Wali Tariq
Wali Tariq | Muslim Community Member (Los Angeles, CA)
بِسْمِ ٱللَّٰهِ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Verily, Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty.”
Source: al-Mu’jam al-Awsaṭ 6906, Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Al-Albani
“The Honorable Elijah Muhammad taught us, in the FOI [Fruit of Islam], to present ourselves neat and clean, just like Prophet Muhammad [peace be upon him] told his followers.”
-Wali Tariq
“For men in the Nation of Islam, a well-tailored suit became a disciplining tool that signaled to others that they are “civilized” and reminded them to act “civilized,” which meant avoiding taboo activities like smoking and gambling, practicing proper gender segregation, and being willing to defend Muslim women. The Nation of Islam used the term “civilized” to describe their original state before colonization and enslavement. It reflects the ways the Nation of Islam appropriated and reworked white supremacist logics, where Black people are reimagined as at the top of the racial hierarchy. Through wearing suits and bowties, male members distanced themselves from racist images of rural poverty and criminality linked to Black urban culture so they could embrace Black respectability.”
-Kayla Renée Wheeler
Source: Wheeler, Kayla Renée. “Bowties, Beards, and Boubous: Black Muslim Men's Fashion in the United States.” The Revealer, 8 Sept. 2020, https://therevealer.org/bowties-beards-and-boubous-black-muslim-mens-fashion-in-the-united-states/.
Kayla Renée Wheeler is an Assistant Professor of Gender and Diversity Studies at Xavier University. She is an expert in contemporary Black Islam and is currently writing a book on the history of Black Muslim fashion in the United States beginning in the 1930s.
