Thoughts On Sudan (Part 1): The Pro-Black Deception

Posted on December 2, 2025 by Maurice Hines

While most of the world focused on the atrocities happening in Gaza, despite the Sudan conflict predating it, I watched young Sudanese social media influencers struggle to gain their footing over the years. Most Americans had never even heard of Sudan unlike Palestine, which is understood to hold religious significance to even the most ignorant Americans. Israel is clearly the villain in Gaza and their crippling grip on U.S. politicians, media, business people, and intelligence agencies has been exposed. Unfortunately, the villains in the Sudan crisis were largely nameless and faceless until recently and it suffered the stigma of being “just another African conflict” that average Americans are helpless to solve.

Occasionally, misguided African American social media influencers would mention the Sudan (often in the same breath as the Congo) in a lame attempt to appear pro-black. While they rightly highlighted the racial dynamics with regards to international solidarity, they also effectively discouraged people from taking action on either of these causes, which I suspect is their mission.

I am a rare breed of African American Muslims who has lived in the Sudan for an extended period of time. Therefore, the Sudan crisis has been personal for me. I lived, learned, loved, and lamented in the Sudan for three years. Since, I published my memoirs from my sojourn, Thoughts From Sudan: An American Muslim Experience in 2022, I found it difficult to return to the words in my book. The years I spent in the Sudan from 2008 to 2011 seems so far removed from the current news I’ve been hearing about the Sudan, it might as well be Mars. But it’s not. And a friend of mine who has been trapped in Khartoum throughout the conflict has constantly reminded me that it’s the same Sudan. The problems I observed and wrote about in my memoirs are exactly the same problems we are seeing manifest on our social media feeds but the conflict is not as simple as we might think.

As someone raised in the ways of Black political consciousness, Afrocentrism, and African American Islam, I was able to make some pertinent observations in my book. And as someone who had acquired a level of proficiency in Arabic, I was able to interpret and articulate aspects of Sudanese culture and society in a way that is digestible to Black American audiences. I say this not to make some grandiose claim to authority, but to distinguish myself from the myriad of chatter from misinformed African Americans who have spoken publicly about the crisis in the Sudan. In this post and its follow-up, I will address some of the misinformation regarding Sudan emanating from the Black American community.

Standing in front of Africa University’s Language Insitute (Khartoum 2008)
Hanging out on the grounds of Africa University
Studying at the Language Institute

The Pro-Black Deception

When the Umar Johnson types make benign statements like “why doesn’t anyone talk about Sudan?” rarely is it followed up with a proper background and analysis of the situation. They are content to mic drop and high five each other for championing some sort of redneck-in-black-face sentiment, while leaving their ignorant followers in the dark about what is actually happening in the Sudan and Congo. Such disingenuous mumbo jumbo should not be taken seriously. They offer no information and no solutions; not even the innocuous “thoughts and prayers.” Additionally, some ill-informed Afrocentric historians, whose latest update on Sudan pertains to events that happened a thousand years ago, have popped up on the web to appear relevant and promote their inaccurate views of history. It is better for such people to remain silent, because their reactionary diatribes are counterproductive.

Until now, I have deferred to the international Sudanese diaspora to educate the public and advocate for their own solutions in public. The most notable analysis on the Sudan has come from journalist Ahmad Kaballo of the pan-African media organization Africa Stream, now “de-platformed.” I would also recommend the work of UK-based journalist Nesrine Malik. The strategy of most Sudanese youth in the West has been to target the government of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for their support of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) who have been responsible for the genocidal killings in Darfur and Kordofan that we have been witnessing lately.

The RSF, who were better known as the Janjaweed (Horseback Jinns) in the early 2000s, were also the so-called Arab militia the deposed president Omar Bashir used to subdue dissent in the Dar Fur region. The Arab identity of some RSF members has caused some race-conscious African Americans to conclude that the conflict is a concerted Arab genocide against Africans in the Sudan. They often conflate the Dar Fur conflict with the north’s dissension with South Sudan but interestingly they had nothing to say when South Sudan was suffering from its own civil war following their succession. In both situations, the main issue was not Arab vs. African or Muslim vs. non-Muslim and seeing it this way only obscures the real problems. In fact, the RSF brands themselves as being anti-Islamist, accusing the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) as being led by the Muslim Brotherhood. I caution African Americans from approaching issues in Sudan and elsewhere through an Americanized lens that sees race as the only motivating factor in conflict between people, especially when they do not know what they are talking about.

Race & Ethnicity in Sudan

Sudan is an African country populated by African people. However, like many places in Africa, it is made up of a diverse conglomerate of people who, prior to European colonialism, never saw themselves as one people. They spoke different languages and had different ancestral lineages. They did not always get along with each other but there was some coexistence in the absence of firearms. There were many kingdoms and civilizations that persisted for hundreds of years, even beyond the well-known ancient civilizations of Kush and Nubia.

African Americans are sensitive to words that signify racial division: African, Arab, slavery, invasion, etc. However, understanding them only according to American and European sensibilities will not yield an accurate understanding of Sudanese ethnic conflicts. It was Africans’ contact with Europeans that made them one nation-state and one continent. In order for us to truly understand Africa, the African people, and their current events, we must understand them as they are and not as we imagine them to be.

Many associate north Sudan with Arabs, but the country covers a wide swathe of land consisting of many different ethnic groups. Sudan consists of the Red Sea Hills in the east, the Nile Valley, and the highlands in the west, which include the Nuba mountains and Dar Fur. The east consists of non-Arab Hamitic people like the Beja. The Nile Valley consists of the various Nubian tribes some of whom are the main propagators of Arabization in Sudan. In the west are Fur people and the other Nuba (who are considered African and distantly related to the Nubians of the Nile Valley). The Fur people are more closely related to the people of Chad and West Africa, but some consider themselves Arab. There are also states like Maiurno and Sennār that have significant Hausa and Fulbe speaking populations and Gaḍārif, and Kasala with large Tigray and Tigrinya speaking populations. Almost all of them are Muslims.

All Sudanese are Africans, but some of them also identify as Arabs. Arab identity is contested and debated among the Sudanese themselves. Arabness is defined as speaking Arabic as one’s first language and the absence of a raṭānah (an epithet for local African languages). There are real and imagined Arab identities in the Sudan. Some like the Rashāyidah only migrated within the borders of Sudan in the 19th century, while others like the Juhaynah and the Rufāʿah started to migrate there as early as the 15th century. While these groups are by necessity minorities in the Sudan, we can say that the primary ethnic group in North Sudan is Nubian. Among them there are families and sub-clans who intermarried with Arabs. Most Arabized Nubians trace their Arab ancestry to Ibrāhīm Jaʿal, who is said to be a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad’s uncle al-ʿAbbās. (Holt, 2011, p. 4) Hence, the name of one of the most powerful ethnic groups in the Sudan, the Jaʿalīyyah, to which former president Omar Bashir belongs.

While slavery had been practiced by the indigenous African populations in the Sudan, which included the Nubians the descendants of Kush, the Ottoman Turks (Central Asians/East Europeans) sought to acquire enslaved people for their armies under Muhammad ʿAli Pasha as his previous Albanian (Eastern European) servicemen were insubordinate. Since the Turks ruled Egypt, and the British eventually ruled the Turks, they sought incursions into current-day Sudan for economic and political reasons. The Sudanese saw all European-looking people as Turks (Khawājah), whether they were British or Albanian.(Holt, 2011, pp. 35-37)

Under the British-run Anglo-Egyptian Condominium (1899–1955), the English sought to exacerbate the tensions between the north and south by allowing missionaries to spread Christianity in the south in a way that fomented hatred against Muslims and Arabs.(Mahdi, 1965, p. 150) In the meanwhile, the north formed its own prejudices against the South. In post-independent Sudan, doctrines of Islamism, Arabism, and anti-African sentiment began to spread in the north culminating with Omar Bashir and the Muslim Brotherhood taking power in a 1989 coup. Contrary to popular belief, Jaʿfar Nimeiri, an initially socialist and Pan-Arab leaning president, imposed so-called “sharīʿah law” on all Sudanese in 1983, north and south, six years before Bashir took power.(Holt, 2011, p. 134)

Conclusion

In summary, the current conflict in Sudan is not Arab vs. African or Muslim vs. non-Muslim. Furthermore, we should not reduce Sudanese ethnicity to a simple Arab vs. African dichotomy. This erases the Sudanese people’s agency in defining themselves, which will not match pervading American concepts of race, which most Americans find difficult to let go. We as conscious Black Americans should avoid projecting our racial constructs onto other societies. The situation in Sudan is bad enough without mucking it up with lies and personal agendas.

I do not deny that the fighting and killing happening in the Sudan is a political conflict with ethnic components. Yet, if we only look at the ethnic components, we will not see the problem in its entirety. And if we only look at the political aspects, we will not fully see the real problems. We must look at the full picture of what is happening in Africa and the world to reach viable solutions. In my next post, I will discuss Sudanese politics, the African gold rush, and the complex web of actors fueling this conflict.

References

Holt, P. M. (2011). A History of the Sudan: From the Coming of Islam to the Present Day (6th ed.). Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.

Mahdi, M. E. (1965). A short history of the Sudan. Oxford University Press.

Restoring the Ruins of Afrocentric Thought: A Rebuttal to Anthony Browder’s 5 Patterns of Historical Erasure

Posted on August 21, 2025 by Maurice Hines

In a rush? Check out this 6-minute summary.

Anthony Browder recently posted to his blog a piece titled 5 Patterns of Historical Erasure That Have Hidden Africa’s Greatest Civilization in Plain Sight promoting his final two tours to Luxor, Egypt (which he calls by its ancient name Waset). Although I’m sure Mr. Browder is well-intentioned (for Black people) in writing this post, his five patterns of historical erasure are weak, ill-informed, and antiquated. Not only are some of his assertions simply not true but they speak to the lack of sophistication and intellectual integrity that plagues Black Conscious circles that keep open-minded and educated individuals from ascribing to their theories. In the post, he wishes to highlight five recurring ways an unnamed villain uses to hide African history:

The Name Change Pattern
The Impossible Achievement Pattern
The Religious Theft Pattern
The Systematic Burial Pattern
The Compartmentalization Pattern

Beyond the fact that the article reads like an AI generated blog post, I will take issue with points 1, 3, 4, and 5, and the anti-intellectual dichotomy between seeing primary evidence and textbooks.

Rebuttal of #1 The Name Change Pattern

Mr. Browder contends that the name of the city of Waset was changed by “conquerors” for sinister reasons. He does not mention what those reasons were, but the reader is left to assume that the Greeks, Arabs, and (Western) Europeans wanted to make their mark on the great civilization they conquered.

His claim that the name Luxur, the European pronunciation of the Arabic name al-’Uqṣur meaning castles is the origin of the word “luxury” is false. The English word actually has two Latin roots: luxus (excess) and luxuria (offensiveness). The two meanings were merged when it reached old English. As such, the word not only meant lasciviousness, but also debauchery and adultery. Spreading the idea that the word luxury has an African origin is not only wrong, but demonstrates a lack of academic negligence on his part. Furthermore, it might lead to some cognitive dissonance for his Afrocentric constituents who may consider Arabic, the language from which the name Luxor is derived, as non-African.

What is the issue with changing the name of a place if its history is preserved anyway? Many places around the world have undergone name changes, from ancient names to modern ones and vice versa. The people that live there have a right to change the name based on their current sentiments. Oftentimes, cities built around ancient sites have boarders and residences beyond the ancient city limits. So they are not the same exact cities from ancient times. Why can’t Afrocentrists acknowledge that over time people change, languages change, cultures change, and even religions change?

Rebuttal of #3 The Religious Theft Pattern

Mr. Browder claims that religious concepts such as the Annunciation, Immaculate Conception, Virgin Birth, and the Trinity of Ausar, Auset, and Heru were carved into the ancient monuments of Luxor. However, these concepts were appropriated and then plastered over and replaced with images of Jesus Christ and the 12 disciples by something he calls the “Coptic occupation” of 450 ACE. While it is true that certain religious concepts pass from one tradition to another and that there are Christians known as Copts in Egypt, Mr. Browder’s characterization of them is completely wrong.

First, the religious and linguistic traditions from ancient Egypt have been lost for at least two millennia (the coming of the Age of Pisces according to Bernal’s explanation of Egypt’s embrace of Christianity (Bernal and Gaballa, 1987, p. 125)). The Copts are the indigenous Egyptians. In fact, the name Egypt is a modern adaption of the word Copt, which the name of an Egyptian city Qifṭ. According to Medieval sources written by Egyptians themselves, Qifṭ was an ancestor of theirs. In some sources he is considered the son of Hermes (Ibn Nadīm, 1970) and in other sources he is one of the grandchildren of Ham (Suyuti and Ibrahim, 1968, page 35-36 vol. 1).

The Copts freely embraced Christianity shortly after what they consider the ascension of Christ by St. Mark, making them one of the oldest Christian traditions in the world. The fact that Copts are indigenous to Egypt and that their church dates back to the time of Christ makes me wonder what Mr. Browder is referring to when he says “Coptic occupation” at the date of 450.

Coptic Writing from the Tombs of Dayr al-Baḥrī

Perhaps a source of confusion for him is the Roman occupation of Egypt that extended from about 30 BCE until the Arab Muslim conquest of 641 CE. During that period the Copts were oppressed by the Romans, first due to the fact that they were Christians. Then, once the Romans officially embraced Christianity, they oppressed the Coptic Christians again because they did not accept the doctrine set at the Council of Chalcedon of 451 CE. The Copts, who see their version of Christianity and language as a continuation of their ancient religion and language, fled Roman persecution in the north of Egypt and naturally took refuge in the tombs and temples of southern Egypt. They repurposed those temples as monasteries and libraries for their monks and scholars. They added writing and imagery that reflected their current beliefs to some of the temples but did not deface all of them. Or else, we would not know about the ancient writing and imagery today.

It was the Muslims who ended Roman persecution of the Copts with their conquest. There was only a small faction of Arab Muslims who conquered Egypt in the 7th century, so the Muslim majority that you find in Egypt nowadays is largely pulled from Coptic converts as well as a myriad of non-Arab, non-Coptic ethnic groups who settled in the region. While Muslim – Coptic relations were turbulent at times in their history, Coptic Christians still make up about 10% of the population. In the same vein, while neither Muslims or Christians worship at the ancient Egyptian temples, they did not set out to systematically destroy or cover them up, which I will address in the next section.

Mr. Browder’s mischaracterizations of the Copts and their religion speaks to his dearth of knowledge about the full range of Egyptian language and history. Mr. Browder and other Egyptophiles only immerse themselves in a selective part of Egyptian history, to the neglect of other parts. This would not be so bad if only they would remain silent on aspects of history they have no knowledge of. Yet, they continually adopt/concoct spurious versions of subsequent Egyptian history that has no basis in reality.

Rebuttal of #4 The Systematic Burial Pattern

With regards to Mr. Browder’s points about “systematic burial,” this is yet another mischaracterization based on an ignorance of Egyptian history, environment, religion, and sociology. One need only to look at some of the early paintings and photos of ancient Egyptian monuments to find that many of the monuments we know and love today were actually covered in sand after being unused for several hundred years. This is why they required excavations to uncover. I lived in Egypt for several years and I can attest to the fact that if you leave your home for a few days without a thorough dusting, your home can easily succumb to the same fate.

Jokes aside. Obviously, this is not what Mr. Browder means by a “systematic burial.” Rather, he speaks of the Mosque of Abū al-Ḥaggāg (which he misspells as Abu el-Haggar). When I visited Karnak, I too was surprised to find a mosque decorated with hieroglyphs on its walls sitting on top of the temples. I entered and took a tour of the mosque. Unlike Mr. Browder in his 38 years of touring Egypt, I wanted to know the history of the mosque rather than just make my own assumptions.

Prior to becoming a mosque, it was a Coptic basilica and once occupied by a Coptic woman, Therese bint al-Qums. Yūsuf ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥīm ibn ʿĪsā al-Zāhid, known as Abū al-Ḥajjāj, was a Sufi teacher from Baghdad. He moved to the area teaching Sufism and ultimately attracting most of the inhabitants to Islam (who were predominantly Coptic Christians by then). He acquired a piece of property from Therese, and his son made the basilica into a mosque after the death of his father in 1286 CE.

The mosque speaks to the continuity of socio-religious culture in Luxor rather than “systematic burial.” In fact, nothing is covered up or systematically destroyed. The structure and material is actually preserved by its repurposing. This is nothing new. All over Coptic, Fatimad, Mamluk, and Ayyubid Cairo, one will find mosques, schools, and other structures used from the same materials of structures that once lay in ruins. In contrast to our present sentiments, preservation of unused structures was not always a priority for the people of Egypt. Our current-day obsession with artifacts is partially the result of the European materialist mindset that has been programmed in us, which ties civilization with advancements in technology and buildings. However, for most societies it appears that preservation of culture and traditions takes a higher priority, even after their material wealth and imperial power diminishes and their religion and language change. Although, celebrations like the Mawlid of Abū al-Ḥajjāj (El-Daly, 2005, p. 92) and the planting fenugreek seeds in remembrance of Osiris (El-Daly, 2005, p. 82) retain some pre-Islamic elements, they are largely considered Egyptian cultural holidays.

Misunderstanding these facts and immediately casting suspicions of a cover up of African civilizations makes me question the veracity of Mr. Browder’s conclusions and ability to give a tour based on sound information, not just his personal beliefs. Such a methodology defeats the purpose of in-depth study and traveling in the pursuit of knowledge. As someone who was immersed in Afrocentric thought as a youth, I dared to put my beliefs about ancient Egypt to the test while living and studying there. I believe Mr. Browder can do the same.

Rebuttal to #5 The Compartmentalization Pattern

Mr. Browder’s fifth point is embarrassingly oblivious to how knowledge works and it makes me cringe to have to explain this. Mr. Browder claims that “compartmentalized knowledge” keeps people from seeing the “bigger picture” of how spirituality was embedded into ancient Egyptian structures. First, we call them temples because we imagine they were used for a spiritual purpose. That is obvious to anyone reading about them or seeing images of them. It has only been in recent years that people have begun to theorize that ancient Egyptian structures were built for non-religious reasons like celestial observatories, to mark a king’s legacy, or simply to awe visitors.

Secondly, he may not realize it, but every building and piece of technology we use today is a result of “integrated knowledge systems,” or as academics call it “interdisciplinary knowledge.” Art, philosophy, architecture, and even religion are employed to create the many gadgets, buildings, and objects we use everyday. I will give the example of an apartment building found in an urban or suburban area of the U.S. Every apartment building is a complex integration of architectural design, carpentry, electrical work, plumbing, thermodynamics, and legal codes among other things. Each building has a philosophy – no matter how dumb – about how people should live or want to live. To only look at an apartment as a unified system i.e., as just an apartment building, is to not appreciate its complexity. Therefore, we must argue the opposite of what Mr. Browder is trying to say. The only way to proper appreciate the ancient Egyptian temples is through the various disciplines it took to create them.

Thirdly, I would take issue with his uncritical use of R.A. Schwaller de Lubicz as a source of information on this topic. For one, this is a selective use of European authors. If Mr. Browder, as an Afrocentrist, is going to cite an Egyptologist, he should at least cite someone who is respected in the field. Schwaller was not just a “mathematician” as Mr. Browder would have you believe, he was an occultist and Theosophist, who read his beliefs and theories into what he found in ancient Egypt. While interesting, his work, which was never accepted by other archaeologists, cannot serve as a definitive view on the temples of Luxor.

R.A. Schwaller de Lubicz

Rebuttal to “Why Primary Evidence Matters More Than Textbooks”

Finally, this faux pas in logic and scholarship have led him to make the statement:

“You cannot truly understand these patterns until you see the evidence with your own eyes.”

This is actually wrong. Many people think they can travel to Cairo and see all the sites they were shown on videos and in books, not realizing that only the pyramids and the Sphinx are located there. They will need to take another plane ride to Aswan or Luxor in the south of Egypt, and maybe take a ground trip to Abu Simbel and a boat ride down north (since the Nile flows north). This should let us know that a little bit of preliminary research can go a long way.

Mr. Browder’s above-mentioned quote also contradicts the point he was trying to make about “integrated knowledge systems.” It is possible to witness a thing and not understand it. Many of us use smart phones, but have no understanding of haptics or nanotechnology. Unless we have particular knowledge of a discipline it is difficult to appreciate a thing from that perspective.

Conclusion

It will behoove the potential traveler to learn all they can about Egypt (ancient, medieval, and modern) before traveling there. They should travel there with a well-researched an open-mind, rather than stirred by the emotionalism and anti-intellectualism Mr. Browder seeks to lure you with. Americans traveling to Egypt looking for remnants of ancient Egypt is like Egyptians traveling to the U.S. looking for remnants of the Native Americans. You can find what you are looking for if you researched it properly, but it might not be obvious in contemporary society. A lot has happened in America in the last 500 years. This is even more true of Egypt over the last 4000 years.

References

Bernal, Martin, and G. A. Gaballa. Black Athena: The Afroasiatic Roots of Classical Civilization. Rutgers University Press, 1987.
El-Daly, Okasha. Egyptology: The Missing Millennium, Ancient Egypt in Medieval Arabic Writings. UCL Press, 2005.

Ibn al-Nadīm, Abū al-Faraj Muḥammad ibn Isḥaq. The Fihrist of Al-Nadim: A Tenth Century Survey of Muslim Culture. Translated by Bayard Dodge, vol. 2, Columbia University Press, 1970.
Redford, Donald, et al. “East Karnak Excavations, 1987-1989.” Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, vol. 28, 1991, pp. 75–106. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/40000573.

al-Suyuti, Jalal al-Din, and Muhammad Abu’l Faḍl Ibrahim. Ḥusn Al-Muḥāḍara Fī Tārīkh Miṣr Wa’l Qāhira. Dār Iḥyā’ al-Kutub al-’Arabīyya, 1968.

The Death of Black Consciousness: “Sinners” and the Rise of Hedonistic Afro-Fetishism

Posted on May 28, 2025 by Maurice Hines

If you can control a man’s thinking you do not have to worry about his action. When you determine what a man shall think you do not have to concern yourself about what he will do. If you make a man feel that he is inferior, you do not have to compel him to accept an inferior status, for he will seek it himself. If you make a man think that he is justly an outcast, you do not have to order him to the back door. He will go without being told; and if there is no back door, his very nature will demand one.(Woodson, 1933, pp. 84-85)

Ryan Coogler’s Sinners attempts to bite the neck of black consciousness and drive a stake through the heart of whatever is left of it. In a day and age when “wokeness” has been weaponized against the people it was designed to inform, it is surprising to see my people blinded by yet another co-opting of and profiteering from our intellectual heritage. What’s worse is the uncritical nature in which large segments of our community have embraced this co-opting and appropriation. This is undoubtedly due to our continued miseducation and psychological entrapment that somehow we have grown to love.

The greater issue at hand is that the so-called conscious ones among us are some of the most miseducated. They have “suspended their disbelief” in American popular culture and media, the true religion of America, and have drunk the proverbial kool aid and are now sacrificing their moral integrity at the alter of the cinemas. Over the years, I have witnessed our people take events and symbols in movies as educational tools. While there is no doubt that Netflix, movie theaters, podcasts, and YouTube have replaced our once literate culture, they still do not realize how much facts and symbols can be distorted to fit someone else’s agenda. Despite the outdated themes addressed in Sinners, which has allowed it to be heralded as a beacon of wokeness, its themes appear carefully curated for domesticated Blacks. In this post, I will criticize the film for its promotion of three concepts that are leading to the death of black consciousness: 1) Black Hedonism, 2) Afro-Fetishism, and 3) Domestication.

Black Hedonism

A major aspect of the American racism project is to portray people of African descent as immoral and governed by their passions. Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone With the Wind, writes in the 1930s of African Americans who took part of the Great Migration:

…the former field hands found themselves suddenly elevated to the seats of the mighty. There they conducted themselves as creatures of small intelligence might naturally be expected to do. Like monkeys or small children turned loose among treasured objects whose value is beyond their comprehension, they ran wild–either from perverse pleasure in destruction or simply because of their ignorance. (Mitchell, 1936, p. 1249)

Sinners reinforces this stereotype. It portrays the Smoke-Stack twins as protagonists and heroes despite their link with the criminal underbelly of 1920s- 30s Chicago. According to the film’s backstory, they survived a brutal and treacherous life in the city to return to their hometown in Mississippi, home of the blues, and start a business, a juke joint, the early 20th century equivalent to a club. Much of the film’s rising action centers on their preparation and advertising for this club. In one scene, one of the twins shoots his friend in the buttocks unknowingly for rummaging through his truck. He then coldly shoots the man’s young accomplice in the legs. What is the point of this? Is black consciousness now promoting wanton black on black violence?

A common pretext of lynchings historically has been the ease with which official channels (law enforcement, media, etc.) can shape public opinion to believe that any black person who is accused of committing a crime must be guilty because black people are somehow predisposed to illegal and immoral behavior. Instead of opposing this construct by showing how European dominance is illegal and immoral in a universal sense, the writers of Sinners have embraced the hedonistic image of black people. This image makes crime, addiction, lack of sexual discipline, and violence a natural part of black culture. Not only have they accepted this image for their own generation, but have projected this image on generations past. This is not to say that there was no black underworld or social ills, but it is not representative of all black culture but for some reason it is repeatedly highlighted in American media.

An adulterous affair between Mary and Stack.

Sinners also promotes loose sexual behavior that is not even justified by secular culture. The fact that both Mary and Pearline are married to other men but are entertaining Stack and Sammie respectively as love interests promotes adulterous behavior that has historically destroyed our communities. The animosity and broken homes that result from adultery is debilitating to any type of black unity or solidarity. Even princes of Pan-Afrikanism, conscious kings, and champions of Black women like Dr. Umar Johnson and Brother Polight lose all credibility due to their lack of sexual discipline. Yet the same people blame religion for the problems of the Black community, when in actuality the average church, mosque, and temple only warns us of the dangers of self-destructive behavior. In actuality, people don’t have a problem with religion. They have a problem with self-control. They have a problem with accountability. They have a problem with systematic learning. And most of all they have a problem with discipline.

Additionally, the rhetoric of some pro-Black spiritualists that “religion” was forced on black people needs to stop. They have not yet received the memo that: “We is free now” and black people have been choosing their religion freely in the U.S. for over a century. When they say “religion” they usually mean Christianity, but extend this to mean Islam as well. Their logic is that Christianity was forced on enslaved Africans in the Americas. Enslaved Africans in America are Africans and Christianity is a religion. Therefore, all religions were forced on all Africans. The analogy is so weak that even a child can see the gaping hole in it. Just because Europeans forced Christianity on some Africans in the past does not mean that Christianity and other religions that Africans happen to follow was forced on them and will be perpetually in the future. Also, now that African Americans are no longer enslaved, whatever religion they choose to practice is of their own free will, be it Christianity, Islam, or Yoruba.

Our treatment of Christianity with regards to African populations must be studied in context, whether in Africa or in the Americas. Christianity in the context of colonial Nigeria was liberating in some regards. Conversion to Christianity gave rural Nigerians access to skills and resources that they could use to gain upward mobility and compete with more urbanized Nigerians. However, in the Americas conversion to Christianity did not accompany such perks. In Catholic controlled colonies, conversion was mandatory. And although Africans were baptized en masse, they received little to no religious instruction. So there is no wonder why the African expressions of Catholicism are folk and syncretic in nature.

In Protestant controlled colonies, African conversion to Christianity was treated with caution. On the one hand, the initial justification for the slavery of Africans was the fact that they were not Christians. Once they embraced Christianity their servitude should have been void but it was not. For this clear hypocrisy, Protestants feared the conversion of enslaved Africans and they tried unsuccessfully to emphasize verses encouraging submission to their human masters rather than the powerful narrative of Moses leading his people out of bondage (Curry, 1997, pp. 24-26). This fact is corroborated by Carter G. Woodson in his Education of the Negro. In the early 19th century, religious education for enslaved Africans was equivalent to training them for insurrection.

The push against organized religion in popular American culture is more of an emotional response to perceptions of religious institutions than an intellectual one. Most have never bothered to read widely and deeply on the histories of religions and it shows. Religious institutions have historically been one of our strongest institutions because they have brought people of like minds together, served as a base for exchanging ideas, and offered charitable services. Institutions, religious, political, financial, educational, or social, are means to power, influence, and freedom. Instead of strengthening our religious institutions, which we still retain some control over, black hedonists have worked to weaken these institutions in favor of fragmented and individualistic Afro-fetishism.

Afro-Fetishism

Afro-fetishism has risen in prominence since the inception of Afrocentrism. It is the tendency of African Americans to romanticize things they consider to be authentic African culture. In Sinners it manifests itself with the romanticism of southern root doctors, conjuring spirits, and the conflation of entertainment (music and dance) with spirituality. In reality, there is no one thing called “African spirituality.” Simply put, “spirituality” is a European concept developed primarily by Theosophists and occultists, which seeks to separate spirituality from religion. It represents one of the modern iterations of the so-called European Enlightenment, which promotes a Eurocentric view of religion and religious history; a history not experienced by most of the people of Africa.

Every religious system has a spiritual aim. “Religion” – as Afro-fetishists might call it – is the exoteric outer core that houses the esoteric inner core or “spirituality.” The doctrines, rules, rites, and rituals of religion must be upheld for people to achieve their spiritual goals. The morality, meanings, and heart-felt connection is cultivated through religious discipline. Both are necessary, otherwise, confusion and delusion prevails.

We witness this in Sinners and in real life. For instance, Smoke rightfully questions Annie’s Hoodoo practices, which she believes protected Smoke and Stack as they led a life of crime in Chicago. Yet, these same practices were not sufficient to thwart the death of Smoke and Annie’s baby daughter. Although, her herbs and concoctions helped her defend the non-dead at the juke box against the dead, we should remember that vampires are fantasy. Not only that, but potions and fetishes often tied to “African spirituality” are powerless against the spells of “niggerdom” and white supremacy.

The fact that their daughter passed away also poses an interesting question to those who venerate the ancestors. Is their daughter an ancestor because she passed away before her parents or is she still their “descendant?” Moreover, many of the people who talk about conjuring the spirits of the ancestors also speak about inter-generational curses and barely get along with their living family members. Why are they calling on the same people who caused the curse? Why do they want to build/continue relationships with the dead rather than the living? Are they not inviting vampires in their home?

Furthermore, every individual has an exponential number of ancestors, represented by the following equation: x=2ⁿ. This means that after three generations, a person has eight grandparents; after four generations, a person has sixteen grandparents, and so on. Once a person goes back ten generations, for instance, they have over a thousand grandparents. That is a lot of ancestors to make shrines to. Hardly anyone can remember the names of all of them let alone find pictures or memorabilia for them.

When people claim communion with the ancestors, how do they determine which ones to commune with? And if the ancestors speak to them, how do they know the person speaking from beyond the grave is not an imposter? The truth is that while it is essential to honor one’s ancestors by not speaking ill of them, speaking their names for as long as possible, and fulfilling any of their good endeavors, they are in more need of us than we are of them. Their lives are over and their affair is with their Creator. It is on us to live our lives, honor, and speak to our loved ones while they are still alive instead of seeking out mystical ways of communicating with them after they are gone.

While I understand the need of our people to connect with their roots, which were severed from us during our oppression in the western hemisphere, African Americans have the tendency to perform these so-called connections in a very superficial way that is more indicative of their Americanness than any real connection with actual Africans. Furthermore, much Afro-fetishism is based on marketing and consumerism. Things like red black and green flags, ankh jewelry, and incense are mainstays of an Afrocentric esthetic but are not items indigenous to Africa or are staples of any contemporary African culture. Yet, someone has convinced us through strategic marketing to pay top dollar for these things. From tours of ancient Egyptian temples to pathways towards citizenship for African Americans, even people from the continent have thought of ways to market to the emotional sentiments of African Americans because at the end of the day we are just consumers with US dollars.

Annie prepares potions of protection and healing through her knowledge of Hoodoo.

Domestication

Finally, Sinners speaks to the domestication of black consciousness. Domesticated black consciousness can only be militant about safe topics related to racial bigotry, cultural autonomy, and other corny topics that get black people riled up but will never spark a revolutionary consciousness or affect real change. The film is set in the 1930s and features a lot of details and covert commentary on that era but misses several opportunities to draw parallels and commentary to current events. However, as the famous Mozart quote goes: “The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between.”

While the film attempts to highlight complex racial dynamics from the 1930s such as colorism, European ethnic dynamics, Asian immigration, labor inequality, etc., it is completely silent on actual movements of Black people from that era to improve their political and social conditions. No attention is given to the influence of Marcus Garvey from the 1920s and the Communist movement of the 1930s. Garvey instilled pride in blackness and self-determining industriousness that had nothing to do with organized crime. Still intelligence agencies identified Garvey as an existential threat to the American order who would lead a Bolshevik-style revolution among African Americans. As perhaps the first target of J. Edgar Hoover’s terror campaign, Garvey became a victim of a government set up, which led to his imprisonment and deportation. In an odd, yet correct move, President Biden pardoned Garvey fully and unconditionally as one of his last acts as president. Nevertheless, a movie supposedly made for Black people of conscious did not even hint at the power the Garvey movement had on African American communities as well as its parallels to the current political climate.

Another footnote of history that Sinners neglected is the fact that Communism had spread across Black America. Inspired by the 1917 Soviet revolution but not controlled by it, many African Americans were attracted to Communism and Socialism during the period the film is set in. The likes of Shirley Graham Du Bois, W.E.B. Du Bois, Benjamin Davis Jr., and Paul Robeson had adopted the ideals of the revolutionary left. This was because of the all-too-familiar trap of the two-party system: the Democrats, who were then the preferred party of the Ku Klux Klan and segregationists, and the Republicans, the party to whom most African Americans were loyal because it was the party of president Abraham Lincoln, who supposedly “freed the slaves.” At that historical moment, with the onset of economic depression, the white Republicans’ growing disinterest in the black community, and the Democrats’ deconstruction of the Reconstruction in the form of Jim Crow segregation laws left very few viable political alternatives for African Americans. There is a lesson there for people who reflect on our current situation as America teeters on yet another great depression, the Democrats’ obsession with only symbolic progress for blacks, and the Trump-led Republicans reversal of some our domestic victories in the form of Civil Rights.

While the Communist Party may not be the most viable direction now, where are the black conscious thinkers, artists, and filmmakers to groom the next generations of Martin Luther Kings, Malcolm X’s, and Shirley Chisholms? Who are the people who will use their platforms to organize around the African Union Symposium of 2025 in which reparations for the African diaspora will be a key issue? Who will educate the masses about conflicts in the Congo and Sudan? Who will meet with forward-thinking African leaders like Ibrahim Traore, Assimi Goïta, and Julius Malema on our behalf? Sinners has looked deeply into the “safe” aspects of African American history like the Great Migration, the Blues, and even lives of ethnic groups like the Chinese, Irish, and Native Americans in rural Mississippi, but cannot find the bandwidth to dig into the aspects of black history that will make us reflect on and correct our current conditions.

Conclusion

Carter G. Woodson is probably rolling in his grave to find that his book the Miseducation of the Negro still applies almost word for word to 21st century Negroes. Coogler and the cast of Sinners has effectively carved out a back door for African Americans to re-enter into American society. This is a door in which we only seek validation from a pat on the head for our musical and athletic prowess. This is a door in which we can only move forward in society if we wait until someone lets us by. This is a door in which we literally stay in our places and have no global scope for our economic future. We are only content with ratchet and hustle culture.

As black social media applauds the symbolism in the film Sinners and the many social issues it raises, corporate America has yet again blindsided them by ignoring, if not suppressing, many latent histories and current events. However, as the last visages of black consciousness, we must reject hedonism and embrace discipline in all aspects of our lives. We must reject Afro-fetishism and the shallow consumerist mindset that is meant to derail us from our true purpose. And we must reject the domestication of our purpose, which will keep us from thinking globally and connecting our ideas from the past to benefit our future. As the sun rises in the west, I hope the vampires of black consciousness are laid to rest and we can resurrect our consciousness for the generations to come.

Suggested Readings:

Curry, Mary Cuthrell. Making the Gods in New York: The Yoruba Religion in the African American Community. Studies in African American History and Culture. New York: Garland Pub., 1997.

Horne, Gerald. Black Liberation/Red Scare: Ben Davis and the Communist Party. Toronto: Associated University Presses, 1994.

———. Race Woman: The Lives of Shirley Graham Du Bois. New York: New York University Press, 2000.

Mitchell, Margaret. Gone With the Wind. New York: MacMillan Company, 1936.

OnGenealogy. “Do the Math – How Many Ancestors Do I Have?,” 2025. https://www.ongenealogy.com/do-the-math-how-many-ancestors-do-i-have/.

Woodson, Carter G. The Education Of The Negro Prior To 1861 A History Of The Education Of The Colored People Of The United States From The Beginning Of Slavery To The Civil War. Project Gutenberg, 1919.

Woodson, Carter Godwin. The Mis-Education of the Negro. Khalifah’s Booksellers & Associates, 1933.

X Marks the Spot: Malcolm X, the Bridge Between Sabians and Hanifs

Posted on May 25, 2024 by Maurice Hines

Sunday May 19, 2024 marked the 59th Ziyara (commemorative visitation) to the grave site of El Hajj Malik Shabazz (Malcolm X) and Dr. Betty Shabazz at Ferncliff Cemetary in Hartsdale, NY. As many know, the African American community cannot agree on many things but Malcolm is a rallying point for the forward-thinking trajectories within the community. This was evidenced by the peaceful coexistence of Sabian and Hanif traditions practiced by the intellectual, political, and spiritual offspring of Malik Shabazz at the annual Ziyara.

It was not always this way. In the aftermath of Malcolm’s murder it was a struggle to to keep his name alive let alone his ideas and his work. Only a few brave souls had the guts to open their doors and speak at his funeral. Joseph E. Hall and the Unity Funeral Home allowed the viewing of his body, the Faith Temple Church of God in Christ, allowed his wake, Shaykh Hesham Jaaber, who along with Shaykh Ahmad Hassoun washed and wrapped his body according to the Islamic tradition, Ahmad Osman, Ossie Davis who spoke, and the list of attendees like the late John Lewis, James Farmer, Andrew Young and many others… Their names will be forever etched in history. Similarly, Malcolm’s older sister and confidant Ella Collins sought to keep an accurate depiction of his character, philosophy, and direction by holding the annual Ziyara.

I will point out that these brave people were Hanifs. Despite the association of Hanif religions with conformity and reactionary politics the Black resistance to oppression required the strength and courage only inspired by true faith. That was the place of Malcolm, Betty Shabazz, Ella Collins, Martin Luther King, James Farmer, Mutulu Shakur, Sekou Odinga and countless other freedom fighters. Many of whom were practicing Muslims and Christians.

The Sabian dimension, like their ancient counterparts, has always contributed to the philosophical development of our people. A philosophy that pushes the boundaries of intellectual inquiry and imagination of how Africans can be in this world spiritually, mentally, and physically. Their contributions on the Black intellectual tradition should not be disregarded, as it was the likes of John Henrik Clarke and Dr. Ben Jochanan (both intellectual offspring of Malcolm), who forged a path for Black Studies in the universities to the chagrin of white intellectuals who controlled the narrative on African history. They were able to pry open the grip that white Africanists had on the field prior to the 1960’s. Their contributions continue to reverberate with regards to the study of ancient Egypt (Kemet), which Africans on the continent and in the Diaspora rightfully claim a connection to despite the protests of some modern Egyptians.

This is not to say that they did not have lapses in knowledge, especially regarding the history of Islam. Their lack of contact with learned continental African Muslims and lack of acquaintance with the Islamic intellectual tradition in Africa and around the world has led to their over reliance on the sources of white Africanist and Orientalist scholars. Similarly, their logical fallacies that equate the Islamic experience with the Christian experience and inability to view things outside of the American paradigm has crippled their understanding of Hanif religions and led to an uncritical embrace of Sabian religion and spiritual thought. Their rejection of religion, while claiming a form of “spirituality,” has warranted them the label Sabian, whose etymological meaning refers to “one who has left religion.”

Beyond the ceremonious nature of the gathering, there was undoubtedly a political message. One that stood on the legacy of the Black Radical Tradition. This was orchestrated by Prof. James Small, a living progenitor of Malcolm. Not only was he the body guard of Malcolm’s older sister Ella Collins, but he was also imam of Muslim Mosque, Inc. and a leader within the Organization for Afro-American Unity (OAAU), the two organizations started by Malcolm before his death. Not only that, but he later acquired authorizations in the priesthoods of several African systems of spirituality and served as a point person for many Black revolutionary activists and freedom fighters since the 60’s. He is therefore an authority in African American Sabian, Hanif, and radical political traditions. As he emceed the event, he stressed the universality of these traditions and some of the speakers’ connection to Islam. He introduced the all-star round up of speakers consisting of scholars, revolutionaries, and leaders of the past and the future, like Dr. Leonard and Rosalind Jeffries, Sundiata Acoli, Pam Africa, Mfundishi Jhutyms, Jihad Abdul Mumit, Baba Zayid, Brother Reggie, Adéyínká “Muhammad” Mendes, and others. They shared prayers and spoke in brief about the legacy of Malcolm. Imam Talib Abdurrashid was noticeably absent from this gathering due to health issues, but members of the Mosque of Islamic Brotherhood (MIB) in Harlem as well as the Jamaat of Shehu Uthman Dan Fodio were delegated to represent him in his absence.

A final point was made about the link between the Pan African struggle and that of Palestine. Contrary to the sentiments of Pan African social media influencers and personalities, who claim that Palestine is not a “black issue,” the veterans and students of Malcolm say it is, because the Black radical tradition stands for justice everywhere. Additionally, we should not allow morally degenerate politicians and media executives to frame our issues for us. The issues of Palestine are not race, religion, terrorism, anti-Semitism, or even freedom of speech. Rather they are colonialism, the right to self-determination, and the right to self-defense. Likewise, these were the issues of the Black Power struggle in the U.S.; a struggle I would deem as successful in many ways. Although police brutality remains a salient issue for many Black communities, there are undoubtedly marked changes from the Jim Crow era to now that almost no elder will deny. But those improvements were not made from the kindness of the hearts of politicians and law enforcement, they were made from decades of political pressure applied by the likes of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X and those who upheld their intellectual, political and spiritual legacies.

From Darkness to “Polight”: A Prospectus on Sabianism and Ritual Sacrifice

Posted on September 16, 2023 by Maurice Hines

We at the Maurchives normally refrain from commenting on the personal shortcomings of our interlocutors in our critiques, with aims at maintaining the intellectual integrity of our positions. However, the recent revelations of the so-called black conscious influencer known as “Brother Polight” (Michael Noak Jr.) has ignited passions and outrage from within the black community. Given the sordid nature of the crime – taking sexual liberties with the daughter of a mistress among other things – and as a survivor of abuse, I take his despicable acts personal and denounce him for them. I am admittedly disgusted, angry, and disappointed with the so-called conscious community, but I am not surprised.

Contrary to popular belief, Polight is not “sick,” “crazy,” or “mentally ill.” His public profile over the years has suggested that he is a very intelligent, deliberate, and charming individual who can sway the hearts and minds of people with his words. Unfortunately, the criminal acts that he pled guilty to are the modus operandi for modern-day Sabians whose only pursuits are the trinkets of the sensory world. Given what we know of his character, we can only assume that he knew what he was doing, but what escapes most people’s grasp is why. Why would a grown man, who was seemingly on top of the world, who possessed fame, health, wealth, and women… why would he risk all of that for an act that if people found out about it would leave him penniless, isolated, incarcerated, and despised by people? Well the answer is clear if we peer into the history of the Sabians and their misuse of the occult sciences. In this post, I will shed some light on what could have been behind his dark acts.

Mugshots of Michael Noak Jr. (aka “Brother Polight”) and Dwight York (aka Malachi York).

Occult Sacrifice: A Brief History

Polight, like numerous other 20th century occultists, called to Sabianism as a seemingly enlightened spirituality that only served to disguise their magic and sorcery. From Charles Leadbeater and Aleister Crowley to the indecencies of Elijah Muhammad, Malachi York, and Jim Jones, spiritualist (Sabian) leaders have been accused of sex acts that traditionalists (Ḥanīfs) find repugnant. In Polight’s case, he almost killed the child he was accused of molesting by forcing on her drugs and alcohol. This act is strangely reminiscent of the rituals that brought down the Ancient Mystery Schools.

The practice of sexual orgies and human sacrifice were some of the practices that led to the decline of the Mysteries. Even prior to the spread of Christianity, the Roman government would crack down on the rites of the Baccchanalia Mysteries for their violent sexual orgies. Emperors Augustus and Claudius put stringent limitations on the Druid Mysteries of England and Gaul who used to practice human sacrifice (Grant, 2004, page 17-19).

The British Egyptologist, Margaret A. Murray described in her book, The Witch-Cult in Western Europe, the four different types sacrifices among practitioners of Witchcraft, who claimed to inherit the ancient Mysteries of Western Europe. Murray states that these sacrifices were: 1) blood sacrifices, 2) animal sacrifices, 3) child sacrifices, and 4) god sacrifices. Blood sacrifices entailed shedding a prick of blood for initiations and signing contracts (Murray, 2008, p. 152). Animal sacrifices including killing animals such as dogs, cats and fowls for the purpose of manifesting Satan (p. 154). Child sacrifices were used to obtain magical powers. They promise the Devil or their jinn an offering at a particular time to acquire these powers. They often use unbaptized children, those from irreligious homes, or their own children, usually poisoning them or sometimes by more brutal means (p. 158). God sacrifices were conducted to manifest the power of a certain Wiccan deity such as a fertility god. In ancient times, the ritual entailed a human being assuming the identity of the deity or allowing himself to be possessed it and then allowing himself to be killed, usually by fire. The ashes would then be collected and used in various other rituals. The Christians later banned this practice and took to replacing the human being with an animal or, in secret, an infant (p. 160-162).

In the Ḥanīf tradition, God shows Abraham a vision in which he is to sacrifice his son. The Judaic tradition believes this son to be Isaac while the Islamic tradition believes him to be Ishmael. Both Abraham and his son agree to the sacrifice and are prepared to carry it out for the sake of God. However, at the last moment God retracts the command and enjoins them to sacrifice a ram instead. Judaic commentaries insist this that this was not a pagan practice gone awry, but an injuction to categorically prohibit human and child sacrifices (Greenberg, 2011, p. 195).

On top of that, the Qur’an has already warned us about this end. Anyone calling to the worship of anything beside the true and living God, is an idolator. Idolators do not worship other gods per se, since there are no other gods. In actuality, they worship jinn, who seek to be worshiped as gods. These jinn promise them the fortune, fame, pleasures, and power that they seek, but demand that they perform disgusting and evil acts as devotion to them. These acts usually involve violating children, whether it’s rape, mutilation, or murder.

وَكَذَٰلِكَ زَيَّنَ لِكَثِيرٍۢ مِّنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ قَتْلَ أَوْلَـٰدِهِمْ شُرَكَآؤُهُمْ لِيُرْدُوهُمْ وَلِيَلْبِسُوا۟ عَلَيْهِمْ دِينَهُمْ ۖ وَلَوْ شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ مَا فَعَلُوهُ ۖ فَذَرْهُمْ وَمَا يَفْتَرُونَ ١٣٧

Similarly, their associate-gods have made the killing of their children seem fair to many mushriks (idolators), so that they may ruin them and may confuse their faith for them. Had Allah so willed, they would not have done that. So, leave them alone with what they fabricate.
Mufti taqi Usmani translation

When Polight would make his asinine comments about Islam many Muslims left him alone to his devices. The only “Muslims” who would engage him were those Moors, NOI, and Ahmadiyas whose doctrines would not allow them to defend the true Islamic tradition. The average listener was impressed by his diatribes because they never heard certain vocabulary words strung together. However, intelligent people knew that he had mastered the art of hypnotism, talking in circles at a loud volume in the style of his teacher, the convicted serial pedophile and high priest of the modern African American Sabians Malachi York, but much of what he said lacked substance and was never backed up by facts. His strategy was to interrogate the beliefs of others without being interrogated on his own beliefs. In the end, he called to the worship of “the black woman” and money. But the light has shown on the true depravity of his beliefs.

References

Grant, Robert M. Augustus to Constantine: The Rise and Triumph of Christianity in the Roman World. 1st ed, Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.

Greenberg, Irving. The Jewish Way. Touchstone, 2011.

Murray, Margaret Alice. The Witch-Cult in Western Europe. Forgotten Books, 2008.

Nationalism in the Nile: Egyptians, Afrocentrism, and Kevin Hart

Posted on December 25, 2022 by Maurice Hines

A small faction of Egyptian neo-nationalists on social media has announced that the wholesome American comedian, Kevin Hart, is not welcome in Egypt leading up to his February 21, 2023 performance in the country. Behind this supposed “viral” campaign is a small cadre of under-educated Egyptians who have recently learned of something called Afrocentrism. In turn, they have erroneously made him the symbol of Afrocentrism due to some internet pictures of him dressed as an ancient Egyptian and some vague statements he made. A few people have brought this controversy to my attention and sought my opinion on it as someone who has bridged the gap between Afrocentricity and the Arab world in the past. As perhaps my final post from the city of Cairo, I will address this controversy and offer a voice of reason on the topic that I hope all interested parties can benefit from.

The Egyptian Neo-Nationalists Behind the Posts

The people behind the hashtags and the posts reflect a misplaced Egyptian nationalistic sentiment that only directs their energy at topics of no consequence for their country. They offer no solutions to class disparities, education, or discrimination within Egyptian society but they seem adamant that confronting Afrocentrism and banning African Americans will solve their problems. These neo-nationalists reject the fact that many of the ancient Egyptians were dark skinned; which can be considered a central tenant of Afrocentric thought. Furthermore, they might have encountered a hostile Hotep who might have spewed some rhetoric about taking back their ancestral homeland of Egypt in one of their vitriolic rants. But does this really warrant a protest movement? And what does it have to do with Kevin Hart?

Ahmad Youness

On December 13, he posted a video speaking out against the upcoming Kevin Hart show and Afrocentrism in general. He claims that the Egyptians of today are the Egyptians of the ancient past and he encouraged Egyptians to not tolerate the appropriation of their history by anyone, especially not “Africans.” Ahmad Youness is a 40-something year old radio personality who has been in the business since 2003. He is known for telling horror stories on the Radio 9090 station. According to his Wikipedia page, has a “license” (a low-level degree) in the English language but not much more of an educational background beyond that.

In one video, he states what could be translated as the following:

#الغاء_حفل_كيفن_هارت #كيفن_هارت_مصر_لا_ترحب_بك #مصر_للمصريين #ضد_المركزية_الافريقية #Ban_Kevin_Hart_Show_In_Egypt #EgyptianHistory #AncientEgypt #KevinHart #AntiAfrocentrism #Afrocentric pic.twitter.com/8kKQHfbw6H
— Ahmad Youness (@Ahmad_Youness) December 13, 2022

This is Ahmad Youness with you, an Egyptian media personality. Recently we heard about a show that will be held by the African actor, Kevin Hart. It should be a comedy show, but I don’t really see anything funny about it. The only funny thing about it is that there are people within Egypt who invited him and there is an Egyptian company that supports and organizes it…

This guy called Kevin Hart is one of the supporters of Afrocentrism. Afrocentrism, if you don’t know, is a movement that says that the ancient Egyptian civilization is not ours but it belongs to Africans and that we stole it. It has since then been falsely attributed to us and that they will take it back one way or another. They have a lot of supporters within and outside their ranks as well. There are also those who secretly support them. You might think that the idea is not widespread but it is very popular. The topic of Afrocentrism is one that has been discussed at length and there are big names that support it.

He shouldn’t come here to Egypt and we shouldn’t welcome him. He is not here. He is not welcome here. And he will not enter Egypt!

Of course, there are many things wrong with his diatribe. Kevin Hart is not an African actor but an American actor who happens to be African American. Racist Arabs often drop the American aspect of an African American’s identity to demean them. This was done to Barack Obama often in the Arab media throughout his presidency. While Kevin Hart might believe how most African Americans (and probably most non-Black Americans) believe, that the ancient Egyptians were Black Africans or dark skinned people, but he is not the poster boy for Afrocentrism by any means. In the US, Kevin Hart has a reputation as a wholesome comedian who is funny but not as edgy or raunchy as other well-known comedians such as Dave Chappelle or Chris Rock. His opposition to Kevin Hart amounts to nothing but a safe target of his campaign. Ahmad Youness is a labeling Kevin Hart with a term that he never claimed in the first place. And he is accusing him of something so minute that Hart probably has no clear recollection of.

Egyptian History Defenders

Another front in the campaign against Kevin Hart is the social media handle Egyptian History Defenders. Their social media accounts are full of anti-African American memes concerning their so-called appropriation of Egyptian history. These memes are directed at Afrocentric claims that Black people are at the root of Egyptian civilization. However, it is clear that they cannot differentiate between an Afrocentrist and an African American. Indeed, probably most African Americans believe that the ancient Egyptians were Black, but that does not make them Afrocentrists. This group probably only heard of the term Afrocentrism without researching it, then began to label everything that resembles it by that term. In truth, Afrocentrism is a scholarly approach stemming from the Black Studies movement that began to take shape in the mid-20th century. At its core, it intends to center the perspectives and experiences of Africans on the continent (Egyptians included) and throughout the diaspora in various fields of study starting with history. Molefi Asante, perhaps the most vocal proponent of the term who has since disavowed the concept, rejected the use of Afrocentrism as a response to Eurocentrism. Rather, he used the term Afrocentricity to denote a proactive cultural movement among Africans that shapes the adherent’s paradigm on various areas of human interest. The neo-nationalists have instead reduced Afrocentrism to a mere musing on the ancestors.

Interestingly enough, these Egyptian neo-nationalists in their anti-intellectualism have slipped into the same methodological fallacy as some Afrocentrists. Just as Afrocentrists juxtapose paintings and sculptures from ancient civilizations to pictures of contemporary African Americans to show that these ancient people would be classified as Black by present American standards, they too have taken to juxtaposing pictures of ancient Egyptians to show that they would be classified as Egyptians by today’s standards. While interesting to look at, this is not proof of descent, not for African Americans and not for current-day Egyptians.

On both sides, we should acknowledge that many changes have taken place on earth since the ancient days. While it is obvious that the original Egyptians were Black as we know it today that does not exclude any other people from greatness. Many of those dark skinned people continue to live in the region where you find most of the ancient Egyptian monuments in Luxor and Aswan along with many other Ṣaʿāyada (people of Upper Egypt), who all Egyptians identify as sumr (dark skinned). Why neo-nationalist Egyptians ignore them is indicative of their racism and colonial mindset. They are blinded by the metropolitan north which is dominated by descendants of Central Asians, Greeks, Anatolians, Circassians, and other people of European descent including the French and Germans, that they don’t even realize the dark skinned people that dominate the south of the country where the markers of ancient Egyptian civilization are found. But most Egyptians care nothing about ancient Egypt until foreigners show an interest in it.

No Protests Against European Egyptologists

Why don’t Egyptian neo-nationalists oppose European Egyptologists? They have done more damage than Afrocentrists ever have. In fact, Afrocentrists pose no threat to Egyptian society despite their fiery rhetoric. Yet, white Americans and Europeans are the only groups who have a proven track record of attacking Egypt and distorting its historical narrative under the guise of research. Not only did the French and British colonize Egypt, and the U.S. continues to influence its politics, but they stole artifacts, introduced the question of the ancient Egyptians’ race, and interfered in Egyptian politics, society, and media. Not only that, but it was the West who took the civilization away from Egypt and labeled it “world heritage,” effectively handing their history and artifacts over to the “world,” which just happens to be located in Western countries.

The debate over the race of the ancient Egyptians was started by European orientalists, who founded the field of Egyptology with the intention of barring indigenous scholarship and participation in it. But there are no hashtags and strong words from media personalities for them. The “red line” they draw supposedly at the tampering with Egyptian history is only for the imaginary threat of Black Americans and not the real threat of White Westerners. The neo-nationalist Egyptians should thank Africans and African Americans trained in the West like Carter G. Woodson, Cheikh Anta Diop, George G.M. James, Ivan van Sertima, and John Henrik Clarke among others, who loosened the grip of White colonialists on the narrative of ancient Egypt. In addition, it was the movie Black Panther that sparked the recent sentiment of returning antiquities to their countries of origin. This is an Afrocentric sentiment that Egyptians are tangibly benefiting from. If ancient Egypt is indeed world heritage, then scholars of all backgrounds with the interest and necessary qualifications should be able to contribute to the scholarship of that heritage.

Concluding Thoughts

One of the major accomplishments of the Afrocentric movement was that they dispelled the myth of colonizing European Egyptologists who spread the lie that the ancient Egyptians were “white” like them. I don’t know a single African American or other ethnicity from America for that fact who does not believe that the ancient Egyptians were dark skinned African people. Does Ahmad Youness and his cadre seek to disinvite all foreigners who hold these views regardless of race? Or is this ban exclusively for African Americans? I have lived in Egypt six years and met Egyptians who believe that the ancient Egyptians were Black Africans as well. Do they also think those Egyptians should be expelled? If so, when does the madness end?

Plus, who gave these people the authority to say who is and is not welcome in Egypt? They are not government officials or even intellectuals. They do not speak for the majority of Egyptians who have no idea what Afrocentrism is and more than likely do not care. Kevin Hart’s coming to Egypt would stimulate a depressed economy, which is suffering greatly now. It will also bring joy to a depressed people. Who are these protesters who care nothing about the poor condition of their country and their people? Tourists of all types, including African Americans, stimulate the Egyptian economy every year by taking tours throughout the country. What these protesters want to do effectively is deprive their country of this essential income for their economy. What did not make the headlines was the cancellation of the annual Afrocentric conference that takes place in Luxor. We can presume that it was at the behest of the same neo-nationalists. Baba James Small alerted me to this earlier in the year and I thought it was a bit uncharacteristic of the Egyptian tourist industry, which jumps at just about any and every opportunity to make a dollar. It is clear that Afrocentrism has benefited Egyptians financially and intellectually, more than it has harmed them. If only its detractors would research the matter more seriously.

What I see as vital to resolving the issues between my Afrocentric and Egyptian brethren is opening the lines of communication and the venues for dialogue. From my readings of contemporary Egyptian scholars like Okasha El Daly and Nadim al-Sayyar, as well as classical Arabic scholarship on ancient Egypt, I feel like the two sides have more in common than they might think. Currently, the exchange is almost all hostile and emotionally charged based on their own cultural sensitivities. But if a few level heads came together to discuss things on an intellectual level I am sure we will learn a lot from each other. If there is anyone out there interested in such an exchange please let me know. Until then, enjoy the Kevin Hart show.

Is God the Universe?

Posted on December 15, 2022 by Maurice Hines

It has become popular to refer to God as the Universe in recent years but few know that this practice is rooted in ancient philosophical debates over ḥulūl (pantheism) and the eternity of the universe. Sabians generally argued that the universe was eternal and thus equal to God. Because of this, they accepted the concept of pantheism, i.e. that God can be found within His creation as celestial bodies, inanimate objects, living things, a man or mankind in general, etc. On the other hand, Hanifs argued that eternity was an attribute of God alone and thus the universe was not eternal but a creation of God. As a consequence of this thinking, God was an entirely different genus from His creation and this, among other qualities, made Him worthy of worship.

While these debates are not prominent in popular contemporary discourse , they nonetheless influence much of our thinking, knowingly or unknowingly. Therefore, every time we hear someone praising the universe, we are hearing the residuals of Sabian thought echoing in the current day. While some might see these debates as benign or akin to splitting hairs, they most definitely have metaphysical, if not physical consequences on the masses past, present, and future. In this post, I will present the ancient debate and identify strains of Sabian thought in the modern day.

Al-Ghazālī vs. the Muslim Sabians

In the 11th century, Abū Ḥāmid al-Ghazālī penned his landmark work, Tahāfut al-Falāsifa (often translated as The Incoherence of the Philosophers). While the work is pivotal to Islamic theological debates as well as the intellectual history of philosophy from the ancient world to modern times, it is also relevant to the study of Sabian thought. Moreover, it allows us to understand the fallacies of Sabian thought from a Muslim perspective as well as how to recognize them and refute them in our times. He noticed a trend among the Muslim intellectuals of his day who, upon studying the works of the ancient Greeks, would adopt their philosophies uncritically. This meant that they embraced the belief of the eternity of the universe, which led to other blasphemous ideas such as the weakness of God, the possibility of two deities, and the purposelessness of existence.

In addition to this mistake having detrimental effects on the personal faith of these Muslim philosophers, they would also submerge Muslim civilization in the same theological turmoil that the Naṣārā (Christians) suffered. If we recall from Islam and the Mystery Schools Part 10, the Naṣārā of the Roman Empire, Persia, and beyond were plunged into the philosophical debates of the Mystery Schools i.e. Sabians. Although they won debates about the supremacy of the prophet of their time (i.e. Jesus Christ/ʿĪsā), they compromised on the topic of ḥulūl or pantheism, with the caveat that only Christ occupies the position of God to the exclusion of others in His Creation. In the Muslim Ummah, the likes of al-Farābī and Ibn Sīnā would spearhead this dangerous slip into Sabian philosophy. To others, it was Ibn ʿArabī’s concept of waḥdat al-wujūd (the unity of existence). Wherever the concept was raised it was refuted.

We should understand that al-Ghazālī did not categorically refute the knowledge of the Sabian philosophers. Rather he enumerated 20 points in which the philosophers went wrong and jeopardized their metaphysical futures. While seemingly benign, al-Ghazālī is serious about the magnitude of these mistakes. As I read his words, I cannot help but see some similitude to our current situation. Here, I will turn to al-Ghazālī’s criticisms that are related to the nature of the universe.

Ancient Sabian philosophers argued that it was impossible that a temporal creation emanate from an intemporal creator, i.e., that a finite universe proceed from an eternal God. Instead, they argued that the universe always existed or always had the potential to exist. So, if the universe came into existence at a particular point in time, then why? In their line of questioning, they asked: Was God incapable of bringing the world into existence before this point, thus changing from weakness to power or impossibility to possibility or futility to purpose? They contended that if God was All-Powerful and All-Knowing, then all the conditions were met to bring the universe into existence prior to its existence. So, there must have been some catalyst or cause to bring it into existence.

Al-Ghazālī responds to this conundrum by stating that the creation of the universe at the point that it came into existence was part of God’s eternal will and essentially that God sees the big picture and man does not and cannot. Man might ascribe perceived changes in God’s will to some sort of flaw based on man’s experience and dispositions but these experiences and dispositions do not apply to God. Therefore, the burden of proof is on the philosopher to demonstrate that the creation of the universe was not God’s will. (Ghazālī, 1963, 14-19) Indeed the entire debate is God’s will. We only need to choose the side on which we stand.

Malachi Z. York (leader of the Nuwaubians)

Sabians in the Modern Day

If we turn our attention to the current American metaphysical landscape, we find that our communities are infested with Sabian “manifestations” (or perhaps man-infestations). The New Age movements, Black conscious community, and woke culture represent Sabian thought in our day. Movements such as the Nation of Islam and the Five Percenters have adopted the concept of hulūl, when they deem the Black man as God. The Nuwaubians, with their multifarious deifications of Malachi York have done the same. Some Afrocentric Egyptophiles are also guilty of this in their claims that the Black woman is God, while also postulating their pseudo-intellectual arguments for the existence of multiple gods in the form of ancestors.

Even though modern-day Sabians often pose their questions as intellectual speculation, their intent is mostly mockery of God and His prophets with the aim of leading people to confusion and disbelief in God. Their speculation into the nature of God and the universe is not aimed at a higher Truth but confusion. You will barely find one who can understand the ancient arguments of the Sabians, let alone debate an intelligent Hanif. Their solution is to embrace a multitude of beliefs because in reality they do not believe in anything.

Though modern-day Sabians go by many names, they all have similar traits, like the veneration of the creation over the Creator. Equating the universe to God is tantamount to denying God because it omits the initial Cause and opens up the gates of pantheism, which allows creation to be regarded as God or part of God. These ideas were accepted by the ancient Sabians but opposed by the Hanifs, whose strongest proponents were the Muslims. Yet, within the ranks of the Muslim world these ideas would need to be refuted when they gained traction in its societies. But few among the Muslims are debating these ideas in our times. Even among the droves of Muslim students of knowledge, who study ʿaqīda, kalām, the works of al-Ghazālī, and Muslim philosophers, we have not raised conscious minds who understand the Sabian-Hanif dichotomy and can construct strong rebuttals of the modern Sabians. Rene Guenon (Abd al-Wahid Yahya) was perhaps one of the last to champion Traditional (Hanif) religion over the aberrations of the Spiritualists (Sabians) of his time. I call on my Hanif brethren among the Muslims and the People of the Book to stand up to the Sabian confusion of the current day with knowledge and grace by which we can restore the order of the universe to its proper place.

Reference

Ghazālī, Abu Hamid. Al-Ghazali’s Tahāfut al-Falāsifah: Incoherence of the Philosophers. Translated by Sabih Ahmad Kamali, Pakistan Philosophical Congress, 1963. lib.aucegypt.edu Library Catalog, https://www.ghazali.org/books/tf/index.htm.

Islam and the Ancient Mystery Schools Part 12

Posted on September 1, 2022 by Maurice Hines

I would like to return to my original thesis that was sparked by George G.M. James’ Stolen Legacy several years ago (see Islam and the Ancient Mysteries Part 1and Part 2). Although this thesis has undergone modifications since I began my research, the premise has remained the same. In the midst of this series I have found that the word Ṣābi’a is the general term in Arabic for the Ancient Mystery Schools, while theorizing that other terms such as Naṣārā and Chaldean refer to the leaders of temporal and geographic Mystery Schools. In the following post, I will summarize my theory and trace the genealogy of Sabian/Mystery School thought to this day.

Islam and the Revival of the Ancient Mysteries

The Sabians mentioned throughout classical Arabic literature are what the Greeks called the Mysteries. Like the Jews and Christians before them, the Muslims wrestled with the perceived harms and benefits of Sabian thought. On the one hand, the scriptures of the Abrahamic traditions were deeply critical of the theological distortions in Sabian doctrine. Abrahamic doctrines and rituals were in response to the beliefs and practices of the Sabians, which opened up the gates of polytheism among the unlearned laymen. On the other hand, the Sabians had benefited the world by their advances in other areas of human knowledge. The Abbasid Caliphate, like Eastern Christianity, came to terms with the knowledge produced by the Sabians. However, the Muslims strived not to take the road of the Christians, whose doctrine ultimately succumbed to the philosophical influences of the Sabians.

What we witness from the 9th to 11th century in the Islamic world with the codification of both traditional religious knowledge as well as the translation of ancient empirical and occult texts, is a race to retain knowledge of the Prophet Muhammad, while also reviving the knowledge of the Sabians (i.e. the Mystery Schools). The Islamic empire and its scholars sought to uphold the Abrahamic doctrine in the face of Sabian doctrine by calling people to Islam and granting protection (i.e. dhimmi status) to the People of the Book, i.e. Jews and Christians. At the same time, they were vehemently opposed to the polytheistic elements of Sabian thought.

Statue of Averroes (Ibn Rushd) in Córdoba, Spain

As such, the Muslims had revived the Mystery Schools under the Abrahamic creed of Islam. This, however, was not without its conflicts. As certain groups of Muslims had the tendency to slip back into the beliefs of the Sabians, such as:

The Khawārij, who embraced the Stoic (Mystery School) concept of perfection and sinlessness as a sign of righteousness.
The Muʿtazilites would later stress the primacy of reason over revelation, which placed the philosopher sage on level with and sometimes over the prophets and rekindle the notion that human beings attain prophethood through their own efforts and merits rather than the grace and ordinance of God.
Al-Ghazālī’s criticism of the Muslim philosophers (primarily Ibn Sīnā) in his Incoherence of the Philosophers, identifies certain ancient beliefs held by these philosophers, which he believes led them to apostasy. This, while maintaining the utility of ancient Sabian empirical knowledge.
Ibn Rushd (Averroes) would later take issue with al-Ghazālī’s conclusions, claiming that the “craft of ḥikma” (wisdom/ancient knowledge) needed to be passed down like any other craft.

Ibn Rushd’s defense of Sabian philosophy would be rejected or ignored by the greater Muslim world, but the means by which Sabian knowledge would gain interest and popularity in Western Europe.

Modern Day Mysteries

In the last few centuries, Western civilization has become the battleground between Abrahamic and Sabian thought since the so-called European Renaissance. As such, Renè Guenon considered the beginning of the West’s decline to be Renè Descartes’ hyper-skepticism. Even as the West was philosophizing itself out of the Abrahamic tradition, it was making a dash for Eastern empirical and esoteric knowledge, which they harbored in their secret societies. This would lead to the separation of religion from science, politics, sociology, and the many other sciences needed for human civilization.

In the 20th century, Western philosophy and esotericism trickled down to the populace by way of clandestine organizations, theosophy, and counterculture movements. In no place were these ideas more prevalent than in the United States. As a result, we witness Sabian thought proliferate in the society everyday. More specifically, Sabian thought has entered African American communities through such groups as the Moorish Science Temple, the Nation of Islam, the Five Percenters, Nuwaubians, and Afrocentrists. All of these groups have explicitly or implicitly embraced the erroneous notion that they can reconstruct the Mystery Schools. I understand that this is a bold claim, but I will show the parallels between their theosophies and ancient Sabian thought. I will argue that they based their movements on incomplete knowledge of the ancient Mysteries because they did not received their knowledge through an unbroken chain of living teachers. This knowledge of the Mysteries/Sabians has been filtered by the Abrahamic faiths, primarily Islam in the current day, and cannot be accessed except through these traditional channels.

The Truth of Translation: The Sunni – Moorish Debate

Posted on April 21, 2022 by Maurice Hines

On Apr 19, 2022, a livestream debate between the Baltimore-based Moorish Science Temple representative, Taharka Bey, and the D.C. area-based Sunni Muslim, Tariq Ibn Jamil, was posted to the Moorish World Tv YouTube channel. The stated topic was “Can the Qur’an be translated?” With Tariq arguing the affirmative and Taharka arguing the negative. I find in this debate many teachable moments in terms of Islamic literacy, linguistics, the rules of engagement with regards to intellectual debate, and simple logic.

After hearing both sides of the core debate (there are many tangential debates), I will have to say that Taharka Bey is the victor for reasons that I will explore in this post.

Taharka Bey’s Argument

Taharka’s presentation of his position was stronger due to some key strategies that are align with sound scholarship and argumentation, which I will enumerate below. I will also point out flaws in his argument and gaps in his knowledge.

1) He argued the majority opinion.

The common position of Muslims is that the Qur’an is inimitable and it cannot be precisely translated, only explained through the lens of a combination of auxiliary sciences, not the least of which is Arabic linguistics. Arguing the majority opinion has its benefits in a debate. It makes supporting evidence easier to access and counterarguments easier to make because predecessors have already done the work.

2) He had a logical sequence.

Taharka has a clear logic. He begins by stating his premise, which is that in the “Common Tradition:”

Any translation of the Quran will be termed inauthentic if it goes against the established hadith (sayings and actions) of the Prophet and against the understandings of the companions of the Prophet.
45:00

According to the epistemology of Black Orientalists, transmitted reports are not valid evidence of a fact, which is diametrically opposed to the underlying epistemology of hadith science. Orientalists often use this as the first mode of attack, because in the modern age, oral transmissions are no longer perceived as valid. They prefer written evidence and documentation.

He uses this premise to make a number of points, before moving on to his next point:

In order to extrapolate the meaning of a particular Quranic verse, Muslims rely on exegesis, or commentary rather than a direct translation of the text.
49:00

He then makes a distinction between exegesis/commentary and translation. For instance, he takes a number of different English translations of a verse that uses the word taqwā to demonstrate that the various translators are making an exegesis of the word, because there is no direct equivalent in English.

2) He used substantial evidence that was relevant to the argument he was attempting to make.

Taharka’s used a mixture of primary and secondary source evidence. The examples of Qur’anic words without easy English equivalents were clear and plentiful (primary). Then he used statements from experts on the subject to back up his point (secondary). Taharka even cited an academic journal article, whose main author was a Libyan linguist who looks like an African American. The article can be found here: http://www.ijssh.net/papers/178-A10061.pdf.

He made a good point when he said that knowledge of linguistics is a prerequisite for translation (1:01:00). Unfortunately, not all translators have this background. Reading knowledge of a language alone does not always suffice for translation. Linguistics often gives the translator a bird’s eye view of how the two different languages function.

For more reading on this topic, you might want to read Ethico-Religious Concepts in the Qurʹān by the Japanese scholar Toshihiko Izutsu. He was not a Muslim, but his work is respected in the Muslim world due to his ontological approach to Qur’anic ethical terminology.

Critiques of Taharka Bey

1) He began his argument on a faulty premise.

Taharka’s first premise, whose source he begged the audience not to ask about, though logical, is faulty because it is simply not true. While hadith and the understandings of the companions can contribute to the understanding of the Qur’an, they are not the primary determinants of a valid translation. For instance, the Shi’ah have different standards of hadith and do not accept the understandings of all the companions, but this does not render their translations of the Qur’an invalid. What renders a translation invalid is if it is not consistent with the original language and apparent meaning of the Qur’an.

However, I understand that the epistemology of Western Orientalism (in this case Black Orientalism) does not accept orally transmitted reports as valid evidence of a fact. Although this was the epistemology of the ancient world. They often claim to prefer written reports (“receipts” if you will). However, they do not acknowledge that they too accept oral transmission of information, as evidenced by the fact that they are engaging in a live oral debate rather than an exchange of written publications.

Also, when Tariq was showing a number of books to say that a translator needed to study a number of subjects to produce a translation, I noticed a few comments in the chat:

Showing off books is a weird way to prove a point. You should be able to recite and orate the contents of the books without referencing them. This guy only knows how to recite stories
ALL BOOKS ARE MAN MADE AND CAN BE TRANSLATED BY MAN WOMAN AND CHILD

Black Orientalists still have reservations about the written word despite their rhetoric about wanting “receipts” and written documents.

2) He relied on a few straw man arguments.

A straw man argument is a fallacy many debaters fall into when constructing arguments agains their opponents. Taharka’s first premise was a prime example of this. It was as if he propped up a dummy to beat up on to show that he is tough. Of course, we know dummies don’t hit back.

He also used a straw man argument on his point about the translation of the term maqām as “shrine” in surat al-Baqarah: 125. He used the most strict (Salafi) interpretation of Muhsin Khan’s Noble Qur’an to establish that the word “shrine” is a mistranslation. Khan translates it as “stone on which Ibrāhim (Abraham) stood.” However, this is an argument over semantics and what people understand when they hear a word in a particular language. It is possible that “shrine” is the most appropriate equivalence for the word maqām as understood by Arabic speakers. But the issue is that Taharka assumes that Muhsin Khan has the correct opinion with regard to Muslims creating shrines (which in the context of the verse is an anachronism because it is referring to Abraham, who predates historical Islam). This causes Taharka not to question Muhsin Khan’s word choice, which might be influenced by his Salafi ideology, or his understanding of the word shrine, which some English speakers might associate with pagan worship.

To further drive home my point, he used the example of the word kāfir to say that words have “implied meaning” (as do all words in any language) and an exegesis is needed to reveal its connotations (1:00:00). I would argue that the English language has a single equivalent to the word kāfir in the word “infidel.” The root k-f-r (ك – ف – ر) has a connotation to ingratitude, betrayal, and infidelity as evidenced in other the Qur’anic verses (see surat al-Isrā: 27 and surat Ibrāhīm: 7). However, modern translators avoid the word “infidel” because they are aware that it carries negative connotations in the English-speaking world, even though it might be loyal to the Arabic meaning (no pun intended). The avoidance of the term demonstrates my point about semantics, mental associations, and ideology.

3) He differentiated between exegesis (commentary) and translation.

This point is a matter of personal opinion, but one that is backed up by some scholars of translation theory. I believe that translation is a type of commentary. A translation should not simply be reduced to an exchange of words in one language to another. A translator looks at more than just the lexical meanings of words. A good translator is looking at the overall effect of the work. While I understand the distinction Taharka is trying to make, I simply do not agree.

SUNNI’S Al ISLAM vs. MOORISH SCIENCE’S ISLAMISM
Tariq Ibn Jamil vs. Taharka Bey

Tariq ibn Jamil’s Argument

As for our friend, Tariq, there are a few reasons as to why he lost the debate.

1) His presentation was not compelling.

Quite frankly, I think he bored the listeners because his points were not easy to follow. He was also very cerebral and soft-spoken. Furthermore, he interspersed his speech with too much Arabic terminology and quotations of Arabic passages. This shows a disregard for his audience, who primarily do not speak Arabic.

Moreover, his approach resembled that of a traditional Muslim scholar rather than a “hotep” debate. In these types of venues, a Muslim cannot appear to be too academic, because in the minds of the audience he will be acting “too white.” Likewise, if his approach is too “traditionally Muslim,” then he would be deemed “too Arab.” These are unfortunate facts.

2) He attempted to argue a minority opinion.

Those who argue a minority or unpopular opinion have an uphill battle. Not only are they less likely to have a wealth of supporting evidence, but their arguments and primary sources must be overwhelmingly convincing.

Tariq presented his argument in the form of a rare narrative gathered from an uncited Sunni tradition. His focus was on a translation of the Qur’an officiated by Salmān al-Farsī. By this, he demonstrated that it “can” be translated and it “was,” but his evidence was not strong enough to show that his translation was a complete or quality translation.

First of all, the story of Salmān al-Farsī’s translation of the Qur’an into Persian is not common knowledge, even among Muslims. So he has the added task of proving the existence of this translation. Otherwise, the listener will need to take his word for it. But even if he could produce this early Persian translation of the Qur’an (which I do not believe is extant), his audience would not have the tools to determine its accuracy, because the majority of the audience does not read Persian or Arabic.

Although I would not have taken his approach, Tariq could have emphasized more the fact that Salmān al-Farsī was not an Arab, but a Persian; although most Americans probably cannot differentiate between the two. A historical approach does not usually hold up in a debate unless it is backed up with a clear purpose and sound logic.

3) He entered a lot of unclear and irrelevant information.

The many details of Salmān al-Farsī’s story, the showing of books, and preachy statements were not relevant to his argument.Therefore, he lost momentum and wasted a lot of time speaking on the contours of his argument but making very few points.

Additionally, I don’t think the points he did make were clear to the audience. He could have devoted more time to discussing how vital the various subjects he mentioned in the books he displayed were to translating the Qur’an. Yet, he should have had a better selection of books because those that he presented were mostly not pivotal works in the fields he was referring to. However, the true scope of these fields would have required much more than 30 minutes.

Finally, there was also a woman (I’m assuming) named, Amutalha Abdul Rahman, who sought to aid Tariq’s argument, but it was not coherent. What I understood from it was that the Tafsir of Ibn Kathīr (mistakenly wrote Ibn Khair) had an AEU seal of authenticity. These things needed to be explained exactly how it contributes to the argument.

Concluding Remarks

As we can clearly see, there is a lot to learn from this debate. However, one thing lingered in my mind throughout. Why were they debating such a pointless topic? The answer to the debaters’ central question: Can the Qur’an be translated? is an emphatic yes. There have been multiple attempts at translating the Qur’an in various languages. Each attempt could be placed on a scale of subjectivity to just how loyal the translation is to the Arabic original. However, they could have asked a better question.

Orientalism in Black Face

Posted on October 3, 2021 by Maurice Hines

Scholarship is about debate and the free exchange of ideas. So in order to keep scholarship alive in Black communities, the channels of debate must remain open. However, these debates must respect knowledge and the means for acquiring it. Too often, in the so-called conscious community, debates ensue with a lack of regard for knowledge. One particular debate that offended my sensibilities not only as an African American Muslim, but also a linguist and information specialist, was one in which the the musician, author, and conscious debater, Shakka Ahmose attempted to prove that Allah was a deity worshiped along with other deities in ancient Sumer. He based this conclusion on his “groundbreaking” research using a book of Sumerian poetry translated by Thorkild Jacobsen, an acclaimed Assyriologist. At face value, he appears to have stumbled on some serious information that requires a well-crafted response from Muslims. But upon closer evaluation, we find that his information was veiled in tricknowledge, as I will demonstrate momentarily.

The first red flag was that, in Jacobsen’s book, the author transliterates the deity’s name as Alla, not Allah. However, Mr. Ahmose, who supposedly studied the ancient Egyptian language, could not see the gaping hole in his logic. Just because two words from two different languages look the same when transliterated into English, does not mean they are the same word or have the same meaning. For example, the name of the ancient Egyptian being, Thot (an Anglicized bastardization of ḏḥwty), has absolutely no relation to the word thought in English, despite the fact that they are pronounced similarly. Likewise, the name of the country, Turkey, has no relation to the word turkey in English. Unfortunately, there is a bad habit among conscious psuedo-scholars finding cognates between words that have no relation to each other.

Secondly, these languages have sounds in their respective languages that do not have equivalents in the English language. So when I see a word transliterated in English I cannot ascertain whether it is a voiced pharyngeal fricative or glottal stop without the aid of a standard transliteration system. Moreover, Thorkild Jacobsen, a bona fides linguist, never made the claim that there was some relation between this Sumerian deity and Allah of Arabia. Even if they were the same sounds, the concept of Allah put forth in the Qur’an and held by Muslims throughout history, negates any latent notions of the existence of other deities.

Anyway, I decided to look into this theory and apply a lateral reading technique to get to the bottom of this. I did a simple Google search for “alla sumerian god.” As usual, the first thing I saw was a Wikipedia page titled “List of Mesopotamian deities,” but there was no mention of “Alla.” Further down on the results list, you can find a blog post entitled, “Was Allah Originally a Babylonian ‘God’ of Violence?” written by an elderly convert to Judaism from Cuba. He refers to Muslims and Christians disparagingly in his posts, but the reason for his disdain is not clear other than the fact that he is Jewish. Nevertheless, this author reiterates a theory proposed on Shoebet.com, another misinformation site backed by Zionist Jews. On this site, Theodore Shoebet authored an article called “The Oldest Reference to Allah,” in which he cites a work by a true scholar of Mesopotamian history, but he misspells the word in question and bases his theory on this “mistake.” This reveals that in the typical fashion of internet misinformers, their ideas are not based on primary research, but a repackaging of others’ erroneous ideas.

Jean-François Champollion. Thoout, Thoth Deux Fois Grand, Le Second Hermés. 1823. 29 cm. Brooklyn Museum. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoth#/media/File:Thoout,_Thoth_Deux_fois_Grand,_le_Second_Herm%C3%A9s,_N372.2A.jpg.

The source in question was by Stephanie M. Dalley, an Oxford professor of the ancient Near East, who published her English translation of the Epic of Atrahasis in 1989. On page 10, Dalley translates the passage: “Then Alia made his voice heard…” Shoebet corrupted her translation by writing, “Then Alla made his voice heard…” To the dyslexic eye, the letter “i” following the first “l” can easily be mistaken for another “l.” However, Alia is clearly a different word from Alla or Allah. If this was an honest mistake, then Mr. Shoebet’s reading skills need to be questioned along with whoever shared his information. If this was a deliberate distortion, then the Qur’an has already warned the believers about those among the Jews who distort words from their places (Qur’an 4:46).

In the case of Mr. Ahmose, he was clearly being deceptive. As we can see, he searched “AlIa”(with a capital i) in his Google book, with hopes that the viewer would not be able to make it out on the video or search for it himself. What is more interesting, perhaps, is the implications of a so-called conscious Black man using misinformation, theories, and – dare I say – tactics from White Jews and Orientalists to combat the spread of Islam in Black communities. Mr. Ahmose can be seen in other videos and debates plagiarizing the since-debunked theories of John Wansbrough, Patricia Crone, and the like, which posit that the Qur’an and Islam did not originate in Arabia. On the other hand, Black Muslims have been baffled for years as to why many in the conscious circles, particularly Kemetans, have criticized Black Muslims so harshly and effectively ousted them from the conscious community altogether when they are supposed to be brothers in race and in struggle. Could it be that they have made an alliance with Zionists and other Islamophobes to marginalize Muslims in the Black community? Or are they so subsumed with anti-Muslim prejudice that it clouds their judgement to view the facts? The world may never know…

	The Death of Black C… on Sabian Mumbo Jumbo: Ishmael Re…
	sakmishaq on The Death of Black Consciousne…
	The Death of Black C… on From Darkness to “Poligh…
	Idris on The Myth of “Arabized Is…
	Brian MacDonald on Islam and the Ancient Mysterie…

	The Death of Black C… on Sabian Mumbo Jumbo: Ishmael Re…
	sakmishaq on The Death of Black Consciousne…
	The Death of Black C… on From Darkness to “Poligh…
	Idris on The Myth of “Arabized Is…
	Brian MacDonald on Islam and the Ancient Mysterie…

The Maurchives

A deeper look into time.

Tag Archives: Afrocentrism

Thoughts On Sudan (Part 1): The Pro-Black Deception

The Pro-Black Deception

Race & Ethnicity in Sudan

Conclusion

Restoring the Ruins of Afrocentric Thought: A Rebuttal to Anthony Browder’s 5 Patterns of Historical Erasure

Rebuttal of #1 The Name Change Pattern

Rebuttal of #3 The Religious Theft Pattern

Rebuttal of #4 The Systematic Burial Pattern

Rebuttal to #5 The Compartmentalization Pattern

Rebuttal to “Why Primary Evidence Matters More Than Textbooks”

Conclusion

The Death of Black Consciousness: “Sinners” and the Rise of Hedonistic Afro-Fetishism

Black Hedonism

Afro-Fetishism

Domestication

Conclusion

X Marks the Spot: Malcolm X, the Bridge Between Sabians and Hanifs

From Darkness to “Polight”: A Prospectus on Sabianism and Ritual Sacrifice

Occult Sacrifice: A Brief History

Nationalism in the Nile: Egyptians, Afrocentrism, and Kevin Hart

The Egyptian Neo-Nationalists Behind the Posts

Ahmad Youness

Egyptian History Defenders

No Protests Against European Egyptologists

Concluding Thoughts

Is God the Universe?

Al-Ghazālī vs. the Muslim Sabians

Sabians in the Modern Day

Islam and the Ancient Mystery Schools Part 12

Islam and the Revival of the Ancient Mysteries

Modern Day Mysteries

The Truth of Translation: The Sunni – Moorish Debate

Taharka Bey’s Argument

Critiques of Taharka Bey

Tariq ibn Jamil’s Argument

Concluding Remarks

Orientalism in Black Face