Several years ago, on our first trip to perform pilgrimage in Mecca, we stopped at New York JFK airport in transit.
Immediately upon entering the JFK terminal; I could not believe my eyes. I have never seen so many African Americans in one place. Amazingly, they were all Muslims. It was an amazing sight to see thousands of Muslim, African-Americans accompanied by their families to wish them a safe trip to Mecca. You could see the women with their Islamic headscarves, and dressed in a very modest and respectable manner. Men were in their modest dress and behavior which can only be admired and respected at first glance.
They all seemed very happy, cheerful, extremely friendly and warm with each other. I even spotted some young couples, where the wives were black Muslims, and the husbands were white Muslims. They were completely integrated with their group. I could not resist to chitchat with some of the brothers and satisfy my burning curiosity. I found out that the airport terminals are packed every day during the entire pilgrimage season (for about 2 weeks) with similar number of Muslim African Americans. They came from all over the states, but many were from the east coast, and a large number were in their 20s and 30s, which surprised me since I assumed most people who were on pilgrimage were old school. I discovered that many have just recently become Muslims, and one young man told me that at first, some of his friends became Muslims; he then became Muslim, and then later followed his brother and mother.
While waiting at the airport, I just had a flashback of a conversation that took place much earlier with one of my relatives. She is not a Muslim and not an African American. It really was not a conversation, but more like a debate that just went nowhere. My dear "knowledge authority" relative was trying to convince me that African Americans came from Africa without any beliefs, culture, and were even cannibals. They were the slave masters who blessed them with their sir names, Christianity, and the culture. She is an avid reader, who reads sometimes a book a day. One would think she would be very intelligent, but I guess it depends on what you read and what you want to believe.
I attempted to explain to her that Islam was spreading very fast in African nearly 1400 years ago. Many of the Africans that were brought to America and Europe against their will, were in fact Muslims. They had culture, wisdom, wealth, and a proud heritage. In fact, the Christian king of east Africa was the first to welcome and support Muslim migrants who escaped prosecution from Mecca in the initial years of Islam because they rejected the worship of idols, and believed there is no God but the one God. This area is known today as Ethiopia, with 70% Muslims, and 30% Christians.
During the last few days of pilgrimage, we spent it in a camp near Mecca. Since there are several million Muslims performing pilgrimage all at the same time, they normally group all the American Muslims at the US camp. There again, I had a chance to meet many African American Muslims and I always wondered what would compel anyone to take such a step and adopt Islam as a way of life. The answers I got varied but had a number of common factors.
One brother stated that it was really very easy for him to become Muslim, and it is a logical progression as Islam is a continuation of the prior messages from God, but unlike prior scriptures, the Quran is 100% authentic and preserved in the Arabic language that is widely practiced today.
Another brother said he appreciated Islam to be the righteous religion and there is equality. The fact that you can go to an Islamic Center and find African Americans, white, Latinos, Immigrants, Arab American, and the rest of the American melting pot, and everyone sees the other as brother and sister, no problems with race, color, or social status Quran 49: 13 "O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) Of a male and a female, and made you into Nations and tribes, that ye may know each other. Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah Is (he who is) the most Righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (With all things".
One of the brothers told me that he did not convert to Islam, but reverted to Islam because first, when he was born, he was a Muslim to start with (he meant born without sins, and has the human nature to seek god, the one God), and second, his forefathers most likely were Muslims but were forced to depart from their religion, Islam. After several hundred years of slavery and oppression, they still kept some of the Islamic traditions in their daily lives. He told me, look around you, how many African American who are not Muslims but kept the tradition alive from their forefathers by naming their kids Kareem, Jamal, Kadija, Shakeel, Shakor, who are often the names of family members or companions of prophet Mohammed PBUH.
It is true that the largest group within the American Muslims, are African American, and most of us have as Muslim friends or family members. But, I wish to leave you with three questions, 1) Are your sources of knowledge about Islam similar like my relative who I told you earlier about and her knowledge of African Americans? 2) Do you know a good African American who happens to be Muslim, and I don't mean people like Malcolm X, or Mohammed Ali, or Kareem Abdel Jabbar, but people you actually know on a personal level? 3) Have you read the segment on this site titled Shahada?
"None of you will enter paradise unless you believe and none of you truly believe unless you love one another" Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
All humans are dead except those who have knowledge; and all those who have knowledge are asleep, except those who do good deeds; and those who do good deeds are deceived, except those who are sincere.[Imam Shaf'i]
Several years ago, on our first trip to perform pilgrimage in Mecca, we stopped at New York JFK airport in transit.
While waiting at the airport, I just had a flashback of a conversation that took place much earlier with one of my relatives. She is not a Muslim and not an African American. It really was not a conversation, but more like a debate that just went nowhere. My dear "knowledge authority" relative was trying to convince me that African Americans came from Africa without any beliefs, culture, and were even cannibals. They were the slave masters who blessed them with their sir names, Christianity, and the culture. She is an avid reader, who reads sometimes a book a day. One would think she would be very intelligent, but I guess it depends on what you read and what you want to believe.
One of the brothers told me that he did not convert to Islam, but reverted to Islam because first, when he was born, he was a Muslim to start with (he meant born without sins, and has the human nature to seek god, the one God), and second, his forefathers most likely were Muslims but were forced to depart from their religion, Islam. After several hundred years of slavery and oppression, they still kept some of the Islamic traditions in their daily lives. He told me, look around you, how many African American who are not Muslims but kept the tradition alive from their forefathers by naming their kids Kareem, Jamal, Kadija, Shakeel, Shakor, who are often the names of family members or companions of prophet Mohammed PBUH.
