So tell me what it was like growing up in the '70s? Well,
let me just do it this way. When you were born,
growing up, in the early part of your memories, was Islam in your
family's life at that time? You know what?
I would say it wasn't such a prominent impact besides
my name, as far as like what's the distinction.
But around me, most of my friends and my mother's friends were not
Muslim.
What I recall,
the most influential
movement or thing that sticks out in my mind was sort of like
a Black nationalist kind of thing.
My parents were involved with the East Movement, which is called Uhuru Sasa
and I went to those kind of very Black nationalists, if anything.
Other than that,
very typical African American, grew up in Bushwick.
I don't know when it occurred to me that I was Muslim,
or that I was different. I grew up
very much like everyone else.
It was like we are the same but different. And so,
there were situations... It's funny 'cause I was talking to my kids the
other day about Salat. Salat was the thing that kinda distinguished
the Muslim, or me... Distinguished me from everyone else, and it wasn't
a nice thing, unfortunately. It wasn't something that I recall with fond
memories 'cause you'll be playing ball or you'll be playing Skelly or you'll
be doing something that all other kids are on and they're out of the
windows like
and I'm like, "Oh my God." So it was like
being pulled out of
the now, that young kids live in every... It seemed like every two
minutes, but it might have been every three, four hours. And I
was telling my kids, one thing that sticks out in my mind is
distinctly one situation, I was in the movies. I went with some older
brothers, teenage types, and we went to the movies and we were watching
a karate movie. And it was like, back in the day,
everybody loved karate movies. And then it was like time for Salat, it was
like, "Bro," and we left, we left the movie theater.
And I remember being so upset about that. So, you know... How old
were you, do you remember? I might have been like 15.
When they were like, "It's time," or whoever was like, "It's time for Salat,"
did you say something? Did you try to like, "Can we stay and watch the movie?"
or... I think it's funny because...
Yes, I remember being very outspoken in things. Islam, to me,
was present unlike for my parents who made a conscious
decision to become Muslim. And I think when you make a conscious decision,
you're much more willing to
hit the marks, so to speak.
And so, me growing up Muslim where I say like the majority of
my parents' friends or my friends weren't Muslim,
I grew up just doing everything else, like everybody else did.
When the
emphasis of Islam
was placed on me, it became like an interference, you know what I'm
saying? I wasn't used to that kind of stuff, like I might have
said my earlier years,
I wasn't used to this Islam impinging on my
reality.
When my family got more into Islam, 'cause they're Islam developed, younger,
teenaged and 20s, 30s, whatever, so they're Islam developed. And
as a child, that
forces you to make this transition. And
for them, it's conscious. For me, it's imposed, kind of thing.