Refuting “Black Hebrew Israelites” Claims

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْم

If you were to follow most of whoever is on the earth they will misguide from God’s path, because they’re following nothing but assumptions and are doing nothing but making things up. Your Lord knows who will go away from the path just as He knows who is truly committed to guidance. (6:116-117)

 

So we have a special post today, in the last couple of days, I’ve had an unfortunate encounter with (really a cult Christian sect known as) the “Black Hebrew Israelites” (BHI). Now, seeing as I am from African descent on my father’s side the gentlemen was trying to convert me over to the “true religion of my ancestors” and “abandon trying to be an Arab” (sigh I know just go with it). Now for our foreign readers imagine if you will if African Americans started adopting a racist superiority complex of being Jewish but committed shirk (idolatry) of the Christians and you kind of get a feel for this religion. The Hebrew Israelites, composed of people of color, is a reversal of movements such as British Israelism or Christian Identity movement, composed of white people, which taught that the lost tribes of Israel were European Anglo Saxons. Both are racist, supremacist groups which make the same claim that the Jews in Israel are not the real Jews/Israelites. Now the reality is Hebrew Israelites go into low-income areas and take advantage of African Americans who have low self-esteem about being black and who lack knowledge on the transatlantic slave trade as well as Judeo Christian traditions. To do this they show two main “proofs to wow their audience (as the gentlemen tried to do with me). Now refuting one of his points is enough to defeat their beliefs but in this article, we’re going to go ahead and go the extra mile and knock them all down. When trying to spread to African Americans the two proofs Hebrew Israelites use are:

1. A map from the 1700s made by Emanuel Bowen of a kingdom called “Juda” in western Africa.
2. Misquoting an alleged prophecy made by Moses (peace be upon him) in Deuteronomy

We’re going to critically examine both claims and see if all African Americans really are “the lost tribes of Israel”

Now let’s start with reviewing the map commonly shown by the Hebrew Israelites of the supposed black Jewish kingdom (Left-hand corner above the word “Slave Coast”) :

The claim by Hebrew Israelites as they champion the above image is “Juda” was renamed into Whidah by European settlers but is this correct? The short answer is a resounding no. This claim is based on the ignorance of what is known as “loan words” in language. Our more astute readers may have noticed below the name “Juda” (which is not how the word “JudaH” that the Children of Israel formerly had as their kingdom is normally spelled) is also called by the name “Whidah” on the map. The people of this kingdom in modern-day Benin actually called their land Xwéda. The multiple pronunciations such as Hueda, Whidah, Ouidah, Whidaw, and yes Juda is an “anglicized” (i.e. made into English) form of the ACTUAL name of the kingdom. Now some might not understand what it means to “anglicize” a word from one language to another so I’ll explain. You see languages have a habit of transforming foreign names into something equivalent in their system of speech. So for example:

Juan becomes John

Marcus Antonius becomes Marc Anthony

YHWH becomes Jehovah

Yaqoob becomes Jacob

The word “Juda” is a phonetic of Xwéda into the French language not the name of the kingdom itself.

Xwéda becomes  Juda

To be clear for everyone (as many Hebrew Israelites have a hard time understanding this) this is NOT a “translation” of the Hebrew word Judah into an African kingdom called Xwéda. The French are foreigners trying to say the word Xwéda in their language and they pronounce it as “Juda” (pronounced like the French name Jean). Again the people of that area do not call themselves “Juda” nor do they believe they’re Jews (as we’ll see in a bit). Now is there proof that only the French called the place Juda? Why yes there is:

“is called Fida by the Dutch, Juda by the French, and Whydah, by the English…” [1]

“WHYDAH, so called by the Enghjh, is called Juda by the French, and Fida by the Dutch…” [2] 

“Whydah and Ardah, which two contain the Slave Coast, and Benin Proper, WHYDAH, as it is called by the English, is called JUDA by the French, and FIDA by the DUTCH …” [3]

“A strictly correct transcription of the kingdom’s name would be “Hueda” , but in this article the usual form “Whydah” is preferred, on the grounds of its familiarity. Other common European spellings include “Fida” in Dutch, “Ajuda” in Portuguese, and “Juda” (and more recently “Ouidah”) in French.” [4]

So one can’t help but appreciate the irony that Hebrew Israelites who are racist towards those of Europeans descent are actually basing their entire theology on what one European country said trying to pronounce the name of an African country in its language. 

More importantly, the word Xwéda (i.e. what the people of the kingdom ACTUALLY called themselves) comes from the African  language of Yoruba not the Semitic language of Hebrew nor do the two names even mean the same:

Xwéda- “Late 18th century (originally widow-bird): alteration by association with Whidah (now Ouidah), a town in Benin” [5]

Judah- “…proper name, biblical son of Jacob by Leah, also the name of a tribe of Israel, from Hebrew Yehudah, from stem of y-d-h, literally “praised.” [6]

For those not sure, a “Widow Bird” cannot become a loan word from “Praised”. This all comes from the common misunderstanding of “these two words sound similar so they must be the same!”  When words have different etymologies they cannot be related no matter what they sound alike, this is like saying “Oranges” and “Ranges” must mean similar things because of their spelling. The next red flag is that the language of Hebrew (BHI alleged ancestor) does not have a “J” sound in it so it wouldn’t make no sense for Jews to call the place “Juda” as this wouldn’t even be accurate from a linguistic perspective.

Also another bit of irony in this the fact that Hebrew Israelites are so gung ho at saying this place is where the “real Jews” come from they completely disregard the kingdom’s history as one of the largest slave traders of Africans on the continent. Xwéda (modern-day Benin) was such a major exporter of slaves it was one of the few African countries to actually apologize for it. [7] So the Hebrew Israelites are actually honoring a place that has a high chance of actually selling our ancestors.

Also, some common sense is warranted here, if Xwéda sold Africans they were the slavers. If they were the RULERS of the kingdom (being the slavers and all) they named the place much before some Jews who allegedly immigrated there from Muslim Spain. All of this foolishness is actually an insult to African American history and actually makes former African slavers into heroes.

CORONATION OF THE KING OF WHIDAH, APRIL 1725 FROM MARCHAIS.’ 1745-1747 [8]

King Haffon (the last ruler of Xwéda before it was captured by Dahomey) is shown seated before large groups of drummers and armed warriors, with a large contingent of well-dressed white slavers and traders seated at his left. Please note that King Haffon is working with the slavers.

 

We actually have quite a bit of knowledge of the kingdom of Xwéda and they were not Jews by any means. To begin they worshipped with God a “sacred snake” by the name of Dangbe (you may have noticed this snake in the picture above). William Bosman, the Chief Factor for the Dutch at the Castle of St. George d’Elmina writing about their beliefs said:

 “It is certain that his country-men have a faint idea of the true God, and ascribe to him the attributes of Almighty and Omnipotent; they believe that he created the universe, and therefore vastly prefer him before their idol-gods: but yet they do not pray to him, or offer any sacrifices to him; for which they give the following reason. God, say they, is too high exalted above us, and too great to condescend so much as to trouble himself or think of mankind: wherefore he commits the government of the world to their idols; to whom, as the second, third and fourth persons distant in degrees from God, and our appointed lawful governors, we are obliged to apply ourselves. And in firm belief of this opinion they quietly continue. Their principal gods, which are owned for such throughout the whole country, are of three sorts. First, a certain sort of snakes, who possess the chief rank amongst their gods… Their second-rate gods are some lofty high trees; in the formation of which Dame Nature seems to have expressed her greatest art. The third and meanest god or younger brother to the other is the sea. These three mentioned are the public deities which are worshipped and prayed to throughout the whole country. [9] 

“The snake-house…is situated about two miles from the King’s village, and built under a very beautiful lofty tree, in which, say they, the chief and largest of all the snakes resides. He is a sort of grandfather to all the rest; is represented as thick as a man, and of an unmeasurable length. He must also be very old, for they report that they found him a great number of years past; by reason of the wickedness of men, he left another country to come to them, at which being overjoyed, they welcomed their new-come god with all expressible signs of reverence and big veneration and carried him upon a silken carpet to the snakehouse, where he is at present.” [10] 

Bosman continues:

“The reverence and respect which the Negroes preserve for the snake is so great that if a black should barely touch one of them with a stick, or any otherwise hurt him, he is a dead man, and certainly condemned to the flames. A long time past, when the English first began to trade here, there happened a very remarkable and tragical event. An English Captain having landed some of his men and part of his cargo, they found a snake in their house, which they immediately killed without the least scruple, and not doubting but they had done a good work, threw out the dead snake at their door, where being found by the Negroes in the morning, the English preventing the question who had done the fact, ascribed the honour to themselves; which so incensed the natives, that they furiously fell on the English, killed them all and burned their house and goods.[11]

“In my time an Aquamboean Negro took a snake upon his stick, because he durst not venture to touch it with his hands, and carried it out of the house without hurting it in the least, which two or three Negroes seeing, set up the same cry that is usual on account of fire, by which they can in a small time raise the whole country. . . . By these instances we are deterred from meddling with the accursed gods or devilish serpents, notwithstanding that we are frequently molested by them, since in hot sunshine weather, as if they were lovers of darkness, they visit us by five and six together, creeping upon our chairs, benches, tables, and even our beds, and bearing us company in sleep: and if they get a good place under our beds, and our servants out of laziness don’t turn up our bedding, they sometimes continue seven or eight days, where they have also cast their young. But when we are aware of these vermin and do not desire to be troubled with them any longer, we need only call any of the natives, who gently carries his god out of doors. [12]

“If we are ever tired with the natives of this country, and would fain be rid of them, we need only speak ill of the snake, after which they immediately stop their cars and run out of doors. But though this may be taken from a European that they like; yet, if a Negro of another nation should presume to do it, he would run no small risk. [13]

So as we can see the kingdom is hardly some “great Jewish kingdom”. Bosman is not our only evidence in regards to the kingdom of Whydah’s religion. John Atkins, Surgeon in the Royal Navy remarks:

“The most curious of their customs, and peculiar to this part, is their snake worship, which, according to my intelligence, is as follows. This snake, the object of their worship, is common in the fields, and cherished as a familiar domestick in their houses, called deyboys…they believe an intercourse with the snake, to whom they have dedicated their service, capacitates them to stop or promote the plagues that infest them…It is death for a native to kill one of these snakes, and severe punishments to Europeans. When rains are wanted at seedtime, or dry weather in harvest, the people do not stir out after it is night, for fear of the angry snake, which, provoked with their disobedience, they are taught, will certainly kill them at those. times, if abroad, or render them idiots.” [14]

He also speaks on Whydah’s fall which long story short, was caused when the kingdom of Dahomey was trying to gain dominance of the coastal area so that they could eliminate the coastal tribes as middle-men in the slave trade and secure the profit for themselves, due to Whydah’s corruption and decadence they ran away without a fight. William Snelgrave who visited the country three weeks after its conquest, writes:

(The King of Dahomey) “was obliged to halt there by a river, which runs about half a mile to the northward of the principal town of the Whidaws, called Sabee, the residence of their King. Here the King of Dahomey encamped for some time, not imagining he could have found so easy a passage and conquest as he met with afterwards. For the pass of the river was of that nature, it might have been defended against the whole army, by five hundred resolute men: but instead of guarding it, these cowardly luxurious people, thinking the fame of their numbers sufficient to deter the Dahomans from attempting it, kept no set guard. They only went every morning and evening to the river side, to make fetiche as they call it, that is, to offer sacrifice to their principal God, which was a particular harmless snake they adore, and prayed to on this occasion, to keep their enemies from coming over the river. [15]

Finally, William Snelgrave our last witness who was sent by the African Society of England as a surveyor of all the cities on the Guinea coastal regions writing just a little bit after the above incident states:

“And as worshipping a snake may seem very extravagant to such as are unacquainted with the religion of the Negroes, I shall inform the readers of the reasons given for it by the people of Whidaw. This sort of snake is peculiar to their country, being of a very singular make; for they are very big in the middle, rounding on the back like a hog, but very small at the head and tail, which renders their motion very slow. Their color is yellow and white, with brown streaks; and so harmless that if they are accidentally trod on (for it is a capital crime to do so wilfully) and they bite, no bad effect ensues; which is one reason they give for their worshipping of them. Moreover, there is a constant tradition amongst them, that whenever any calamity threatens their country, by imploring the snake’s assistance, they are always delivered from it. However this fell out formerly, it now stood them in no stead; neither were the snakes themselves spared after the conquest. For they being in great numbers, and a kind of domestic animal, the conquerors found many of them in the houses, which they treated in this manner. They held them up by the middle, and spoke to them in this manner: If you are gods, speak and save yourselves: Which the poor snakes not being able to do, the Dahomans cut their heads off, ripped them open, broiled them on the coals, and ate them…” [16]

The map the Hebrew Israelites show simply proves was that there was a kingdom of pagan slavers in Africa who’s name, when pronounced one way in French, sounds slightly similar to the English pronunciation of the Hebrew word “Yehudah”. If one looks at the neighboring kingdom Asiante on the top left side of the map it was also pronounced as Inta. Using the same logic English colonizers believed they were enslaving Asians from this map as well.

Many of the claims of Hebrew Israelites really have no more validity than silly arguments such as this. 

Even though the above is sufficient as a refutation we will now move onto the second claim of the Hebrew Israelites. The gentlemen claimed in ignorance that the Quran is a “reference book” and that we need to see what “Moses said to his people in the Bible” he then pointed to the following passage in Deuteronomy:

“The LORD will return you to Egypt in ships by a route that I said you should never see again. There you will sell yourselves to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.” [17] 

Now long-time readers of this blog already know Islam’s position on the Bible (which can be read here) and know that he is incorrect regarding his statement about the Qur’an. 

However, for discussion’s sake, we’ll explore the passage and see if it applies to African Americans. The verse quoted is part of a list of curse Moses is alleged to have said in Deut 28:15-68 if the Children of Israel disobeyed the commands of the Torah.

Now this cult’s claim is that this curse clearly speaks of the Transatlantic slave trade and African Americans. The first problem with this is the verse says:

 “The LORD will bring you back to EGYPT in ships….”. 

The phrase “will bring you back” or וֶֽהֱשִֽׁיבְךָ֨ ( we·hĕ·šî·ḇə·ḵā) means you have gone to the place once and are now going back to that place. So that would mean according to grammar, Black people would have originally been enslaved in America during Moses’s time and then traveled to the Holy Land.

To get over this obvious issue, Hebrew Israelites invented a claim that “Egypt” actually means “bondage”. And quote verses like Exodus 20: and Deut 5:6 to support this:

“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.”

So instead of being sent into literal Egypt as the verse explicitly says, it actually means you will go “back into slavery” so problem solved! Black Hebrew Israelites also commonly teach that when the Bible is speaking of “Babylon” it actually means America. As can be seen, using this methodology of ignoring context or logic, it allows anyone to twist the text to say whatever they want it to.

The actual Hebrew term for Egypt has nothing to do with the word “slavery”. The word “Mitzrayim” or מִצְרַ֘יִם֘ has a meaning of two sea “straits” which border the Sinai Peninsula. This may also have been a reference to the dual nature of Egypt’s geography with “Upper Egypt” and “Lower Egypt”. [18]

Also, the passage states:

“…There you will offer yourselves for sale to your enemies as male and female slaves, but no one will buy you.…”

I don’t think anyone familiar with the Atlantic Slave Trade will say no was willing to buy Africans. The Transatlantic Slave Trade Database says that 12.5 million Africans were shipped to “the New World” [19]. Of that number 10.7 million survived the Middle Passage and were bought by people as slaves in North and South America as well as the Caribbean. There are various cases of other neighboring (possibly enemy) African tribes engaged in the slave trade (such as the previous mentioned Xweda or Dahomey who were known for it). So this part of the prophecy fails as people were literally selling and buying Africans by the millions.

Speaking of the number of Africans according to the passage:

You who were as numerous as the stars in the sky will be left few in number, because you would not obey the voice of the LORD your God. Just as it pleased the LORD to make you prosper and to multiply you, so also it will please Him to exterminate you and destroy you. And you will be uprooted from the land you are entering to possess. [20]

To get around the issue of the over 1 billion people living in Africa, Black Hebrew Israelites claim that Africans still living in Africa are not “Hebrews”, or descendants of Shem ben Noach (the alleged son of Noah), they are really the children of Noah’s other son in the Bible named Ham, and only those affected by the Transatlantic Slave Trade are the “true” Shemites.

Okay, let’s run with this, ignoring the fact that the majority of slaves went to South America and Spain, even if we look at a current statistic for how many black people live in the United States alone we see that “few in number” is still not an accurate description. Of the over 11 million slaves coming to the “New World,” America is estimated to have purchased only a tiny fraction of the slave population at a little over 300,00 slaves. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there were around 43,840,436 African Americans or African Americans in combination with another race in 2018. [21] So as we can see the African Americans are far from being a dying population in the United States the complete opposite happened in fact. For comparison, according to the Jewish Data Bank, there are around 14.5 million Jews in the entire world. [22] So even just using African Americans living in America at roughly 44 million, there would still be 4x as many than the number of Jews living on planet Earth today. And again keep in mind we aren’t counting the fact of Spain or South America are where the majority of people were taken. So again this alleged prophecy still fails.

Now I would like to take the opportunity to address the claim of African Americans being descendants of the Jews outside of Biblical tradition which has been demonstrated to be a colossal failure. Like any good lie there is possibly some truth to this but not how Hebrew Israelites portray it. 

What many of them don’t know is that people have done tests to verify if there exists Jews of African descent. Dr. Tudor Parfitt director of the Center for Jewish Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London came to the conclusion that the Lemba people of Zimbabwe may have some connection to ancient Jewish populations based on historical and anthropological research. [23] Another geneticist by the name of Dr.Trefor Jenkins found that the Lembas had 50 percent Y chromosomes that were Semitic in origin and 40 percent Negroid. [24] However, its important to note this test applies ONLY to African Americans who can trace their heritage to the Lemba are likely to be Jewish [25] (which is mighty far from “Negroland” which they show on the map to people btw).

This test tells us that there are Jews of African descent (and I don’t think anybody denies this as there are other African nations with Jews living there such as Moroccans or Ethiopians) the question is whether North African Jews made their way into sub-Saharan Africa and mixed with the natives (because as we saw in regards to Xwéda these areas were not Jewish). The existence of SOME African/Jewish descendants does not prove the claim that EVERY person of African descent in America is Jewish. Slavers captured Africans from many areas in Africa when bringing them to the Americas. One of their spiritual heads,  “Ben Ammi” (real name Ben Carter) who claimed prophethood concedes this in his book, God the Black Man and Truth:

“During the era of slavery in the Americas, it did not matter to the slave master whether the slave was Hebrew, Ashanti, Watusi, or Mandingo; they were all labeled ‘negro’ by him.” [26] 

So if their “prophet” Ben Ammi recognizes that slaves came from multiple tribes other than Jews, what methodology do Hebrew Israelites use to say that they or a random black person walking down the street is one? 

Again one has to remember there were approx 11 million taken to the Americas, of that 300,000 were brought to the US which brings the odds of one of them being Jewish pretty low, to begin with. The best outcome for Hebrew Israelites is certain African American’s descendants would be no different from the Ashkenazi (German), Sephardic (Spanish) or Teimani (Yemense) Jews who they consider to be “fakes”. 

With that being said, I again want it to be made clear, I do believe black people are in limbo regarding their identity but making up lies is not the answer to fixing it. The entire philosophy of the Hebrew Israelites is a degrading of our culture and basically states that black people aren’t worth anything unless they take on other people’s identity and history.

Which brings us to the last point, the Hebrew Israelite I spoke to also claimed the following was a “true prophecy”:

The LORD will drive you and the king you set over you to a nation unknown to you or your ancestors. There you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone. [27] 

In his personal commentary, he claimed that this referred to African Americans becoming Muslims (due to the black stone) and Christian (the wood being the Cross). Ignoring the fact that they’re essentially just racist Christians, this is again a failure due to lack of knowledge about Africa and black people’s religious history. Now the author is not qualified to speak on the spread of Christianity in Africa or African Americans but I can make notes about the spread of Islam. A simple refutation is that Islam was in Africa long before the Atlantic Slave Trade.

Islam has been in Africa since around 613-615CE while the Transatlantic Slave trade is generally have estimated to have started in 1526 CE (i.e an almost 1,000-year gap). Muslims settled in Abyssinia (nowaday Ethiopia and Eritrea) to escape religious persecution during the days of Prophet Muhammad. 

Speeding up to Transatlantic times,  historian Richard Turner breaks Islam down among African Americans into 3 phases:

Phase 1 which he dubs “Old Islam” was transmitted to America through slaves with the main goal being to inspire resistance to colonial slavery. At first armed insurrection happened but due to lack of numbers eventually “writing in Arabic, fasting, wearing Muslim clothing, and reciting and reflecting on the Quran were the keys to an inner struggle of liberation against Christian tyranny.” In reaction to this, colonialist sought the return of Muslims to Africa, “to rid America of Islam.” Muslims were uniformly labeled as possible security risks by Charles V of Spain and “slaves suspected of Islamic leanings.” were to be excluded from the Americas. (Of course many ignored this because Muslim slaves were highly valuable for skilled labor and being able to read.)

Phase 2 Islam had died out among African Americans by the time of the American Civil War.

Phase 3 Ahmadiyah and Pan African movements like the Nation of Islam, Moor Science and Marcus Garvey’s Universal Negro Improvement Association, brought a “New American Islam”, which then brought a revival to the religion among African Americans. This phase is where we see the famous Muslims such ad Malcolm X coming from for example and how most black people know about Islam today. [28]

In discussing Phase 1 Muslim slaves in America were considered to be quite high. Another historian by the name of Michael Gomez says that between 400,000 and 523,000 Africans came to the Americas during the slave trade, and at least 200,000 came from areas influenced by Islam. [29]

Further proof of this is the fact that many advertisements for runaway slaves had Muslim names on them even though they were rarely identified as such because slaves were commonly associated with their respective supply zones. 

Examples of resistance to colonial slavery would be in places such as Brazil, where hundreds of African Muslim slaves planned and executed a major uprising in Bahia in 1835, where they fought soldiers and civilians in the streets of Salvador. Also the famous slave ship Amistad in the Caribbean in 1839 where some Muslim slaves played a role in the revolt. [30]

Further proof of early Muslims in America are the writings of Charles Ball, who was one of the first African Americans to publish an autobiography and was also an ex-slave:

At the time I first went to Carolina, there were a great many African slaves in the country…I became intimately acquainted with some of these men. . . .I knew several, who must have been, from what I have since learned, Mohamedans; though at that time, I had never heard of the religion of Mohammed. There was one man on this plantation, who prayed five times every day always turning his face to the East, when in the performance of his devotions. [31]

And there are many more stories such as this one. So Islam is by no means a foreign religion to Africans or an “Arab religion” contrary to Hebrew Israelite claims. The Prophet in his last sermon said quite explicitly:

…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 a black nor a black has any superiority over a 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 meet Allah and answer your deeds. So beware: do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone… [32]

Narrated from Ibn ‘Umar that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) addressed the people on the day of the conquest of Makkah and said: “O people, God has no doubt taken away from you the arrogance of Pre-Islamic ignorance and its pride in ancestors. People are of two types: the righteous and pious, who are dear to God, and doomed evildoers, who are insignificant before God. People are the descendants of Adam, and God created Adam from dust. God says: “Oh mankind! I’ve created you from one male and one female, and made you into nations and tribes so that you can know one another. The most honorable among you in God’s Eyes is the one who’s the most god fearing among you because God is All Knowing and the Most Wise. (49:13).” [33]

God also says in the Qur’an:

Among His signs is the creation of the heavens and earth, along with your different languages and colors. There are indeed lessons in this for those who have knowledge. [34]

Finally, even if for argument’s sake all African Americans were Jews, so what do we gain some sort of special power now? If tomorrow the author was proven wrong and all African Americans are directly descended from Jews this would still not change anything from an Islamic standpoint as all people and nations have to follow Islam (Submission) as the religion of all the prophets was submitting themselves to God.

So in conclusion, it has been demonstrated the claims from the cult known as Hebrew Israelites have no foundations to stand on. The purpose of this article is by no means to degrade black people but inventing lies is not the way to lift ourselves up. Honor and power belongs to God and He gives them to whoever He wants among His creation. For us African Americans this quote from Umar bin Khattab the second leader of the Muslims after the Prophet Muhammad is relevant:

Tariq ibn Shihab reported: Umar ibn Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, said, “Verily, we were a disgraceful people and Allah honored us with Islam. If we seek honor from anything besides that with which Allah has honored us, then Allah will disgrace us.” [35]

Recommended Reading and Lectures

Due to widespread ignorance about Islam among African Americans (especially of as Turner called it the “old religion”), I have included a lecture series by Dr. Hakim Quick about Islam in West Africa and it’s coming into black America. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2IdBGMg2Og&list=PLC40BA66AE37FF022&index=3

For further reading, I also would advise Islam in the African-American Experience By Richard Brent Turner

References:

[1] The World Displayed; Or, A Curious Collection of Voyages and Travels

https://books.google.com/books?id=B2QDAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA31&lpg=PA31&dq=why+was+whydah+called+juda&source=bl&ots=jS4YTSsKzp&sig=ACfU3U3CLZneITBYXR1ltxTUdWcWo72Nuw&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj46Zyb4v3gAhUGwYMKHf0VBdc4FBDoATAHegQIBRAB

[2] An Universal History, from the Earliest Account of Time by George Sale

https://books.google.com/books?id=MisIAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA170&lpg=PA170&dq=why+was+whydah+called+juda&source=bl&ots=4wKDXk0rdv&sig=ACfU3U1vYEIlmrqs3A0jl2LAvI6OTBd0_Q&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjxqJ6V9fzgAhUl7oMKHSpTApY4ChDoATAEegQIBBAB#v=onepage&q=why%20was%20whydah%20called%20juda&f=false

[3] The Universal Dictionary of Trade and Commerce by Malachy Postlethwayt  Vol.1: London : Printed for W. Strahan, J. and F. Rivington pg. 964

https://books.google.com/books?id=FYhdAAAAcAAJ&pg=PP970&lpg=PP970&dq=Whydah+and+Ardah,+which+two+contain+the+Slave+Coast,+and+Benin+Proper,+WHYDAH,+as+it+is+called+by+the+English,+is+called+JUDA+by+the+French,+and+FIDA+by+the+DUTCH&source=bl&ots=nse0XR-Sdm&sig=ACfU3U0tcmqXAE2U9smc8GZzevRyqoV0QQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjhr-DPkd_jAhVNXK0KHZraBUIQ6AEwAXoECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=Whydah%20and%20Ardah%2C%20which%20two%20contain%20the%20Slave%20Coast%2C%20and%20Benin%20Proper%2C%20WHYDAH%2C%20as%20it%20is%20called%20by%20the%20English%2C%20is%20called%20JUDA%20by%20the%20French%2C%20and%20FIDA%20by%20the%20DUTCH&f=false

[4] The Common People Were Divided”: Monarchy, Aristocracy and Political Factionalism in the Kingdom of Whydah, 1671-1727 by Robin Law The International Journal of African Historical Studies Vol. 23, No. 2 (1990), pp. 201-229 footnote 1

[5] https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/whydah

[6] https://www.etymonline.com/word/judah

[7] https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/africa/an-african-country-reckons-with-its-history-of-selling-slaves/2018/01/29/5234f5aa-ff9a-11e7-86b9-8908743c79dd_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.c1fc7ff65b6b

[8] A New General Collection of Voyages and Travels Vol.2 Voyages and travels along the western coast of Africa, 1637-1735. Voyages and travels to Guinea and Benin, 1666-1726. Description of Guinea  by Thomas Astley and compiled by John Green

[9] William Bosman, A New and Accurate Description of the Coast of Guinea, divided into the Gold, the Slave, and the Ivory Coast, London, 1705, p. 368.] London : Printed for Sir Alfred Jones by Ballantyne https://archive.org/details/newaccuratedescr00bosm/page/n6

[10] Ibid p. 370.

[11] Ibid p.376

[12] Ibid p.377

[13] Ibid p.381

[14] John Atkins, A Voyage to Guinea, Brasil, and the West Indies in His Majesty’s Ships, the Swallow and Weymouth, London, 735, p. 110

[15] William Smith, A New Voyage to Guinea, London, 1745, p. 119

[16] William Snelgrave, A New Account of some Parts of Guinea and the Slave Trade, London, 1734, p. 2.

[17] Deuteronomy 28:68

[18] http://mrbrunken.happykidsschool.com.tw/middleschool/news/ancientegyptmaps

[19]  https://www.slavevoyages.org/assessment/estimates

[20] Deuteronomy 28:62-63

[21] https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US

[22] https://www.jewishdatabank.org/databank/search-results/study/831

[23] Parfitt, Black Jews in Africa and the Americas, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2013. Pg 162.

[24] A. Spurdle and T. Jenkins, “The Origin of the Lemba ‘Black Jews’ of Southern Africa; Evidence from p12f2 and Other Y-Chromosomes Markers,” American Journal of Human Genetics 59 (1996): 1126–33. Accessed online: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1914832/?page=1 , August 1, 2019.

[25] Parfitt, Black Jews in Africa and the Americas, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2013. Pg 149.

[26] Ammi, God the Black Man and Truth, Communicators Press p. 125.

[27] Deuteronomy 28:36

[28] Turner, Richard B. ISIM Newsletter 3/99  Mainstream Islam in the African-American Experience

[29] Gomez, Michael. 1994. Muslims in Early America. The Journal of Southern History 60, no. 4: 683

[30] Ibid pg. 672

[31] Turner, Richard B. 1997. Islam in the African American Experience. Indianapolis: Indiana University Press 23.[31] Ball, Charles. 1854. A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Charles Ball, a Black Man. Pittsburgh: John T. Skyrock 143.

[32] Ahmad (22978) Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in as-Saheehah (6/199)

[33] (At-Tirmidhi (3270) Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh at-Tirmidhi)

[34] Quran 30:22.

[35] Source: al-Mustadrak 214 Sahih (authentic) according to Al-Albani