Peace From which sect of islam is this fifty something year old ligh brown skinned muslim speaker? I ask because I notice he only points out one sect of arab islam, as if his islamic sect is the only right choice. Also, I disagree with his numbers and could have done without the cartoon like paintings he uses for impact instead of just straight facts. To me it makes his efforts suspect at best.
lol...digging up old posts...but no it hasn't...back then scholars like Diop, Van Sertima, Rashidi, etc. had already talked about the African presence in Arabia and Asia..... but Dr. Wesley has done the best job so far imo and his book really did inspire me...I do realize his religious perspective affects his research, but then again who doesn't allow their perspective to affect their research? Even with his NOI background, I feel like he is on point in a lot of areas (there are some areas I question). The problem with some of our more prominent scholars is that they are not "experts" in certain fields that they attempt to write or talk about. They know very little about the history, language, and culture of certain groups of people throughout the Diaspora. This is not to say that some our scholars aren't intelligent and haven't provided us with a wealth of knowledge, but far too many times their scholarship gets sloppy in areas where they obviously have no expertise in. This is why I tend to like reading scholars who are experts in a central area, when it comes to our people. Like I love Rashidi for his works in reclaiming our history throughout the world, but when it comes to political or philosophical subject matter give me Mills, West, Gyeke, Ani etc... It's really not to knock anyone, because I would be the wrong person to talk about fictional literature throughout the Diaspora, because I just don't like fiction, lol.
But back to "Traditional African Religions"...seeing as how the African Diaspora is the largest throughout the planet due to migrations and enslavement, can we really say there is anything that is more "traditional" or "authentic" than another? For all we know a brother in Ethiopia or Sudan could have A LOT more in common culturally with a brother in Saudi Arabia or Yemen, than he does with a brother from the Congo. Even religions that we like to think of "Traditional African" are not what we think they are, because of colonialism. I've just kinda gotten to the point in my life where I really don't care what religion our people practice. I will forever have a strong disdain for the Christian faith, but as a brother how am I gonna get mad at Garvey, Nat Turner, King or Black Liberation Theology? And as much as I detest it, I cannot deny that it has impacted my life in one way or another. Religions, like culture, are not static. I think Black folks more than any other group of people on this planet get that.....If we go around objectifying Africa and "measuring" to see who is most African, are we really any better than the white folks we criticize who objectify everything?????? Peace