AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY [THIS IS DEDICATED TO MY DEAR FELLOW HAMPTON UNIVERSITY ALUMNI FRIEND OF OVER 50 YEARS, THE SCHOLAR AND PUBLIC INTELLECTUAL DR. SULAYMAN NYANG, WHO PASSED AWAY AS I WAS FINISHING THIS ARTICLE. MAY GOD HAVE MERCY ON HIM AND US.]
Malcolm X, Manhood and the Muslim American Community We cannot allow culture, geography and time to freeze Islam’s message BY JIMMY E. JONES
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n his paradigm-shifting paper on “Territoriality, Social and Gendered Revolutions in the Speeches of Malcolm X,” Professor James A. Tyner states “Malcolm X cast the Black Revolution in the United States in terms of masculine self-realization. In this respect, Malcolm X was not immune to the dominant ideologies of gender prevalent during his life. He, along with many Civil Rights leaders, largely relegated gender equality to a secondary concern, while placing racial equality foremost on the agenda” (Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, New Series, vol. 29, no. 3 (September 2004), 330-43). While many multicultural AfricanAmerican, Arab-American and AsianAmerican Islamic centers often disagree over
whether one’s iftar halal chicken dish should be fried, shawarma-ed or curried, they all tend to agree on one thing — most of them love Malcolm X (‘alayhi rahmat). Given Tyner’s assessment of the role of gender justice in this icon’s human rights activities, one wonders if our community also treats gender as a “back burner” issue. This short article attempts to explore this sensitive issue by focusing on patriarchy and power, gender and geography, and modesty and misogyny.
PATRIARCHY AND POWER Few Muslims seem to recall, and even fewer non-Muslims seem to know, that the Quran’s most frequently repeated story is the seminal confrontation between Prophet Moses (‘alayhi as-salam) and Pharaoh. Among the
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many things to learn from this epic encounter is the connection between patriarchy and power. This connection is a strong theme right from the beginning. As related similarly in the both the Torah/Old Testament and the Quran, Pharaoh orders the killing of male Israelite babies to calm his fear that one of them will eventually rise up and lead a revolt against his political authority. The underlying patriarchy/power nexus is clear. In fact, the events of Moses’ life in Egypt show, from his rescue from the Nile as an infant to the miraculous parting of the Red Sea, this connection between male authority and the power to lead. The point here is simply to state that the cultural context from which this powerfully resonant, enduring story comes: man-ruled families and political entities, in which authority was generally passed down through male bloodlines. Consequently, “manhood” was likely an important construct. Bearing all of this in mind, we can better understand actor and civil rights activist Ossie Davis’ famous words as he eulogized Malcolm X on Feb. 27, 1965: “Malcolm was our manhood, our living black manhood! This was his meaning to his people. And we