I Pledge Allegiance

One day my son came home from school and told me he had been sent to detention for not pledging the flag in his classroom. It’s only his second year in public school and yet, he braves these challenges day after day. It was a delicate matter to transfer him from an Islamic private school to a charter school and finally, to the environment of public education. These institutions are comparably more resourceful than the former, which prompted the change of direction in his educational path.

The word detention instantly struck a nerve with me because it literally means, the state of being detained. Far from Gitmo though, something deep within tugged at my mutinous core and I had to refrain from going to the school and passionately confronting them for this foolish measure. Instead, I had a chat with my son about what patriotism means to different people in this country. I explained that although we are indeed American, it is widely regarded as a mark of citizenship- giving us the choice to cast a ballot, endowing us with a social security number, and gives the government a portion of earnings from the time of underage work permits on through retirement.

Being the astute fifth grader he is, he completely understood. In fact, he had several angles of clarification and disputation to offer me in our exchange.  Qasas also understands that enacting nationalism is a bittersweet practice for those of African ancestry, his dominant racial background. It may or may not be seen as a significant birthright by everyone. After all, his ancestors were not welcomed ashore like some immigrant groups. There was no process or paperwork, save for ledgers kept by slave traders. Instead, they were brought here in the bottoms of ships as human cargo only to be bought and sold at the malicious whim of their captors. The Trans-Atlantic slave trade is not a subject we shy from in our household, rather, it is one we openly embrace as a means of healing.

As glum as it sounds, it is part and parcel of our narrative, as African Diasporans in the Americas.

This is where discourse differs among the indigenous and the immigrant; some arrived with a dream in their hearts while others were the ones who made living that dream achievable. Without the plantations of tobacco, cotton and sugar cane, where would the corporations of today be? Would the benefactors of such wealth have been able to invite newcomers without wealth accumulated from the capturing, auctioning and laboring of others? Or, what of indentured servitude of “lesser” European groups as an institutionalized advantage?

And unless we are still sleepwalking in that dream, we must acknowledge the virulent history of the lands we now live upon. This history shapes the very sociology of our existence today.

My son and I then drafted an open letter to his teacher, other faculty and administrators. We detailed why penalty is unfair for students who don’t salute a flag that holds conflicting emotions for so many people or anyone that feels a piece of material may indeed be unworthy of praise.

We decoded every line in the pledge while cross-referencing them to those of Hasan al Banna who penned a universal call to Islamic brotherhood decades ago in Egypt. While Hasan was martyred, many of his followers were sentenced to the depraved conditions of Egypt’s worst jails and were systemically subject to torture.

We talked about Malcolm and Muhammad Ali whose courage enabled generations of African Americans to embrace Islam in their own religious and political transformations. Malcolm articulated the crossroads African Americans stood at when claiming their citizenship, if they decided to at all. He faced life threatening circumstances, aggravation and martyrdom as a result of his transformation from career criminal to convert. Muhammad Ali’s opposition to the military draft of Vietnam resulted in prison time served. Thus, his political conviction led to another sort of conviction.

Both men interpreted patriotism differently than how it was customarily presented by white counterparts during their era. So was the case with Tommie Smith, the Olympic medallist, who stood upon a platform of athletic recognition with a fist in the air.

And within the last decade, NBA star Mahmoud Abdul-Raouf refused the ritual pledge before commencement of games and was ostracized for this audacious resolution. Death threats, harassment and fire bombings of his home was the result of Mahmoud’s resistance of what is perceivably an obligation, national pastime and show of loyalty. Mahmoud is no longer playing with the NBA and has subsequently taken up a career overseas.

What would Mahmoud tell Qasas about this classroom indoctrination? I can only imagine Muhammad Ali miming a jab at injustice, eventually knocking it to the ground. I can fathom Malcolm would utter an analogy about the paradoxical reality of being truly American.

Now that Barack Obama presides in office, can I promise my son that anything has changed or simply wait until it actually does? At the very least, his classroom teachers will respect the freedom Qasas has to make his own choice- standing or not standing, pledging or not pledging. It is indeed his choice, and that’s the part of America we should identify with. Such choices are not ones guaranteed even in parts of the Muslim world. This may not be a luxury we would be afforded anywhere else in the world.

We happily sealed the letter and Qasas took it to school the next day.

I waited awhile for some kind of comeback but there was no response. Perhaps it was a touchy subject, one whose tenderness will not be soothed no matter the gentle use of language. His teacher, whom I had previously assumed was quite young and liberal, had no reply to give. She didn’t send him to detention ever again though.

Ultimately, it was an experience Qasas had to undergo to prepare for ones he will soon brave in young adulthood, growing up as a Black man in America and as a Muslim. Qasas will endure many struggles and will only surmount those he faces with the determination of great indigenous leaders that came before him- Malcolm, Muhammad Ali and Mahmoud. As products of America, these people and their principles are worthy of allegiance.

And that is a kind of patriotism we will certainly put into practice.