From the Archives: Dr. M on Islam Needs a Martin Luther

Islam Needs a Martin Luther
By Dr. M

Revised 10/2/12

The Islamic world needs a Martin Luther, someone to usher in an Age of Reform that will radically alter some of the fundamental values of Islam that are retrograde, archaic, primitive and must be discarded into the dustbin of Muslim history so that Islam can regain its position as a culture of enlightenment rather than darkness.

At an Islamic Art Conference I attended this past weekend in Oakland, California, along with Muslims from around the world, there was discussion of how Islam has suppressed artists, calling Muslim art haram (religiously proscribed), shirk (associating partners with God) and other negative terms that essentially condemn Islamic art as evil.

When I addressed the audience, I noted that I am the “father of Islamic literature in America” by default because other Muslim writers were told to give up the art of writing by Elijah Muhammad, i.e., creative writing, but I (being hard to lead in the right direction but easy to led in the wrong direction) ignored the ban and thus my work continued throughout the years, although many of my Black Arts Movement comrades such as Sonia Sanchez, Askia Muhammad Toure and Amiri Baraka wrote Islamic inspired poetry and plays. But aside from poet Sam Hamad, my work stood alone until the Rap era.  Not only writers, but painters, musicians, dancers, singers and others were suppressed in the Nation of Islam. Even minister Farrakhan, a musician and singer, was made to give up his art. Of course there were many Muslim musicians influenced by Sunni, Sufi and Ahmedism who produced Islamic inspired art, e.g., Ahmed Jamal, John Coltrane, Dakota Stanton, Sun Ra, Pharaoh Sanders, et al.

But we know artists give visions and prophecy, thus when they are suppressed, the people walk in darkness as we see at the present moment with rampant emotionalism, fundamentalism, honor killings, suppression of the human rights of women, partner violence and sectarian mass murder. Even the so called revolutionary Arab Spring has been infiltrated by reactionary elements that would take Muslims back to the Stone Age or Ya'um Jahiliah, the so called days of ignorance before the advent of Prophet Muhammad pbuh.

In my remarks at the conference, I challenged the Muslim artists to be revolutionary and yes, disobedient — to hell with those who desire to suppress Muslim art, they are the backward ones, they are the evil ones and must be opposed by, yes, any means necessary.

So much that goes for Islam is ancient and primitive, really, not worthy of discussion in the modern world among people of intelligence. Elijah Muhammad used to say the wisdom of this world is exhausted, and this includes Islam. It must be revolutionized or thrown into the dustbin of ancient thought.

The Islamic revolution must, will and shall be led by Muslim artists with vision for a day when Islamic culture will be the vanguard of world culture, projecting the most positive and scientific aspects of the new millennium.

Islamic culture must come from behind the veil, or if anything, put the veil on men and let the women march forth as harbingers of the new world order. Contrary to what men think, women have been found to be the most advanced sector of society, intellectually and spiritually, so we would do well to listen to them for answers to the right path. 

Clearly, Muslim men are not on sirat al-mustaqim (“the straight path”). Over a billion people of Islamic faith are currently steeped in poverty, ignorance and disease, wallowing in political oppression of the most backward, Stalinist variety. And when the politicians are not oppressing, the mullahs and Imams do the same work, even to the point of following the Christians in the sexual exploitation of boys and girls in the madrases and elsewhere.

Let a Muslim Martin Luther step to the front of the line and represent the way of truth, freedom, justice and equality. Muslim collaborators with imperialism, colonialism, and all manner of retrograde religiosity and political oppression must be condemned. Islamic scholars whose theology is based on primitive laws, edicts, fatwas must be ostracized because their actions only add to the utter confusion and ignorance pervading the Muslim world. The brutal regime in Syria must be smashed along with the Stone Age Islam emanating from Saudi Arabia and Bahrain's suppression of its majority Shia Muslims.

Surely, the destruction the Tsunami brought to South Asia is a sign of Allah’s displeasure with the Muslim people, along with Christians, Hindus and others. If we continue down the path of primitive worship of myths and rituals, surely Allah has even greater destruction planned for those without eyes, ears, the deaf, dumb and blind. After Allah has blessed us with light, how can we yet walk in darkness? How can we possess “supreme wisdom” yet have nothing, behave as spiritual slaves to any storefront imam with a rote memory of Al-Quran?

Let a Martin Luther Muslim arise to destroy idols of ignorance and suppression of creativity. Yes, let everything praise Allah, from the flute to the lute, from the dancer to the poet. Let the Sufis whirl, let the Islamic rappers give us the Adhan to revolutionary Islam, beyond ignorant ritual and rote memory of Qur'an, blind and debased interpretation of Hadith and Sharia.

See Dr. M's Beyond Religion, toward Spirituality, Black Bird Press, Berkeley, 2007.