-Caveat Lector- http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewCommentary.asp?Page=\Commentary\archive\200211\COM20021108a.html > > Do Islam And Hip-Hop Make A Deadly Mix? > By C.T. Rossi > CNSNews.com Commentary > November 08, 2002 > > The storyline was a familiar one. Law enforcement profiling in the > sniper case proved to be wrong, nothing more than a fabulous > rendering created from inaccurate stereotypes and latent racial > biases. Usually such mishaps are the grist for mills of left-leaning > editorial pages, but not this time. > > We were warned about the sniper. The profilers told us that he > assuredly was a man full of rage, almost definitely white. It was > also deemed likely that he would have connections to white supremacy. > But the Beltway Sniper was not a crazed, lone, white > supremacist gunman. John Muhammad and John Malvo are undoubtedly > crazed, but they weren't lone and aren't white. > > However, it appears that Muhammad was part of a supremacy movement -- > a militant spin-off of the Nation of Islam called The Nation > of Gods and Earths or, more commonly, The Five Percent. > > Although the precise circumstances of the founding of this militant > sect are under some controversy, all accounts lead back to one > man - Clarence 13X. Much like the more famous radical black "X", > Malcolm, the self-proclaimed Clarence 13X broke with the Nation of > Islam and began his own organization. The name "Five Percent" refers > to the group's belief that five percent of humanity, black > humanity, is divine. > > 13X maintained the controversial racial (some would say racist) > theories of the Nation of Islam. But 13X added a Gnostic element of > divinization including a mantra that is familiar to anyone who > followed the sniper attacks - "I am God." > > In the teachings of 13X, the black man was to undertake a strict > regimen of self-mastery. Once that enlightened level was attained, > he in essence "became God" by controlling his own destiny. (Black > women, conversely, attained the level of "earth.") > > Recall how relatives in Baton Rouge told reporters that Muhammad, > when visiting this past summer, seemed to have Malvo involved in > some type of "purification" regimen that included Malvo eating only > crackers, honey and vitamins. Did Malvo think himself on his way > to becoming a god under Muhammad's tutelage? > > Surely such a strange sect must be an aberration in both the black > and American Islamic communities? No. > > The Five Percenters were founded in 1964, but by the 1980s, the group > had spread from its origins in New York to the West Coast. > Unlike its white supremacist counterparts which seem relegated to > small enclaves in western states, The Nation of Gods and Earths' > influence is nation-wide and surprisingly influential in mainstream > hip-hop music. > > Some say that Clarence 13X's popularity in hip-hop music circles > stemmed from his unorthodox preaching style that has been > characterized as a "rap." But whatever the reason, 13X's influence > has been immense. > > The artists who have a Five Percent connection are not the fringe of > the rap and hip-hop music industry but instead include some of > the industry's most successful and influential acts: Busta Rhymes > (star of a new beer advertisement from Miller Lite), the Wu-Tang > Clan, Big Daddy Kane, Rakim, Lakim Shabazz and Brand Nubian. > > A song by Brand Nubian, a Jamaican reggae/rap group, is of interest > in that it uses a shibboleth of the Five Percenters, a > shibboleth repeated in a sniper letter. The phrase is "Word is bond." > Likewise, Kane, Rakim and Shabazz have all used the Five > Percent flag in album cover art as well as writing lyrics that > contain elements of the sect's doctrines. > > Much of the mainstream media recoil from delving into a story that > requires elaborating on numerology or bizarre esoteric teachings > (For example: black men are known to be gods because the word Allah > is an esoteric acronym of: arm, leg, leg, arm, head). But the > media shouldn't shy away from the obvious story, the one that doesn't > require a crash course in tarot cards. > > The easy story to tell is that the snipers who terrorized the greater > Washington, D.C., area were part of a black supremacist sect. > This sect has an undetermined connection to the Nation of Islam (just > as John Muhammad has an undetermined connection to Louis > Farrakhan). The sect also has been influential in the hip-hop music > world. > > But none of this seems to capture the fancy of television's talking > heads. > > There is little doubt that if the sniper's profile had played out > according to Hoyle's and he had been a white loner with white > supremacist ties, the twisted tenets of his particular creed of > militant white supremacy would have been explored in depth. Muhammad > and Malvo fit the ultimate hot-potato profile: black supremacist > Muslim heretics. > > To speak of Islam as anything but as an unqualified religion of peace > is taboo; the topic of black supremacists is not addressed; > and the combination of both makes for a news story that may never be > fully explored. > > (C.T. Rossi writes on contemporary politics and culture for the Free > Congress Foundation.) > > Copyright 2002, Free Congress Foundation
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