Encountering Islam in Belize: A travelogue (II)
Minister Charles Eagan was arrested and charged with discrimination of the white race. Charles X was taken to the court and was given two weeks mental observation at what was known as the “Crazy House”. Shabazz added that the two weeks were later extended to four weeks after though Minister Charles was released through a […]
Minister Charles Eagan was arrested and charged with discrimination of the white race. Charles X was taken to the court and was given two weeks mental observation at what was known as the “Crazy House”. Shabazz added that the two weeks were later extended to four weeks after though Minister Charles was released through a protest letter to the Honorable George Price, the first Prime Minister of Belize who died last September. The charges were thereafter dropped. This kind of early stereotypes however did not continue as in 1978 the Government of Belize approved the visit of Hon. Wallace Deen Muhammad, who took over the affairs of the Nation of Islam after the death of his father, Elijah Muhammad.
Later years saw the Muslims increased in strength and they began to influence different aspects of the society. They helped to organize and set up the first Village Council of More-Tomorrow and managed the first school in More-Tomorrow Village. They helped to host the visit of three time World Heavy-weight Boxing Champion, Muhammad Ali who visited Belize in July 1967. Lius Farrakhan also visited the Belizean Muslims in July 1975.
In 1978 the Muslim Community of Belize became incorporated as a body under the Laws of Belize as the Islamic Mission of Belize like other religious denominations in the country. Marriages and other religious activities began to be conducted by the Mission as a result of the formal registration with the government. A new school was opened up in Belize City in 1975 as a private school. In 1979 the school was recognized as a government-aided school. Today the school has developed in size on its own land at the corner of Central American Boulevard and Faber’s Road, Belize City. It teaches Arabic, recitation of the Qur’an, Islamic History, and Islamic manners under the primary school curriculum. Discussions are being held for the establishment of a High School in the near future.
It was during the leadership of Shabazz that an application was made for the recognition of the Muslims’ two Eids (Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha) as public holidays for the school which was accepted by the then Minister of Education, Said Musa and subsequently the grants of $20,000 followed for the first flat built for the school and another $20,000 that totaled $40,000 (forty thousand Belize dollars).
The present mosque at the corner of Central American Boulevard and Faber’s Road was selected and garbage-filled by the efforts of the early converts that started in 1976. Shabazz said he was taken to the site by Minister Hon. Santigo Perdomo who was the Minister of Lands at the time. He took him to the corner of Central American Boulevard and Faber’s Road, and showed him acres of mangrove trees and swamp to the waist.
Consequently the property was surveyed by the Government of Belize and on January 24th, 1986 a grant was issued to the Islamic Mission for 2.047 acres of land signed by Minister Dean Lindo. When the plot was allocated a grant was given, Nuri Muhammad signed on behalf of the Muslim community. Around 1991 to 1993 a plan was sent to the Ministry of Natural Resources for subdivision of the property to facilitate its members develop the property. The Ministry approved the plan for the construction of what is now known as Masjid al-Falah, Belize City. The initial funds that were raised for the first phase of construction works of the mosque were brought by Mr. Faraj as a result of a proposal sent to the Islamic Call Society, Libya. The second phase was a donation raised through the joint efforts of Dr. Bilal Phillips and Kaleem El-Amin where it was said they raised $50,000 (fifty thousand Belize dollars) when the present Imam, Mr. Kaleem was a studying in Saudi Arabia.
Since the arrival of the then Chief Justice, Dr. Abdullai Conteh to Belize in 2001 no doubt Islam got a boost up. Dr. Conteh had facilitated the Islamic Mission to get invitation for the opening of the Supreme Court where Qur’an was recited. It allow Muslims to participate in an interfaith activity and to show that they are not what they are portrayed to be.
During the half century in the life of the Islamic Mission “praying on benches,” as told to me by 67-year old Mr. Munoz Luis and what began from a temple in 1965, at various locations such as the Gabourel Lane to 16 Plues Street has metamorphosed into praying like the way Muslims do in the Islamic world. The Islamic Mission has seen five leaders and they were: Ibrahim Abdullah (formerly Minister Charles X, who died on November 18th, 2008), Nuri Muhammad, Granville Omar Hassan, Omar Shabazz and Kaleem El-Amin, who currently lead the prayers.
Crisis in the Mission
The narrative of Malcolm X’s journey to Hajj and his eventual entrance into universal Islam also became the inspiration for thousands of Afro-Caribbean youth in the turbulent years in the 1960s and 1970s. Many adherents of the core teachings of Elijah Muhammad’s Nation of Islam, combined religion, economics, politics, racial and social ingredients to accomplish their basic aims and objectives. The fusion of these various philosophical elements is what still makes the Nation of Islam the apex of Black Nationalism. The radical shift from what appeared to be a mixture of Islam with other concepts coupled with the growing “Sunnification” in the Caribbean region as a result of the various roles played by countries in the Middle East (specifically the political rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran) has contributed to bring a lot of ideologies and interpretations of Islam. Libya, too, had had a tremendous influence in many countries in the Caribbean and the mosque in Belize is credit to her. Saudi, for instance, had given scholarship to the early Belizean Muslims to study their. Many of whom are still active as leaders in the community here.
So the crisis in the Nation of Islam affected most of its outreach in many countries in the Caribbean. Belize was not an exception. Many Muslims who had embraced Islam couldn’t be able to however understand why. They left the “Black Nationalism” they embraced for the teachings of the Nation of Islam and even the Nation is now kicked aside when some declared its instructions “heresy”. Some kept holding their views never to associate with the Islamic Mission’s new found ideas while others choose to be with the Mission as they come and pray mostly on Fridays but still retaining a good portion of Elijah Muhammad’s Nation of Islam’s principles. To this group, “it is Wahabism that has taken over their society” and they would not let that be. Some often say they prepare to identify themselves with the African Muslims rather than the Arabs who they see trying to force their own cultural values in the name of Islam.
This confusion is not unfounded as it is not easy to separate Islam with the Arab culture and for those who are beginning to understand Islam this provides a formidable challenge really. So rather than to use wisdom in creating some sort of soft-landing from whatever ideology to what is obtainable in the real teachings of Islam it was done haphazardly. This is the same fortress that is being created fuelling misunderstanding among the Muslims, the world over. Take for instance, the new teaching that Jumua’t prayer should not be performed when it coincides with Eid. I was surprised when I found the Muslims of Belize taught not to pray Jumu’at last year when it coincided with Eid. This, in my opinion, is one of the greatest disservices to Islam by those who spread this kind of confusion. Present day Muslim missionaries need to appreciate the people first; this is a community which is trying to know rudiments of Islam and is ironically being flung into “Hadith Wars” and other meaningless perceptions.
In 2010 another crisis unfolded. The Bye-Laws of the Islamic Mission is considered archaic. Since the 1970s when it was promulgated changes have not been made and the community no doubt has increased manifold with the influx of other Muslims immigrants from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Middle East and Africa. This led into the process where whoever emerges as an Imam, through election as the Bye-Laws provide, should remain throughout his tenure as the head of the Mission as well as the person to lead prayers every Jumu’at. Definitely an Imam in this scenario would be “too powerful” since power is centred at the middle. There is also the Muslims School that somehow has been made like the community’s “milking cow”. The leadership, according to critics, often appoint persons it deem suitable to head the school. There is also the notion that non-Belizeans Muslims should not be appointed to be part of the Shurah of the Islamic Mission. The implication of this is onerous: it cuts any contribution other communities maybe able to play and at the same it has made the Muslims leadership stagnant of ideas to fully move the Islamic Mission forward.
With his enthusiasm the former principal of the Muslims School conceived the idea of documenting the history of the Muslims in Belize and gathered lots of historical documents when we arrived into the country. Curious as he seems he had begun to feel the need to talk about what he later told some of his close associates about “abuse of power” and necessity to fully be transparent and accountable in the management of the Mission. Other Muslims over the years have been saying the same thing, as we found out later. This led to misunderstanding and the principal was fired though it was said by the former leadership of the Mission that it was due to the former principal truancy when he admitted was done while gathering research documents for his seminal book, History of the Muslims in Belize. Whatever maybe the case the same leadership that was angry with the former principal had provided the needed encouragement at the initial stage and even thought of having the writing project he embarked upon under its umbrella though the leadership later threw off.
Even before the book was compiled the former principal was threatened with a court action if he go with the publication or else he was told to withdraw the interviews they granted the writer while gathering information on the book. To some members on the side of the Imam they were not happy with other flimsy reasons for the decision by the writer to include some reflections from the non-Muslims teaching in the Muslims School. I had to meet the then leadership on behalf of the writer to see reasons telling them that they should be glad having non-Muslims sympathetic to their cause. Above all a non-Muslim, PhD. resident in the United States has contributed two chapters to the book. This was based on the suggestions made to the writer by some of the Muslims that the book should be made a bridge builder between the relatively small Belizean Muslims and members of other faith most especially from the academic community. That alone boosted the place of the book as academic rather than an emotional research. Unfortunately, some of them failed to see wisdom in letting go this good thing and the problems lurking ahead that their action was about to create.
The crisis presented a test of loyalty, with the Imam getting an “army of foot soldiers” to his fold. Stories began circulating and it grew up into full scale “war” of manoeuvres when the crisis opened up a Pandora’s Box. Another election came and the Imam lost out; he was able to be nominated again but some of his trusted confidants could not be able to scale through and were replaced by new faces as members of the Shurah from an opposing camp, if you will.
Tug of war began soon. The same Imam called election on July 18th, 2010 and when he lost out he sought to disband the Shurah and another election slated. This was stopped by some of the duly elected members; to them the Imam should resign instead of throwing the baby with the bath water. It makes sense: how could one person lead a whole constituted body to resign? Well, the Bye-Law itself is faulty also. It mentioned no incidence of Imam’s resignation or impeachment or similar situation and the crisis that came saw the community helpless. The Shurah further accused the Imam of unilateral decision like, they added, he often used in a letter sent to him dated August 18th, 2010 and they now declared this could no longer be tolerated by them.
(Concluded next week)
Kawu-Bala just came back from Belize, Central America where he served under the Federal Government’s Technical Aid Programme.