אהבה

As a result of slavery, colonisation and white degeneracy that has dominated the world and oppressed the Children of Israel in the past and today, the trauma of such oppression and suppression has had a devastating effect on the psychology and the collective self image and self esteem of the individuals. One of the most profound effects of this European hegemony is the estrangement and destruction of the Children of Israel family. The attack on the Hebrew family was crude during slavery pitting the man against the woman as a means of control by the weakening of the bonds within the Israelite social structure. The slave owners would create hatred and enmity between the males and the females with the purpose of causing such distrust and insecurity that it would cripple any thought of support for each other that would then result in disobedience or revolt against him. The natural protective instinct of the male over females would be an acute source of rebellion and disobedience.

In more modern times the Children of Israel rate of outsourced love towards non-Israelites has been in huge percentages compared to other communities especially in the Diaspora in the west especially in England and America. In other communities the rate of marrying out of their racial group is usually restricted to small numbers and is rare but within the Children of Israel community males will partner outside in equal numbers as those that choose to partner within. As there is a clear discrepancy between the Israelite community and the other communities it suggests that normal psychology which operates in others correctly is operating in the Israelite in an unusual way. Instead of us choosing to marry or partner up with an Israelite partner in the majority of cases they are choosing to take non-Israelite in equal number.

There is a specific problem with the Children of Israel within the Muslim community as the rate of Israelite men choosing Israelite females is actually in reverse, they are choosing non-Israelites over Israelite females to partner and are actually stating in their search for wives that they are excluding Israelite females from the range of potentials. As other non-Israelite Muslim men within the Muslim community would rarely go outside their racial group and even fewer would actually exclude women from their own racial group from their range of potential wives, this would be viewed as something incredibly strange and problematic.

This was already an existing problem within the Children of Israel but it seems that coming into Islam has only made the matter worse, not better. The knock-on effect of this dysfunction within Israelite males has resulted in Israelite females feeling rejected which has added to the disunity, enmity and frustration that already existed outside of Islam. Israelite Muslim females have had to deal with the reality of this dysfunction which has forced them into very vulnerable situations which other Muslim sisters just do not have to face in the same acute way. Israelite sisters who come into Islam, like anyone who comes new to Islam, they come with an expectation of something better in terms of sisterhood and equality and hopefully being seen not as a colour but as a human being that has chosen to elevate her own consciousness and spirituality. What she finds after a few months is that her situation has actually got worse in quite an acute way. She is no longer able to socialise in the same way as she did before which means that her opportunities to meet males is heavily restricted. She suddenly finds that she is not able to marry non-Muslim men unlike Muslim men who are able to marry outside. Therefore her potential pool of eligible men has shrunk to the available Muslim men. But, even though that may sound like a very large pool the reality is that most of those Muslim men are attached to racial groups that wouldn’t consider marrying outside. So, the Israelite sister is left with those Muslim men who are willing to marry outside of their racial group and also willing to marry someone new to Islam and Israelite Muslim males. As was mentioned before the pool of brothers from other racial groups willing to marry outside is miniscule so this will rarely be of any practical benefit to the sister in terms of potential husbands but not impossible. And, the process of marrying into other racial groups for Israelite sisters is not ideal especially when they marry into cultures that have a culture of racism and colourism.

Then we are left with the Israelite brothers who choose to exclude Israelite sisters and prefer Non-Israelite sisters. This leaves the Israelite sister in such a vulnerable and psychologically harmful situation. She will feel worthless and not valued especially by what is supposed to be her own. In regards marriage Islam didn’t make marrying Israelite males easier but actually made the possibility even more remote because now non-Israelite Muslim sisters would have access to Israelite men with preference over the Israelite female. So, the non-Israelite Muslim female now had access to Israelite males where they never did before and this just added another layer of competition rather than provided a solution to the Israelite female. The result of this situation can leave Israelite sisters in a very vulnerable situation leaving them prey to dishonourable and unscrupulous men from other cultures wanting to marry Israelite women but in reality only using them for sex and keeping them secret from their community and primary families. This is a shameful situation and these  individuals should be shunned and anyone who behaves like this should be exposed.

The discussion is always a sensitive one and is such a taboo for many reasons. It is very difficult to raise the issue in a racially mixed Muslim environment because of the assumption that we are all one ummah and the prophetic sayings which states that there is no difference between the Black races and the non black races. So, any mention of Hebrew men marrying non-Israelite sisters, as a problem, would not find natural allies outside of the Israelite female demographic on a number of levels. This added to the fact that there are no exclusive Israelite Muslim spaces for this conversation to happen means the conversation is never had and when it does arise in a racially mixed environment it can be misconstrued as racism when in fact it isn’t at all.

Some reasons for the situation as it exists today. 

Speaking from a perspective of living in England or the United States both these countries are European controlled and culturally dominated therefore the images and narrative that will be pushed will reflect that reality. We live in an Anglo-Saxon society with a northern European ideal of beauty. This ideal has been pushed on Israelite Children from the moment they are able to look at a television screen, nearly every nursery book in western society portrays a beautiful princess with blonde hair and blue eyes, all of them Germanic. But this is a Germanic country and it is completely understandable that Teutonic ideals of beauty would be given to their own children. The problem is we do not have a counter narrative of our own which pushes our ideals.

In the society in general the images of beauty are Eurocentric. At a delicate time of the teenager years popular culture is abundant with images and films depicting the celebration of the female (European) with modern romantic themes and images which are highly sexualised.

Sub popular culture and music

There is a correlation in the type of culture an Israelite child is exposed to which could also determine the type of friends and social circle they become a member of. Israelite children who listen to mainstream music and culture, in England and America, which is dominated by the Anglo-Saxon/Germanic beauty ideals, will undoubtedly be influenced by that culture and its ideals. The Israelite Children who have a social group based around “black” subculture such as rap music and reggae dance hall are more influenced by it and the messages it gives the black subculture which has been dominated by rap music coming out of America. As Rap music became less and less conscious and promoted a very negative image of Israelite femininity our females begun to be viewed in a very negative light. Israelite femininity is portrayed as being hyper-sexualised or, promiscuous or, lewd or, aggressive. In more recent times black femininity is portrayed as super assertive and aggressive feminist and increasingly lesbian. For any Israelite boy watching and listening this subculture and allowing it to dictate his view of Israelite femininity it is not a stretch to see just how damaging it could be. Yes he will have a strong affiliation to the black scene and identify with being in a black sub-culture but the price will be a corrupted view of Israelite women and overwhelmingly negative one. Unless there are other positive and strong female Hebrew role-models in his life to counter that view, the damage will have been done. The way in which that Israelite boy will treat Israelite females in the future may well be not ideal.

As for the Hebrew boy who was influenced by more mainstream (European/Germanic) culture he will be no less affected if what he saw as being black and having black culture meant that he had to behave in a particular way and conforming to a particular stereotype. If he was exposed to those false-portrayals of Israelite femininity then much of the ideals he will carry concerning the sort of partner he will eventually select for himself will almost certainly operate to exclude Israelite females ab initio. The soft, submissive, gentile, reserved and Teutonic ideals of western European beauty all culminate in excluding the Israelite female. The cultural differences which are a natural and common to all Bantu peoples will be viewed as unattractive. But,  this is not to say that Bantu women cannot be as refined and noble as in any upper echelon of any society, if not more so, but the only images that are pumped in to the minds of young children are the negative stereotypes of Israelite women and usually the lower classes who are uneducated with no culturing. So, the Israelite male who gravitated towards the mainstream culture would have considered this not even an option in partnering. Unless there were very strong and positive Israelite female role-models in his life that would counter these false stereotypes.

Why aren’t others affected in the same way?

Other males who are members of other cultures with their own identity and language have within them their own narrative of beauty and love which promotes love between members of their culture. This acts as a counter narrative to the Anglo-Saxon narrative and it has virtually no effect on that group. The stronger the individual identifies with his group the more unlikely that the host narrative will have any effect on his ideas and view of how he views his females. The Anglo-Saxon/ European view will be seen as foreign to him. If in the event those individuals who have become estranged from their culture or community and starts to see the mainstream culture as his or her own then it is highly likely that he or she will be more likely to take a partner from those who have also adopted the mainstream culture or someone who the mainstream culture represents their primary culture, a European. As technically the Israelite, in Diaspora, is estranged from his true identity and culture then he will be in a similar situation to the one who has his culture but is distanced from it.

There is a difference between the Children of Israel who have a culture and language that is separate to the colonising peoples and those that do not have a culture and language that is different. Those who have a language and culture that is different will have a protection similar to those other cultures. But, those who do not have a language and culture different to the coloniser then they do not have that same level of protection which the other cultures take for granted.

The Children of Israel is not in control of its own culture and mediums of its own culture such as music, therefore it does not have the ability to put out positive messages or its own love narrative as other cultures do. In this respect Israelite culture has been a victim of its own success because it has been so popular that non-Israelite have chosen to exploit it for money.

Controlling our narrative and images: Kun fayakoon

The Children of Israel are not in control of its own culture and music, therefore it does not have the ability to put out a positive narrative of Israelite romance that would counter the negative stereotypes. The most popular medium of conveying the Israelite narrative in culture is rap music and rap is controlled virtually by non-Israelite music companies. Even though the majority of the artists are Israelite themselves they either do not care about the damage they are collectively doing or they are driven by executives who are driven by profits. The executives are clever enough to understand that the consumers of rap will not continue to consume these distorted and corrupted songs if they suddenly became conscious of the damage they were doing to their own community. And, positive messages do not sell in the same volume as negative images especially to the children of other communities. The other communities are not thrilled that their children are listening to rap music but they also know that their children will in time distance themselves from rap messages and culture to then embrace their own culture to benefit from the advantages of their own narrative. And, rap re-enforces the negative stereotypes about the Children of Israel and therefore it is not a threat to other cultures as long as it only damages Israelites families and children.

Capturing and dominating the mediums of our own culture is a key objective in order to help re-educate the Israelite society and youth. If we are not able to do this then we will always be subject to the profiteering of music executives and Israelite rappers who have sold out their community for money. We must counter the negative images that are put out by the rap industry. The only other alternative is to remove the influence of this toxic genre which is already a tool available to Muslims by forbidding the listening of music. But this will still not combat the fact that it is so pervasive in western society. There must be an attempt  to counter the narrative with our own narrative and values while at the same time denounce the false narrative being given as our own.

With Islam

Many children of Israel brothers bring their dysfunction into Islam and their background programming in their minds. They have a negative image of the Israelite female more than likely fueled by the rap culture and its images of black women twerking at the poolside in an over-sexualised manner which doesn’t fit with their hope of a new righteous wife in Islam.

There is also the teacher pupil relationship dynamic which has an enormous influence over the Children of Israel who are taught Islam by other cultures. It is natural to want to be like the ones who are teaching you especially in a new way of life. Your ideas of what it must be like to be a righteous Muslim will come with an imprint of those who are teaching you. It is a natural process in all Muslim communities that they interweave their culture with Islam and therefore when they convey their Islam they naturally present their food and customs as Islamic. The students of their Islam who want to join this community and would consider marrying someone who looks and reflects their teachers.

Psychological underpinnings of choosing a Partner  

When choosing a partner there are many things that form considerations which go into selecting a sexual partner that happen at a sub-conscious level. For males psychologist have identified  things such as ability to reproduce healthy offspring from among the physical requirements and therefore the male will look for the signals which indicate that the female is able to reproduce successfully. But, being able to reproduce is a quality that will be considered after as a filter within a range of females who qualify in more important areas such as  environmental factors. The environment will include factors such as fitting in to the community you are attached to, the socialisation of any potential children into that community. If one became Muslim with the Pakistani community then having a wife  who is unfamiliar with that community nor has an affiliation to it will have certain implications. The most option is to marry someone who will compliment the choice of community you want to be a member of. This process works well if it is operating on those of the same culture because it promotes self perpetuation and continuance. The members of the community will be more likely to choose from their own because it will make things far easier to live within the community.

Usually after these brothers attempt to marry in to these communities they will be faced with the hidden racism that has always been there. Even if he is able to secure a marriage he will face either subtle or overt racism. Only then do most wake up to the reality of marrying into a non-Israelite family and community. There will always be the exception to the rule and you will have couples who will have families that will support them but, this is not the experience of the majority. If the couple have no support, as with any marriage, it is highly likely that eventually it will not survive.

The lack of a Children of Israel community in Islam only adds to the Problem     

This really is a form of social adaptation by natural selection. Females are being selected to give the male a link to the community which demonstrates his commitment to that group.

The future: what can we do.

A solution to the problem in this form is to create our own community which would promote our ideals of beauty and values to our own children. The males, naturally being a part our community, would want a female from the community to demonstrate  his commitment to the community. Non-Israelite females would be virtually useless in this regard. This would elevate the esteem of the Israelite female and give her the position she deserves because she would be the optimum choice for the Israelite male. She would no longer be a in competition with other females.

The label of revert is a problem on many levels and in the dimension of Children of Israel identity and marriage has caused even more problems than it has solved. The Prophet (saw) and the sahabahs never used this label ever nor did they hint at its use being legitimate. And what we have now is an artificial concept of the revert community which doesn’t describe anything nor does it define anything in reality. It was a way of making a second class division of the new Muslims and separating them from those who came from traditional Muslim backgrounds. The overwhelming majority of new Muslims, in this country, would come from the Israelite community and the indigenous white British populations. To call this a community only reflects the contempt which is held for these new Muslim in the minds of those who coined the phrase. Lumping all these different people together into one category and then hoping they then fall into line with this idea shows such ignorance and has been quite damaging.

The Israelite who has bought into the revert label will soon find themselves at the bottom of that false stratum because the revert idea doesn’t challenge the ills of the society it just accepts them and puts a Muslim label on. So, as in the wider society the Israelite is on the bottom therefore the Israelite remains on the bottom and must not challenge that narrative otherwise you are being a “black nationalist” or “Nation of Islam.” The Israelite then is not able to learn about themselves and discover their connection as a Child of Israel to Allah (swt) but is relegated to just being black. Therefore within the revert community idea you will find that identity is looked down upon because everyone is Muslim now without any identity. So, the only thing which remains apparent is one’s colour which still has its privileges and disadvantages depending on what colour your skin is. If you are white or a “lightie” then you are seen as more desirable as in the secular social structure and if you are a “darkie” then you are seen as even less desirable. The advantage for everyone else is clear because it maintains a structure which means everyone is above the Israelite but the benefit for the Child of Israel is very difficult to see. What is even more worrying is the overt and covert messages being given to Israelite children through their encounter with Islamic studies and classes being taught by other communities if they are being fed the narrative of being Bilal. This only reinforces the false narrative of black people being just slaves and undesirables but, if Israelite children’s parents are not conscious enough to see the damage this is doing to themselves how are they going to be aware enough to protect their children. So, if you as a Child of Israel accept this narrative then do not complain when Israelite men also accept this narrative and do not want you as a partner. Should you not want better for your children if not for yourself. Your daughters will face the same problems when they reach marriageable age and if they are not able to find good husbands who are ideally Israelite then do not be surprised when they go for the non-Muslim men to marry and leave Islam behind too.

How do we carry this remedy to the Children of Israel?

It is proposed here that we create that space for this much needed conversation to happen for many reasons.  This issue is a problem at the heart of the Israelite Muslim community and indeed within the Children of Israel at large. It must be seen as a problem that emanates from a dysfunction within the Children of Israel and therefore it must be resolved as primarily an Israelite issue rather than a Muslim Children of Israel problem meaning that the issue did not begin when we entered Islam but that it only got worse.

The beginning of healing is to stop the ailment or the source of harm from doing more harm. How that relates to this situation is by bringing the issue out into the open and not giving the subject the space to hide, it has to be discussed. The hope is that brothers and sisters can both learn and share each other’s experiences, insecurities and pain in order to understand each other’s journey better with the aim of eventually healing and reconciling the Israelite brother with the Israelite sister. Ultimately, achieving parity with non-Israelite racial groups in Islam which if we took as a healthy representation of natural choices of marriage would see Israelite brothers marrying Israelite sisters virtually 95% of the time with only 5% marrying out.

An Example of a defence of the status quo:

Some people will say that it’s not haram so what’s the problem.

A response to this will be: this is not a haram or halal issue. It is recognising why the Israelite brothers are selecting non-Israelite sisters for marriage while all the other racial groups naturally select their own in preference to other women. Why is their psychology so out of line with the brothers of other racial groups. This clearly demonstrates a dysfunction which isn’t necessarily a haram issue but it shows that there is an underlying collective psychological issue which distinguishes the Children of Israel from the rest.

Islam has allowed the Israelite brothers to hide their self image issues behind the equality of Islam but it hasn’t hidden the dysfunction but made it more manifest because it can obviously be seen, the majority of Israelite males have taken non-Israelite wives.

It is a sensitive situation and historically it has caused very heated debates and arguments that have not resulted in positive outcomes. But, difficulty isn’t a reason to not deal with a subject but it is a reason to discuss it in a sensitive and calm way, looking at it in a dispassionate manner and trying to understand why this situation exists and how it can be understood. We shouldn’t be afraid to tackle our spiritual condition regardless of whether it is good, bad or indifferent. Being able to look at ourselves and reflect upon our condition is the beginning of healing and a better future.

A Israelite male taking a non-Israelite partner in isolation isn’t a problem and no one will say that it is. But, it is something much deeper when Israelite males are marrying out at levels which differ to that of other males in other communities. If we are to take the average of the other communities as a baseline for comparison we can then see that something is clearly outside of a natural range.

As the Children of Israel we need to face this situation as well as others so that we learn to correct and heal for our future generations. What we must not do is turn on each other as this would be counter-productive to healing us as a collective and bringing us together. We must understand that the aim is to heal not to open new wounds thus making the objective even more difficult. Expressing hurt and anxiety is a part of the healing process as well as listening to each other so that each can be educated in the experience of the other. Growth can only happen if a person feels safe enough to make themselves vulnerable in order to be susceptible and aware to make a change. If that safe space is used to attack the others then no growth will result and ultimately no change and the status quo remains.

The idea is a simple one: if we want to succeed as a collective we must think and feel like a collective and behave like a collective. one part cannot see the other as other, every part must see the other parts as ours. We are different expressions of the same souls. Those who cannot achieve this healing state of mind are not ready to be engines of change for our people and mature enough to see past current pain to envision future success.

Another uncomfortable truth which must be faced when dealing with this subject is that those who see each other as the enemy and want to mete out their anger on the other side are behaving as programmed by the slave masters who first taught us to hate the different expressions of ourselves in order to perpetuate our continued subjugation and division. If you still have this mindset then you are no use to the Children of Israel collective but just another part of the problem no matter how Israelite you claim to be.

We must also be very practical when approaching this subject because we have brothers and sisters whom have married outside and have children with non-Israelite. Alasbaat as a collective doesn’t seek to create a hostile environment for these marriages or the offspring of these unions. We do not see any connection between the promotion of Children of Israel self-love and hating or vilifying anyone else. We support and try to give esteem to all Israelites whatever their situation or choice they make in the hope that they begin to love themselves and then pass this Israelite  esteem on to their children because it is this positive self image which creates self-love. More hate will only produce a toxic environment for the children of these marriages and ensure that they will gravitate to the identity of the non-Israelite parent. To compete with this situation the Children of Israel must demonstrate and show more love and acceptance and benefit to the Israelite child of a non Israelite parent.

Self love is not a catchphrase but a prescription to the children of Israel. We must have  courage in order to fix our problems but we must be able to be self critical so that we can identify our unhealthy states of mind. But, we must be merciful with each other when doing so thus ensuring that we emerge from the process together in a better place than when we began.