COVER STORY
MARGINALIZATION AND MIRACLES Maryam (‘alayha assalaam), Malcolm, and Mamdani
A
BY JIMMY E. JONES
s a Muslim American of African descent who was born in 1946 in the segregated city of Baltimore, Md., these words of God from surah Ash-Sharh: “Have We not uplifted your heart for you,” (Quran 94:1) resonate greatly with me. Discriminatory federal housing policy, legally segregated schools, and other disadvantages meant that the odds for success in this life were heavily stacked against me and other Baltimore blacks from the moment of our births. Consequently, almost 80 years ago, I was born into a community that was challenged by severe poverty, debilitating drug abuse, and stifling crime. It is not surprising, therefore, that of the five males born into the Jones family, four of us ended up doing some prison time. It is only through the Mercy of God that I was never incarcerated as part of what is now known as the school to prison pipeline. Even in current post civil rights era Baltimore, the statistics tell a similar story. A report on Baltimore City published by the Vera Institute of Justice in October 2024 stated: “The gap between incarceration rates for Black and white people has narrowed in recent years. However, people of color — and Black people in particular — are still incarcerated at strikingly higher rates than white people in jails and prisons across the country.” Black people are treated more harshly than white people at every stage of the criminal legal process, causing disproportionate harm to their communities. The report further states that as of 2022, 90% of people incarcerated in Baltimore City were Black/African American even though they account for only 60% of the total city population. In short, when it comes to the jailing of African Americans in Baltimore: “The more things change, the more things remain the same.” 14
Police and Race in America
In the almost 80 years since I was born, there’s no doubt that there has been racial social and economic progress in Baltimore, and throughout the entire country. Nevertheless, people who look like me still feel a tinge of fear when a police cruiser ends up behind us in traffic. The lights do not have to be flashing and the sirens do not have to be blaring. I and others who look like me are always fearful that something unpleasant could happen during any encounter with a police officer. This issue is exacerbated by the current reality of living with a U.S. president who seems intent on dividing Americans by demonizing, among others, Black people, brown people, and Muslims. In 2025, I feel marginalized as both a person of color and a Muslim. This may sound strange coming from an old guy who, despite the odds, has become much more socially and economically successful than his mother or father could ever imagine. God has truly “uplifted my heart” by allowing me to get an advanced degree, become a tenured college professor, and be chosen as one of the leaders of a world class Islamic graduate school. Nevertheless, it seems that this country has not gotten over the idea enshrined in the United States Constitution that each of my enslaved fore-parents counted as “three fifths” of free white people (U.S. Constitution Article 1, Section 2, Clause 3). In my view, the African American is still struggling to be accepted as a full human being — one with the same rights and respect due others. This may seem like a very bleak picture. However, there’s one thing that gives me radical hope — God’s use of marginalized people.
Leadership across Generations
During a Quranic reflection in an Islamic Seminary of America course entitled “Islam in America,” Prof. Hamza Abdul-Malik, founder of Miraaj Academy, stated something
ISLAMIC HORIZONS JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2026
to the effect that “it is a Sunnah of Allah to often choose the marginalized for leadership.” His statement was an “ah ha moment” for me because I had never thought of the leaders that God discusses in the Quran in quite that way. From Abraham (‘alayhi assalam) to Muhammad (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), we see moral exemplars who were pushed to the fringes of their respective societies even before they became known as leaders. This new understanding has caused me to reflect deeply on how God has miraculously used the marginalized as leaders in the distant past, the recent past, and in current events. To illustrate this important point, I look to the examples of Maryam (‘alayha assalaam), the mother of Isa (‘alayhi assalam) from the distant past, Malcolm X from the recent past, and Zohran Mamdani from current events. ❶ Maryam (‘alayha assalaam) from “Shonda” to Standard “Shonda” is the relatively modern Yiddish term that comes to mind when I read the following Quranic 3:27 and 28 from Surah Maryam: “Then she returned to her people, carrying him. They said in shock, ‘O Mary! You have certainly done a horrible thing! O, sister of Aaron! Your father was not an indecent man, nor was your mother unchaste.’” Had this event regarding the miraculous birth of Isa (Jesus) occurred in 2025, the