So who are the “Bickersons”? (the first time I heard this used is from the book Spousonomics) In my view this is any couple who quarrel a lot. It’s like walking around with steel shoes through a field of egg shells laced with magnetic dynamite. No matter what the topic, an argument is going to pop off and more than likely it will be explosive. It’s taking the most nuanced issues and blowing them up into stellar battles of galatic proportions. In most instances the root of the “bickering” is something else, but these smaller issue serve as “death by a thousand cuts” to the relationship which can leave both people extremely unhappy.

I’m reaching the last couple books to round out my research on my beige paper (We’ll it’s actually a white paper but I’m not a professor or a man with a P.h.d so it will be a beige paper for now) on the Science of Relationships. What started out as an idea for a blog post on some of the neurology and psychology behind how men and women interact in their relationships eventually grew into a “beige paper” on this same subject. One of the books is called Spousonomics: Using Economics to Master Love, Marriage, and Dirty Dishes by Paula Szuchman. Wait…now before you run to the hills and say “There’s no way I’m taking relationship advice from some economist”, you should realize that out of the 15-20 books that have contributed to my research over the last 3 years, this book is one of the most pragmatic and helpful books on rooting out some of the underlying dysfunctions of many relationships. I’m not saying this because I love economics, I’m saying this because the information is very straight forward, honest and pragmatic.

Many of the problems that are identified in this book have been painstakingly researched over decades and although the book has a “economics” wrapper, you don’t have to know anything about economics to understand how to run your relationship like an economy that is experiencing robust growth instead of a depression (which unfortunately many relationships are). Below you’ll find two audio snippets from the book that highlight a couple issues that bring about much angst in too many relationships. Suprisingly one of the biggest pain points for most relationships (that eventually lead the decline of the relationship) is household chores. Before you dismiss this as some strange aberration, check out this quote from the book Spousonomics:

If arguing over chores seems petty to you, consider this: In 2007, the Pew Research Center conducted a survey that asked “What makes a marriage work?” The number one answer was faithfulness, followed by sex. Makes sense. But third, ahead of everything else, including kids, money, and religion: sharing household chores.

Other research backs this up. According to a 2009 survey of working women by the Boston Consulting Group, the second most common thing people argue about with their partners are household chores. That’s behind money but ahead of sex, work, and raising kids. In our own Exhaustive, Groundbreaking, and Very Expensive Marriage Survey, 73 percent of women said they did more than 50 percent of the housework, whereas only 40 percent of men said they did more than half the housework (you have to a least give the men credit for honesty)

A couple days ago I was on a thread talking about relationships and many of the complaints were related to the roles and responsibilities of the house. To be honest, that was about 50% of the complaints. There seemed to be a wide dichotomy (of Grand Canyon proportions) on who should do what in the house. However, enjoy the audio snippets:

50/50 Household chores vs Comparative Advantage

The importance of changing the Rules in your relationship

Below is a letter that I would like to send to a Masjid that I have frequented for several years. I wrote this post right after last year’s Eid Al-Adha because my experiences at a particular Masjid have become so frustrating. For the sake of privacy I have blocked out those areas of the letter that would give any indication of the Masjid I’m referring to. This particular Masjid has done lots of good work. They provide a house of worship for Muslims, Eid, Taraweeh, Arabic classes for children and adults, not to mention do lots of charity. They have done many good works (fisabilillah), but have unfortunately come up short in binding the congregants together across ethnic and or racial lines. Although this letter was spawned from my experiences at this Masjid, this is a problem at many Masjids. Whether the Masjid is in the U.S. or abroad. I hope that this letter reaches as many people as possible (inshallah), especially those leaders (Imams) of certain Masjids. As believing Muslims we cannot choose to ignore this problem as being silent on this issue is akin to being an enabler of this problem of cultural nepotism.

As Salaam Alaikum Wa Rahmatullah.

It is with great sadness and frustration that I write these words. I have been frequenting this Masjid at

As a person of African descent (African American/West Indian) I have never felt completely welcome at this Masjid. I realize that the majority ethnicity is Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi and this monolithic South Asian community has intentionally or unintentionally created a wall of “ethnic Islam” that does not bode well for those individuals who are of a different ethnicity. I’ll explain.

Several times during the closing of the Eid Khutbah and many brothers are giving their well wishes, I have found myself completely by myself and somewhat ignored. I have had congregants look away from me and bypass me to give their well wishes to others. I have also observed this ill-loving behavior towards other brothers of African descent. This might seem trivial at first glance, but I have experienced this behavioral phenomenon in this center for several years. In addition, many times during the closing prayer and the Khateeb is rattling off countries of concern, I’ve yet to hear the Khateeb mention Africa. You hear Indonesia, Pakistan, Iraq, Palestine, Middle Eastern countries etc, but never Africa. You know where one of the largest populations of Muslims are? Africa. Over 30% of the global Muslim population lives in Africa. And considering all the issues that are going on in Africa (with such a large Muslim population), this continent should be on our Islamic radar.

Not that this is merely a numbers game, but I’m bringing this to your attention because there are many brothers and sisters of African descent (whether born in America or abroad) who feel ostracized and this cognitive dissonance towards ethnicities outside of your own needs to be addressed. Ignoring the problem will deepen the cultural fault lines in the Masjid. Even a simple As Salaam Alaikum to many other brothers is often ignored. The salaam rebuttal is robotic at best. I want to make it clear that this monolithic cultural problem is an issue at many Masjids. A very good and dear family member of mine who runs several Masjids in NY) frequented a Pakistani Masjid this past Eid (Eid Al –Adha 2010) and was given the same ill-loving treatment. After the Eid Khutbah not one member gave him and his brother well wishing nor shook his hand. No Salaams and no Eid Mubarak whatsoever. Completely ignored as if he and his brothers were the invisible men in the Masjid.

The Messenger of Allah [s] further guides us by saying:

“Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should be hospitable with his or her guests.”

This monolithic cultural problem is not exclusive to just South Asian or Middle Eastern dominated Masjids. I have many close friends of mine who are of Pakistani and Middle Eastern descent who have frequented majority African Masids and have been given the same cold treatment. This is a problem in many Masjids, not just yours. Several years ago I visited Dubai and attended a Khutbah were the Khateebs’s main focus of the lecture was this same ethnicity issue. Although Islam makes it clear that we are all brothers and sisters in Islam, irrespective of ethnicity, I don’t believe that many people take this important message to heart, not to mention carry it out in their day-to-day lives. I want to be very clear on this issue, I’m not looking for some type of “charity love” from this Masjid. Patronizing me or others, with guilt driven acts, condescension, or empty or contrived intentions is just as dangerous. This is an issue that has to be fixed over time. Here are a couple of suggestions. These suggestions are based on successes from other Masjids that have had this problem:

1. Do more Khutbahs on the roots of racism and indifference. By not highlighting the problem this will not build awareness among the Ummah. Hear no evil, see no evil.
2. You should seek a more diverse group of Khateebs for your Khutbahs. Get groups from every walk of life. Young, old, converts to Islam, different ethnicities (especially those ethnicities that the congregants seldom see or talk to), etc so the congregants can see the Masjid demonstrating a core part of Islam, diversity.
3. Participate in helping countries that are outside of your culture and make it clear to the congregants that the Masjid is apart of this effort. One of the Masjids I volunteer at not only help countries in Bangladesh and India, but they do a lot of work in Africa too. Keep in mind that the Masjid is not run by Africans or South Asians. Yes, there are floods in Pakistan, but there are also floods in Dakar and Benin too. We need to step out of our comfort zone and lend a hand to all in need, not just those that have the same cultural background.
4. Get the congregants of the Masjid to meet up with other Masjids that are of a completely different ethnicity and/or Madhab and utilize the common ground that all Muslims have, the Quran and related Hadiths. There is no doubt this will help to melt away some of the perceived cultural differences.

Very similar to your point in the Khutbah you did for this past Eid-Al-Adha, we have to do more than just talk. Just like our children will be watching our actions, so will the congregants monitor the actions of the Masjid. With the Masjid being a central part of the community, it is critical that we remove this oppressive disease from our hearts (Allahualim). There is a perverse level of otherness and xenophobia that exists in our Masjids. This type of behavior would be unacceptable during the days of the Prophet (PBUH), and it is unacceptable today.

Before I bring this letter to a close, I will leave you with a reminder from our glorious Quran, a paragraph from the Prophets Last Sermon and related Hadiths which specifically touches on this subject:

Surat Al-Hujurat:
“O Mankind, We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know each other. Verily the most honored of you in the sight of God is he who is the most righteous of you” (Quran 49:13).

From the Prophets Last Sermon:
“All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves.

Remember, one day you will appear before ALLAH and answer your deeds. So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.”

This is a very eye-opening Hadith on the evils of discrimination, prejudice and racism. The explanation below is pulled from a lecture by Shaykh Muhammad Hannini from his lecture Loss of an Ummah by the An-Nahda Institute.
It was also transmitted, in two different versions, by Ibn al-Mubarak in his two books, Al-Birr and As-Salah, that a disagreement occurred between Abu Dharr and Bilal. The context of this hadith is Abu Dharr and Bilal were having a discussion among the other companions about the war. Abu Dharr mentioned something and Bilal corrected Abu Dharr. Abu Dharr got extremely upset and said “Even YOU, son of a black woman is going to tell me that I am wrong?” After hearing this Bilal was extremely upset and said to Abu Dharr, “By Allah, I will complain to Rasulullah (PBUH) to tell him about what you said.” Bilal went to Rasulullah (PBUH) and said Rasulullah, “Did you hear what Abu Dharr said?”. The Prophet responded, “What did he say about you?”. Bilal then explained the incident between him and Abu Dharr. Rasulullah (PBUH). After hearing this, the honorable face of Rasulullah (PBUH) changed. With Abu Dharr using skin color he was threatening the bond of the brother’s and sisters.

The identity of emaan is being threatened. When you call someone the son of a black woman, this is not something light. After the news had spread about the incident, he went to the Rasulullah (PBUH) in the Masjid and said to The Messenger (PBUH) The Messenger (PBUH), “As Salaam Alaikum”. Abu Dharr later reported that he wasn’t sure if the The Messenger (PBUH) answered him back. The Messenger (PBUH) of Allah (saw) was extremely upset by Abu Dharr’s comment, so he (saw) rebuked him by saying, “That is too much, Abu Dharr. He who has a white mother has no advantage which makes him better than the son of a black mother.” In addition to this he said to Abu Dharr, “Did you tell him (Bilal) about his mother ? Did you put him down because of the color of his mother? You are a man who has jahiliyyah (kuffur) [disbelief] in him”. Abu Dharr cried. He went to Rasulullah (PBUH), “Forgive me, and ask Allah (SWT) to forgive me.” He left the Masjid weeping with tears. This rebuke had a profound effect on Abu Dharr, who then put his head on the ground (dirt) swearing that he would not raise it until Bilal had put his foot on his face. He said to Bilal, “You are the honorable person, and I am the humiliated person”. Bilal cried, and then came close to the cheek of Abu Dharr and hugged him, then said “Abu Dharr, a forehead that does sujud to Allah, does not get stepped on, but rather gets kissed”.

As quoted in Islam The Natural Way by Abdul Wahid Hamid p. 125

A man once visited the Prophet’s Masjid in Madinah. There he saw a group of people sitting and discussing their faith together. Among them were Salman (who came from Persia), Suhayb who grew up in the Eastern Roman empire and was regarded as a Greek, and Bilal who was an African. The man then said:

“If the (Madinan) tribes of Aws and Khazraj support Muhammad, they are his people (that is, Arabs like him). But what are these people doing here?”

The Prophet became very angry when this was reported to him. Straightaway, he went to the mosque and summoned people to a Salat. He then addressed them saying:

“O people, know that the Lord and Sustainer is One. Your ancestor is one, your faith is one. The Arabism of anyone of you is not from your mother or father. It is no more than a tongue (language). Whoever speaks Arabic is an Arab.”

These proofs and evidences demonstrate that tribal ties, exclusive ethnic allegiances and blind nationalism have no place in Islam. Muslims are commanded to stick together and not disassociate themselves from each other because they come from different ethnicities. I’m not naïve to believe that JUST one cultural center is the core problem, it’s the lack of good manners, etiquette, and a need to reinforce a lovingly brotherhood/sisterhood which seems to breed in certain Masjids. The cultural polarization that is created from this behavior is like acid being poured on the bonds of the believers.

With much sincerity and respect,
Malik

• Loss of An Ummah by Mohammed Haninini
• Falling in to the Trap of Nationalism or/racism
• VIDEO: Explaining the Hadith Series 2 – (Racism & Tabari)
• 33 Tips to launch your personal Jihad against Racism and Nationalism
• Hospitality towards Guests
• Prophet Muhammad: The Hospitable

Don’t Believe the Hype. Healing comes first.

Hopefully you had a chance to read Part 1 of this series and get an idea of why I’m creating this series. if you haven’t I would suggest you read Part 1 first. so to continue the Forum I would start of with the first segment Don’t Believe the Hype. Healing Comes First.

So what exactly does this mean? Here is a re-cap from the first post:

Without the proper spiritual and mental healing, the next 3 parts of this post won’t mean much. This is about cleaning the mind, body and soul of all the toxic psychological and lifestyle impurities that divert us from greatness. So many of us talk about being powerful and independent but forget about having the proper dignity, candor, and humanity about themselves and the world around them. I believe this will help folks remove the self-hatred, spiritually deadening and self-defeating attitude that undermines our future.

In my eyes, outside of the most obvious barriers to proper self-development (institutional racism, poverty, inequality, pollution of religion, etc), there are three areas that I see have pinned the black community against itself:

1. Self-hatred
2. Loss of cultural history
3. Assimilation

I wish I had time to explain every single area but this is the top three:

Self-Hatred

The weird thing about self-hatred is it can take many forms. Some forms of self-hatred are more muted, while others are move obvious, like changing your skin color or getting a nose-job that reflects the ethnicity of another race. Some forms of self-hatred can take the form of socially or culturally distancing yourself from the ethnic group that you consider is a reminder of “your perceived” inferiority. Notice how I said, “your perceived” inferiority. It’s not that the inferiority actually exists, but that is how the dominant group has made you feel. Like a young women who considers herself inferior because her natural body weight is 160 pounds and anyone below that weight makes her feel like her body is inadequate. The brand of self-hatred I’m referring to is physical self-hatred. Like repressing the hatred you have for your nose, hair texture, skin color, lip size, or even how your body is shaped. These physical forms of self-hatred transform themselves into behaviors called “racial tweaking”. Racial tweaking is not redefining the whole self. It’s just changing a part of the self. Just changing enough to get beyond their own lack of self-esteem. Not necessarily by their own doing, but they have been cultured by the dominant social cultural paradigm to feel inadequate. The mechanism for identity change can be your social environment, entertainment, and other forms of “stereotype threats“. Now self-hatred is not a zero sum game. It’s extremely difficult to address, not to mention realizing you actually suffer from any form of self-hatred. It’s not like you can go to the doisufferfromselfhatred.com and take a test to score yourself. Not easy to tackle and usually requires years upon years to identify. Many of the individuals in this segment of the forum are experts at not only identifying the roots of self-hatred, but offering a plan to remove these mentally unstable stereotype threats.

In short, self-hatred pulls the community apart. Self-hatred does not allow the community to rise to it’s highest potential. Self-hatred breeds other bi-products like mistrust, low self-esteem, and in some extreme instances the coveting of the cultural traditions outside of your own, irrespective if that outside cultural tradition is destructive to you and your surrounding community. Self-hatred raises doubts about what you are personally capable of and the people you consider similar to you in culture, behavior, and tradition. I’ve seen it too many times to dismiss it as some psychological aberration that seldom invades our social space.

Loss of Cultural History

A person who doesn’t know their history is like a fish out of water. History serves as a guide to show you how to handle the future. The beautiful thing about history is we can learn from our ancestors on what worked and what didn’t work. In many instances, we can learn from the mistakes and triumphs from past civilizations while duplicating what worked and abandon what failed. In many instances I see problems of today, that were problems centuries ago. We ignore the past while trying to plant seeds of the future that are dependent on the lessons of the past. We have to recognize that history serves as a blueprint to master self-development. Many of you have heard me say, there is history, then there is “his-story”.

For many years I was a victim of “his-story”. For many years the only thing I was taught about my history was that people of African descent were “willing” slaves and then Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves, the Black Reconstruction happened, and then Civil Rights, then Black Power Movement, and then Black people assimilated into America and everything was great. I’m sure for many black students today, you can add Obama is the First Black President then “everything is great”. My first introduction to real “Black History” was in college. After getting in to the specifics of the real history of people of African descent from the Mali and Songhai Empire, to the Universities of Timbuktu, our inventions and cultural footprint, the close ties to Islam and Africa, Kemet and it’s cultural contributions to the world stage, slave rebellions, the entrepreneurial and social successes of Tulsa, the thousands of inventions that created by inventors of African descent, and the list goes on, I was transformed.

Now some might say, ‘Well many ethnicities aren’t aware of their contributions of their ancestors and where they contributed in history”. They seem to be doing fine. That’s easy to overlook when you “haven’t” been implicitly or explicitly written out of the halls of historic significance. When the presidents of the most powerful country are your ethnicity and the faces that appear on one of the most powerful currencies are your ethnicity, and that same ethnicity has reaped the monetary gains for hundreds of years, it’s easy to say, “What’s the big deal?”. This is not an attack on any ethnicity, but a reminder of how history does play a role in how you see yourself. After getting the “Real Story” of what happened over thousands of years leading up to today, I was transformed. I wasn’t the same person I was before. My outlook on what was possible had changed forever. I’m mentioning this because there was a significant change in my social identity which impacted my sense of self. I now knew my place in the world stage and no one could take that away from me again. (inshallah)

Assimilation

Some might say assimilation is all bad. Like most things in life, it depends on where you are standing in the pool. If you are in the shallow end you are okay, but if you are in the deep end (and you can’t swim) you are going under. At the root of assimilation is identity. Who am I and Who do I want to be? The part of assimilation I’m referring to is culture and tradition. What type of social cultural constructs and traditions have we inculcated in our day-to-day life? What are the long term impacts of these decisions? Are these choices to our benefit or our demise? What are the historic roots of these traditions and practices that we’ve chosen or have been subtly coerced to chose? Who are the owners of these traditions and practices and who is the supreme beneficiary if I decide to inculcate a particular behavior into my life? In addition, what are the incentives to abandon my own set of principle for something else? Because the benefits and/or consequences of assimilating is not a zero sum game, you can see that there are a variety of questions one should ask as they develop their cultural and social identity. I don’t have a smoking gun, but I would encourage everyone to incorporate a reductionist approach about where you get your cultural values and social cues from. Seek out the root and sources of your behavior and traditions. Why do you associate yourself with certain cultural ideas? How have you been socialized or in some instances conditioned to believe a particular social idea? How is your identity tied to your social and cultural environment? Once again I have more questions than answers, but this reductionist exercise will serve as path to revealing who you are and to a certain degree, why you are?

Forum Participants:

Dr. Joy Degry Leary – Author of Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome: America’s Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing.
Forum Topic: Self-Hatred, Assimilation, Loss of Cultural History
The first time I heard the term Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome (PTSS), was I skeptically curious. In my head I felt, “Well slavery was a long time ago, and something that happened hundreds of years ago couldn’t possibly have any significant impact on my behavior or how I see things culturally?”. Well I’m here to say, I was wrong. Props to my home girl Melissa Alvarado for blessing me with this book. Dr. Joy Degry Leary’s books and related media have had a dramatic impact on my life that I now buy this book for different friends and family, and yes, not just black people. All my friends, no matter what their ethnicity, have been introduced to this book. As I said in the past, this book could very well be called “Why Slavery in America has Subconsciously Impacted Everyone in the Country, but Because We (Everyone) Had Cognitive Dissonance About the post-impacts of Slavery, We (Everyone) Thought the Long Term Psychological Collateral Damage did NOT Exist”.

Dr. John Rich – Author of Wrong Place, Wrong Time: Trauma and Violence in the Lives of Young Black Men
Forum Topics: Self-Hatred
I read John Rich’s book a couple months back and what I found was a window into some of the psychological trauma that is endured when black men our held hostage by the violence that surrounds them. In some instances, these incidences of violence became the accepted norm. Now we’ve all heard about the bad news about violence in the black community, but is there any good news? The good news is that we can address this psychological trauma but it’s not easy. Being in an environment of violence creates a lingering feeling of Post-traumatic stress disorder. Like a soldier who has come back from war, it’s hard to turn off that heightened state of awareness and caution because this feeling of insecurity/fear/rage has been baked into the wiring of the mind. What Dr. Rich does is “levels” with us on the severity of violence and cautions us by explaining how dangerous it is to blame the victim. The community has to rally around and support our friends and families who have been victims of ultra-violence.

Sandra L. Bloom – Author of Creating Sanctuary: Toward the Evolution of Sane Societies
Forum Topics: Self-Hatred
I have not read this book yet, but Dr. John Rich was inspired by Sandra Bloom’s work which eventually led to Wrong Place, Wrong Time. What I really like about Sandra Bloom work is she’s attempting at resolving past social and psychological conflicts that destroy communities and tear way at human bonds. Nothing clearly demonstrates what she is trying to accomplish than the description from her book:

“Bloom and her colleagues have come to believe that unresolved, multi-generational, often forgotten trauma leads to a compulsion to repeat that is a powerful force in individual and social history. Because of this unresolved legacy of trauma, all of our social systems are “trauma-organized,” producing institutions which are unresponsive to and often directly counter to human needs.”

Tim Wise – Author of White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son
Forum Topics: Assimilation, Loss of Cultural History
When it comes to articulating the depth, complexity, and history of inequality it doesn’t get better than Tim Wise. Obviously Tim Wise being white and having such a honest approach towards understanding the roots of ethnic privilege in America gives us an an insider view that we seldom hear about. In short, where does ethnicity play a role in the policy choices of America? Where does ethnicity play a role in the control of scare resources on planet earth? How are we all impacted by this “chess game” of self-interest and modern day tribal lines that in some instances fall along ethnic alliances? Tim Wise’s insight is akin to a placing a high powered microscope on racial and ethnic lines that have grown out of the imbalanced and often oppressive roots of America. Our cognitive dissonance about these critical matters is a form of self-medication. If I don’t think about it, it doesn’t exist, but Tim Wise shines a big ole introspective bright light on that dissonance and breaks it down in areas where many so-called “social inequality” commentators fall short.

Dr. Claude M. Steele – Author of Whistling Vivaldi: And Other Clues to How Stereotypes Affect Us (Issues of Our Time)
Forum Topics: Assimilation, Self-Hatred
The one thing that is really amazing about life, is you reach a point where you think you have absolute insight into a particular area, then someone comes along and knocks you out with a perspective that changes your life forever. Dr. Claude M Steele did that for me. His insight into the roots of what he calls “Stereotype Threats” and how they impact our behavior is worth it’s weight in gold. If the Board of Education had any heart they would make this required reading for every single teacher. I’m actually going to suggest this book to the Board of Education. It should also be required reading for students. The biggest problem with identity dysfunction and how we’ve been culturally socialized, is the roots of our issues are repressed. We wrap these foggy layers of repression around our identity problems in hopes that we can cloak them indefinitely. Once again, more dissonance. It’s extremely dangerous and can have long term effects on how we see ourselves in this grand social experiment, called life. Dr. Steele identifies these stereotype threats with clarity while offering honest solutions. Many of the authors and doctors in this forum offer answers. We are not left holding a bag of problems without having the proper solutions to help us to remove the items in the bag and putting them in a safe place so we are not directly impacted.

This is a quote I pulled from a brilliant documentary called A Great and Might Walk by Dr. John Henrike Clark. This documentary was produced in 1996 and executive produced by Wesley Snipes. Wesley also does some of the narration. Dr. Clark has so many quotables, he might as well be an emcee. I consider him the “emcee” of Pan-African History and Thought.

These closing thoughts remind me of how important it is keep an eye on the future, but still use the past as a guiding light. Talk is cheap and inaction is worse.

Dr. Henrike Clark’s closing thoughts from A Great and Mighty Walk (1996):

I do not think the African, Caribbean, and Blacks have studied to any degree and depth and seriousness the rise of modern Japan. Went into a war and loss. They sustained two atomic bombs. Had their country occupied. Now the people who defeated them are now begging them for commercial space. What did they do, that we have forgotten how to do?

They did some serious astute planning. Not loud mouthing, not boasting. They did not get on the radio or any platform or call them any names, but they did what they had to do.

If we are carrying out a well designed plan for liberation any literate person can contribute and share leadership. So if the leader dies while you are on page 13 move to page 14 and continue the struggle. Bury the man, continue the plan. I think any person who calls them self a leader, preacher, policy maker of any kind, should ask and answer the question in his own lifetime…How will my people stay on this earth? How will they be educated? How will they be schooled, and how will they be housed and how will they be defended.

The answers to these question will create the concept of enduring nationhood, because it creates the concept of enduring responsibility.

Before i get started, I created the image on the left myself, but I jacked this idea from Cafe Press. Just want to give props to those who deserve it. Creative capital is just important. One other very important point. The intent of this post is not to shame anyone. These are ideas and resources that I have accumulated over the last 15 years of my life, and were extremely helpful in my personal development. My intention is to spread useful information. Okay, now lets get started.

Over the last 10 years of my life I have seen a slew of “Black Leadership Forums” (BLF) or Black Agenda Forums (BAF) come and go. By far the “Bentley” of BLFs has been Tavis Smiley’s State of the Black Union or Round table. Although there has been recent pull back as people from the black community have questioned the “intentions” of his forums, nevertheless it has been seen as the “Lets Find Out What’s Happening With Black Folk Nationally” forum in regards to economics, politics, and various social issues. Even MSNBC and CNN have jumped into the BLF frey with their forums and specials. Al Sharpton just had his BLF last year, and the NAACP had one in July of 2010. Nevertheless, I’ve watched most of these forums, often with hope and weariness.

The total GDP of the African-American community makes us the 13th largest economy in the world. That’s right, only 0.6% of planet earth (African Americans) represents the 13th largest economy in the world. The African American/Black Market profile from the Magazine Publishers of America has slated the purchasing power of African Americans to hit the 1 trillion dollar mark by 2012. Now that’s not to say that all is well, but we clearly have something to work with.

I will break up this post into 5 parts. My hope is that I will be able to finish this before the end of Black History Month 2011. The first part (what you are reading now) is an explanation of my intent and what topics my fictional BLF will contain. In the middle three parts I will explain the the 3 areas that I deem extremely critical to what I will call Black Reconstruction 2.0.. The last part will have resources to every piece of media (books and film) that’s related to this topic. In each area I will list a group of individuals that I believe are the thought leaders who can offer Ideas that lead to solving critical problems, instead of people who give lip service to ideas that go nowhere. These are critical thinkers who continue to think outside of the box while not falling into the “arrogant trap” of their own egos and personal accomplishments. Bless those individuals who taken the time, effort, and necessary sacrifices to live by the creed of “each one teach one” and “am I my brother’s keeper”. Often said by many, but seldom done.

So lets get down to the nitty-gritty on what would my BLF look like, who would be there and what my agenda would be?

To set the stage of my fictional BLF, I would not have a BLF until I actually owned the building where the conference/forum would happen. What is the point of giving lip service to “being independent”, where you have to pay others to have a conversation about “being independent”. In addition to that, the hotel and related eateries would have have to be owned by me. If this option was not financially feasible, I would have each speaker give a 1-2 hour explanation on the topic via video stream and providing resources (books, articles, websites, etc) that detail the presentation they just gave. I would more than likely opt for this virtual option, because asking people to fly all over the world and drive to your event is a waste of time, money and resources that can be better spent toward the actual conference itself. All these hotel fees, gas, food, and travel time is a waste. No audience, no grand standing, no ham-bonin’, and definitely no moon shinin’. Stop showing your teeth!. This is “straight up” information that you can use. Raw and uncut.

There are three sections to my BLF and they are following:

1. Don’t Believe the Hype. Healing comes first.
Without the proper spiritual and mental healing, the next 3 parts of this post won’t mean much. This is about cleaning the mind, body and soul of all the toxic psychological and lifestyle impurities that divert us from greatness. So many of us talk about being powerful and independent but forget about having the proper dignity, candor, and humanity about themselves and the world around them. Not to mention being extremely humble about our accomplishments and fortune. In this section I will have a select group of doctors (some) who I believe have experience in helping folks remove the self-hatred, spiritually deadening and self-defeating attitude that undermines our future. They are the following:

2. Use History as Guide to Help Your Present Situation
One of the biggest issues I see in our communities (not that these issues are exclusive to our communities) is an unwillingness to immerse ourselves in the necessary information to help us address our present problems. I have seen this at all class levels, from the poorest of the poor to the the so-called “talented 10th”. There are so many lessons from past events that serve as a guide for the future, that we often have circular conversations on problems that have already been solved. In this section the participants will give us a brief history in the following areas. Each speaker will be given 2 hours, then provide the necessary resources to help break-down their 2 hour presentation. Now some of the individuals I’ve mentioned have passed on, so I would play certain films and have a panel discussion after to talk about the film:

3. Talk is Cheap. Action Speaks Louder than Getting on Your Soapbox and Doing Absolutely Nothing
One thing I realize about people, is they like to talk. It’s so easy, just open your trap and stuff starts coming out. To be honest, if we got charged a financial penalty every time we said erroneous, propagandized, or unusable information you’d probably hear a couple thousand people talk on television around the globe. Unfortunately, we have a sea of information that does not maximize our spiritual or human capital. Most of it is junk-food nonsense that gets regurgitated over an over again. Like the way a fly eats it’s food. It has to take in food, vomit on it, then slurp it back up. Do you really want to eat like that? Well chances are, you are. They have repackaged, dyed it, seasoned it with fragrances, and sold you something that appears useful, but is as efficient as Ford Model T racing in the Indianapolis 500.

This last segment of my fictional BLF is very important. These individuals will give you the tools. You’ll actually get the hammers, and wrenches to get to work. The first two segments focus on actionable data. This segment focuses on the tools that you need to take advantage of that data. Although this list could reach well over a thousand, I have specifically picked these individuals based on their willingness to be prudent and forthright in their approach to business, socio-economic circumstances, and human enlightenment. Here is the group that would master this segment:

Well folks, that’s it. The following 3 parts will delve into why I believe that each of these individuals offers something that we can benefit from while explaining why they are experts for each segment. The last part (part 5) will be my conclusion on where we are at and where we are going. Look out for the next parts over the next couple of weeks.

Yea you know the type. “Hey I’m a perfectionist”. Before I continue, I apologize to anyone who has said this to me. I didn’t know I was going to write a post on this and chances are you probably don’t fall into the “OCD perfectionist” category, but too many people do.

And whenever I hear that, I sometimes hear following:

• “Hey, I’m difficult and unbearable”
• “Hey, I like to adhere to fictitious standards that don’t exist” (only in my head). And I’m not talking about the “I want to be great at ___________”, I’m talking about “Hey I want to be great at ____________ which means lifting up the Empire State Building. Guess what? It’s not going to happen
• “Hey, look at me”
• “Hey, watch me hurt everyone’s feelings but use the “perfectionist” line as a cover to mask my detachment from the world

Now keep in mind that I didn’t say being a perfectionist is a problem, it’s being an imposing perfectionist that’s the issue. Without humility your “perfect world” can become a “narcissistic or arrogant” world. Maybe not to you, but how you are perceived by others.

Too many times I’ve watched the “perfectionist” live on an island of solitude while believing that their behavior is welcoming and refreshing. At times, being around a “hyper-perfectionist” can be an annoying and crass experience. Once again, I’m not talking about mastering something. In order for us to be masters at what we do, we have work hard and rethink our approaches. Being a critical thinker on your day-to-day challenges in life is expected.

Being a perfectionist is not all negative. There are actually some positive aspects to being a perfectionist.

Over they years I’ve also noticed that people want to be perfectionist or want “perfect” things in particular areas of their life. One of the most abused areas for “wanting something perfect” is relationships. Here are some of the reasons (and these reasons will lead you to nowhere):

• I work hard and play hard
• I’m handsome/beautiful and intelligent
• I have certain standards (they usually forget to ad “unrealistic” before the word standards
• Why should I settle? (uh…because human beings are imperfect creatures and it’s ridiculous to think that you are going to find someone that matches every part of your warped world view)

In this age of narcissism, we have watched some of our most well respected figures in society fall from from grace. We pounce at the opportunity to drag their character and life down into the gutter. As a society we have not only put people on these unrealistic “pedestals of perfection”, but we have also put our expectations on “pedestals of perfection”. We have created a world where there is no wiggle room for natural improvement and correction.

We hear and say the phrase “nobodies perfect”, but I wonder if we actually believe it.

• Discovery Health Perfectionist Test: Are you a Perfectionist?
• Race to Nowhere A Film by Viki Abeles
• NY Times | Portrait of the Dancer, Perfectionist and All By Bernard WeinRaub

..MILK?! Oh you thought that was a white russian in that screenshot? Oh yeah I’m sure you thought something else. Yeah my non-Muslims friends and family saw the title and probably thought “What? I thought Malik didn’t drink alcohol?” and my Muslims friends probably said “Oh no, astagfurillah, Malik drinks alcohol?”. No, I don’t drink alcohol (circa 2004) and inshallah I never will. I converted to Islam in 2007. Maybe you didn’t even think of any of these things, but I’m just having a little fun here. Even my mouthwash doesn’t have alcohol in it, nor do I use vanilla extract because of the process of using alcohol to create the extract. Strictly vanilla powder my friends.

To be honest, this post is not about why I drink milk or the countless ways I avoid ingesting alcohol, but the title was used to catch your attention. However, this post is about how alcohol (even though I don’t drink it) still seems to impact my life. As many of you know, Muslims are prohibited from drinking alcohol and ingesting any other intoxicant. But lets take it a step further. Not only are Muslims prohibited from drinking alcohol, they are also prohibited from being in areas were alcohol is served, like restaurants and bars. It’s not easy when you are out and about, but I try my best. Trying to find an establishment in the U.S. that doesn’t serve alcohol is like trying to find a congressman or congresswoman in Washington that doesn’t have a lobbyist as his or her shadow. Even social events like weddings and/or gatherings at a house where alcohol is being consumed is a problem. It’s one of the reasons why I have gatherings at my house because I don’t want my family around alcohol, but here is the problem:

In today’s society, especially in the U.S and Europe, drinking alcohol is the norm. It is socially accepted drink of choice. Everywhere you go, and no matter what event (even so-called “religious” events that celebrate the birthday of prophets) people are going to drink, and more than likely get wasted. Obviously we have our religious obligations (and many of us are proud to uphold them), but no sober person wants to be in that type of environment. at least the sane sober folks. I’m going to try my best not to bash people who drink alcohol. That’s not really what this post is about. Listen, if you want to drink, have a blast. I don’t agree with it, but to each his own. My issue is the balance between my beliefs and my close family members and friends.

This issue happens often because most of my non-Muslim friends and family drink. (even some of my Muslim friends drink). Basically my non-Muslim friends and family want me to, as they like to say, “make an exception”. This usually means the following:

Because of our long lasting friendship or family connection over the last couple decades we feel that it wouldn’t be a big deal if you attended ______________ event. We love you and we want to see you. We know you and your family have this Muslim thing with the alcohol and we just don’t see how you can’t separate Church and State (in my case Mosque and State) then come on by. You don’t have to drink, but we are going to drink.

I’m sure you can see the conundrum. For the sake of argument, lets say that in some weird universe somewhere in the Quran, it gave the pass for Muslims to attend events were there was alcohol, but as long as you didn’t drink alcohol, everything is okay. The part that people don’t understand is it’s not just alcohol itself, but how alcohol impacts the person consuming alcohol and the people around the alcohol. Let’s say I wanted to attend a social event with a group of friends. Half of the people have poor spending habits and the other half have great spending habits. While I’m at the event, do I really care what the net worth is of any of the individuals at the event? No, because the context of the event and the people attending have no direct connection. But let’s change the context and instead of just a random gathering of folks socializing, it was an event about starting your own business and everyone at the event had to put their money together. Same people from the first event, but we now have a set of issues. The fact that second event is tied to money and savings, puts the folks with poor spending habits against the folks with good spending habits.

Lets jump back to the topic of alcohol. A group of Muslims being in the context of another group of people drinking alcohol is straining the belief of the Muslim. This is not a light matter. If it was, I wouldn’t be spending more than 500 words talking about this stuff. The believing Muslim does not want a strained relationship with Allah, but at the same time wants his closest friends and family to understand the importance of adhering to his or her faith. For believing Muslims, there is no dualistic behavior based on external circumstances. I know most people practice their faith like this, using a set of subjective criteria and put bits of pieces of their faith into practice under a secular framework. I’m sorry but Muslims don’t roll like that.

So what about the “Can you make an exception?” line I always get. No. I love you friends and family, but NO. A better question is “Can you make an exception?”. The part that is bewildering to me, is most people drink all year round. Whether it’s at birthday parties, weddings, going to clubs, restaurants, sporting events, after work drink at home, go out with co-workers drink, even religious events. So being that you drink 99% of the time, why not make an exception for those who don’t want to be around alcohol? Your choice to drink is not tied to anything other than “Hey I want to drink with a group of friends and family”. I’m not trying to rock the boat, but I don’t see how taking a break from alcohol every now and then is going to be some type of net loss in fun points. The “social pressure” to commit to the group (alcohol consumers), being creatures of habit and simple choice to drink is a bigger incentive, than to NOT drink because of one individual. Among drinkers who attend social events, not having alcohol served is akin to removing the ball from football, basketball or baseball game. This is the new social norm. I get that. I’m not naive. I just wonder if there can be balance. I know if I said to any one individual, “Hey I’ll give you $50K if you invite me to all your events and social gathering for 1 year while not having alcohol at any of those social gatherings.” Only a fool would deny such an offer. In short, the world is awash in incentives. The downside risk (backlash from friends and family) from not serving alcohol would be obliterated because the financial reward eclipses the backlash. If we take this fictitious scenario a bit further, a simple explanation to the group “Hey I’m doing this for 50K”, would probably prevent any further complaints and social backlash. In the end, the mob rules.

Some people don’t realize how serious Muslims take their faith. This new age of “religious secularism”, has made Muslims out to be the conservative party crashers. To be honest, I like that. I could care less that people think I’m a weirdo for not getting drunk. Or think I’m too strict because I don’t allow my family to be socially invaded by people with liquor on their breath and drunk behavior at certain social events. Or think I’m a weirdo for saving thousands of dollars for not having to buy into the idea that purchasing alcohol to drink is the norm. Some call it personal choice. The timing of this post is right on the money. Millions of people will be getting blasted over the Holidays. I know what it’s like. I used to do it. I would ask people to keep an open mind and heart. There are those around you who subscribe to a different set of norms. There is no sweat off your back if you don’t drink a couple times a year, but it’s a whole set of circumstances for me and many Muslims who don’t want to be around alcohol in big social gatherings (if we can help it). Not because we wan’t to be difficult, but we love the principles of our faith and we want to act upon those same principles. (Feesabilillah)

I’ll close with this,

Alcohol can’t hug you,
Alcohol can’t smile at you,
Alcohol can’t have a conversation with you
(although you might have a conversation by yourself after drinking too much)
Alcohol can’t love you,
Alcohol can’t respect you,
Alcohol can’t be there for you when you need the most help,
only loving human beings can.

Respectfully yours,
Malik

Recently I’ve been reading Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf’s What’s Right with Islam: A New Vision for Muslims and the West. Although published in 2004, the book is very relevant from obvious topics like Park51 AKA “Ground Zero Mosque” to more nuanced issues like freedom of speech and U.S. foreign policy. Quite a remarkable book and Imam Feisal really tries to bridge the gap between American/Western Culture and Islam. Simply, we both have something to offer each other, and if we can both realize this, this searing tension will seem as distant as the civilization of the Neanderthals.

Although there are many bright and intellectually seductive moments in this book, there are 4 pages where he talks about the roots of conflict and…well…he nails it! Imam Feisal was able to crystallize this issue in a couple pages. In short, scarcity of assets and power are the main strategic pieces of most conflicts. I’ve had this discussion with my wife many times when we talk about relationships. It’s all about the ebb and flow of power. Imam Feisal takes it a step further and not only talks about the roots of conflict in relationships and our perceived gender differences, but goes into religion, culture, economics, and many other social paradigms. I’m going to paste the first 3 pages of this section because they are more pertinent to the root issues of conflict. In many instances our perceived differences are just struggles of assets and power cloaked in past grievances which unfortunately leads to unbridled fear of the “other”.

From Chapter 4: Where the Devil Got in the Details, I give you WHAT’S THE CONFLICT REALLY ABOUT?: (The book is available for free from Google Books)

pg 117-119

Does religion cause conflict? This is an idea popularly expressed, and it deserves to be explained.

             Ultimately, the root cause of conflict is nearly always the loss of an asset, a thing of really high value. An asset can be anything—an idea, like losing your honor, the right to teach your children creationism instead of evolution, or something real and tangible, such as your inheritance. Our beliefs are among our most treasured assets, and our religion, being a major subset of our beliefs, is this a deeply prized asset, as our freedom and liberty. An employee might become angry because he feels denied his rightful share of a bonus, a child might take legal action for being left out of her parents’ estate, countries might fight over agricultural water from a border river, or two men might fight for the love of a woman. People become incensed when they feel that an asset has been taken from them wrongfully, whether it was by theft or unlawful seizure or even when they suspect they paid too much for it (as when they claimed, “We were robbed!).

             The other root cause of conflict is issues of power—who gets to control decisions. A husband and wife can argue about the color of a new carpet, where to go for vacation, or who does the dishes. Over time, a build up of such disagreements can lead to such acrimony that the relationship becomes untenable. While disagreements on these relatively insignificant issues are often considered the source of the conflict, they are not really, for when the couple patches things up, they usually wonder in amazement, “We were fighting over this?”

             In reality, they were fighting over power, over who gets to decide what about what. The anger is not primarily over the choice of carpet color, but over the right to control the decision. This is why we often make our own decisions, even to commit our own mistakes.

             These two root causes, the power to control decisions and how assets are distributed, make up the root causes of almost all conflicts. Issues become triggers of violence if they translate into loss of power or tangible assets.

             Once an argument is kindled, a psychological pattern develops in which we look at what differentiates us from the other side and often wrongfully attribute the conflict to the difference. This difference then conributes to the otherness of our opponent and feeds the righteousness of our cause. So if the argument is between a man and a woman, in our anger we blurt out, “Women! They’re so emotional!” or “Men! Such insensitive brutes!” We attribute the cause to gender difference, and in time a gender war breaks out. Generations pass, and eventually books are written on how men are from Mars, and women are from Venus; and since we can live neither with nor without them, a two-state solution of sorts is worked out, whereby women have domain over certain areas of life and men over others.

             If the difference is one of skin color or race, we attribute the cause of disagreement to that, and in time we have an ethnic or racial conflict; if the difference is religion, we have a religious conflict. After a generation or two, people are taught to think about these differences in such a way that they genuinely begin to believe that women are not capable of being highly educated, much less of becoming leaders, that education women in the hard sciences will addle their brains, that Arabs or Muslims “cannot handle democracy”, that Arabs and Jews have hated each other since Ishmael and Isaac, that Hindus have always hated Muslims, that Sunni Muslims and Shiite Muslims can never get along, that blacks are genetically inferior to whites, that northerners are superior to southerners and city dwellers better than suburbanites— the list of prejudices goes on. In time these differences become deep-seated beliefs that continue to fuel that conflict and that may take generations to correct.

             Those traits that have historically been used to prevent groups of people from sharing in power and economic assets are in reality secondary causes and should more accurately be regarded as identity tags, which we find useful for labeling the other in any given conflict. We can create any number of such identity tags, including those of gender, skin coloring, tribal affiliation, class or family, and of course, religion. What we call the glass ceiling in the United States is an example of gender differentiation; the massacres in the Rwanda between the Hutus and Tutsis are an example of tribal conflict; the tensions in India are about religion and (within Hinduism) caste (class) differentiation; while Irish troubles represent a conflict between subgroups of the same religion (Protestants and Catholics). Each of these differences is not the root cause of the conflict but rather the identity tag used to separate one group from another with regard to the real root causes of the conflict, namely, power and economics.

You can read more via Google Books at this link

In the wake of the new maniac and psychopath of the month (i.e Joseph Stack who did a homicide-suicide plane crash into I.R.S. building in a failed attempt to kill hundreds to Faisal Shahzad failed Times Square bombing that could of maimed/killed hundreds, maybe even thousands) who in some twisted sense of righteousness believe that killing innocent civilians equates to some deed of salvation or proper retribution for past misgivings. These characters are some of the more obvious examples. The definition of terrorism is the following:

terrorism, act of terrorism, terrorist act (the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious or ideological in nature; this is done through intimidation or coercion or instilling fear)

Here is my open letter to “The Terrorists”, current and aspiring psychopaths and cowards who might not have thought they “fit the profile”.

Dear Terrorists,(but not limited to)

The “loose cannon” who claim they are Muslim and follow the Quran and Hadiths in Islam who like to blow themselves up (and others) thinking (Allahhualim) that they are going to see Jenna (Heaven). You better go back to the deen of Al-Islam (if you haven’t already blown yourself up) and re-study because your eyes, ears and hearts are sealed with wickedness and the shaytan.
That’s violent terrorism.

Police officers and those in authority in the justice system who beat down and kill civilians mercilessly because you think they are expendable. You have the disease of cognitive dissonance towards those that you’ve concluded have an “otherness” about them which does not fit into your own cultural matrix.
That’s enforcement terrorism. (not to mention xenophobic and prejudice)

The executives and investment houses/banks/firms sitting in their ivory tower embezzling tens of millions and creating questionable investment instruments (money schemes) while undermining the integrity of the financial system. Impoverishing tens of millions for your own selfish benefit.
That’s financial terrorism.

For the murderers and killers who worship gang violence while killing people in your own community including innocent women and children because you want a quick drug profit.
That’s social and urban terrorism.

Those in the halls of Congress (politicians and law makers at the state and federal level) that play up people’s worst fears to usurp power and mislead your constituents with a divide and conquer strategy. Laying in bed with lobbyists and playing both sides of the political coin for your own one dimensional power grab.
That’s political and institutional terrorism.

For the country that goes into other countries claiming (lying) that another country has WMDs (Weapons of Mass Destruction) because so-called intelligent organizations with fancy acronyms “certified the facts” with a faulty threat matrix then mercliessly kills over 150,000 plus innocent civilians (45 9/11s) for almost 10 years while injuring millions then arrogantly occupies the same country creating more violence and misery for the citizens. Or any country that uses occupation as a foundation for foreign policy.
That’s sovereign terrorism.

For the governments and related banks that are in cahoots with one another who indulge in “too big to fail” bailouts and print money like it grows on trees while causing inflation and devaluing the dollar. Not to mention the draconian practice of fractional reserve banking and usury which buries people under so much interest that they are financially impotent.
That’s economic terrorism.

For the racist bigot (and many don’t even know they are and will read this and say, “Oh that’s definitely not me”….well not so fast, it might be you) individual that foolishly claims to believe in God but sympathies with their ethnic, racial, or tribal identity over the inclusive and humanitarian guidelines of all monotheistic ways of life. Now called religion. 
You are a ethnocentric terrorist. (Not to mention a hypocrite)

For the so-called news organizations that are muliti-milllon dollar partisan hack misinformation “non-thinking” tanks that spew misleading, demeaning, information and purposely confuse the public with empty politically inspired anecdotes and regurgitate sound bites from their corporate/ political slave masters.
That’s information terrorism.

If there was anyone who thought any one group of people have cornered the market on “terrorism”, you have not done your homework.

“He who kills a person without (the latter) having killed another person, it is as if he has killed all of humanity, and he who makes one person survive, it is as if he has caused all humanity to survive” – (32,5) – Quran

I didn’t even intend to write a post today but I found a very interesting link from Kimberly Butler, a well known photographer, who has put together a spectacular short vlog series on the corporatization, politicization and dehumanization of media, or what she calls the “medium”. For the most part, I don’t watch any of the major news organizations because there is so much misinformation, sensationalized content, back biting and hearsay that it’s a complete waste of time. Not to mention you can get to the truth of most things without watching the major news stations anyway. For the most part I seldom listen or watch any television/entertainment to allow my mind not to be bombarded and warped by media frameworks of falsification. Many of you have heard me mention the book Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman or such “media truthologists” as Jarad A Ball, who is an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Morgan State University. The following videos speak to many of the criticisms they’ve leveled against the explosion of disinformation inside the walls of many global media companies.

As mentioned in Daniel T Willingham’s Why Students Don’t Like School: A Cognitive Scientist Answers Questions About How the Mind Works and What It Means for the Classroom or what could of easily been called Why Humans Find Cognitive Thinking on Truth Difficult, this quote from the book sums up why we constantly stumble when dealing with new and useful information. Proper background knowledge helps to identify useful information. As the saying goes, “You can’t know what you never knew“:

Background Knowledge Is Necessary for Cognitive Skills

Not only does background knowledge make you a better student, but it also is necessary to be a good thinker. The processes we most hope to engender in our students-thinking critically and logically-are not possible without background knowledge.
pg 28 —Willingham