|
Books by
Marvin X
Love and War: Poems /
In the Crazy House Called America /
Woman: Man's Best Friend /
Beyond Religion Toward Spirituality
*
* * * * Islam
Needs a Martin Luther
By Marvin
X, project director
The University of Poetry
A Project of the Black Arts Movement
The Islamic world needs a Martin Luther,
someone to usher in an Age of Reform that will radically alter
some of the fundamental values of Islam that are retrograde,
archaic, primitive and must be discarded into the dustbin of
Muslim history so that Islam can regain its position as a
culture of enlightenment rather than darkness.
At an Islamic Art Conference I attended this past weekend in
Oakland, California, along with Muslims from around the world,
there was discussion of how Islam has suppressed artists,
calling Muslim art haram (religiously proscribed),
shirk (associating partners with God) and other negative
terms that essentially condemn Islamic art as evil.
When I addressed the audience, I noted that
I am the “father of Islamic literature in America” by
default because other Muslim writers were told to give up the
art of writing, creative anyway, but I ignored the ban and thus
my work is all that remains, aside from poet Sam Hamad and a few
others who’ve written during the last forty years that may
surface with proper research. Not only writers, but painters,
musicians, dancers, singers and others were suppressed. Even
minister Farrakhan, a musician and singer, was made to give up
his art.
But we know it is artists who give people visions and prophecy,
thus when they are suppressed, the people are likely to walk in
darkness as we see at the present moment.
In my remarks at the conference, I challenged the Muslim artists
to be revolutionary and yes, disobedient — to hell with those
who desire to suppress Muslim art, they are the backward ones,
they are the evil ones and must be opposed by, yes, any means
necessary.
So much that goes for Islam is ancient and primitive, really,
not worthy of discussion in the modern world among people of
intelligence. Elijah Muhammad used to say the wisdom of this
world is exhausted, and this includes Islam. It must be
revolutionized or thrown into the dustbin of ancient thought.
The Islamic revolution must, will and shall be led by Muslim
artists with vision for a day when Islamic culture will be the
vanguard of world culture, projecting the most positive and
scientific aspects of the new millennium.
Islamic culture must come from behind the veil, or if anything,
put the veil on men and let the women march forth as harbingers
of the new world order. Contrary to what men think, women have
been found to be the most advanced sector of society,
intellectually and spiritually, so we would do well to listen to
them for answers to the right path.
Clearly, Muslim men are not
on sirat al-mustaqim (“the straight path”). Over a
billion people of Islamic faith are currently steeped in
poverty, ignorance and disease, wallowing in political
oppression of the most backward, Stalinist variety. And when the
politicians are not oppressing, the mullahs and Imams do the
same work, even to the point of following the Christians in the
sexual exploitation of boys and girls.
Let a Muslim Martin Luther step to the front of the line and
represent the way of truth, freedom, justice and equality.
Muslim collaborators with imperialism, colonialism, and all
manner of retrograde religiosity and political oppression must
be condemned. Islamic scholars whose theology is based on
primitive laws, edicts, fatwas must be ostracized because their
actions only add to the utter confusion and ignorance pervading
the Muslim world.
Surely, the destruction the Tsunami brought to South Asia is a
sign of Allah’s displeasure with the Muslim people, along with
Christians, Hindus and others. If we continue down the path of
primitive worship of myths and rituals, surely Allah has even
greater destruction planned for those without eyes, ears, the
deaf, dumb and blind. After Allah has blessed us with light, how
can we yet walk in darkness? How can we possess “supreme
wisdom” yet have nothing, behave as spiritual slaves to any
storefront imam with a rote memory of Al-Quran?
Let a Martin Luther Muslim arise to destroy idols of ignorance
and suppression of creativity. Yes, let everything praise Allah,
from the flute to the lute, from the dancer to the poet.
* *
*
Marvin X is a distinguished poet, playwright and essayist of
the Black Arts Movement (BAM). He is the founder and director of
Recovery Theatre in San Francisco. He also co-founded the Black
Arts/West Theatre and Black House, which served briefly as the
headquarters for the Black Panther Party and as a center for
performance, theatre, poetry and music in the Bay Area. He
works as a lecturer, teacher and producer.
This essay will be published in the forthcoming Wish I Could
Tell You The Truth (2005) /Copyright © 2003-2005 Muslim WakeUp! Inc. The World's Most Popular Muslim Online Magazine
http://muslimwakeup.com
info@muslimwakeup.com
*
* * * *
"Religion is what keeps the poor
from murdering the rich." Napoleon
Bonaparte
*
* * * *
Marvin X and His Parables
*
* * * *
Books by Marvin X
Love and War: Poems /
In the Crazy House Called America
Woman: Man's Best Friend /
Beyond Religion Toward Spirituality
* * * *
*
|
Pray the Devil Back to Hell
A film directed by Gini
Reticker
Pray the Devil Back to Hell
is a captivating new film by director Gini Reticker.
It exposes a different story angle for the largely
forgotten recent events of the women of Liberia
uniting to bring the end to their nation's civil
war. This film is amazing in the way it captivates
your attention from the earliest frames. It doesn't
shy away from showing footage of the violent events
that took place during the Liberian civil war. But
the main story of the film is that of
Leymah Gbowee
and the other women uniting, despite their religious
differences, to force action on the stalled peace
talks in their country. Using entirely nonviolent
methods, not only are the peace talks successful,
but Charles Taylor, the president of Liberia, is
forced into exile leading to the first election of a
female head of state in Africa. The women of this
film are truly an inspiration and no one can fail to
be moved by the message of hope that comes through
clearly in this film. These are heroes that deserve
to be remembered and with Pray the Devil we are able
to do that, gaining both a knowledge of the history
we are ignorant of through archival footage and an
understanding of the leaders of this movement
through close-up interviews with the many women who
lead it. The film also offers a great soundtrack &
inspirational song- "Djoyigbe" by Angelique Kidjo &
Blake Leyh.—Amazon
Reviewer |
 |
* * * *
*
 |
Mighty Be Our Powers
How Sisterhood, Prayer, and Sex Changed a Nation at War
By Leymah Gbowee
As a young woman, Leymah Gbowee was broken by the Liberian civil war, a brutal conflict that tore apart her life and claimed the lives of countless relatives and friends. Years of fighting destroyed her country—and shattered Gbowee’s girlhood hopes and dreams. As a young mother trapped in a nightmare of domestic abuse, she found the courage to turn her bitterness into action, propelled by her realization that it is women who suffer most during conflicts—and that the power of women working together can create an unstoppable force. In 2003, the passionate and charismatic Gbowee helped organize and then led the Liberian Mass Action for Peace, a coalition of Christian and Muslim women who sat in public protest, confronting Liberia’s ruthless president and rebel warlords, and even held a sex strike. With an army of women, Gbowee helped lead her nation to peace—in the process emerging as an international leader who changed history. Mighty Be Our Powers is the gripping chronicle of a journey from hopelessness to empowerment that will touch all who dream of a better world.—Beast Books / Pray the Devil Back to Hell |
* * * * *
|
By Nidaa Khoury
Khoury's poetry is fired by belief in
the human and the spiritual at a time
when many of us feel unreal and often
spiritually hollow.—Yair
Huri, Ben-Gurion University
Written in water and ink, in between the
shed blood. Nidaa Khoury's poems take us
to the bosom of an ancient woman . . .
an archetype revived. The secret she
whispers is 'smaller than words.'—Karin
Karakasli, author, Turkey
Nidaa Khoury was born in Fassouta, Upper
Galilee, in 1959. Khoury is the author
of seven books published in Arabic and
several other languages, including The
Barefoot River, which appeared in Arabic
and Hebrew and The Bitter Crown,
censored in Jordan. The Palestinian poet
is studied in Israeli universities and
widely reviewed by the Arab press. The
founder of the Association of Survival,
an NGO for minorities in Israel, Khoury
has participated in over 30
international literary and human rights
conferences and festivals. Khoury is the
subject of the award-winning film, Nidaa
Through Silence. Currently a senior
lecturer at Ben-Gurion University,
Khoury's poem Portal to the Orient is
being produced by Sarab for Dance for
performance in Palestine. Book of Sins
introduces this important Middle Eastern
poet to the Caribbean and the Americas. |
 |
* *
* * *
The White Masters of the
World
From
The World and Africa, 1965
By W. E. B. Du Bois
W. E. B. Du Bois’
Arraignment and Indictment of White Civilization
(Fletcher)
* *
* * *
Ancient African Nations
* * * * *
If you like this page consider making a donation
* * * * *
Negro Digest /
Black World
Browse all issues
1950
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
____ 2005
Enjoy!
* * * * *
The Death of Emmett Till by Bob Dylan
/
The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
/
Only a Pawn in Their Game
Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson Thanks America for
Slavery /
George Jackson /
Hurricane Carter
* *
* * *
The Journal of Negro History issues at Project Gutenberg
The
Haitian Declaration of Independence 1804
/
January 1, 1804 -- The Founding of
Haiti
* * * * *
* *
* * *
update 21 June 2008
|
