ISLAM IN AMERICA
On Becoming Muslim American There’s no room for any “superiority” complex in Islam BY BASIMAH ABDULLAH
The ever enthusiastic Basimah Abdullah took lessons in sailing (Photo © Basimah Abdullah)
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very person has an interesting life, and I’m no different. For more than 20 years I’ve been the principal at Milwaukee’s Clara Mohammed School (CMS). My study and life have been under Imam W.D. Mohammed’s leadership. I confess that my scriptural logic and perspective stem from that leadership. As an educator, I am often asked how I became Muslim, even, “You seem like an intelligent woman.” I explain it was my intelligence that brought me here. But actually, it was my mother. My single teenage mother never forgave herself for being unable to marry my father. Back in the fifties, you needed parental consent to marry. Their parents wouldn’t allow it, and thus my father joined the Navy, for once he was in it they wouldn’t need permission. But my mother’s shame grew with her expanding waist and, after a fashion, she went to live with her dad and his family in Los Angeles. I remember going to night school with her so she could graduate from high school. Throughout my childhood, my mother attended church and many of the prominent “tent revivals.” I was baptized several times. She was seeking forgiveness and a way of life to bring her peace — Apostolic, Baptist, Presbyterian and even Fahame, a mixture of Moorish Science Temple, Christianity and Islam. And as warped as it may have been, it was our first introduction to the wonderful world of Al Islam. During my freshman year at college, she started putting “With the Name, Allah” on her letters. I thought, “Here we go again.” I was mostly prepared when I returned home sporting my Angela Davis afro, shorts and a tank top. By the time I woke up the next morning, however, she had replaced all of my clothes 38 ISLAMIC HORIZONS MARCH/APRIL 2021
with ugly “Goodwill” dresses, for “We’re Muslims now. That means we don’t drink, smoke or eat pork.” She had met a person in the old Nation of Islam and was she excited! I was just a wee bit skeptical. This was the summer of 1975, when the Nation’s leadership was passed on to Imam W.D. Mohammed. The first time I heard him speak about the Bible, I was hooked. Loving scripture was ingrained in me from childhood. But I grew up with Aesop’s fables, and so I was always listening to and seeking a story’s underlying meaning. The imam’s understanding of the Quran and our beloved Prophet’s (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) teachings — I was totally gone. My mother finally found peace. Some may have a difficult time living as a Muslim, but it’s been my salvation. I often joke when asked if I feel others are prejudiced against me because of my religion. I state that I’m also African American and female, so that they can just pick one. Islam teaches us a logic. Once you understand it, no one can make you feel inferior. The CMS, housed on the site of Masjid Sultan Muhammad, Milwaukee’s first mosque, was named after Elijah Muhammad’s wife Sister Clara Mohammed. Her initial homeschooling effort with her own children eventually developed into a school program and later on into an educational institution. Our branch in Milwaukee serves families of all faiths from the Harambee neighborhood – which since the 1930s, has been a hub for African American culture and heritage — and surrounding areas. Living and working in Milwaukee, I have faced only one incident of ignorance regarding my faith. I had been working with several independent school administrators for about five years before Salaam School (this school is predominantly immigrant Muslims) began to participate. The other Muslim administrator and I were at a meeting, and another principal said that she had been wanting to ask a question about Islam for a while. The Muslim sister looked at her, then me and asked what the question was. It was such a simple question. Somewhat confused, the sister asked her why she had never asked me. The woman blushed and began
