American Islamic scholar Sherman Jackson did a super powerful talk a few years ago at Wasat on the topic of “Building Prophetic Community” and opened it up for questions at the end. A very nervous woman closed the event with off-the-cuff, emotionally-charged thoughts that need to be conveyed to the Internet masses until the end of time. Takbeer!
An anonymous member of the community gives a comment:
“I think…uh…I have something to say, but I’m a little nervous. I don’t think I can do it.
Um…..
You will not separate yourself from me. I love you so much. I will not allow it. You belong to me. Not only because you’re Muslim, but the whole human race belongs to me. You are my family. Now, I didn’t get this good when I first heard about Muhammad. Who the heck is Muhammad? It don’t mean nothing to me. [Something amusing was said, but inaudible to me]
No I’m telling you. I didn’t have interest in anything…because the way I was raised…like right now, I have a lot of kids and all of them are from my body and they are all under 20—or they are 20 and under…whatever!—I’m sorry, I’m real super nervous.
And, it hurts me, like, the way my family was introduced to Islam is…my brother…I mean, true Islam—cuz we were Black Nationalists—like how?—cut your throat if you don’t like it—you know what I mean? My family was like all that and a bag of chips and that, but I’m not saying that is a good thing. I had no choice about who [inaudible] but my brother—because I have brothers who are 30-35 years older than I am. I was the youngest and only girl out of 8 brothers.
My brother went to the Library of Congress and you can’t check books out of the Library of Congress— and he stole the Quran. He stole it! And brought it home and my mother especially said, “WHAT?! You stole this book?!?!?!”
Now, that’s really terrible. That’s really a big offense. He said, “It ain’t theirs! I had it first! I was Muslim before I came here!”
Now, you don’t know when I see you making sajdah at the airport, my people died for that. When my mother and father first decided—my mother and her family decided they wanted to be Muslim, they took my mother’s children from her. They killed many, many, many African-Americans who dared to come near Islam.
So then..[inaudible]…running around, only piter-patter in the house and I understand a lot because boys talk and everybody’s talking to my family. So when my brother goes to the mosque, masjid—whatever you wanna call it—and he says when he stands in prayer and he puts his foot next to Muslim beside him and the brother moves. He puts his foot there again and he moves.
And he goes to the masjid–or whatever you want to call it, every time and he can get nobody in the line to ever touch his foot. Now, we have been warned by Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta’ala that surely the Satan is your enemy, but you don’t believe it. You don’t believe it! You have your own [inaudible] and things you follow—not just you, but me too—all of us. So what I am sayin’ is how can I ever become the Muslim I am? It was by Allah’s grace & mercy first of all, but I started to hear everything there was and that’s what attracted me about his conversation was the life of the prophet, Allah’s messenger.
That life attracted me to love him so I love you. That life attracted me to love him so I loved you now. That life attracted me to love him so I love you. I trusted Allah first! I trusted Allah that my color would matter. I didn’t think the prophet had it going. I didn’t know anything about it.
I am looking at the whole world falling down to the worship of the Shaitan’s footsteps. And just going out and dancing and hearing music and all that. That’s not it.
Refuse, refuse to let each other to go! Refuse, refuse to let each other not be heard, not be seen, not be seen, not be loved. We all need to be loved!
You have no clue how the Muslim—the African-American community loves you—because the freedom that we have came from our taste, not from you, but a taste of Allah’s Quran and Prophet. It freed us. It made us powerful and strong.
You come from another country and say my name is Jim. Jim?! I’ve never met an Arab with that name. Jim?! Aren’t you Muslim? I’m not knocking you. Don’t misunderstand me. I mean what I say. I love you. I love you desperately. And I want us to love each other. It is all about love. It really is. And care.
Sorry… I….”
[Speaker inaudible; Dr. Jackson closes out the event.]
Listening to this woman’s voice is powerful—almost inspiring. Reading it over and over again is equally effective. Here’s the clip for those interested. This is dawah (propagation) in it’s rawest & finest concoction, Alhumdulillah.
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