About Malcolm X and different faiths
Ayinde:
From: Rastafari Speaks Message Board
You don't have to be Arabic to be a Muslim!
Posted By: ras adam simeon
Date: Friday, 25 April 2003, at 4:01 p.m.
The Islamic faith was born in the middle east, but you have Bosnian Muslims, Eritian Muslims Indonesian Muslims.
Buddah was born in India, but you dont have to be Indian, Japanese or korean to be Budhist.
Christ came out of North Africa, but Christians come in all colors from all over the globe.You don't have to be a North Afrikan to be a Christian.
Rastafari faith was born in Jamaica's oppressed black community forged by the coronation of the Ethiopian Emperor.Today the Rastafari faith has adherants from all races worldwide, but unlike the Muslims the Christians, the Bhudists...people can't seem to get over this fact. that followers now come in all colors of the rainbow.
It took Malcolm X to make his haaj to see and as ras h. henry fyah chief says "get deblinded"
that the muslims next to him kneeling of all colors were his brothers, more than the brothers who shot him dead in the end.
Does this mean that rasta is now erasing its black Afrikan roots?
I don't think so. Just as every Muslim knows Mecca is the heart of his/her faith, so do all rastas know Africa, specifically Ethiopia, is the cradle for us.
But just like the other world faiths, rasta has outgrown its original borders and expanded its followers.
You want an enemy? try evil. Try downpressors. they come in all colors and classes. to say white people are so and so and white rastas are so and so is as ingorant as saying all mexicans are ... and all black folks are ....
let's not repeat wrongs, it won't add up to a right
Try and judge individuals and actions and character and not judging whole races.
That's my 2 cents on that.
ras adam simeon;human being
My emphasis:
It took Malcolm X to make his haaj to see and as ras h. henry fyah chief says "get deblinded"
that the muslims next to him kneeling of all colors were his brothers, more than the brothers who shot him dead in the end.
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Any Comments?
RasIene:
My Idren Pleasant blessing to you. Rastafari is Rastafari, Muslim is Muslim. Remember R A S T A is R A S T A. Follower a Follower. Selah.
ROOTSWOMAN:
Peace,
Well this is a very sweet and lovely sentiment...very utopian in principle. Unfortunately, (and please don't take this as my OPINION) history speaks for itself when it reveals to us without a shadow of a doubt what happens when the western man adopts (steals/plagerizes?) an Afrikan Spiritual Systems (as all western religions are rooted out of KUSH).
Let history speak for the RECORD.
Am I suggesting that ALL non-Afrikans pervert our Spiritual Systems...of course not. Unfortunately the EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE have not affected the COLLECTIVE ORIGINATORS of those spiritual systems (the Afrikan) in any positive manner.
Whats that saying?...burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, shame on ME! How many times shall we get "burned" by those entering our villages/mindz/traditions who are not Afrikan before realizing there is a PATTERN here folx!
ROOTS
Princess Tracey:
my 2 cents is that you STREGNTHEN a culture by SHARING it
true enough...you will always have folks misuse, abuse, take, steal, plunder, for selfish gain...BUT...you also have people learn, grow, expand, become more knowledgeable, breaking down the barriers of ignorance that separate, divide, and limit the vastness of the universe.
The world would be such a small diminished place if everyone held tight onto their OWN...
I think because many cultures have been raped and plundered for ungodly selfish gain by ignorant people...that they are now so preciously gaurded...
...and rightfully so...
Yet it reminds me of a glass of pure water so precious...no one is permitted to drink one drop from it to protect it's original purity of content..
but over time because it has just sat...it becomes stagnant and consumes itself... algae and all sorts of green slimy things form decomposition and eventually it drys up.
On the other hand, a glass that pours is able to retain it's freshness..even it's purity...again and again...true enough.. there is a chance that tainted water could, and does, enter the glass form time to time...but water is water and remains true to itself...no matter how often it pours..it refreshes itself.
I suppose what we see nowadays...are the great water filters of ever changing cultures trying to keep all the bad elements (cultural bandits) out and preserve as much of the goodness and purity as possible...
hmmmm.....what is a "pure" culture anyway??
...is there such a thing?
and how could you possibly live in this world today...and only be of ONE culture??
...I could only see that if you lived deep in the forest away from civilization...
blessed reasonings once again
Ayinde:
There is a semblance of truth in the first post but it is still illusive and may be quite deceptive.
I don't believe that it is about trying to preciously guard a culture but I believe it is more about seeing through the many layers of deception that masks the true motivation of people who would like us to accept them as friends and family at face value.
I have not seen any serious reasoning by Ras Adams on the Internet or anywhere else to qualify him as anything other than a serious collector. Until then I will more or less speak in general terms.
There are some who are good at repeating "we are one people" and "rainbow people" like a mantra, and until I can see their reasoning on many issues I will not trust them. These flowery words are nothing short of platitudes.
Rainbow people?
A rainbow is fragmented light. It is not a symbol of unity.
Most things that are complex and dynamic look beautiful from a distance but if one engages it the beauty is lost. It is similar to looking at the forest from a distance. It looks beautiful but if you enter you will soon learn that not all that glitters is gold. If you stay long enough you may either die or you can learn the laws that allows one to survive in the environment.
It is the same way different people look good from a distance and this is more so at carnivals. That 'beauty' masks the reality of the day to day struggles that each person has to work out in order to survive and to eventually realize true beauty.
And another thing, we are not one people. We are people who share a common African ancestry. We are a very complex set of different peoples with conflicting ideas and values that we should be striving to work out and until it is worked out we do not have a common understanding or unity.
We are not equal. Too many keep falling for this "we are all equal" and "we are one" con. If someone believes this then I challenge him or her to prove it. The differences might seem minute in terms of biology and genetics but it is these differences that have many killing each other daily. It is these differences upon which prejudices were built that will not be wished away.
About Malcolm X
Malcolm X made great strides in terms of articulating the feelings of many Africans at a time when such strong views were badly needed, and for this he has my deepest respect.
But as far as I am concerned Malcolm X never realized true togetherness or unity. What he saw when he went to the haaj was an illusion of togetherness that have never been realized in the Muslim community as well as other mainstream communities.
Every year Muslims go to the haaj and profess that all Muslims are their brothers, but let a fire take place; let Allah want them to demonstrate their brotherhood by looking after the next man in the fire. What we usually see is the same mad rush to escape the fire where elders and young people are trampled. What about the cleansing and the "we are all brothers" rhetoric and symbolism?
What Malcolm X saw is common to many 'religions' where people congregate and sing praises only to go their separate ways after the sermon. How many know of 'churches' in their communities where people of different races gather and 'worship' and hug each other but after the sermon their conduct within the communities are with the same bigotries that existed before?
This illusion of togetherness is also seen at carnivals, and politicians like to exploit this to sell a country as a peaceful rainbow society. But after the 'jump and wave' people usually go back to their infighting.
What is the reality of how Muslims live in most states? Racism is rampant across Arab states and many use violence to force others to abide by their rules. This does not mean that all of Islam is bad. There are "good" people who move to some of the better aspects of that 'faith'. But like all these mainstream 'religions', irrespective of how glamorous they sound, the unaddressed aspects of, slavery, racial and gender discrimination blocks many from being anything other than hypocrites.
Many want us to believe that because a few Whites try to do better that Africans in general should change their attitude towards all whites. Are their limited efforts representative of the majority of Whites?
I tolerate some of the extreme rhetoric of some Blacks because it is born out of a type of reality in which they live. Many whites do not understand this reality and without understanding this they unconsciously strive to protect the status quo that permits them to continue feeling privileged although they are also suffering in the same system. They want material and status benefits from their white ancestry but they don't want to accept the responsibility for what their direct ancestors did.
Then there is always this attempt to disarm some Blacks by accusing them of generalizations.
If someone says White are this way or that way, the person is accused of generalizations.
People should know that a generalization only speaks about the majority and not all of a given group. It also speaks about the majority in the awareness of an individual. It is a means of simplifying a discussion. It should only be frowned upon if it is not true for the majority. If I say, "Whites are racist", that is a generalization. Is it true or false that most Whites are racist? If it is true then the generalization is correct. If it is false then the generalization is incorrect.
I keep making the point that the views expressed on the Internet are not a true reflection of how the majority of Africans feel and think. Whites had the head start on the Internet and they gobbled up many African sounding domain names and tried to control mediums of African expressions. They surreptitiously try to tailor African expressions to keep themselves at the helm.
Also, some Blacks on the Internet are not versed in English, so they speak from their own experiences and others who identify with the experiences easily understand the meaning.
Africa is not a casual stepping-stone but the very foundation upon which every material aspect of our human existence was built. Some feel that by embracing one African leader and one part of Africa they deserve much recognition and attention. They feel that the limited awareness they gather qualifies them to understand the dynamics of African history and struggle for self-worth.
Show me where you are uplifting the entire root and I will show you a man/woman worth learning something from.
Quote
You want an enemy? try evil. Try downpressors. they come in all colors and classes. to say white people are so and so and white rastas are so and so is as ingorant as saying all mexicans are ... and all black folks are ....
let's not repeat wrongs, it won't add up to a right
It is humans doing the evil. The people in charge of "downpression" (sic) and who manipulate most political and social systems are White business people and European/American politicians aided and abetted by a majority White American and European public. So the so-called enemy is not invisible. We can point out the many wrongs done by many other people but the one thing most conflicts in the world have in common is European/American imperialism. The 'evildoers' have a face and a conduct built on false White values.
PS:
It is the same hypocritical position the US government takes when they want to bomb and invade.
The US Gov't allows/tolerates anti-war protest as it gives the impression that many Americans do not support wars but the reality is most do. So victims are being coerced into see the aggression as the actions of the government and a few others and not all American. However when the US bombs and invades they kill innocent people. They know in advance that they will kill 'innocent' people but they still bomb. Their brutality is excused as collateral damage but if others do the same they are evil for massacring innocent civilians. Did people hear anti-war activists speaking about supporting the troops? How could they support the troops who are doing the same thing they are against? Many White Americans see no contradiction in this position.
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