Islam and Blackness

by Jonathan A.C. Brown

Overview

It is commonly claimed that Islam is antiblack, even inherently bent on enslaving Black Africans. Western and African critics alike have contended that antiblack racism is in the faith’s very scriptural foundations and its traditions of law, spirituality, and theology. But what is the basis for this accusation?

Bestselling scholar Jonathan A.C. Brown examines Islamic scripture, law, Sufism, and history to comprehensively interrogate this claim and determine how and why it emerged. Locating its origins in conservative politics, modern Afrocentrism, and the old trope of Barbary enslavement, he explains how antiblackness arose in the Islamic world and became entangled with normative tradition. From the imagery of ‘blackened faces’ in the Quran to Shariah assessments of Black women as ‘undesirable’ and the assertion that Islam and Muslims are foreign to Africa, this work provides an in-depth study of the controversial knot that is Islam and Blackness, and identifies authoritative voices in Islam’s past that are crucial for combatting antiblack racism today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780861544851
Publisher:	Oneworld Publications
Publication date:	11/03/2022
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	416
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Jonathan A.C. Brown is Professor and Alwaleed bin Talal Chair of Islamic Civilization in the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. He is the author of Slavery & Islam, Misquoting Muhammad and Hadith: Muhammad’s Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World, all of which are published by Oneworld. He lives in Virginia.

Table of Contents

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xv

Date and Spelling Conventions xix

1 Introduction: Reading and Misreading 1

The Argument of This Book 3

The Virtues of Black Africans … Sudan, Habash, Zanj? 5

Blackness or blackness? The Question of Capitalization 10

Blackness in the Modern Muslim World 13

Antiblackness in the Modern Muslim World 15

Roots and Branches of Antiblackness 18

The Color Line in Other Times and Places 25

Misreading for Race and the Burdens of the Present 28

Guidance After Waywardness 35

2 The Background of Race and Racism 37

Race and Reality 38

Race and Racism: Origins and Modern Developments 41

Racialization, Religion, and Color 46

When is Something or Someone Racist? 50

Was Islamic Civilization Racist? 54

3 Blackness Contested 58

Blackness as Phenotype, White as the Norm 61

Blackness as Sin, Barbarism, and Filth 69

Black as Metaphor; Metaphor Shaping Reality 75

Blackness as a Political Condition 78

Blackness as Non-Being: Afropessimism 84

So What About Antiblackness and Islam? 90

4 The Western Narrative of Islam, Slavery, and Antiblackness 93

The Roots and Branches of Afrocentrism 95

The Problems with Afrocentrism and 'Arab-Islamic Slavery' 98

Enduring Templates: Moorish Bondage and the Arab Slave Trade 104

Gathering the Threads: Arab-Islamic Slavery and the Israel-Palestine Conflict 112

ISIS, Boko Haram, and the Narrative of Barbary Captivity 119

5 The Prophet, Arabia, and the Rise of Antiblackness 121

The Easy Answer 121

Black Crows: Why was Blackness Bad in Arabia? 123

Blackness in Body and Metaphor in Arabia 129

The Rise of Antiblackness, Part One: Black as Slave 133

The Rise of Antiblackness, Part Two: Black as Hypersexual, Black as Stupid, Black as Animal 141

6 Antiblackness in the Quran and Sunna? 146

Tyranny of the Present 146

Blackened and Whitened Faces in the Quran 148

The Forgery of Antiblack Hadiths 151

Raisin-Headed: The Question of Antiblack Racism in the Sunna, Part One 154

Two for One: The Question of Antiblack Racism in the Sunna, Part Two 163

7 Antiblackness, Sufism, and Veneration of the Prophet 170

Casual Antiblackness, or Black as Human? 172

The Prophet's Color and Black Muslims 179

Antiblackness and Insulting the Prophet 181

Black as Beautiful 184

8 Antiblackness in Maliki Marriage Law 187

The Conundrum of Custom 189

Desirability and Blackness in Maliki Law 193

9 What is the Point of the Law? Islamic Hierarchy or Islamic Egalitarianism 204

Justifying Hierarchy in Suitability (kafa'a) 206

Islamic Civilization and Natural Hierarchy 210

A Useful Analogy: Islamic Law and Caste in India 214

Egalitarianism Resurgent: Jahiliyya, Caste, and Tribalism 216

What is the Purpose of the Law? 223

10 Conclusion 229

Miscegenating Our Way Out 229

Can Discrimination Be Legitimate? 234

Appendices

Appendix I Antiblack Statements Attributed to Imam al-Shafi'i 241

Appendix II African Languages and Blackness - General 245

Appendix III Race, Blackness, and Language in the Sahel 249

Appendix IV Race and Blackness in the Horn of Africa 258

Appendix V Arab/Muslim Slavers in Film 260

Appendix VI The Curse of Ham in Islamic Sources 265

Appendix VII Islam and Caste in South Asia 269

Select Bibliography 275

Notes 307

Index 381

Editorial Reviews

10/17/2022

In this meticulous apologetic, Brown (Slavery and Islam), an Islamic studies professor at Georgetown University, defends Islam against charges that the faith, “either in its founding scriptures or its normative traditions of law, theology, and spirituality, is antiblack.” Contending that “antiblackness has been incidental, not essential” to Islam, Brown probes the historical context within which the faith developed to illuminate Muslim writings on Black African people. He notes that some premodern Islamic texts reflect the biases of the larger Mediterranean and Middle Eastern community against East African people, and that Islam’s deference to regional customs led to the perpetuation of regional prejudices. Brown’s nuanced analysis highlights more egalitarian strands of the faith as well, suggesting that the Quran promotes the equality of all humans before God and that Muhammad taught “that no race or tribe has any inherent value over another.” Brown wrestles with the difficulty of parsing the centuries-old writings of Muslim scholars in light of modern understandings of race, disentangling the ways in which Abbasid-era uses of “black” as a metaphor for sinfulness wouldn’t have transferred to uses of “black” as a phenotypical descriptor. Brown’s extensive scholarship on Muslim theological and legal thinkers is remarkable, and though the granular interpretations impress, their complexity and subtlety can make it hard to discern explanation from excuse. Deeply researched and carefully reasoned, this is sure to spark spirited debate. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

‘Written with awe-inspiring insight, erudition, and elegance, what I find most refreshing about this book is its unfailing honesty and bravery. Jonathan Brown’s treatment of this historically elusive topic is highly nuanced but eminently readable, and, at times, uncomfortably honest. Without a doubt, this is the most authoritative study written to date on the topic of Islam and Blackness.’

Khaled Abou El Fadl

‘A phenomenal book on race and antiblackness in the Islamic tradition. Dr. Brown builds on the long scholarly tradition of documenting the achievements of Black African Muslims in history and skillfully addresses accusations that Islam is an antiblack religion.’

Habeeb Akande

‘The question Brown seeks to answer is simple, “Is Islam antiblack?” His path to an answer, however, is a complex, meandering one through many historic, cultural, social, political and religious vistas. The result is a sensitive and nuanced distinguishing between lived reality and scriptural ideal... This engaging volume will prove to be a seminal work in this area of inquiry.’

Imam Zaid Shakir

‘As expansive in scope as it is accessible, this daring book invites readers to join a highly relevant and hotly contested conversation. Brown asks incisive questions and follows them with erudite, creative, and sometimes provocative answers. Bound to spark debate, Islam & Blackness is invaluable for anyone seeking to understand both premodern conceptions of race and current realities of antiblack racism in a global context.’

Elizabeth Urban