Panelists talk black Muslim communities

The African Students Association (ASA) hosted a forum on the black Muslim community in Baltimore on Tuesday, Feb. 21 in Charles Commons. The discussion revolved around Baltimore residents’ experience of the intersection between blackness and Islam.

The panelists included spoken word artists Sadiyah Bashir and Mohamed Tall, business manager Kieta Iriarte-Amin, founder of Muslimat Al Nisaa Shelter Asma Hanif, Musaa Abdurahman of the Islamic Community School, and Imam Earl El-Amin. Sophomore Sami Ayele, history and education chair of ASA, moderated the panel.

Ayele opened the discussion by asking each panelist how they celebrate black history month.

“Black History month is 12 months out of the year,” El-Amin said. “As black Muslim Americans, we have a triple consciousness. We are never not aware of our blackness, and we are never not aware of our religion. This month, to me, is about teaching others that being black and Muslim don’t have to be mutually exclusive.”

Hanif agreed with El-Amin and said this month is about not being held back from the prejudice and discrimination of others.

“Everything that I have accomplished has come from my knowledge and understanding of what I’m supposed to be doing as a Muslim to help others,” Hanif said.

She said this is what inspired her to open a homeless shelter for Muslim women and children.

“I wanted to be able to make a difference in the lives of Muslim women, especially those who come here from different countries and have no family, no resources and nowhere to live,” Hanif said. “It’s important to me to give them the tools to be productive members of society without changing who they are.”

Spoken word artist and sophomore at Morgan State University Mohamed Tall spoke about how he struggled with his identity being both black and Muslim.

“It’s like trying to exist,” Tall said. “You know you’re real, but the rest of the world doesn’t want to recognize you. It forces you to question yourself a lot: your history, your identity. But the biggest thing I learned through my faith and through my poetry is that blackness and Islam do equate.”

Ayele asked the speakers what students can do to engage with the black Muslim community in Baltimore.

Bashir, founder of Pray, Say & Slay magazine, encouraged attendants to find everyday ways to get involved with their communities.

“There are so many different ways to be a leader,” Bashir said. “You don’t have to be in front of a camera, or on a panel. Wherever you fit in, that’s okay, as long as you’re making a positive impact.”

El-Amin agreed with Bashir, stating that Hopkins students have a unique opportunity by being in Baltimore, one of the most diverse cities in the U.S.

“Education is not just in the classroom,” El-Amin said. “Education is interacting with people outside of your college environment. Most of the mosques are located in some of the most undesirable parts of Baltimore city; That’s not by happenstance. We want to be able to change peoples’ lives, to be a positive light.”

Junior Aleena Nasir said she enjoyed hearing the how the panelists were making a difference in their communities.

“The main thing [the panelists] focused on was getting involved in your community,” Nasir said. “Especially us as Hopkins students, leaving campus and getting involved in the amazing social services that they do is really important.”

Freshman Tarek Meah decided to attend the event to learn more about the black Muslim community in America.

“As a person of color and a Muslim, I am not unaware of the injustices the community faces here and abroad, but I have been spared of these instances,” Meah wrote. “I would not be here if not for the fight of black and Muslim rights activists. [The panelists] showed me that it’s my obligation to continue this fight.”