Turning to Islam: African-American conversion stories

Christian Century, July 12, 2003 by Rose-Marie Armstrong

Young black men seeking empowerment and self-determination are drawn to Islam despite the negative image projected by the extremists of 9/11. By living according to the precepts of Islam they counter white America's stereotype of black men as on drugs, out of work or in jail. A commitment to discipline and industry structures their lives; family and community become rewarding responsibilities; moral behavior is required; charity is a duty. Islam ordains, defines, clarifies and mandates. "It's a complete way of life," its followers like to point out--a way of life that bestows pride on a man and gives a woman security.

IF ISLAM IS A PATH not only to God but also to self-respect for young black men, what about black women? Do they feel complete in a religious institution that teaches deference to men and the priority of wifely duties, and that prescribes a dress code that may include a burka? A visit to Masjid Mohammad on Washington's New Jersey Avenue helps answer these questions. A happy camaraderie unites the women there, as it does the men. Over 125 men and some 100 women attended the Friday lunch and prayer service I attended. Visitors are welcome. Several women cuddle babies in their arms in a small anteroom at the back of the main hall, chatting and laughing softly. Others come through the back door and sit on the floor or on chairs. The men enter from another door, moving well to the front, standing, bowing, kneeling and praying. Women pray or chat in an atmosphere of community and acceptance.

A speaker gives a short talk on stress, hypertension among blacks, and the benefits of fasting. Sherifah Alaimeen Rafiq, a Sunni Muslim who works for the Muslim American Society, attends the mosque as often as possible, although women are excused to attend to family responsibilities. She arrives late, hugs babies and leaves without entering the main hall. The busy nursery and kids' school classes normally found in churches are absent here. These sisters and their children draw quietly together, enjoying their shared Muslim identity.

For women, choosing Islam means gaining new power in their communities and in their lives. They are attracted to the movement because Islam gives them clearly defined rights, respect as women and the prospect of a family unit headed by a dependable male. Most of the women I talked to believe that these ideals are not stressed enough in Christianity.

For many Muslim women, the benefits of Islam overshadow what many American women would view as Islam's privileging of males. According to the Qur'an, a man is entitled to four wives if he can treat them all equally, and he may in certain circumstances administer corporal punishment. Some of the women I spoke with acknowledged these practices, but one woman said they are mischaracterized. "In the Hadith, which tells us how Muhammad himself lived--and he is our example--we see that he treated his wives gently and respectfully. He may have corrected them, but he would not harm them."

Harm may be suffered in other ways, however, as Dannin reports. Some of his conversion stories detail the emotional struggles faced by African-American Muslim women and broach the issue of polygamy, which Dannin concedes is one of "the most controversial topics" among African-American Muslims. Dannin tells of Naima Saif'ullah, for example, who "found her experiment in Islamic plural marriage had become a nightmare." A former drug addict who married five times as a Muslim--once into a polygamous arrangement--Naima blames her mosque's religious leaders for not being more vigilant in overseeing her choice of a mate. Despite her "unsuccessful marriages and her failure at polygamy," Dannin observes, Naima Saif'ullah has not lost her faith in Islam "precisely because she sees herself not as a convert to some monolithic patriarchal Islam but as a serious professional woman who has chosen to accept Islam as a moral compass for her life."