Black orientalism facts for kids

Black orientalism is a way of looking at Arab and Muslim cultures, mostly found among African Americans. It's similar to the general idea of Orientalism, which often had a negative view of Western Asian cultures. However, Black orientalism is different because it focuses on the Arab slave trade and the Coolie slave trade. It also doesn't promote colonialism in the Middle East, unlike European orientalism.

The term "black orientalism" was first used by a Kenyan professor named Ali Mazrui. He used it when he was talking about Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s TV show, Wonders of the African World. Writers like Chinweizu support this way of thinking.

Black Orientalism and Afrocentricity

Black orientalism first developed within a movement called Afrocentricity. Afrocentricity focuses on African history and culture from an African point of view. A scholar named Molefi Kete Asante helped shape the ideas behind black orientalism. He wrote that adopting Islam could be seen as difficult for African Americans, just as Christianity had been.

Chancellor Williams's Ideas

A well-known historian and writer, Chancellor Williams, wrote about Islam and the role of Arabs in Medieval Africa. His important book, The Destruction of Black Civilization, was published in 1974. Many Afrocentrists still praise this book today.

Williams wrote about ancient African civilizations, from the Nile Valley to West and Central African kingdoms. He followed earlier African American writers like Robert Benjamin Lewis and W.E.B. Du Bois. These authors wrote history books to correct how American and European writers often ignored African history and culture.

However, Williams blamed what he called "White Arabs" or "Asians" for the downfall of ancient African kingdoms. He believed they caused the collapse of Ancient Egypt (Kemet) and Christian kingdoms in Sudan. He also thought they were responsible for changes across North Africa.

Williams's idea of "White Arabs" is a modern way of thinking about race. It doesn't really fit how ancient African or Arab societies worked. He and others also didn't always consider that there were dark-skinned Arabs or Afro-Arabs. These groups lived in the Arabian Peninsula before Islam and traded with African coastal towns. They were also part of the Arab armies that moved into North Africa.

Williams believed that Arabs moving into Egypt and North Africa pushed many Black Africans further south. He also thought that different groups mixing together, like Arab men and African women, changed the population. He wrote:

There were several consequences of greatest historical importance which are generally not sufficiently stressed...The first was that both Saharan transformation and the steady incursion of Asians pressure more Blacks back into the interior to concentrate in the already limited survival areas where just to subsist was a daily struggle. The second important result was the widespread amalgamation of the races. For the weaker, more submissive blacks remained in Asian occupied territory to become slave laborers and slave soldiers .... -- Chancellor Williams, "The Destruction of Black Civilization" (1974)

Williams argued that Islam was not originally from Africa, even though it has been on the continent for over a thousand years. He also suggested that the Arab slave trade in East Africa was more brutal than the European transatlantic slave trade. He saw Islam as an "ethnic religion" connected to Arab control, used to put down African identities and traditional religions. He thought it was similar to how European Christianity affected Africa, which was different from the ancient Christianity found in Ethiopia or Egypt.

Williams also didn't focus on the long history of trade between African kingdoms and the Arabian Peninsula. He saw Arab control over African countries as part of a larger plan by Arabs or Asians to control all of Africa.

Chinweizu's Views

The famous Nigerian writer and Pan-Africanist, Chinweizu, built on Williams's ideas. He also believed there was an Arab plan to control North Africa and its rich resources. Chinweizu agreed with Williams that Islam and Arab culture spreading in Africa harmed local religions and cultures.

Chinweizu saw Arabs from North Africa and the Middle East as long-term colonialists, similar to Europeans. He thought they were trying to control Africa economically and politically. He didn't believe that the spread of Islam among Africans was natural. Instead, he saw it as part of the Arab plan to control African people. He even criticized the African Union for allowing Algeria and Libya to be members.

Reaction by Muslim Writers

The term "black orientalism" was first used by Kenyan professor Ali Mazrui. He used it when he criticized Henry Louis Gates, Jr.'s documentary Wonders of the African World. Mazrui felt the film didn't show enough about the history of Islam in Africa. For example, he noted that the history of Nigeria, where half the people are Muslim, was mostly missing from the film.

Later, Sherman Jackson used the term in an article. He criticized Black orientalism as a reaction from some Christian African studies scholars. He believed they saw Black Islam as a political threat. Jackson's article was later included in his book Islam and the Blackamerican.

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