War on the Innocence of Human Potential: the Sign of Simone Biles and the Global Pandemic

by Imam Earl Abdulmalik Mohammed

يٰۤاَيُّهَا النَّاسُ قَدۡ جَآءَتۡكُمۡ مَّوۡعِظَةٌ مِّنۡ رَّبِّكُمۡ وَشِفَآءٌ لِّمَا فِى الصُّدُوۡرِۙ وَهُدًى وَّرَحۡمَةٌ لِّـلۡمُؤۡمِنِيۡنَ 

“O mankind, there has come to you sound perspective and counsel from your Lord and a healing for what is in the hearts, and a Guidance and a Mercy for those who have faith.”

Due to the respect earned by Imam W. Deen Mohammed in the public spaces of America and the world for his faith and nature-based moral and Islamic religious community leadership, those associated with him are universally respected in our Islamic life and tradition. In truth, there is no Islam in America (and the world) without him. This requires sincere reflection and honesty. Not everyone will see its truth. Understanding of it is in a category of high emotional and moral intelligence.

It follows then that there is a special public receptivity, and most importantly a public expectation, that the most qualified from his following offer perspective on issues that weigh on the collective conscience of the global human community. We are obligated by our faith, that is to say - our duty to G’d, to serve the human community in this way. Similarly, Imam W. Deen Mohammed’s following owes this perspective to America, its leadership, and its population of well-meaning citizens. Above this, however, is an obligation to address what troubles the souls of the African-American people.

I don’t want there to be any confusion about my statement here. No such responsibility is owed to troublemakers within the race, or the nation, or those perpetrating schemes against the descendants of Adam in international spaces. It is an obligation to those innocent ones who for a number of reasons remain desperately vulnerable to these oppressive schemes. I am speaking to those particularly targeted because of their display of human excellence. Those whose display of excellence is described as if super-human. They are assaulted by forces they do not fully comprehend, and therefore cannot defend against. They are targeted because through them the devil hopes to weaken many would-be human achievers and thus alter the perception of human nature.

Simone Biles’ ability is often labeled ‘super.’ In reality, this is no complement to her. It is a diabolical lie. It is to suggest that in order for her highly disciplined sense and display of emotional and physical intelligence and performance to be respected she must be categorized as above the human, as extra, as ‘super.’ Because what her natural aims show to most as a superior display, it becomes a tool in the hands of conspirators to manipulate the perception of it as categorically unattainable -as beyond the reach of ‘mortals.’ That is to say that such a display of excellence is out of reach as potential excellence for everyone else.

The subtlety is that this brown daughter of American slaves is a study in the extraordinary, not a human in display of the excellence inherent to common human potential. The scheme is to suggest, or whisper, that excellence of this sort is undeserved by a human life, and especially this particular human, with this particular social history. 

Our religion teaches that Adam, who is the first and common ancestor of the essential human type that is shared as nature by both male and female, was made to ‘slip’ or was ‘shaken’ from his original balance or footing as human. He is our first father, and it was suggested to him by an enemy that he could be better, that he could have more, and that his present form was ‘naked’ and deprived. In other words, and in the expression of Simone Biles’ gymnastic language, the original human was ‘twisted’ from his and her original pattern, creating the burden of imbalance and disillusionment for him and his descendants. 

Gymnastics is all about human balance and the challenges to maintain that balance under all sorts of powerful forces and influences. The point here is that that original balance or pattern can be maintained and celebrated, and that the process for that is not a super-human exercise. This is the Islamic perspective of human nature, Deen al-Fitrah - that our original created excellence is fully and absolutely human, and that our nature is not sinful.

The influence suggesting to Adam that he was above that original nature and pattern is what attempted and for a time succeeded in ‘twisting’ him away from it. It is the likeness of that suggestion, that Simone is somehow super-human, that causes her ‘twisties’, sense of imbalance, and disillusionment. What the schemers are after is to deny the display of her human beauty and symmetry in the age of the global pandemic and war on human potential.

One of my daughters, who was herself an accomplished gymnast, said the following to me of her own experience in relation to what has transpired with Simon Biles at the Tokyo Olympics. I asked her permission to include it here in these comments and for the purpose of helping me address this issue. To me her comments provide clarity and an important connection. It is a connection to our first human ancestor and the subtle schemes that existed and exist to ‘twist’ us away from the destiny G’d created for all humans and human communities to realize. It is also an expression of the innocence of the African American soul:

“Daddy, honestly I am very familiar with that feeling that Simone described. I think there is this common misconception and expectation to be fearless as a gymnast. I guess from an outsiders perspective it seems like we just do and don’t think too much about it. Which is very true, gymnastics is all about balancing risks, but I don’t think there is enough conversation about what’s on the flip side of that. 

Gymnastics is also about habit and muscle memory. Your mind and body have to constantly be in sync 100% of the time and when they aren’t that’s when the fear sets in and that’s when injuries happen because even though your body may know how to do a skill, your mind is questioning if you can or even if you should do it,  you start to lose confidence in yourself and then you start experience this mental block. So I think she made the right decision to not compete.

It’s unfortunate because so many people including myself were so excited to see her perform but I think that this break is necessary. Like I said if her mind and body aren’t in sync then her focus is off, which means her timing is off, which means her special awareness is off, and she isn’t in control of her body. I know that feeling all to well.

I don’t  know if u remember but for like a month straight I couldn’t vault. I didn’t know what was going on but I lost all coordination and every time I tried it was like my body wasn’t responding to what I was telling it to do. I didn’t know where I was, everything was off, and as a result my wrist and my ankles started get weaker. It was a really strange and uncomfortable feeling because

1. Vault was one of my stronger events and

2. I could no longer do a skill that I was once able to do in my sleep.

The way I see it is like as gymnast, you’re kind of like a machine in a sense. After a while you just become programmed to perform certain skills, but when something is out of whack and you’re not functioning properly something is bound to go wrong, and I think in Simone’s case she is fearful that her physical health will seriously be compromised.

The difference between sticking a landing, and falling on your neck, or blowing out your knees, or hitting your head on the beam, could be as simple as a wrong hand/foot placement, or letting go of the bar two seconds too early( or too late). It’s really that specific, so I just think right now she doesn’t have the same level of trust in herself as she did and she needs time to get it back.

She also mentioned she isn’t having fun anymore which I can relate to. When I was doing gymnastics I can recall there was this moment where I was enjoying the sport so much because it was thrilling, but once I became scared it became exhausting because it took everything in me to find the trust, confidence, and motivation in myself to perform.” 

Allah says:

الَّذِىۡ خَلَقَ فَسَوّٰى 

“He it is that created and then gave balance (symmetry, equality).” 

And again He says: 

فَاَقِمۡ وَجۡهَكَ لِلدِّيۡنِ حَنِيۡفًا ‌ؕ فِطۡرَتَ اللّٰهِ الَّتِىۡ فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيۡهَا ‌ؕ لَا تَبۡدِيۡلَ لِخَـلۡقِ اللّٰهِ‌ ؕ ذٰ لِكَ الدِّيۡنُ الۡقَيِّمُ ۙ  وَلٰـكِنَّ اَكۡثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعۡلَمُوۡنَ 

“Therefore set your whole self (face) for religion as one by nature upright (firm and sane to purpose). The nature fashioned by G’d upon which mankind is patterned. Let there be no altering the creation of G’d. This is the right way of religion but most of mankind do not have knowledge of it.”

The natural form and original nature G’d fashioned for us is our balance and symmetry, and therefore our best weapon against the global schemes to ‘twist’. 

We pray Allah’s Favor on all who He has raised up to remind us of this pattern upon which He has created all human beings. May He Bless Simone Biles and her works now and in the future. We seek His protection against the schemes.