Artistic Jihad…Success!
Do you guys remember how months back I was depressed because my mosque was giving me such a hard time about putting artwork in there? Well, as soon as I gave up on the idea, it finally came through. One of the brothers asked me to write up a budget of everything I would need. I didn’t think anything would happen but they called and said that the imam wanted a mural. The wall is 6 feet by 16 feet and it’s on the outside wall of the backyard of the mosque. It’s been a while since I painted a mural by myself. The last one I did was in 1998 for my senior high class but I am excited. But since it is so hot down here in New Orleans, I can either paint it in the early morning or late evening. If I start soon, it will definitely be done by the Eid; especially since the design he has picked out is very simple. (But the masjid board doesn’t know anything about it. Shhh!)
It is a picture of two Black men holding hands over the Earth in brotherhood. On the Earth, you can see three continents; Asia, America and Africa. Behind them is a sun with shining rays. On top is an open Qur’an with the shahada in Arabic. Somewhere in this picture, they want me to place a saying from Marcus Garvey. “Rise up, you nation! You can conquer what you will.” On the other side it will say, “Let’s build stronger families.” Keep in mind that this is a Warith Deen Mohammad masjid. For of you who don’t know, Warith Deen Mohammad is the son of the late Elijah Muhammad, the late charismatic leader of the Nation of Islam. Here’s a little short history.
We all know how the Nation of Islam is the sect that while claming to be Muslim, they believed that Elijah Muhammad was a prophet. They also believed that all White people are inherently evil and that Christianity is a White man’s religion created to keep Black people in religious and psychological slavery. Well, his son broke away from the Nation of Islam and brought most of its followers to Orthodox Sunni Islam. He was the leader of the American Muslim Society but he stunned many African-American Muslims by retiring. In fact, the American Muslim Society, though overshadowed and looked over by the mass media and other Islamic groups, is the largest organization of Muslims in the United States. So if this mural project seems a little Afrocentric to you that is the reason why. Many of the Muslims that go to this mosque are former members of the Nation of Islam and even though we love to have Muslims from other races visit, that Afrocentric, Black Power vibe is still there. I am looking at an issue of the Muslim Journal, the leading African American Muslim newspaper in America, and on the front cover are the names Marcus Garvey, Father Devine, Nobel Drew Ali, Booker T. Washington, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali and a picture of Warith Deen Muhammad.
But, I hope the two guys on the mural will not cause a fitna. I know there are various opinions about what can and can not be painted. Some Muslims believe that no animal or human representation is allowed under any circumstances unless its for educational purposes. Then there are some who say that the human image should be as unrealistic as possible. Some say no defined facial features and one sister told me no eyes? Yesterday, a brother said silhouettes are halal. Then you have a great Mughal king who said that unless you can paint each strand of hair, its not representational, hence the many detailed paintings to come out of Mughal India. And there is Khalil Bendib, an Algerian-American artist that does whatever he wants. Can you guys recommend a book on the fiqh of art or should I just go to Sunni Path? There’s another mosque that I attend called Masjid Abu Bakr and they have women’s halaqas every Friday. This might be a good subject for the halaqa. I think it would be very interesting to learn how the four Sunni madhabs approach the issue of contemporary Muslim art.
