fatima siwaju.
never surrender yet!
cohort. 2023-24
project. "Never Surrender Yet!" Narratives of Resistance and Resilience in Afro-Trinidadian Islam
location. Trinidad and Tobago
medium. audio
This project captures the rich soundscape of Islam as practiced by Afro-descendant Muslims on the island of Trinidad. Foregrounding the oral histories shared by Black Muslims from different denominations (Sunni, Sufi, Shi’a, Nation of Islam), in addition to the prayers and chants of Shi’a and Sufi devotees, this digital archive explores how Afro-Trinidadian Islam has left an indelible mark on the sonic landscape of this multicultural Caribbean island.
excavating Black Muslim histories and voices.
Uprooted from their homelands in the service of imperial expansion, Caribbean people have always resisted against the violent erasure of their languages, cultural practices, and religious traditions. This storied tradition of resistance and resilience is deeply embedded in the cultural and spiritual ethos of the Afro-Trinidadian Muslim community.
The first Muslims to arrive in the Caribbean were in fact enslaved Africans.[1] Despite the hostile environment, several African Muslims managed to maintain their religious practice. Muhammad Yunus Bath was brought from West Africa to Trinidad in the year 1804 or 1805.[2] Bath purchased his freedom several years later, and he subsequently founded a society to secure the manumission of his fellow Muslims. Bath Street in Port of Spain (the capital of Trinidad) is named after this Black Muslim leader. In 2015, the Karibbean Islamic Network commissioned a plaque in Bath’s honor.
Commemorative Plaque for Muhammad Yunus Bath
During a conversation with several Muslim leaders, Dr. David Muhammad, head of the Nation of Islam in Trinidad, notes that that African Muslims in colonial Trinidad spearheaded the reparations movement in the form of repatriation.
“We could argue that the genesis of reparations, which is a huge movement now, which would have started with repatriation, started with the African Muslims in Trinidad, the Mandingo, of whom Bath Street in East Port of Spain is named after - Muhammad Jonas Bath. But they had written proposed legislation in both Arabic and English to put up a position that if you're going to free us from slavery, then send us back to Africa. And that became the first repatriation movement even before the Rastafarians in the early 1930s. So, you know, the Caribbean has some - but it's almost like an untold story.”
While Bath and his associates’ repatriation petitions were unsuccessful, some Africans were able to return to their homeland.[3]
Emancipation Proclamation in the British West Indies (National Archives of Trinidad & Tobago)
Despite the efforts of pioneering figures such as Muhammad Yunus Bath, Islamic practice in pre-emancipation Trinidad was not widespread. Enslaved African Muslims were not allowed to openly practice their faith. Following the emancipation of enslaved Africans in 1838, British colonial administrators brought indentured laborers from the Indian subcontinent.[4] Given that approximately 15% of these Indian workers were Muslim, Islam’s presence in Trinidad became more prominent.[5]
Calcutta Masjid – the first public mosque established in Trinidad
It was only in the 1970s that Islam experienced a resurgence amongst Afro-descendant Trinidadians. This was due in large part to the Black Power Revolution of 1970, which was deeply influenced by the Black Power movement in North America.[6] The Black Power Revolution articulated a need for social and political reform, which appealed to disaffected Afro-Trinidadian youth.
The growing interest in Islam amongst Afro-Trinidadians from the 1970s onwards was catalyzed by this rise in Black consciousness and a rejection of Euro-Christian paradigms. Afro-Trinidadian Muslim converts would go on to establish their own institutions, some of which had roots in the United States, such as the Islamic Party, the Dar-ul-Islam movement, and the Nation of Islam.
Black Power demonstration, Port of Spain, Trinidad
Trinidad Express Front Page (via National Archives of Trinidad and Tobago)
In an interview with several pioneering members of the Afro-Trinidadian Muslim community, Muhammad Luqman Abdul Lateef, a religious leader and elder of the Black Shi’a community, speaks about Black nationalist movements in North America and their influence on Afro-Trinidadian routes to Islam.
“How I could say how it evolved? – I mean, it was a follow up to the Black nationalist movement, which also had an impact from the United States and Canada. You know, it had an impact in the Caribbean and particularly Trinidad. And, you know, we had 1970 experience. The follow up to that was a period in which some of the Black nationalists started becoming Muslim in United States and Canada, I guess. And that seemed to have an impact on Muslims – on Afro-Trinidadian Christians who were returning to Islam. Now, Islam was looked upon as an Indian religion largely by a lot of the Africans because the Indians had it all this time – decades – since indentureship. But there was no da’wa (propagation of the religion). Their da’wa was largely centered around their own – they call it Tableegh Jamaat. And they would go around from mosque – they would go around street to street and bring people to the mosque, but only those who were not practicing – that’s the Indian population. Their da’wa was not to the entire environment. So Africans didn't get Islam from them. Africans got Islam largely through their own readings and, you know, interactions. And there was always that kickback also from the United States, people returning and people influencing. Because remember, a lot of, you know, the migration and families and things, family ties and so on. So all of that had an impact on Muslims in the 60s and people returning to Islam. The Autobiography of Malcolm X played a powerful role in bringing people to learn more about Islam. You know, so this trend evolved in the 60s – in that early period.”
Reflecting on the political intersections of Blackness and Muslimness, and Islam’s enduring appeal for Afro-Americans, Dr. David Muhammad says the following.
“One of the most memorable statements to me in my early days in Islam was when I heard Minister Farrakhan say that Islam brings out the militant propensity buried in the Black man. So there's something in us already, whether we're aware of what Islam is or not, that we connect with it. And this is why as well, it's one of the liberating elements in all these different struggles. If you look at Trinidad, I don't have the exact statistic statistics – difficult for me to estimate as well. But I would imagine that African Muslims make up approximately 1% of the population, 1%. But our impact has been much more than 1% on the society. Same thing in America. When you look at I mean, America has almost 300 million people. Now it's – well, there might be around maybe about 2 million African Muslims, if that much -- probably less than 3 million. Again, much more than 1% of the impact in the society.”
Farid Scoon, a lawyer and pioneer of the Black Muslim community in Trinidad, also reflects on the deep impact of Islam on the Afro-American experience.
“Islam combines, being a Muslim combines your politics and your spirituality in ways that nothing else does. No other religion, period, or way of life, period, combines it. You could be the strongest materialist soldier, but you will still be the most pious, simple, humble, crying person that you can be. And that is a combination. It's nowhere else found. So once a person discovers that about Islam – a man, right?— then there's nowhere else to go, you know? It's like you with a sword in the day and a tear, a crying at night.”
Afro-Trinidadians have explored various iterations of Islamic belief and practice, including Sunni, Shi’a and Sufi schools of thought. The following sections examine the sonic landscapes of Afro-Trinidadian Islam through featuring the intricate devotional expressions of Shi’a and Sufi Muslims.
shi’ism in Black: eulogizing martyrdom and sacrifice.
The first Shi’a Muslims to arrive in Trinidad were among the indentured Indian laborers in the 19th century. Indian Shi’a Muslims struggled to uphold their religious practices, particularly the commemoration of the martyrdom of Imam Husayn ibn Ali at the Battle of Karbala in 680 CE.[7] The day of the battle, which took place on the 10th day of the Islamic month of Muharram, is popularly referred to as the day of ‘Ashura.[8] Shi’a Muslims in the Indian Subcontinent construct replica cenotaphs in honor of the fallen Imam. This practice, which continued amongst Indian Shi’a in the Caribbean, became entrenched in the cultural matrix and local lexicon as ‘Hosay.’[9]
Hosay Procession in 1904, Trinidad (National Archives of Trinidad & Tobago)
Shi’a Islam first spread amongst Afro-Trinidadian Muslim converts following the 1979 Iranian Revolution, which made them aware of the political and spiritual philosophy of influential Shi’a figures such as Ayatollah Khomeini. Like their coreligionists across the globe, Afro-Trinidadian Shi’a commemorate the martyrdom of Imam Husayn through a variety of mourning rituals, including nawhas (lamentation chants). Over the past three decades, Afro-Trinidadian Shi’a have developed a rich repertoire of nawhas delivered in Trinidadian vernacular English and composed in the style of spoken word, calypso, and rapso.[10]
Recording Session for ‘Ashura Chants (July 2023)
The nawhas included below recount the events surrounding the martyrdom of Imam Husayn, most notably the cutting off of food and water to the Imam’s caravans in the days leading up to the battle. The nawhas eulogize the Imam’s family and followers, including his brother Abbas, his son Ali Asghar and his nephew Qasim, who were all killed on the battlefield. The nawhas also lament the fate of Imam Husayn’s infant son Ali Asghar, who was brutally murdered as the Imam pleaded with the enemy forces for water for the children. The Imam’s sister Zaynab, who bravely faced the ruling caliph in his court in Damascus as a prisoner after the battle, is also memorialized in several nawhas.
Murder in Karbala
This is a ballad that recounts the events leading up to the Battle of Karbala. The ballad, rendered in calypso musical form, relates certain supernatural events that occur in the wake of Imam Husayn’s martyrdom. This includes the Imam’s severed head reciting Qur’an to distract from the women in his caravan who were stripped of their hijab as they were marched from Karbala to the court of the caliph Yazid in Damascus.
Shi’a Procession in Honor of Imam Husayn, Port of Spain (July 2023)
Imam Husayn
This nawha recounts the sacrifice of Imam Husayn in detail, focusing on the brutality of the forces of the caliph Yazid and the magnitude of the suffering and sacrifice of Imam Husayn. The nawha also extolls the virtues of martyrdom and standing up for one’s principles.
Shaheed
This nawha eulogizes Imam Husayn and his sacrifice by drawing connections with the struggles faced by people in Trinidad. The reciter is overcome with emotion during the recording – this exemplifies the deep affective connections that Shi’a Muslims experience with the tragic narrative of the Imam’s suffering and martyrdom.
on the path of enlightenment.
The Tijani Tariqa in Trinidad
The Tijani tariqa (Sufi order) was founded in the 18th century by Shaykh Ahmad Tijani (1735-1815). While the order originated in North Africa, it is now most widespread in West Africa, including Senegal, the Gambia, Mali and Ghana. The tariqa has also spread to the Americas and Europe largely through West African diasporas and a growing interest in Sufism amongst Afrodescendant people.[11]
Shaykh Muhammad Abdullahi Cissé established a Tijani Sufi community in Trinidad in the late 1990s. During a recorded session at their zawiya (gathering place), Shaykh Cissé speaks about his personal spiritual journey, which led to the establishment of the Tijani order in Trinidad. His spiritual wayfaring begins with a dream that features Shaykh Ibrahim Niasse.
“I had long been a student of comparative religion, and that quest led me eventually to the path of Islam. And that's another story by itself. And after having entered the fold of Islam, by Allah's grace, I came to know Allah as a reality, as a beat in my heart. And from my understanding and pursuit of spiritual mysticism in all the different forms and parts, I knew that there was something more than this, what was seen on the surface where Islam is concerned. I was invited spiritually to be part of the different Sufi orders that we have. But my heart was not really inclined totally to any. So I continued on my path. Somewhere back in 1982, I had bought a book in a bookstore in Bangalore in southern India called Islamic Sufism and Mysticism. And that continued to be like a guide to me. So I understand that there's an inner Sufi part to Islam. And that was my request – and my quest was for Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala (The Most Glorified, the Most High) to guide me to that which is that. One night I found myself in vision in an airport in South Africa. And this tall African man, he is telling the lady at the check-in counter to give him a ticket to Africa— for Africa. I remembered his face very clearly. Years later, I came to know the being to be Sheikh Ibrahim Niasse. And I will say that through his grace, I was led to Sheikh Hassan Cissé. And I – it is in that light that I then became a Tijani. So it was the guidance of Allah and His blessing that led me to Shaykh Ibrahim. And before Shaykh Ibrahim and Shaykh Hassan in that gap, I would have the wonderful aspect of life where Shaykh Ibrahim would be coming in visions to me, and he would be teaching me.. And that was my start on the pathway.”
Logo of the Tijani Community in Trinidad
Sufi devotion is marked by the practice of dhikr (remembrance), in which phrases extolling the attributes of God and in some cases, salawāt (blessings) on the Prophet Muhammad and his family are repeatedly recited. In one such recitation, Shaykh Cissé leads his followers in a spirited repetition of La Ilaha illa Allah (There is no God but God).
During a gathering at their zawiya, Shaykh Cissé speaks about the connection between spiritual freedom and freedom from oppression. He cites the ongoing atrocities faced by the besieged people of Gaza as an example of the ways in which spirituality can engender true freedom of the human being.
“Well, we have a living example in Gaza right now. We have a living example. We have a living example of walking saints, when you watch them in Gaza right now. You have people there who are – you see them being bombed to death, and you see them, their hands clutching the Qur’an. Yes? You’re seeing children themselves, you know, comforting the elders and you’re seeing elders who are accepting their fate, not in any sense of hopelessness, but knowing and telling you that the help of Allah is near, even though they're being bombed to smithereens the help of Allah is near. You’re seeing a spirituality that is real before your eyes. You’re seeing an oppressor who has bombed the people’s mosque out of existence, and they stand in the streets and they’re observing their Jumu’ah salaat (Friday prayer). You’re seeing them gather and cooking leaves and cooking grass and they’re making their iftar – they’re breaking their fast in the month of Ramadan. There is no greater freedom that you can see expressed, no greater expression of freedom that you can see as you have living before us now in Gaza. Their spirit is free. Their religion is real. Their hold on life is nothing but amazing. Their inspiration for us out here who have everything is profound. So, you cannot have any kind of freedom if you do not have spiritual freedom. You cannot speak of any kind of freedom without having that. And chains cannot make, cannot bind a man if his spirit is free. We saw that with the underground movement with the slaves in the United States, and we’re seeing it even now with the people of Gaza. Yeah?
So, there is a connect and it's an unbreakable connection between your spiritual freedom, your mental freedom. Even as Bob Marley says – has coined it well – you have to liberate yourself from the mental slavery. The fact is that – but to have that liberation, you have to come to “Man ‘arafa nafsahu ‘arafa rabbuhu”— The Prophet [Muhammad] says “he who knows himself, knows his Lord.” So you have to come to know yourself. And when a man knows himself, he knows his Lord. And that knowing of yourself is what brings the freedom. Sufism brings you to that point of self-knowledge. Sending salawāt (salutations) upon the Prophet brings you to that point of self-knowledge, because sending salawāt on the Prophet will bring you to the point where you will come to know that there is no other God but Allah. But even – you come to know even more than that – because the Qur’an tells you: “Wa’lamu anna fikum Rasulullah” – “So, know that in you is the Prophet.” “Annabiyyu awla bilmu’mineena min anfusihim” – “And The Prophet is nearer to the believers than their own selves.”
Your sending of salawāt completely upon the Prophet, with the thought that when you're sending the salawāt, you’re not just sitting with your dhikr (remembrance) beads doing it, but when you pick up your dhikr beads and you pick up your mind to make your salawāt, you’re sending salawāt with the understanding that you are not only in the presence of the Prophet, but the Prophet – peace be upon him – is in you. And that is the most liberating feeling that you could ever have, because that is the reality. Because even though we all here and we’re all seeing things differently, because that is what we are taught to see – but everyone here is nothing else but the manifestation of the light of Rasulullah (the Prophet Muhammad). Allah was a thing unknown, and he desired to be known, and from His light he created the light of Muhammad, and from that light, all light from the Christ light right back down to Adam, all was created. So there is nothing made that was not made. And there is nothing made that is not Him. If you have that nature and you are living in that consciousness, no matter how things appear, you are free. As one Eastern teacher used to say, and even though attained, it appears unattained. So a person will watch and say, “Oh! I don’t have to worry, because no one knows the state of an ‘arif (knower), but another ‘arif.” And a being can decide to work on something, and you work on it, and Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala (The Most Glorified, the Most High) will not deprive you of your wages. Once your approach on your work is sincere. Bismillah (In the Name of Allah) – may we all be sure.”
interviewees.
DR. DAVID MUHAMMAD
Dr. David Muhammad is a scholar and community leader, who heads the Trinidad and Tobago branch of the Nation of Islam. He also spearheads the Black Agenda Project, which includes a radio show and other community initiatives aimed at raising Black consciousness and economic independence. In 2018, Dr. M inaugurated the Kwame Ture Centre, which hosts free lessons for secondary school students and African Trade Expos.
MUHAMMAD LUQMAN ABDUL LATEEF
Muhammad Luqman Abdul Lateef is an accomplished engineer who has worked in various industrial sectors. He has served in various leadership roles at various Muslim institutions in Trinidad, most recently as the Imam of the Imam-e-Zamana Mission in Port of Spain. Abdul Lateef is an avid student of Islamic sciences and has imparted his knowledge of the religion with younger generations of the community.
FARID SCOON
Farid Scoon is a respected lawyer and Islamic community pioneer who has worked in several institutions and community initiatives over the past three decades. He has traveled extensively throughout the Islamicate world and has represented the Muslim community in several fora. He has consistently advocated for ongoing research into the history and legacy of the Muslim community in Trinidad.
SHAYKH MUHAMMAD ABDULLAHI CISSÉ
Shaykh Muhammad Abdullahi Cissé is leader of a Trinidad and Tobago chapter of the Tijani Sufi brotherhood. Shaykh Cissé is connected to several leaders of the brotherhood in Senegal, and travels regularly to Medina Baye, one the spiritual seats of his Sufi order. Shaykh Cissé is also overseeing the development of an eco-resort and spiritual retreat that he and his community plan to complete in the near future.
notes.
[1] For more on this, see: Diouf, Sylviane.1998. Servants of Allah: African Muslims Enslaved in the Americas. New York: New York University Press; and Gomez, Michael. 2005. Black Crescent: The Experience and Legacy of African Muslims in the Americas. New York: Cambridge University Press.
[2] Campbell, Carl. 1975. “John Mohammed Bath and the Free Mandingos in Trinidad: the Question of Their Repatriation to Africa 1831-38,” Journal of African Studies 2(4):467-495
[3] Muhammadu Sisei is one such individual who managed to make his way to England, where he was assisted in his repatriation to the Gambia by a British captain. For more on this, see Campbell, Carl. 1975. “Mohammedu Sisei of Gambia and Trinidad, c. 1788-1838,” African Studies Association of the West Indies Bulletin 7: 29-38.
[4] Between 1845 and 1917, over one hundred thousand Indian indentured laborers settled in Trinidad.
[5] See Dabydeen, David, and Brinsley Samaroo, eds. 1987. India In The Caribbean. London: Hansib Publications Ltd.
[6] The Black Power Revolution in Trinidad and Tobago was spearheaded by the National Joint Action Committee (NJAC), which was established in 1970 by students at the University of the West Indies. NJAC was launched in response to the arrest of Afro-Trinidadian students at a Canadian university in 1969, after they protested against the discriminatory practices of some of their professors. The movement culminated in a series of mass protests against socioeconomic inequalities and lack of opportunities for the Afro- and Indo-Trinidadian working classes.
[7] Imam Husayn was the grandson of the Prophet Muhammad and the third Imam in the Shi’a tradition. Imam Husayn and his small group of followers were slain in battle at Karbala (which is located in present-day Iraq) following the Imam’s refusal to pledge allegiance to the ruling caliph, Yazid ibn Mu’awiyah.
[8] Muharram is the first month in the Islamic calendar.
[9] See Korom, Frank. 2003. Hosay Trinidad: Muharram Performances in an Indo-Caribbean Diaspora. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
[10] Rapso is a musical genre that evolved from calypso, which traces its roots to the chantwell or griot tradition brought to the Americas by enslaved Africans.
[11] See Carter, Youssef. 2019. “Black Muslimness Mobilized: West African Sufism in Diaspora.” American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences 36(1): 1-28.
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Citation: Siwaju, Fatima. “'Never Fear Yet!' Narratives of Resistance and Resilience in Afro-Trinidadian Islam." SPIRIT HOUSE: A Crossroads Project. January 2025. Date Accessed. https://www.crossroads-spirithouse.org/siwaju.
Dr. Fatima Siwaju received her PhD in Anthropology from Princeton University. In August 2023, Dr. Siwaju joined the Carter G. Woodson Institute for African American and African Studies at the University of Virginia as an Assistant Professor. Her academic interests center on Islam in Afro-Latin America and the Caribbean, citizenship and the politics of belonging, and African diaspora intellectual traditions. She is currently working on her first book manuscript, which explores the intersections of race, religion, and citizenship as they pertain to the lived experiences of Black Shi’i Muslims in the Colombian Pacific. Dr. Siwaju also served as a 2022-2023 Dissertation Scholar at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
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