indigenization at the MSG camp

when my sister asked me if i wanted to go... i KNEW i wasn’t not going to get anything out of the lectures, but what the heck, at least i'd get to hang out with some texas friends or maybe i'd see some new young texas beauties and practice "lowering my gaze."... *O BOY WAS I WRONG!... no texan beauties... they had imports!! go NAFTA! i'm kidding... texans are beautiful, really. anyways, i took more notes at this camp then i have at any other. leaving little time for aesthetic analysis of nature. the ideas presented at the lectures were thought provoking. the thinking continued even in the breaks, moments for me to annoy those around me with any statement that didn’t make sense. i said it there and i'll say it again now:THESE SPEAKERS ARE INCITING A ...shut your mouth, the FBI is probably reading this! ... anyways, it was exciting to hear these ideas coming out of scholars in a position to influence other scholars. the speakers fed off of each others presentations, dr.mattson described the camp as having “synchronicity,” dr. abdullah said it was the best event like this he had EVER been to, i agree. in the end there was general feeling that we had elevated to another stage of consciousness, i sure felt it. Houston's MSG did every thing right and its members deserve praise, mashallah and jazaks... *the topics were not new... ISLAM IN AMERICA blah blah blah i’ll summarize 6 major topics i benefited from: and cuz i have way too much time’en, i’ll demonstrate my old school rhym’en... +CHRISTIAN UTOPIAN MOVEMENTS: yall know those bearded Quakers, but how about them celibate Shakers... dr.mattson spoke of lessons to learn, prove your loyalty or else you burn... - is there really a conflict between isolation and civilization? how long can a counter culture survive and what will happen to it if there is interaction with mainstream america? how long can you last without interaction? and what if you are perceived as a threat? just check out the failure of both american “Dar al Islam”s one a utopian dream, the other’s Imam Jamil in jail... +MUSLIM SLAVES: when dr.kahera speaks of the prominent muslim slaves, i look up at the projected black and white slide, its a face of a dignified muslim who escaped the cruelty of american slavery. dr.K is still silently looking towards his notes... we wait for him to continue, its an unusually long pause, he starts to speak and his voice breaks, he starts again and overcome with emotions... unable to continue his lecture, dr.K sits back down... the whole room is silent for a moment. my eyes tear up as i look at that image once more. may allah give us that much courage... +NOT ALL EARLY MUSLIMS WERE SLAVES alexander russell webb & THE IMPERATIVE OF CONFORMING TO BROAD SOCIAL AND CULTURAL NORMS: dr.umar abdallah definately lived up to the hype. an ability to bring life to forgotten moments in muslim history with examples that american muslims can use as lessons in this important time. he says we "indigenized" ourselves before (in China and Africa), we can definitely do it again, WE MUST! he also mentions that early immigrant muslims had started but the 1970’s influx of reformist islam saw the “folk” music and dance taking place in these early communities as haram and put a stop to it. he also encouraged the production of movies and historical fiction about these early muslim communities. ISLAM IS NOT FOREIGN!... +BLACK RELIGION, LIBERATION THEOLOGY AND IMMIGRANTS: dr.jackson helps us understand why "black american muslims" and immigrant muslims can't get along - we try to understand "black religion" and how the black american viewed "bourgeoisification" into "whiteness." he told us about the nation of islam "appropriating" elements of islam to make it a lack thing (non-foreign), and how elements of "whiteness" were appropriated to make it non-threatning to the average white american. and he mentioned that if there was no civil rights movement, immigrant muslims that now dominate wouldn’t be here... +CULTURAL PRODUCTION AND MUSLIM AESTHETICS: dr.K spoke about the “american mosque,” while dr.jackson told us about his opinion that american holidays may not be haram and that just because they are not haram does not mean we must celebrate them. his point being that scholars should know the difference between the usul/root and furu/branches and we need to allow for differences as we figure out how to live as minorities. we need to know the difference between the “descriptive” and the “prescriptive.” and we must encourage cultural production if we want to indigenize into this society. we discuss the notion of “ISLAMIC insert noun here” cuz traditionally there was no such thing. there was only the legal fiqh categories... +GENDER AND AUTHORITY IN ISLAMIC LEGAL DISCOURSE: wow. i wonder if ISNA knew what they were doing when they allowed dr.mattson to become a leader(VP) in one of our biggest muslim orgs. don’t let her small size fool you... she’s not gonna stand around and be a victim of a patriarchical muslim establishment. i hope the MAN don’t take her out before she has a chance to do some damage. she mentioned that islamic law traditionally deals with certain aspects of life and authority was not one of them (cuz you had patriarchy, the sultans, and a clear role of the ulema). but now we have democracy and decaying institutions... her message: WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TO TELL ME I CAN’T ENTER THIS MASJID... *there was also a civics lesson on our constitution and other lectures that went “beyond the rhetoric.” its good when a lecture leaves you wanting more... *the closing message of the camp: between ANNIHILATION and ASSIMILATION lies INDIGENIZATION... you know the seriousness and complexities now. so DO IT before its too late! ...hmm, sounds like the intellectual foundation is being laid for a clear vision...