Peace Be Unto Those Who Follow Right Guidance.
I would like to share some brief reflections on conjunction of two statements, one made by pioneering counter-racist scientist, Neely Fuller Jr., author of The Unified Independent Compensatory Code/System/Concept: A textbook/workbook for thought, speech, and/or action for victims of racism (white supremacy), the other forming the principal credal formulation in the Deen (power-relation and life-transaction) that is Al-Islam and which is based on signs/messages (ayaat) given in The Qur'an (The Proclamation) by God/Allah (swt). Some may regard this conjunction or bringing together as a travesty in that it represents a mixing of that which is human with that which is Divine. However, in order to circumvent any possible confusion (sic), allow me to state at the very outset that I am not proposing any such mixing or fusion of the two; rather, I propose to show how Fuller's statement can - and, I will argue, should - be interpreted as a concrete instantiation of the first part of the principal credal formulation in the Deen of Al-Islam.
The two statements are as follows:
[1] "If you do not understand White-Supremacy (Racism), what it is, and how it works, everything else that you understand, will only confuse you." [Fuller,1969]
[2] "No gods/ultimates except God/Allah/The Ultimate." (In the original Arabic, this is given as "Laa ilaaha, ill'Allaah".)
How, if at all, does [1] relate to [2]. More precisely, according to my earlier assertion, how does [1] concretely instantiate the first part of [2]?
In order to answer this question - and I should state that the inspiration behind my answer is to be found in Sherman [Abdul-Hakim] Jackson's Islam and The Blackamerican - we need to turn our attention to The Qur'an:
(2:255) There is no compulsion in THE DEEN [=Al-Islam=The self-surrender to God/Allah]. The right/mature direction is henceforth distinct from error. And one who rejects TH'AAGOOT [=false ultimates/gods] and is secure with God/Allah has grasped a firm handhold which will never crack/break. Allah is Hearer, Knower.
An analysis of the kalimat tawheed (The Statement of Unity) which is the principal credal formulation in Al-Islam in the light of this sign/message (ayat) clarifies the meaning of each of the two parts to the formulation.
Part (1) of [2] is viewed in the classical Islamic literature as involving a negation (nafi) - "laa ilaaha" (No gods/ultimates) - while part (2) of [2] is said to involve an affirmation (ithbaat) - "ill'Allaah" (except God/Allah/The Ultimate). Viewed in the light of (2:255), (1) of [2] corresponds to the rejection (kufr) of TH'AAGHOOT (false gods/ultimates), while (2) of [2] corresponds to security with God/Allah (swt). Put another way,
(a) commitment to "laa ilaaha" entails rejection of TH'AAGHOOT, while
(b) commitment to "ill'Allaah" entails security with God/Allah (swt).
To the extent that White Supremacy (Racism) can be said to be the dominant, contemporary manifestation of TH'AAGHOOT in the world, an understanding of WHAT it is and HOW it works is necessary, as Fuller states, in order to be able to reject it in pursuit of Justice.
To paraphrase Jackson, a commitment to "laa ilaaha" entails rejection of TH'AAGHOOT, which means a rejection of White Supremacy (Racism), while a commitment to "ill'Allaah" entails security with God/Allah (swt) which means the pursuit of Justice, and there can be no Justice without the destruction of false gods/ultimates.
Thus, to those who want to understand how the principal credal formulation of Al-Islam translates into contemporary, concrete terms, I would say this:
Understand what White Supremacy (Racism) is and how it works, and then work to replace it with Justice. This is what is meant by rejecting false gods/ultimates and being secure with God/Allah as The Ultimate.
In closing, I should like to draw your attention to the following interesting article "The Invalidity of Imaan [Belief] Without the Rejection of the Taaghoot and its Allies" which provides some important background material on the implications of the principal credal formulation in Al-Islam.
Peace
