An Answer to ‘Should Muslims Support Black Lives Matter?

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Dawud Walid on 14 June 2020
almadinainstitute.org/blog/preview/an-answer-to-should-muslims-support-black-lives-matter

Dawud Walid June 14, 2020

Protests have swept across the streets of America regarding the need for new policing
measures after the brutal murder of George Floyd by officers of the Minneapolis Police
Department. Indeed, the cries of Americans of varying racial and ethnic backgrounds
reside in the reality that Floyd is but one of countless Black people who have been killed
while unarmed by law enforcement. The list of those slain include Muslims who were
Black such as Amadou Diallo, Mohamed Bah and Stephon Clark. Whereas Black
grassroots organizers, civil rights groups, and Black clergy have always spoken out, now,
unlike any time in American history, many others, from politicians to corporate leaders, are
now speaking about the need for systemic change in addressing anti-Black racism. Many of
them are invoking the mantra “Black Lives Matter” while also giving corporate donations
to the non-profit organization Black Lives Matter. There are Muslims who are also doing
this and encouraging the same in varying capacities. There is perhaps no time better than
this for me to share some thoughts on whether Muslims should actively support Black
Lives Matter.

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There are differences between #BlackLivesMatter as a slogan, the masses of Black people
who attend protests that local Black Lives Matter activists have organized, and the 501c3
non-profit organization Black Lives Matter. To have an informed conversation about Black
Lives Matter, the distinctions between these should be known. Then we can engage in a
healthy assessment of how or if American Muslims should deal with Black Lives Matter.

#BlackLivesMatter as Mantra

#BlackLivesMatter as a slogan initially came about on Twitter after the murder of Trayvon
Martin, a Black honor roll student, by George Zimmerman in 2012. Zimmerman, who was
not a law enforcement officer, was charged and later acquitted for that crime.
#BlackLivesMatter rose as a slogan to say that the lives of Black people should matter in
America and in fact have never mattered as much as white lives since the inception of the
13 colonies. The origin of #BlackLivesMatter thus was a statement of affirmation that
Black lives should be treated with a level of dignity and respect just like non-Black lives. Its
meaning on its face is compliant with the noble deen in my view as Allah (Mighty and
Sublime) said, And We have certainly honored the children of Adam.1 Also, we
know that the Prophet (prayers and peace be upon him and his family) made numerous
statements on this. On Mt. Arafat in front of his companions which consisted of Arabs,
Abyssinians, Nubians, Persians and pre-Arabized Egyptians, he stated, “your blood, your
property and your honor are all sacred.”2 So again as it relates to its surface meaning, the
phrase “Black Lives Matter” is a not a problematic affirmation from the position that the
lives of Black people, who have historically been the most oppressed people in the history
of America, along with Native Americans, should matter as much as the lives of those in
the dominant culture.

Black Lives Matter Protests

Black Americans have been protesting police brutality for decades long before I was born.
The issue of Black people addressing the issue of anti-Black violence by law enforcement
has taken on many avenues, including, but not limited to, protests. For instance, Malcolm
X (may Allah have mercy upon him) led a demonstration against the New York Police
Department in 1957 after the brutal beating by officers of Johnson Hinton, a Black man
who was a member of the Nation of Islam. Malcolm X later spearheaded a legal action
against the NYPD that resulted in the largest police brutality settlement in the history of
New York at that time. During that initial protest, the streets of Harlem were filled with
Black people in solidarity with Hinton. Not all of them knew the teachings of the Nation of
Islam and many of those that did join did not agree with their theology. Those Black folks
joined because of the collective pain of Black suffering in this land.

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Likewise, many Black Americans after the 2014 police murder of Mike Brown in Ferguson,
Missouri joined protests led by local Black Lives Matter organizers, not because they
agreed with all of the platform of the organizers but because of the pain and the desire to
see an end to systematic police brutality. In fact, in protests in the past in Metro Detroit
against specific cases of police brutality, I was part of the organizing teams and though no
members of the nebulous Black Lives Matter movement were part of the organizing, some
protesters showed up with homemade signs with “Black Lives Matter” written on them.

The point here is that the matter of joining protests in which people chant “Black Lives
Matter” and self-appointed Black Lives Matter activists organizing or in some cases
attempting to hijack others’ protests is not a simple black and white issue of whether one
should or should not attend because of having concerns with the Black Lives Matters
organization. All protests which have been labeled as Black Lives Matter protests are not
really about the organization nor affirming its funding sources or platform. The primary
concern why most Black people go into the streets is due to a long-standing grievance in
which those who feel voiceless are trying to have their voices heard. Engaging in such
protests right now should be taken on a case by case basis, especially given safety concerns
due to COVID-19 and ascertaining if the protests are actually being led by reputable Black
community leaders rather than outsiders who may have hidden agendas woven in.

The Non-Profit Organization Black Lives Matter

It is important to know that the Black Lives Matter organization is not a Black grassroots-
funded organization in its origin. The organization’s large seed money came from secular-
based non-Black led foundations which have their own “intersectionality” agendas,
meaning the connection of issues such as Black suffering and mass incarceration to other
issues such as the LGBTQ agenda. The logic behind these foundations and activists who
share their vision is that all groups who claim oppression should intertwine their struggles
so that they all can be liberated from the ultimate system of oppression which originated
from the position of “white straight patriarchy.” As the Black Lives Matter organization
does air many legitimate grievances and suggests solutions, the framework that anti-Black
racism cannot be addressed without also advancing the LGBTQ agenda is problematic not
only from a historical analysis but more importantly from an Islamic theological
perspective. My book Towards Sacred Activism addresses problems embedded in
supporting the LGBTQ agenda more broadly and gives suggestions on how to navigate the
legitimate positions of being against hate crimes and school bullying versus actively
advancing and celebrating what Allah (Mighty and Sublime) has made forbidden. Besides
the “intersectionality” portion of the Black Lives Matter organizational platform, many
Black activists question their funding sources and lack of transparency. It is questioned
whether this organization is truly serving the issues of the Black community, including
healthy Black families, when its seed money and continued funding is not predominately

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from the Black community. This enduring issue of the social engineering of priorities from
so-called liberal or progressive foundations was addressed by Malcolm X in his seminal
speech "Message to the Grassroots", long before Black Lives Matter was in existence.

Promoting the dignity of Black people in America and working against anti-Black racism
can be done without supporting the Black Lives Matter platform. Some have mistakenly
conflated that the former cannot be done without supporting the latter. Instead of asking
Muslims to donate to the Black Lives Matter organization, I suggest supporting Black
people by firstly supporting Black led institutions and projects within the Muslim
community that are operating from the lens of the Qur’an and Sunnah. Furthermore, there
are efforts that are led by groups and organizers who are not Muslims working on
particular grassroots initiatives for policing reform and other systemic issues. We all have
the personal responsibility, however, not to rush into giving support to any organization or
cause without researching who we are donating to and what is their overall agenda.
Furthermore, if you plan on joining protests, do due diligence in assessing who the
organizers are. If the messages and tones of the organizers seem agreeable, there is no fault
in going while wearing masks and attempting to physically distance.

To be clear, everyone does not need to be on the frontlines protesting right now. For those
who decide to go, please do not attempt to seize this moment as a public relations
opportunity to show how your group or masjid is joining the crowd because it is trendy.
Any cause that we join demands sincerity per the teachings of our deen. Whether or not we
can give monetary support or express ourselves about this moment through art and spoken
word, we all can make a prayer that Black lives will truly matter equally in America one
day. That does not mean, however, that we are obligated to support the Black Lives Matter
movement or the non-profit organization.

1. Al-Qur’an, Surah al-Isra, Ayah 70

2. Al-Bukhari, Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith #11543

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