Finding freedom in faith
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Those stories of the resilience of Muslim slaves of African descent are beautiful and they show that melancholia (the way Freud and Sara Ahmed describe it) can be beautiful and sometimes, it is necessary. In their case, I think it was necessary. Having faith in something bigger than us, being a believer is a feeling that empowers us. If they had not have stuck to their faith despite the limitation, the restrictions and the punishments that it could bring, some of them maybe would not have survived the atrocities associated with enslavement. To the questions ‘’ Why would already undernourished enslave Muslims undergo it (Ramadan)? Why would zakāt and sadaqa, with their economic functions and requirements, be important to enslaved Muslims? My answer is that faith empowers an individual, even when in the eyes of others that person seems restricted and helpless. Believing in God can be liberating.
As a practicing Muslim woman, I get why it was important for those enslaved Muslims to always defend their ‘’Muslimness’’ by practicing as much as they could despite the risks associated with their practices. Ramadan and zakat are pillars of Islam, which means that it’s an obligation upon every Muslim who is healthy enough to fast without harming themselves, who is not restricted to do so and who has the intention to fulfill this, only for God’s sake. The zakat, is a responsibility upon every Muslim who has a minimum amount of wealth. The enslaved Muslims for whom it was important to fast and to give from what they had probably did not even have enough means for their own needs and most certainly did not have wealth in a way where they would be amongst those who must give zakat. But it’s about faith. Also, I think that some of them might have had in mind that all the hardship they were going through would be rewarded (by Allah) at the end. For others, it could also have been a form of resistance to the beliefs the slave owners and the authorities wanted them to submit to.
Another example of transgenerational ‘’ positive/beneficial ‘’ melancholia that was seen amongst the children and grandchildren of slaves is that they kept some traditions. For example, at the end of the month of Ramadan (eid) , some enslaved Muslims in Brazil used to exchange gifts, the saraka /saka. In a similar way that today at that same period some Muslims exchange gifts to relatives and friends. A woman whose great-grandfather used to do this with her parents is doing it with her own family the same way traditions are transmitted from one generation to another. I see it as positive melancholia because it is a way for the descendants to connect to the practices of their ancestors and it is related to joyful memories and celebration. -
@cathy_ndiaye2's point about melancholia is especially important here. I hope we'll get around to discussing it in class today.