalities of society. In many respects it could be argued that he simply noted
the institutional racism inherent in society. Thus many of his speeches and
talks articulated this structured understanding of the connections between “race,”
power and representation:
Malcolm X was/is arguably the most important single
figure as far as the liberation of blacks (worldwide) is concerned, he “became
a Black Power paradigm-the archetype, reference point, and spiritual advisor in
absentia for a generation of Afro-American activists” (Van
Deburg 1992, 2).
It had taken centuries of
African-Americans being incensed by their treatment by white society before the
pursuit of black liberation assertively arose.
[11] Scheer is very eloquent
and poetic in his interpretation of the transition from Malcolm X to the Black
Panther branch of the Black Power movement, which emanated from a grassroots
movement in Oakland, California:
Malcolm saw all the way to national liberation, and
he showed us the rainbow and the golden pot at its end. Inside the golden pot,
Malcolm told us, was the tool of liberation. Huey P. Newton, one of the
millions of black people who listened to Malcolm, lifted the golden lid off the
pot and blindly, trusting Malcolm, stuck his hand inside and grasped the tool.
When he withdrew his hand and looked to see what he held, he saw the gun. …
Malcolm prophesied the coming of the gun to the black liberation struggle. Huey
P, Newton picked up the gun and pulled the trigger (Scheer 1969, 86).
The Legacy of Black Consciousness
Daily, the Black Power revolution was
“changing niggers into blackmen-/ blackmen into a-/ blackNation / black Nation
into- / blackpower / black power into-/ equality / world equality” (Van Deburg
1992, 110).
[12] Malcolm’s determination
to uplift the African-American community’s self perception was greatly
influenced by his own study of the teaching of the Nation of Islam (NOI) leader
Elijah Muhammad and the Garveyite movement of the early 20th century
(McCartney 1992). Although Malcolm X was never in charge of the NOI, it could
be argued that through his determination and passion, one of the most
remarkable achievements of the NOI under the guidance of Malcolm X was how they
helped to transform black self-identity. For example, the transformation of
black identity from “negro to African-American” was in large parts due to
Malcolm X instilling greater self-confidence and self esteem in the black
community:
Malcolm X was the prophet of black rage primarily
because of his great love for black people. His love was neither abstract nor
ephemeral. Rather, it was a concrete connection with a degraded and devalued
people in need of psychic conversion. This is why Malcolm X’s articulation of
black rage was not directed first and foremost at white America. Rather,
Malcolm believed that if black people felt the love that motivated that rage,
the love would produce a psychic conversion in black people; they would affirm
themselves as human beings, no longer viewing their bodies, minds, and souls
through white lenses, and believing themselves capable of taking control of
their own destinies (West 2001, 136).
[13] This “psychic
conversion” touched all aspects of the “black community.” Black culture was radically
changed to reflect changing consciousness. In politics, sport and even music
the influence of Malcolm X was directly felt. Black consciousness was invoking
new pride in black culture. Rebee Garofalo (1992) notes how the Civil Rights
movement had an impact on the growing soul music scene of the 1960s.
Furthermore authors like Brian Ward (1998) and C. Werner (2000) note how the
emergence of what has been termed the “Black Power or Black consciousness
movement had a major impact on soul artists. For example artists such as James
Brown and Sam Cooke started to get more active in Civil Rights struggles (Ward
1998; Werner 2000). This influence can even be seen toady in hip hop music
(Dyson 1995) in what Decker (1995) calls “Hip-Hop Nationalism.”
[14] Younger blacks started to
feature more strongly in the civil rights movement such as H “Rap” Brown (Jamil
El Amin) and Stokely Carmichael Kwame Toure). These people expressed a
viewpoint that was more militant and reflected a growing interest and pride in
expressing that blackness. Influenced strongly by the political philosophies of
Malcolm X and the growing independence movements in ex-colonial countries,
these different movements heralded the rise of the black consciousness movement
popularly called the Black Power movement led by organisations such as the
Black Panther Party (Van Deburg 1992):
Black nationalism has also been viewed as
a response to the erosion of communal identity and the eradication of
collective self-determination under slavery, and as a strategy to combat the
destructive cultural effects resulting from the rejection of fragile political
liberties after Emancipation and Reconstruction. Black nationalism was often an
expression of healthy self-regard in a legal and social climate that
reinforced black American” inferior political status (Dyson 1995, 80).
This led to symbolic acts of
defiance from other black sports stars such as the formation of the Olympic
Project for Human Rights (OPHR) which demanded the restoration of Muhammad Ali
as world boxing champ as its number one demand followed by exclusion of
South-Africa and Rhodesia from international competition. Symbolic pressure was
applied to the Olympic games when Tommie Smith and John Carlos who won gold and
bronze medal respectively in the 200 metres received their awards. As they
received their medals the two athletes raised clenched fists:
I wore a black right-hand glove and Carlos
wore the left-hand glove of the same pair. My raised right hand stood for the power
in black America. Carlos’s raised left hand stood for the unity of black
America. Together they formed an arch of unity and power. The black scarf
around my neck stood for black pride. The black socks with no shoes stood for
black poverty in racist America. The totality of our effort was the regaining
of black dignity (Saeed 2003, 61).
[15] This “psychic
conversion” also was relevant in his religious identity. By the early 1960s,
white America was alarmed and in many ways fascinated by the emergence of Islam
in America. Initial African-American versions of Islam such as the Moorish
Science Temple and the Nation of Islam were not strictly “orthodox Islam”
(Gardell 1996). As stated earlier, in 1964 Malcolm X converted to orthodox
Islam and changed his name to Malik el Shabazz, whereupon Malcolm X
re-evaluated his earlier notions of race and racism. Realising the limitations
of condoning the whole white race as “devils,” Malcolm looked to the Koran and
his experiences on Hajj (the Muslim religious pilgrimage) to help formulate his
political and social outlook. His famous “Letter from Mecca” spoke with great
passion about the “brotherhood of man” and sharing food with everyone from
blue-eyed blondes to dark skinned Africans:
Throughout my travels in the Muslim world, I have
met, talked to and even eaten with people who in America would have been
considered white—but the white attitude was removed from their minds by
the religion of Islam. I have never before seen sincere and true brotherhood practiced
by all colors together, irrespective of their color. You may be shocked by
these words coming from me. But on this pilgrimage, what I have
seen, and experienced, has forced me to rearrange much of my thought-patterns
previously held and to toss aside some of my previous conclusions. This was not
too difficult for me. Despite my firm convictions, I have always been a man who
tries to face facts and to accept the reality of life as new experience and new
knowledge unfolds it (Malcolm X 1964, 454-55).
Such words for many in the
Muslim community echo the transcripts of the holy Koran, the Koran says:
O
you mankind! We have created you from a single pair of male and female
and made you into nations and tribes so that you know each other
(not despise each other). Verily the most honored in the sight of Allah
is the one who is most righteous (49:13).The Quran also says: O you
who believe! Be the maintainers of justice and bearers of witness for
Allah’s sake though it be against your own self, parents and relatives
(4:135).And it also says O you believe, stand out firmly for Allah
as witness to fair dealing and let not the hatred of others incite you
to act unjustly.
British Muslims/Asians and Black Consciousness
[16] It is interesting to
note that the term Black Power and the civil rights movement were also
appropriated by the British-Asian community and non-whites all around the world
who looked towards the African-American struggle for inspiration and role
models. For example Van Deburg notes:
Black Power energised and educated black
Americans, introducing many to the concept of political pluralism. It spurred
new interest in African liberation struggles and the plight of the powerless
world-wide. Newly sensitised to the political nature of oppression, Black Power
converts set out to remedy he situation by forming numerous political action
caucuses and grass roots community associations. These, in turn, served as
often-utilised models for the various ethnic, gender and class consciousness
movements of the seventies and eighties (1992, 206-7).
Sivanandan argues that “Black
Power” was rallying cry for non-white and Third-World activists,
It was the catalyst which showed up
the essential unity of the struggles against white power and privilege–whether
in the US itself, in Britain, in Southern Africa, or in former colonies of the
Caribbean. Through it, black, became a political colour with which other Third
World activists and radicals could identify-the Dalit Panthers from among the
untouchables of India took their name from the Black Panthers of the US. …Black
Power is a political metaphor … but also, in the terse, explosive precision of
its language, a resounding call to arms (Saeed 2003, 64).
Similarly Hall notes:
Black was created as a political category
in a certain historical moment. It was created as a consequence of certain
symbolic and ideological struggles. ... in that very struggle is a change of
consciousness, a change of self-recognition, a new process of identification,
the emergence into visibility of a new subject (Saeed 2003, 64).
British-Asians/Muslims and Questions
of Blackness
[17] There has been a debate
surrounding the use of the term “black” in relation to those of South Asian
origin (Modood 1988; Anthias and Yuval-Davis 1992; Modood 1992, 1994b). Some
authors regard the term as inaccurate (Modood 1992), while others see it as
useful in creating a pan-identity with which to challenge (white) racism.
Certainly, recent work (see section two above) by Modood and colleagues (1997)
further challenges the assumption that subsequent ethnic minority generations
can necessarily be generalized adequately as “black.” The assumption underlying
this approach was that:
the descendants of immigrants would lose
all their “difference” except colour and would therefore be thought of as a
relatively undifferentiated “black” mass both by themselves and by the white
British, and that the only area of conflict would be socio-economic, or more
broadly of inclusion/exclusion into white British society (Modood 1994a, 5-6).
Modood et al. (1997) further question this original
assumption and point to the diverse experiences of ethnic minority groups in
Britain, and to competition between groups lessening the possibility of
solidarity.
[18] However, with the
Scottish instance in mind, but also as a general observation, it might be
argued that such debates need to take yet more account of the specific social,
cultural and political circumstances that help to develop identity categories.
For example, the term “Asian” in the United States is usually associated with
those of Far Eastern origin, for example with Chinese or Japanese heritage
(Schaefer 1989) and not readily with South-Asian provenance (the Indian
sub-continent): this suggests an immediate difficulty with the term “black” if
applied to American Asians, a difficulty produced by specific social and
cultural circumstances.
[19] In Scotland, the black
population, i.e., of African or Caribbean descent, accounts for only 0.13% of
the total population and only 10% of the total ethnic minority population
(Dalton and Hampton 1994). Although research on racism and discrimination in
Scotland has used the term “black” to embrace all of Scotland’s ethnic
minorities (Cant and Kelly 1995) and though community groups such as the Lothian
Black Forum employ the term in a similar spirit, this is a usage clearly
imported into Scotland from contexts in which different determinants apply. It
might be imagined that if Modood’s (1994b) questioning of the term “black” as
generally applicable to ethnic minorities in areas of England in which there is
a substantial population of African and Caribbean descent is valid, then it
would be all the more so in Scotland, to the extent that the Scottish case was
generally experienced as distinct.
[20] In some respects, it
could be argued that Black Power created a global "imagined community."
By relating to this community, young blacks in the 1960s were in some way
displaying solidarity and gaining strength from images of black assertion
embodied by Malcolm X and sport stars like Muhammad Ali (Saeed 2003). This is somewhat
similar to the concept of the ummah—the global Islamic community that supersedes
nationality. Explained briefly, there are two tiers to Muslim identity, one
related to faith and one related to country, but faith overrides any other
component of identity. Jacobson notes
that,
In this way, the boundaries defining
Muslim identity may also be strengthened; the young Muslims are likely to feel
that although within British society they are members of a relatively small and
weak minority, their religious beliefs and practice traverse the globe and
history and are thus components of what is a vast and (potentially at least)
powerful force (Jacobsen 1997, 245).
Participants may be
drawing strength from an Islamic identity that can provide solidarity with
other Muslims, as well as an avenue of escape from being constantly identified
in negative terms; the logic of this process implies a positive
(re)conceptualization of Islamic identity transcending local, negative
attributions. Therefore, just as young Blacks in the 1960s were creating a “black
identity,” young British Muslims are also asserting an identity that allows
them positive self-esteem and self-respect (Saeed, Blain and Forbes 1999). Thus
in many ways the concept of the ummah and conceptualizations of political blackness draw upon similar
feelings of exclusion and empowerment.
West versus East
I
think that an objective analysis of events that are taking place on this earth
today points towards some type of ultimate showdown. You can call it political
showdown, or even a showdown between the economic systems that exist on this
earth which almost boil down along racial lines. I do believe that there will
be a clash between East and West. I believe that there will ultimately be a
clash between the oppressed and those that do the oppressing. I believe that
there will be a clash between those who want freedom, justice and equality for
everyone and those who want to continue the systems of exploitation.
http://www.malcolm-x.org/quotes.htm
[21] It appears that all
across the West, the clash of civilisations debate has taken root. The basic
premise of Huntington’s thesis that a new cold war is taken place based not
upon economics or politics but on culture. Sardar and Davies (2002, 49)
illustrate how Huntington’s thesis has been appropriated:
… a Dec. 3 2001 issue of the National
Review, with a drawing of George Bush as a medieval crusader on the cover
contained an article headlined “Martyred: Muslim murder and mayhem against
Christians,” in which the author cites with the approval the conclusion in
Samuel Huntington’s book. The Clash of Civilisations and the Remaking of World
Order: “The underlying problem for the West is not Islamic fundamentalism. It
is Islam, a different civilisation whose people are convinced of the
superiority of their culture and are obsessed with the inferiority of their
power.”
This example may well help
explain why many Muslims look upon the War on Terrorism as a War on Islam. He
continues that Islam with its innate propensity to violence poses the most
serious threat to Western civilisation. It is clear that for Huntington Islam
is and Muslims are inherently inferior. While this argument is based on
religion and culture, the essentialist argument forwarded is chillingly similar
to the biological reasoning forwarded in the 19th century to justify
colonialism and imperial war. Despite assurances from the UK Prime Minister
Tony Blair and “President” George Bush that the war on Terrorism was not a war
on Islam, the events of 9/11 have given rise to a number of negative comments
about Islam by leading players.
[22] However
as Halliday (1998) clearly points out, even prior to Huntington’s thesis, Islam
was presented as a threatening “other.” Said’s Orientalism provides the classic
framework for understanding relationships between the “West” (and the “Rest”)
and Muslims in particular:
In newsreels or
newsphotos, the Arab is always shown in large numbers. No individuality, no
personal characteristics, or experiences. Most of the pictures represent mass
rage and misery, or irrational (hence hopelessly eccentric) gestures. Lurking
behind all of these images is the menace of the jihad. Consequence: a fear that
the Muslims (or Arabs will take over the world) (Said 1986, 287-88).
Media, Malcolm and Islam
[23] On February 14, 1965,
Malcolm X noted that on the need to educate oneself on the power of the media
in determining reality:
Then
you’ll be in a better position to make an intelligent judgment for yourself.
So as Afro-Americans or Black people here in the Western Hemisphere,
you and I have to learn to weigh things for ourselves. No matter what the man
says, you better look into it yourself.
Interestingly, Malcolm X was
speaking about how western images of Africa demonized the continent and peoples
as backward and barbarian. Simultaneously, Malcolm X was also reflected in the mainstream
media as a “problem.” Depicted as violent, racist and anti-semitic:
[W]hen
I am dead … he will make use of me dead, as he has made use
of me alive, as a convenient symbol of “hatred”—and that will help him
to escape facing the truth that all I have been doing is holding a mirror
to reflect, to show the history of unspeakable crimes that his race
has committed … (Haley 1968, 500).
[24] In a similar manner, the
Islamic challenge or struggle has been popularised in media as being
intrinsically violent. For example, the use of the term “jihad” conjures up
images of violent, irrational terrorism. However, jihad does not necessarily
mean a call to arms and a prelude to bloodshed. A jihad (Greater or Lesser) can
be personal and may include debate, reasoning, marching and indeed voicing
concern in a written format (Noorani 2002). Unfortunately, the fundamentalist’s
interpretation of Islam that is conservative and exclusive is emphasised by an
equally conservative media thus implying cultural conflict as inevitable and
natural. A progressive Islam centred on the inclusion of all disparaged groups
(regardless of religion, ethnicity and even sexuality) is my Jihad. At the genesis of Islam, the main
converts were slaves and women, the two most oppressed groups at the time. The
fact that they saw something liberating and empowering within the Hadiths
(sayings/teachings) of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) illustrates for me
that Islam has a liberal and radical foundation inherent in its teaching.
Concluding Comments
Black youth today, for its part, has rightly fixed on
Malcolm’s rage at racism and economic misery … One can only hope that his
humanitarian legacy will eventually prove as powerful a resource. Surely this
is the most lasting feature of Malcolm X’s thought- the vision of social and personal
transformation he expressed in his last year, when he renounced narrow
nationalism and embraced people of all colours as brothers and sisters (Dyson 1996,
87-88).
[25] Malcolm X—el-Hajj
Malik el-Shabazz— is an instantly recognisable figure. As an internationalist
revolutionary, his images are as iconic as those of Che Guevara. Yet the
people who seem to know the least about him are the most in need of him. On a
superficial level, most Muslims know Malcolm X from T-shirts and slogans. But
in the current climate of the “war on terror” and its consequent demonisation
of Muslims, his struggle and vision could not be more relevant. Malcolm X
fought for the rights of 22 million African-Americans, but he articulated this
struggle in a global framework by arguing for universal human rights and an end
to imperialism. His statement that “the only way we will get freedom for
ourselves is to identify ourselves with every oppressed people in the world”
encapsulates this vision. It is a message that not just Muslims but the masses
everywhere need to grasp urgently. For example, in relation to Muslims, the
Muslim world consists of a assorted array of despots, dictators and kings whose
only commonality is that they are not representative of the people (Sardar
2002).
[26] In addition, Muslims in
Europe number about 15 million and have all the worst social indicators in
terms of housing, health and education. We are effectively “economic slaves” in
Fortress Europe (Sardar 2002). Malcolm was fighting a similar situation in his
time and because of his single-minded nature he was labelled an “extremist” and
a “militant.” If he had been alive today, he would have been called a
“terrorist” and would probably have been incarcerated in Guantanamo Bay or at
“her majesty’s pleasure” in Belmarsh or Woodhill in the UK. The current
incarceration of Muslims in these prisons (Scraton 2002) is, in a sense, a
source of hope for us, since another Malcolm may well be serving his time
before his release.
[27] So while on the one hand
we have the negativity and hostility of the mainstream press and body politic,
an alternative voice is and can be found that is built on the principles of
social justice and challenging oppression, and can help build and sustain a
challenge to the capitalists. Indeed, Islamic scholars may argue that social
justice and challenging oppression are the cornerstones of Islam. It is also
evident that Malcolm X personified resistance to injustice and he was a
revolutionary and Muslim not just in name but in thought and action too.
What
is wrong with you that you do fight in the cause of Allah and for those
who are weak, ill treated and oppressed among men, women and
children and whose cry is:
Our
Lord! Rescue us from this town whose people are oppressors and raise
for us from You one who will protect us and raise for us from You one
who will help (Al Quran 4:74).
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