Ex-Black Panther gives speech

H. Rap Brown, ex-Black Panther and former director of the Student Non-Violence Coordinating Committee, has changed a lot since the 1960s. Now known as Imam Jamil Al-Amim, Brown brought his less radical, more fundamentalist views to about 300 people assembled at the University Museum's Harrison Auditorium last night. The program was sponsored by the Black Student League, the Muslim Students Association, and the African-American Studies Department. Engineering and Wharton sophomore Azam Ali began the evening by chanting verses from the Koran, the Islamic holy book. BSL President Kaplan Mobray also spoke briefly before Brown was introduced with blessings and praise. Entitled "Slavery to Slavery: The African-American Struggle," Brown's speech concentrated on the Black Muslim view of and response to struggle. Islam recognizes two types of struggle, he explained – kahbad, which is a condition inherent for all humankind, and jihad, which is conscious and enables people to understand the reality of their creator. "The Creator has created men, but to worship him – to be bondsmen," he said. Brown admitted, however, that "every group in humanity encounters some kind of struggle – no race is monolithic." He further focused on the importance of prayer for successful struggle, especially for Muslims, saying that the "only part of the species that we know of with the capability of belief is man, and that is what separates us from the beasts." Religion remained Brown's focus throughout the presentation, as he proceeded to discuss the continued importance of the pillars of Islam to today's society. He suggested that three of these pillars – fasting during Ramadan, a pilgrimage to Mecca and charity – are intended by Allah to create "self-restraint" and "discipline," which will aid in remedying problems like disease, drug abuse and sexual deviance. "What this society has produced en masse," he said, "is a sick kind of being." Brown expounded on his view that the phrase "all men are created equal" is not a "truism," because "freedom is relative to individuals?Allah raises men by degrees." Before concluding his presentation, Brown returned to the subject of struggle, restating his belief that "to be successful in struggle, one has to deal with one's self." Audience members said they enjoyed listening to Brown's inspirational words.

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