MuslimMatters.org Discourses in the Intellectual Traditions, Political Situation, and Social Ethics of Muslim Life

“Black people in America can never be Muslim,” he said to me as I stood next to his desk. I stared at my teacher with an expression that must have conveyed very little of what I felt right then. I didn’t know what to say. I studied his eyes, slightly enlarged by the thick glasses he wore. The deep olive of his Arab complexion was nearly the same as my American brown. We even shared the same hair texture—though my hair was covered right then. Read More »

Jason Perez had two dreams when he was growing up: that he would either end up dead before he was 21 or in prison. According to Perez, both dreams came true, but neither in the way he might have expected. This is how the powerful new documentary, The New Muslim Cool, begins. The director of this film, which will air on PBS stations as the premiere for the new season of P.O.V. (a series which features acclaimed 'Point of View' documentaries), Jennifer Maytorena-Taylor originally set out to explore the culture of Muslims engaged in hip hop which has been developing over the last several years. Eventually, she decided to focus more specifically on the spiritual journey of Jason "Hamza" Perez, a Puerto Rican rapper from the East Coast who is part of the M-Team rap group. Read More »

The following are statements of African-American Imams. It's time to let BAMs to speak for themselves inshā'Allāh! —————– STATEMENT OF imām JOHARI ABDUL-MALIK From “Out House” to the White House! As a black American, I was an admirer of El-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz -Malcolm X (may Allāh grant him peace) for ... Read More »