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| Confession of a Muslim Youth (must read) |
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| Abu_Sashimi |
| 01/25/03 at 07:52:19 |
| From: achilleant@aol.com Subject: [USB-MSA-VIDEO] Confession of a Muslim Youth (must read) Date: Sat, 11 Jan 2003 23:57:21 EST Fake Thug Life (FTL) – A Movement for the Muslim Male by: Mufti Maybe Inspired by True Events There is a young man who inspired me to write this article. I thank him for doing a great service to the religion. Turn where you will. Look to the East Coast or the West Coast and there are various Arab boys, Desi boys, Somali and Sudanese brothers who have adopted the look, lingo, and life of a "thug." I have seen it many times - this strange transformation from tapered jean-wearing, glasses-owning, nail-biting-ninny to chest-thumping, hard-acting, Nautica-wearing "thug." It begins at an early age. With the use of slang. Words like "werd!", "yo!", "jigga man!" It is followed by the gradual attraction towards mainstream rap. Ja Rule, Dr. Dre, Eminem, Jay Z. Bear in mind, this attraction to hip hop is not derived from any cultural relationship rich immigrant Muslim boys feel towards "the ghetto!" Most of them have never been to one. Regardless, they like to blare hip hop in their predominantly white high schools because it makes them stand out. The lack of a Muslim culture helps too. There is nothing "Muslim" to look up to and show off to your friends. I mean, let's face it, there's no shoe company releasing the latest "Khalifas." (And even if they did, no one would know what it is). Wearing ENYCE, or Sean John, on the other hand, in the aforemtioned predominantly white high school makes said Muslim boy stand out and makes him appear more hardcore than he would in his tapered jeans from Sears that his mother bought for him at Eid. Thus, we see that the use of slang, plus a certain social need, gives rise to a Muslim boy getting closer and closer to a certain imagined sense of "thug-life." Add to this the fact that most Muslim boys only play basketball while growing up, or "hoops" as they call it, because they are too skinny for football and too excitable for baseball. The game comes with its own infusion of hip-hop culture. Since a thug is either a "baller" or a "Playa" and since most parents would beat up their sons if they saw them with a girl, all Muslim boys end up being (self-proclaimed) "ballerz." We all know the relationship basketball has with hip-hop culture. A Muslim's transformation into a "thug" quickens. He starts using appropriately placed rap verses. Ice Cube's "check yo'self fo' you wreck yo'self" makes its way into discussions on hadith. Nelly's "it's getting hot in here" begins to be dropped into Khutbahs referring to Hell. Emails (and even college essays) begin to be be sprinkled with "kno wat im sayin" and "check it." His favorite love song, instead of being something by Sinatra, becomes Ginuwine's "My pony!" or Montel's Jordan "Let's Ride!" No thug is complete without a "phat-ride" and some "ill ice." Thus, when he goes off to college, Muslim boy from predominantly white high school, clad in Rockawear, "rockin" the latest Adidas ("representin Jam Master Jay fo sheezy") demands a Lexus for graduation. His loving (and rich) parents, gladly throw in a platinum "Allah" necklace. Thus begins the real life of the Muslim Male Thug. He does not have girls. That's fine. But hey, he has the car, the platinum chains, the shoes, the clothes, the lingo, the "skillz" and the right music. When he goes off to college he discovers others like himself. They make up new handshakes (by observing their black friends). They wear their hats in different ways (by watching Black Entertainment Television). The "roll" into the MSA meetings, hoping to inspire a feeling of fear by being "hard." Those that don't embarrass themselves in the process – that is, those that are able to use the most ebonics words with a straight face – actually become legitimate "thugs" in the eyes of the MSA. It is to guys like these that an average Muhammad would go if he wanted to know the lyrics to an Outkast song. Note that no one else outside the MSA would consider these guys a thug. But that's not really important to them. Someone sees them as they want to be seen, that is sufficient. The rest of the collegiate career is spent, not in exploring other ways of life, but in "tightenin up the game." A dose of reality hits these boys when they graduate. They realize that those sisters in college who thought they were so fly, so bad, so interesting because they were so mysterious, lose interest in them and move onto 26 year old investment bankers. These thugs forget the fact that they haven't spelled the word "is" without a "z" since they were 6 and go get real jobs. They sell the Lexus to fund a quick degree in accounting and become number crunchers so that finding a wife might be easier. Now, don't get me wrong. Some of these thugs make it through to 30 in this way. But we all know what everyone calls them behind their back (yes, loser is one such word). I have attempted to describe in rapid detail a wide-spread social phenomenon. Now let me introduce to you the role of this movement known as FTL, otherwise known as Fake Thug Life, and why it is important. FTL is premised on the philosophy that "it takes one to know one." It was founded by a collection of Muslim undergraduates in Atlanta, who, upon a visit to ISNA in Chicago, while "rollin thru the streets" discovered that they were not alone in their thug-life "stylez." (Isn't it appropriate that FTL began in ATL?) Anyhow, they further discovered that from an objective point of view most of them were fake thugs as fake as all the other fake Muslim boys at ISNA. Thus began the so called counter-reformation of the institution. Spearheaded by an imaginative young man, FTL, the underground movement to uproot all Fake Thug Life and expose it as a sham slowly caught fire. Currenly it is burning rapidly through elite undergraduate institutions. The hope of the founder of this movement is that with a little exposure it will make its way into the high-schools and the Sunday schools. Personally, with the absence of a definitively Muslim-American male culture, I have no problem with living a "thug-life", even if it is FTL. I mean, fer real tho, I been dat way for a while now anyhow! Nahmean? Ah, there I go again… It has been difficult for me, personally, to come to terms with my own FTL. But here I am, proclaiming loud and clear that I am FTL. Say it with me now. I am FTL! The founders of FTL have taught me that the first step in recovery is identifying the problem. Hopefully soon I will be able to say loudly, in proper English, that I am not a thug, that I never was a thug, that I never will be a thug. Till then tho jiggaz, imma be getting krunk. Ya heard? Oh, and sisters, you're lucky that this movement has limited itself to the male FTL's. Yall have your own version. I will identify it in a future article. |
| Re: Confession of a Muslim Youth (must read) |
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| Adi28 |
| 01/25/03 at 15:57:40 |
| [slm] wow this is really intresting article..i couldn't help but laugh all the way through :)...this FLT.. is probably a good way of describing most of the college age guys.. in the Albany area...you wanna know how they are..read this article ;) now im intrested in how the sisters verison of this article although i doubt there is one ;)...and even if there is I seriously doubt that *I* would fit inot that article because i got it like that ;) ok well me outs. Salaams Adilah |
| 01/25/03 at 15:59:05 |
| Adi28 |
| Re: Confession of a Muslim Youth (must read) |
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| theOriginal |
| 01/25/03 at 22:31:33 |
| [slm] [quote]Oh, and sisters, you're lucky that this movement has limited itself to the male FTL's. Yall have your own version. I will identify it in a future article. [/quote] I await patiently. :D Wasalaam. |
| Re: Confession of a Muslim Youth (must read) |
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| hijabi4L |
| 01/25/03 at 23:59:34 |
| [slm] Great article! Wow just thinking of all the brothers i need to forward that to... ;D but i kno many sisters who qualify for the other version, so cant wait to read that one! |
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