“He wasn’t good, he was great. It felt like I was watching a god play basketball.” -Shaquille O’Neill

Are you familiar with Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf?

If we’re connected on Instagram, then you know I’ve talked about him for years. In the same class as Ali, he was the original Kaepernick. I usually use the latter as the reference, rather than Ali, because contemporary info details his fight more than that of Ali’s.

As his career was taking off, on principle (a man after my own heart!), Abdul-Rauf refused to stand for the American anthem.

And so, white supremacy did what it does best.

Like it did to Ali. And like it did to Kaepernick.

He lost his livelihood. Was slandered. The KKK burned his house to the ground. This man has been through it, y’all.

This is a righteous man. Principled, with integrity; every single thing about his life story is worth all of your time.

He and I have mutual friends, and so we follow one another on Instagram. His character is out of this world, and he is a far far far better Muslim than I. Converts to this deen, man. Unmatched. A post on converts soon, because I believe that they are among the best in this Ummah. And, I love that a convert to Islam – no matter their history – starts with a clean slate and is to be treated as such among our Muslim family. ❤️

His political opinions continue to be searing, clear-visioned and unyielding in their demand for justice. Like I said, a man after my own heart.

If you’re in the US, you can watch the documentary Stand about his life. Watch the trailer here.

If you’re in Canada, the only way to watch the documentary is through a US-created Paramount account (because Paramount US won’t let you create an account using PayPal, and so need to see your credit card info. And they only have a drop-down for State, so you can’t populate a Province; meaning you can’t use your credit card, meaning you can’t create an account), while using a VPN. I’ve tried, and have put a shout-out to my American friends to send me their Paramount login info for an evening. The man himself is also trying to help me figure out how to watch this thing, alhamduliLaah.

Until then, pick up a copy of his book (published by Kaepernick!) In The Blink of An Eye. It’s beautiful, and I pray that this man receives all of this dunya’s relief as Allah promises after such hardship. Equally, may he be elevated to the highest stations of Al-Fardous to sit and rest with Ali and Malcolm. But not yet; we still need you here, akhi.

The above comes with the necessary reminder that Paramount is on the boycott list. So after you watch the documentary, to support and raise its numbers, you should cancel your subscription, please and thank you.

Let me know when you’ve read the book, and / or watched the documentary.

Big love to you each x

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