What is it about?
Islam-inspired Black empowerment movements such as the Five Percenters reformulate non-Western religious identity as cultural critique and socio-political struggle. As such, they are perceived as highly eclectic empowerment strategies rather than authentic vehicles for esoteric initiation.
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Why is it important?
In opposition to a dominant perception of Five Percenters as a socio-political movement, the article argues for a consideration of its core teachings as a contemporary expression of preceding hermetic systems, illustrated by a direct comparison with respective interpretations in Western Esotericism.
Perspectives
Growing up with Five Percenter rappers such as Rakim or the Wu sparked my interest in Islam and led to my acceptance of the religion. As such, they paved the way for intensive studies of Sufism, Neoplatonism, Taoism, and other hermetic traditions. At this time, I very much enjoy connecting the dots and exploring a bigger picture which I am more than glad to share with interested readers.
Martin Abdel Matin Gansinger
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Supreme Mathematics, Interdisciplinary Journal for Religion and Transformation in Contemporary Society, February 2023, Brill Deutschland GmbH,
DOI: 10.30965/23642807-10020020.
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Resources
Theology and Protest Music
From Ghetto to Gods, from Protest to Priest: The (pro)creative transformation of Self in Five Percenter Rap and its analogies to sapiential traditions in Islamic theology (Chapter)
Rocking Islam - Music and the Making of New Muslim Identities
The Influence of Islam on Black Musical Expression and its Re-Contextualization as Hybrid Gnosticism in Hip Hop Culture (Chapter)
Contributors
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