...The incongruity of a White American Muslim scholar speaking to a mostly non-black audience and responding to a question about solidarity with the movement to assert the dignity of black life by mentioning social maladies within the black community without mentioning the corresponding systemic and structural racism that helps to produce and sustain those maladies, should not be lost on anyone. With deference to Shaykh Hamza, I recognize that someone who doesn’t have experience or ḥusn adh-dhann of him could reasonably see his comments as having an uncomfortable semblance with the notion of black pathology. Black pathology is the idea that black people are inherently incapable of thinking and behaving correctly and it is often used to explain away systemic racism. In other words, it’s not that bank redlining and intentionally racist public-housing redistricting policies keep economically depressed black communities confined to areas without jobs, they’re just lazy. It’s not that extremely punitive sentencing for low-level, non-violent drug offenders have wreaked havoc on black men, it’s just sexual irresponsibility that has led to the dissolution of the black family..." 

"At a conference dedicated to reviving the Islamic spirit,  leading American Islamic scholar Imam Hamza Yusuf was asked about Muslim solidarity with the black lives matter movement. In response, Imam Hamza Yusuf outright trivializes the black struggle with a litany of remarks demonstrating he is completely clueless about systemic nature of white supremacy and its role as a political system. As an answer to a question about Muslim solidarity with black lives matter,  Imam Hamza Yusuf went on to laud America for having the best anti-discrimination laws in the world. He educated his audience on the high black on black crime, and proceeded to assert that not all police officers are racist. 

"To be Muslim in America is to be a direct beneficiary of the gorgeous triumph of Black Muslims since the inception of the young nation. On December 26, 2016, the Muslim Wellness Foundation, led by its founder UPenn Chaplain Kameelah Rashad, headed up a symbolic initiative to get Black Muslims to share their photos, stories, and sentiments with #BlackMuslimFamily. t's success is still barreling through cyberspaces reaching 3.5 Million people via Twitter alone. This weekend has been a controversial one in which endeared Scholar Hamza Yusuf came under fire after being asked about Muslim Solidarity with Black Lives Matter and the Muslim Brotherhood at the Reviving Islamic Spirit Convention “RIS2016” in Toronto. 

After receiving continued critique, he returned to the stage the next evening to apologize. In regards to his dismissal of the need to solidify the relationship between Muslims in the movement for Black Lives he cited,  “The most damage to Black people in America does not come from racism, but is from the breakdown of the Black family.” Many believed he only continued a false pathology about Black people, summarily erasing the strides of families all over the world. #BlackMuslimFamily brutalized this misconception while celebrating the sheer elegance of Blackness in Islam. In these hard times ahead, we need to love each other. All of us. Our Shuyukh, our families, our communities"

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"At the recent RIS conference, in an interview with Mehdi Hasan, Hamza Yusuf made some remarks about racism and the black community that upset many people. He was criticized by some for being insensitive or for speaking about matters he did not fully understand, and in some cases even attacked for being racist and perpetuating white privilege. I believe that many who felt hurt and exposed had a right to be upset (since words have a way of spiraling out of control despite the intentions behind them), as Sh. Hamza himself pointed out in his clarification. I also think that he was in many cases unfairly maligned by people who did not fully attempt to understand what he was trying to say, and whose outrage was misdirected."

"Prominent Islamic scholar Hamza Yusuf's comments on Black Lives Matter and white privilege have angered many within the global Muslim community. His views are neither new, nor are they unique in the community. For many people reading this, I’m sure you are now aware of the kerfuffle caused by Hamza Yusuf’s recent comments at RIS 2016 about anti-racist movements within the Muslim community and institutional injustice in the Black community in America.  To put it lightly, it didn’t go well. As I was listening, I started to sink into my chair at home, hoping that the rhetoric would get better. I had to stop the audio halfway. Many times Mehdi Hasan was trying to throw Hamza Yusuf the proverbial lifeline to steer the conversation in the right direction, but to no avail.  After the social media explosion, his apology in response didn’t help. As much as I would like to make this about Hamza Yusuf, it’s not. This is about a history of institutions, so-called activists groups, governments, political and religious movements dealing in what I call “cognitive dissonance” ideology, as it relates to the suffering of Black people in America."

“An apology, if it is truly an apology, is no more than a hope and a prayer—that the damage you’ve done can be repaired, and that you will be forgiven by both your Lord and the ones you’ve wronged. An apology should never be shared for the purpose of silencing or dismissing those hurt by the original transgression. If it is, it is not an apology. Rather, it is a euphemism for telling the wronged that they that don’t matter and that their pain doesn’t have the right to be felt. In other words, it is merely another transgression itself...I didn’t expect it to hurt this much. I guess there are some things that really just tip the balance, and you don’t know how much you’re hurting until a single word causes your legs to give out from beneath you and you fall to your knees.

But that’s the best position to be in because you’re already kneeling before the Healer of hearts, and the prayers flow as effortlessly as the tears.

Yet still, when that single word comes from the mouth of a believer, the emotional pain is excruciating." 

"Salaam alaykum: I am sorry my interview has generated so much ill-will in our community. My request for those defending me is to recognize the mistake in the insensitivity of my response. Here is an article written by my friend and colleague, Dr. Abdullah Ali, a young, highly talented, and brilliant scholar of Islamic law and tradition. We have known each other for many years. Again, for those who find difficult to bear criticisms of those they love among their teachers, please note that I accept as valid Shaykh Abdullah's criticisms and request that no one react to them negatively in my defense; they are from someone I love deeply and who I know loves me deeply. Please read, as there is much food for thought."

"If you find yourself wounded at sea, there is a high probability sharks will attack you. That’s how I would describe many of the antagonists who assailed Shaykh Hamza Yusuf after his recent gaffe at RIS 2016. Besides a few sincere and objective critics, I saw many seizing the opportunity to avenge old vendettas, and many commoners who felt the world just needed to know their misinformed opinion of the man.

On the other hand, many of his diehard advocates were like moths drawn to a flame; justifying his every word, with one person even posting fox (faux) news statistics about black-on-black crime. I’ve always felt that most people tend toward extremes, and only the minority are blessed with the gift of balance. Observing responses over the past few days has only deepened my conviction. I pray that some good will come from this fiasco."

"A few days before what happened at #RIS2016 happened, I was engaging in a post about these candies, started by a young Palestinian American man. He encouraged Arab Americans to start a campaign asking companies to stop naming chocolate-covered marshmallows "Ras al 3abed" which means Slave's Head. Ziyad Brand, one of the largest Arab American companies, markets these candies with the non-racist name Angel Kisses.

​

I have a few thoughts on a recent Reviving the Islamic Spirit 2016 (RIS2016) controversy that might be clarifying, or at least add to the intelligent discourse on the subject. First, let me start off by self-declaring as an African-Canadian Muslim, slightly removed from the direct reality of life as a black person in America, although inexorably drawn in due to the pull the United States has on Canadian politics and life as the hegemon of our continent, and arguably the world. RIS, held in Toronto, Canada, has become a mainstay in the annual Islamic conference circuit, an indication of the close connection between Muslim events and communities in Canada and the US. Finally, and most importantly, racism doesn’t adhere faithfully to borders".

"Shaykh Hamza Yusuf's remarks at RIS2016 regarding #BlackLivesMatter, Police Brutality and Black on Black crime has generated a firestorm of debate in the last several days. Many have focused not on the inaccuracy and insensitivity of the comments made, but on the nature and tenor of the ensuing critique of Shaykh Hamza's words. I would like to re-focus our collective action on the pain of the members of the Black Muslim community; many of whom are deeply disappointed and injured by the statements made by this well-known and well-respected (white) American Muslim leader."

"This past weekend, the internet was set ablaze by a maelstrom of opinions originating from some statements made by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf in an interview with the journalist, Mehdi Hasan. Although there were three distinct controversies arising from that interview, the one eliciting the most intense and wide-ranging discussion is connected with the issues of race, police violence and the black family. Were my grandmother alive to reflect on the myriad ways discussing such an emotive combination could go awry in today’s tense sociopolitical climate she would have shaken her head and said, “Lord have mercy.”

​

Dear Shaykh Hamza and Imam Zaid -

I hope this letter reaches you in the best of health and Iman. I submit this letter to you in full respect, writing as someone (not Blackamerican) who goes through all of your materials in detail, offering with this short letter, an observation: though it is not a bad thing, it is a reality that you are both a bit out of touch with the current flock of Muslims. That this letter is an Open Letter speaks to the era, rather than your personalities. Meaning, I’m also speaking to your critics. Thus, when I was listening to Shaykh Hamza’s interview and apology, I was hearing something appropriate for the early 2000s, rather than 2016

"As we continue to process the impact, consequences and implications of #RIS2016 and the comments made by Sheikh Hamza Yusuf (and ensuing discussions that overtook Muslim Facebook and Twitter), I strongly recommend every mosque, Muslim Student Association (MSA) and Muslim-led organization in the U.S. pledge to do the following. These are tangible, concrete steps that can increase us all in knowledge, skills and empathy to understand structural racism and anti-Black racism, God willing."

The Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative (MuslimARC) has been following the controversy arising from the statements made by Shaykh Hamza Yusuf that arose during the 2016 Reviving the Islamic Spirit (RIS) convention. The initial statements, problematic response to criticism, and discussions on social media are emblematic of a toxic and divisive racial discourse in North America. All underscore the importance and necessity of quality anti-bias and anti-racism training to uproot the ill effects of systemic racism in our ummah

Spike Lee canonized him as a black hero in his 1992 film, Malcolm X, and he was referenced at Barack Obama’s 2009 inauguration as a dangerous, militant foil to a sanitized, pacifist rendering of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr..1 He has been both the quintessential black revolutionary for Marxists and a paragon of “post-Hajj” Islamic orthodoxy for many Muslims. Many have attempted to stake a claim in (or denounce) the multitudes that he contained so effortlessly. Yet Malcolm-the-Black-Hero and Malcolm-the-Muslim seem rarely to meet each other in contemporary discourse—despite their emergence from a man for whom these identities walked hand-in-hand. How, then, are we to understand his legacy at a time when a prominent face of American Islam has spoken out against the movement for Black Lives even as calls for solidarity between Muslims and communities of color in the age of Trump are invoking his name anew?

I reverted to Islam almost 15 years ago alhamduillah (Thanks to Allah) and the biggest challenge I have faced over that time wasn’t wearing hijab, or learning to pray, or even coping with Islamophobia-as I was already experiencing discrimination based on my gender, race, class, and mental illness, I had already built up some resilience around this.

No, the biggest challenge I have faced and continue to face is navigating anti-Black racist bias within Muslim communities-particularly when it comes from otherwise kind, friendly, highly educated Muslims who see themselves as open-minded or even progressive-but whose response when Black Muslims challenge their statements, writings, events, or organizational culture as exclusionary or alienating of Black Muslims is to get angry, defensive, launch personal attacks and sometimes just be plain mean. And, I will probably receive similar backlash to this article.

"...As to the charge of white supremacy, public reason (a institution given more over to emotional conclusions than thoughtful reflection) would hasten to exonerate SHY due to the common—and misplaced—understanding that white supremacy must always be equated with violence and intent. Due to such groups as the KKK, whose overt and repugnant acts of violence against blacks for example, white supremacy has been falsely entrenched only in violence. This is not to say that white supremacy cannot result in acts of violence, as was just cited, but that it needn’t always be so. If we allow ourselves a more nuanced definition of white supremacy—white privilege being a subcategory of it—then we can move beyond the repugnant, coarse, and limiting definition of white supremacy to one which allows us to tease it out of its hiding place. As the scholar of Black Studies, George Lipsitz, writes concerning the legacy of whiteness and racism in America, “whiteness is everywhere in American culture, but it is very hard to see”

It has been over a week since a noted Muslim scholar made incendiary statements promoting the usual bigoted rhetoric used to derail conversations about systemic racism at the 2016 Reviving the Islamic Spirit convention. The scholar referred to common myths about the Black American experience like “Black-on-Black” crime and the breakdown of Black families and the subsequent attempt to apologize exacerbated the situation with the use of the typical “I have Black friends” to demonstrate how one can not be guilty of touting racist language.

...it is important to note some of the positive things that occurred because of this debacle of cultural incompetence.Here are three things, out of many, that Muslims did right.