Maryam (‘alayha assalaam), Malcolm, and Mamdani
By Jimmy E. Jones
Jan/Feb 26
As a Muslim American of African descent who was born in 1946 in the segregated city of Baltimore, Md., these wordsfrom Surah Ash-Sharh resonate greatly with me: “Have We not uplifted your heart for you” (Quran 94:1).
Discriminatory federal housing policy, legally segregated schools, and other disadvantages meant that the odds for success in this life were heavily stacked against me and other Black residents of Baltimore from the moment of our births. Consequently, almost 80 years ago, I was born into a community that was challenged by severe poverty, debilitating drug abuse, and stifling crime. It is not surprising, therefore, that of the five males born into the Jones family, four of us ended up doing some prison time. It is only through the mercy of God that I was never incarcerated as part of what is now known as the school to prison pipeline.
Even in current post civil rights era Baltimore, the statistics tell a similar story. A report on Baltimore City published by the Vera Institute of Justice in October 2024 stated, “The gap between incarceration rates for Black and white people has narrowed in recent years. However, people of color ― and Black people in particular ― are still incarcerated at strikingly higher rates than white people in jails and prisons across the country.” Black people are treated more harshly than white people at every stage of the criminal legal process, causing disproportionate harm to their communities.
The report further stated that as of 2022, 90% of people incarcerated in Baltimore were Black even though Black people account for only 60% of the total city population. When it comes to the jailing of African Americans in Baltimore, “the more things change, the more things remain the same.”
Police and Race in America
In the almost 80 years since I was born, there’s no doubt that there has been racial social and economic progress in Baltimore, and throughout the entire country. Nevertheless, people who look like me still feel a tinge of fear when a police cruiser ends up behind us in traffic. The lights do not have to be flashing and the sirens do not have to be blaring. I and others who look like me are always fearful that something unpleasant could happen during any encounter with a police officer.
This issue is exacerbated by the current reality of living with a U.S. president who seems intent on dividing Americans by demonizing, among others, Black people, brown people, and Muslims. In 2025, I feel marginalized as both a person of color and a Muslim. This may sound strange coming from an old guy who, despite the odds, has become much more socially and economically successful than his mother or father could ever imagine. God has truly “uplifted my heart” by allowing me to get an advanced degree, become a tenured college professor, and be chosen as one of the leaders of a world class Islamic graduate school.
Nevertheless, it seems that this country has not gotten over the idea enshrined in the United States Constitution that each of my enslaved fore-parents counted as “three fifths” of free white people. In my view, the African American is still struggling to be accepted as a full human being – one with the same rights and respect due others. This may seem like a very bleak picture. However, there’s one thing that gives me radical hope – God’s use of marginalized people.
Leadership Across Generations
During a Quranic reflection in an Islamic Seminary of America course entitled “Islam in America,” Prof. Hamza Abdul-Malik, founder of Miraaj Academy, stated it is a “Sunnah of Allah” to often choose the marginalized for leadership. His statement was an ah-ha moment for me because I had never thought of the leaders God discusses in the Quran in quite that way. From Abraham (‘alayhi assalam) to Muhammad (salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), we see moral exemplars who were pushed to the fringes of their respective societies even before they became known as leaders. This new understanding caused me to reflect deeply on how God miraculously used the marginalized as leaders in the distant past, the recent past, and in current events.
To illustrate this important point, I look to the examples of Maryam (‘alayha assalaam), the mother of Isa (‘alayhi assalam) from the distant past, Malcolm X from the recent past, and Zohran Mamdani from current events.
Maryam (‘alayha assalaam): From “Shonda” to Standard
“Shonda” is the relatively modern Yiddish term that comes to mind when I read the following Quranic 3:27 and 28 from Surah Maryam: “Then she returned to her people, carrying him. They said in shock, ‘O Mary! You have certainly done a horrible thing! O, sister of Aaron! Your father was not an indecent man, nor was your mother unchaste.’”
Had this event regarding the miraculous birth of Isa (Jesus) occurred in 2025, the members of this young girl’s Jewish community would call it a “Shonda,” a scandal. Here was a young girl from a marginalized community showing up with a baby without a legally identifiable father. Because of the patriarchal context of the times, young Maryam was further marginalized as a woman. Yet, despite this double marginalization, God said, “And ˹remember˺ when the angels said, “O Mary! Surely God has selected you, purified you, and chosen you over all women of the world” (3:42).
A human being cannot be raised higher in esteem than to be chosen by the Creator as being “above the women of the world.” Further evidence of this “chosen-ness” is the fact that she is the only woman mentioned by name in the Quran with her name appearing explicitly more than 30 times including the Surah named after her. Instead of being remembered as a Shonda, she is now seen as a standard of virtue and piety for at least half the world through her veneration in both Christianity and Islam.
Malcolm X: From “Satan” to Strategist
In Chapter 10 of his autobiography, Malcolm X (El-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz) described undergoing a profound intellectual transformation in a Massachusetts state penal institution. He went from being an angry, short-tempered “Satan” who ended up in solitary confinement for extended periods of time, to a self-taught bibliophile who grew to love the intellectually stimulating world of ideas. It was at this point of his life that he was also introduced to the theologically unorthodox Nation of Islam, a social cultural religious movement dedicated to “freedom, justice and equality” for Black people. As a result of these two major life changes, Malcolm X went on to be a world-renowned spokesperson for revolutionary Black nationalism.
Despite the racism, drug addiction, and criminality that had “weighed so heavily on his back,” he was ultimately raised to high esteem worldwide. One thing his autobiography made clear was that he was blessed with the ability to read human beings from an early age. These keen observational skills coupled with his intellectual acuity and fiery nature combined to make a powerful voice to be reckoned with during the revolutionary social movements of the 1960’s. He ultimately died as a global human rights advocate preaching against racism and pushing for the U.S. to be held accountable for its crimes against Black people.
He was assassinated after becoming a Sunni Muslim pushing strategically more broadly for human rights around the world. “I’m for truth, no matter who tells it,” he said. “I’m for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I’m a human being, first and foremost, and as such I’m for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.”
Zohran Mamdani: From South Asian Immigrant to Supercity Mayor.
It may seem odd that I would place young Shiite Muslim Zohran Kwame Mamdani on the same list with Maryam, mother of Isa (Jesus), and the martyred Malcolm X. After all, at the tender age of 34, he has hardly had time to make the world-changing impact of the other two leaders. However, we should not forget two things in this regard.
First, Maryam was very young herself (likely a teenager) when Isa was born while Malcolm X was only 39 when he was assassinated. As an unapologetic Muslim who did not back down in his support of Genocide-stricken Gazans, some are already calling his election as New York city mayor a “Mamdani miracle” because of his improbable rise from the South Asian immigrant community to becoming the mayor of New York City, a so-called “super city.”
I am still reserving judgement on the “Mamdani miracle.” But as God said, “By the ˹passage of˺ time! Surely humanity is in ˹grave˺ loss, except those who have faith, do good, and urge each other to the truth, and urge each other to perseverance” (103:1-3).
It remains to be seen if Mamdani can live up to these principles expressed in the Quran and in the impactful lives of Maryam (‘alayha assalaam), and El Hajj Malik el-Shabazz.
Jimmy E. Jones is Professor of Comparative Religion and Culture at The Islamic Seminary of America.
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