Hummusgirl's Blog

If African Americans were farmers as slaves and there are still black farmers around, would any Islamic African Americans be farmers?  Because their ancestors were probably farmers in Africa.  So if people in the Middle East were hunter gatherers a long time ago, and African Americans did all the work for white people for a couple hundred years, then maybe Islamic African Americans feel a kinship with their Islamic people from way back when.  Maybe they want a connection with their past, which is why they have donned the customs of Islam.

If Islam is ancient, than maybe tradition has been played around with so much, that it’s ok if American African Americans take this religion and make it their own.  People throw riots in the Middle East just as African Americans get caught in chaos here.  Coincidence?  Maybe not.  Maybe all those years of social injustice have reached the breaking point.  And many of the people in those ethnic groups are still struggling. 

It’s interesting that African cuisine is generally healthier than the soul food that African Americans have come up with here.  Maybe soul food is partially responsible for fast food.  Maybe it’s our way of coming to terms with our slavery past since we can’t bear the thought of being racist anymore, we just eat our way to forgiveness.

If all African Americans turned Islamic, I mean the original Islamic, not some schism of that religion, what would they eat?  Pork is against the Islamic religion, so maybe since we produce way more chicken and beef than pork in this country, Muslims have an easier time eating.  What if there was a cuisine just for Muslim African Americans?  Would they accept authentic Muslim food, or are fast food joints ok with them?

But because a lot of countries have Muslims, I wonder if immigrants that come to the US from those countries have a harder time finding food that meets their restrictions than in their homeland.   Because it seems like the US is notorious for taking advantage of people’s food decisions and turning them into people without a past.