Obama - Is he the new Malcolm X?

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- speaklow
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Obama - Is he the new Malcolm X?
OP - November 05, 2008, 10:43 PM

Do you think that Obama will be as inspirational to African American youth as Malcolm X was a generation ago?

And as this is primarily an Islam/Ex-Islam related forum do you think that this might be represented as a diminishing interest in Islam amongst African American youth and perhaps even a reduction in the number of converts to Islam.

I have a feeling it will.
- Iggy
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Re: Obama - Is he the new Malcolm X?
Reply #1 - November 05, 2008, 10:48 PM

My dad said is similar to Malcolm X in a few ways. He said something about their theme of self reliance? I don't really see how its really related to Islam though. There aren't many young Muslims African Americans as far as I know.

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- osmanthus
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Re: Obama - Is he the new Malcolm X?
Reply #2 - November 05, 2008, 10:51 PM

I think a lot of them will find him inspiring, and it will make US Muslims think. Since his father was Muslim then Obama supposedly was Muslim at birth. This makes the bloke a murtad, technically at least. In fact it'll probably cause some consternation throughout the Islamic areas of the world. Obama has obviously rejected Islam. I wouldn't be surprised if one of the assassination plots* against him was by Muslim extremists.

Yes, I expect a couple.

Devious, treacherous, murderous, neanderthal, sub-human of the West.
- Cheetah
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Re: Obama - Is he the new Malcolm X?
Reply #3 - November 05, 2008, 10:58 PM

Quote from: Iggy
There aren't many young Muslims African Americans as far as I know.

There are, if you include the Nation of Islam as muslim, (I don't personally, but I don't know if you do).

I think Obama's victory might make a few of their acolytes think twice about their world view, given that it is based on sloppy notions of victim mentality, and hatred of white people and Jews. Its generally a healthy thing that Obama won, although I don't expect any great changes or whatever to come from it.

"Befriend them not, Oh murtads, and give them neither parrot nor bunny." - happymurtad's advice on trolls.
- speaklow
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Re: Obama - Is he the new Malcolm X?
Reply #4 - November 05, 2008, 10:58 PM

Yes I agree. His introduction will, I don't doubt, make a lot of Muslims think, and the racist stick that Muslims and other groups like to beat America with won't be so big now.

The fact that he supposedly practised Islam as a boy but no longer does will again make some Muslims think.

He probably now is the most famous ex-Muslim in history.

With regards to African American converts I'm pretty sure they have historically made up the largest proportion of converts to Islam in the States.
- Iggy
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Re: Obama - Is he the new Malcolm X?
Reply #5 - November 05, 2008, 11:20 PM

Quote from: Cheetah on November 05, 2008, 10:58 PM
Quote from: Iggy
There aren't many young Muslims African Americans as far as I know.

There are, if you include the Nation of Islam as muslim, (I don't personally, but I don't know if you do).

No, not really. But isn't the Nation of Islam a small population, anyways?

Quote from: Cheetah on November 05, 2008, 10:58 PM
Its generally a healthy thing that Obama won, although I don't expect any great changes or whatever to come from it.

I know. There are so many people who honestly think that he is going to bring real, fundamental change and I always tell them otherwise. Real changers don't get elected in America.

He's a symbol and a represents a milestone, though. I was saw Jesse Jackson crying during Obama's speech and I empathized with him. He was there front and center, fighting for civil rights, and now he sees what was once the impossible come true.

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Re: Obama - Is he the new Malcolm X?
Reply #6 - November 05, 2008, 11:26 PM

I don't think most US citizens really want fundamental change. What they want is to, if possible, fix some of the worst excesses of the Dubya years and avoid repeating them in future. That would be enough.

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Re: Obama - Is he the new Malcolm X?
Reply #7 - November 05, 2008, 11:30 PM

Quote from: Iggy
He's a symbol and a represents a milestone, though. I was saw Jesse Jackson crying during Obama's speech and I empathized with him. He was there front and center, fighting for civil rights, and now he sees what was once the impossible come true.

Yes, I saw that too. I found that moving, much as people might laugh at me for it.

As for the Nation of Islam, they are small but very, very nasty. Fascist, even. If Obama's election lessens their hold over their recruits, it will be a good thing in itself.

"Befriend them not, Oh murtads, and give them neither parrot nor bunny." - happymurtad's advice on trolls.
- panoptic
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Re: Obama - Is he the new Malcolm X?
Reply #8 - November 06, 2008, 12:06 AM

No, I don't think so. For a start they represent two very different things: An activist and martyr of the civil rights era, and the first black president of the USA; An autodidact under segregation, and a beneficiary of post-Jim Crow education... Black 'separatism' vs being part of the 'white establishment' - two different threads within black emancipatory thought. As if to exemplify the conflict between the two ideologies involved, Jessie Jackson (the first black presidential candidate) who, just a few months ago, said "I want to chop his balls off", nevertheless was tearfully jubilant at Obama's election to president.

Perhaps the apt comparison would be the person Obama most likes to echo (MLK), but we know we can't make that comparison. How so?

Significantly, Malcolm X changed his name because his ancestors were slaves; Barack Obama counts none among his.

As much as white and black children will see a black president their leader, with the implications that has, they will share the disappointments of his presidency as well. Something neither MLK or X had to measure up to.

In the 'muslim world' I can't detect any perturbation. The muslim world is as favorable to him as the rest is. I don't think they care that his father was muslim and Obama was raised a christian. To the extent they are hopeful, they like the possibility of a less strident America, an America of the silk-glove instead of the steel gauntlet.

"...every imperfection in man is a bond with heaven..." - Karl Marx
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Re: Obama - Is he the new Malcolm X?
Reply #9 - November 06, 2008, 12:12 AM

Quote from: Cheetah on November 05, 2008, 10:58 PM
although I don't expect any great changes or whatever to come from it.

Speaking of change .....

Years ago, there was an old tale in the Marine Corps about a lieutenant who inspected his marines and told the 'gunny' that they smelled bad. The lieutenant suggested that they change their underwear.

The Gunny responded, 'Aye,aye, sir, I'll see to it immediately'.

He went into the tent and said, 'The lieutenant thinks you guys smell bad, and wants you to change your underwear.

Smith, you change with Jones, mccarthy, you change with Witkowskie, Brown, you change with Schultz. Get to
it'.

The moral: A candidate may promise change in Washington, but don't count on things smelling any better.

I was not blessed with the ability to have blind faith. I cant beleive something just because someone says its true.
- gonzo
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Re: Obama - Is he the new Malcolm X?
Reply #10 - November 06, 2008, 07:45 AM

Obama has certainly been influenced by the likes of Malcom X, as well as Martin Luther King and W E Du Bois and many other African American political figures. No doubt Obama will also be included among these by future generations of African Americans, especially as the first African American President - although none of his ideas are particularly new or original.

Regards,
Gonzo

"The spread of evil is the symptom of a vacuum. Whenever evil wins, it is only by default: by the moral failure of those who evade the fact that there can be no compromise on basic principles" - Ayn Rand
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