“It’s going to get worse before it gets better…every week some prominent Muslim leader is saying something dumb about black people…tensions are boiling and people are getting angrier.”
“It’s going to get worse before it gets better…every week some prominent Muslim leader is saying something dumb about black people…tensions are boiling and people are getting angrier.”
A project in the making since 2019, TMV Chief Editor Salim Kassam has teamed up with comedian and activist Nabil Abdulrashid to create a new podcast series called I Am Not Your Bilal, which explores and discusses the Black Muslim experience.
On this week’s podcast, Salim and Nabil discuss the Black Lives Matter movement and why Muslims are just as much as fault as white supremacists when it comes to racism.
To listen to the full podcast, click below:
To watch the podcast click below, or follow the series on YouTube:
Explaining that while many have good intentions when joining in the protests around Black Lives Matter, Nabil goes further to question the depth of sincerity for the many Muslims who have recently posted or tweeted about BLM – many have failed to see or recognize their own racism or the blatant racism within Muslim communities.
Anti-blackness is not just an American issue, Nabil explains, and goes into detail about the long-standing anti-black racism that is so prominent in Muslim countries and communities today. Pre-dating colonialism, it does not suffice to simply blame ‘the white man’ – racism goes back to the time of even the Prophet Muhammad.
Racism, and anti-blackness within the Muslim community, is something that is conveniently glossed over or ignored during the conversations around Black Lives Matter – and is something that needs to change.
It’s going to get worse before it gets better…every week some prominent Muslim leader is saying something dumb about black people…tensions are boiling and people are getting angrier.”
Nabil also goes into detail about how much of Black culture, or what is perceived to be Black culture, is loved and copied by many – while at the same time anti-blackness is used in the Muslim community to keep up racial barriers. From a love of rap to the racism towards people of darker complexion, the hypocrisy of many Muslims today in the West showcases just how deeply embedded anti-black racism is within the Muslim community.
When fighting for equal rights and understanding truly what Black Lives Matter means, Nabil reiterates that non-black Muslims cannot pick and choose what ‘black culture’ to love while criminalizing aspects of Black lives.
If you love us, love us as human beings and not as commodities.”
In regards to the current Black Lives Matter movement, many have attempted to delegitimize or belittle the seriousness of systematic racism by focusing on the ‘violence’ or ‘rioting’ that is happening during the protests. Nabil rightfully, and powerfully, explains that (putting aside the issue of labeling the protests as riots), Black people have all the right to be angry.
When the mere existence, when simply being Black in public can mean a death sentence, people have the right to be angry, frustrated, and empowered to change the status quo.
“Our lives do not matter [to society] and that is why we say Black Lives Matter,” Nabil explains.
To listen to the full podcast, click below:
