Where Have I Been?

Where have I been? Good question, probably deerves a good answer, but I don't think you have the time right now. God willing, I will be posting more frequuently, and in the meantime, check out one of my projects I am working on. Peace.

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Working on my Love and War series. #art #artist #picoftheday #love #heart #me #painting #paint #green

A post shared by Quwwa_Artworks (@quwwa_artworks) on Aug 11, 2020 at 6:47pm PDT

Still At It....

12 x 16 Pastel painting entitled Safe and Sound. 

Just when I got into the groove of blogging, other things pop up, and blogging takes a back seat. I'm preparing for a showcase coming up in which yours truly will exhibit my work to my local community, something I haven't done in 5 years, and it's been long overdue. This one here promises to be somewhat different than the previous showcase, due to changes in certain areas, especially in the rebuilding of the local library. This is a big plus for me, because not only do I get to exhibit my work, I can also access classrooms with projectors and screens, and trust me, I do have something planned for that as well. I don't want to spill all of the beans right now, but just to inform those who started getting into the habit of reading my blog regularly that I would be off the social topics for a while, but only on this platform.

 I know I had not finished the blog concerning Leslie Jones and Milo Yiannopolous, but in this age of fast food information and hot gossip, it's become passe' anyway, not that it's no longer important to discuss the issue, but one with much insight will see this issue pop up in another way shape or form, and the Leslie vs. Milo incident can be used as a reference point. But that's for people who value critical thinking and reasoning, which is not what our world is concerned with. 

Anyway an extra special thanks to those who take the time to read my lil' ol' blog, it is greatly appreciated. Not to get too involved with stats and metrics, which brings me back to my old customer service rep ways (UGGGH!) but last month set personal records for my blog in terms of views and readership. It's only fitting that I show gratitude in some form for those who take the time out of their busy schedule to come and See What I See (CWATIC). 

Until next time, take care and hang tight, we're only getting started here. 

Peace. 

Leslie and Milo Part 2

TO CONTINUE: This past week I went to an event held at my local library where the poet, Jamaal May, recited a few poems and spoke briefly about certain aspects of his poetry, and current events surrounding us. He touched on something that impacted me in my blogging approach, where he stated that things happens so fast and are captured by social media outlets so quick, what could be news today will be considered old and irrelevant in a matter of days.

That is one of the main reasons why I try to approach my blogs differently, not just focusing on what just happened, but the lingering after effects of what occurred, and to see if there were indicators that would have led to incidents like this. The situation with Leslie Jones and Milo Yiannopulous was to me not just an event that happened on social media, then came the ouster of Milo from Twitter and so forth. This had been building up apparently, when one research both individuals past, and how it was really only a matter of time before something like this would occur, for both Milo and Leslie.

It just seemed that no one cared when Milo went on to defame Islam, while acknowledging on Joe Rogans' Youtube Show that this world will be better off if people adhered to Judeo-Christian values, which he happens to be a frequent violator of.  Some of the values he blasts Islam for holding are parallel to values he claim to espouse, especially the prohibition of homosexuality, sex outside of marriage althogether, the man being the head of the household, among others. That's what makes him suspect, the obvious pandering to the Judeo-Christian community, while accusing Islam of holding the same values. It should be considered shameful to see some conservative groups and outlets use this person as some form of resource to debate and attack others' beliefs as well as signifying a sign of desperation. This is not the first time this happened. Remember The Cold War?

This form of bigotry would ultimately catch up with him when the Twitter catfight took place, prompting several other unintelligent minds to hurl the most hurtful of slurs at Leslie Jones, especially the reference to her as an ape. Milo's continuing rants and antagonistic ways opens the door for the most insidious of racists and bigots to hurl insults at those they hate, all the while confirming the backwardness of this society, as well as the world itself, despite the so-called advancements in technology, proving that people can still degenerate and stoop to the lowest forms of stupidity, and behave in levels of ignorance one could never imagine.

But don't think for one minute that I'm pro-Leslie here. Although the incident was sickening and uncalled for, I cannot say this caught me by surprise. Not to toot my own horn, but in March of this year, after watching the Ghostbusters trailer on Youtube, I found myself adding Leslie to the list of Black women being protrayed in the media in some of the worst ways imaginable.

And this was before I did any true research on Leslie, but more on that to come.

                                         TO BE CONTINUED...

Click Here for Part One http://realquwwa.blogspot.com/2016/07/leslie-and-milo-two-branches-off-same.html

Leslie and Milo :Two Branches Off The Same Tree (Part One)

Hatred has already appeared from their mouths, yet what is in their hearts is worse.

The Holy Quran, Surah Ali Imran (Chapter 3) verse 118

...the most effective form of propaganda is when the subject moves in the direction you desire for reasons he believe to be of his own.

The Cultural Cold War,  by Frances Stonor Saunders

The intent of this blog is much more far-reaching than just focusing on that hideous Twitter cat-fight between Milo Yiannopulous and actress Leslie Jones, star of Saturday Night Live and the recent remake of the movie Ghostbusters. This blog intends to go into depth about two individuals, whom although they appear to be entirely different, actually have more in common than you think. Both are attention seekers, deal with the mind-warping media, relying on unfunny jokes, wit (dim-wit is more like it), and rely on stereotypes and misinformation to butter their bread and garner attention. The only real difference is while Leslie involves herself with what is called "ethnic humor" and comedy, Milo just focuses on making fun of other's beliefs and ethnicities.

Milo is a strange breed of all sorts. A self-proclaimed Jewish/Catholic who is openly gay, claiming to acknowledge Christianity's prohibition of homosexuality on Joe Rogan's Youtube show, yet claims he can't cure himself of it, and yet this same individual blasts Islam because of ITS prohibition of homosexuality, using the suspicious Orlando, Florida massacre as a pretext to accuse Islam of homophobia, whatever the hell that means.


SIDE NOTE 1: Islam is the Way of Life prescribed for those who submit themselves to God, referred to in Arabic as Muslims.  Despite the propaganda by bigots and liars like Milo, who infest all forms of media, the prohibition of homosexuality in Islam is reserved only for MUSLIMS. Islam does not concern itself with the sexual mores of those who do not claim to be Muslim, unless either one lives in a society where Islam is the Rule of Law (in which those who have sex outside of marriage even if heterosexual are also punished as well, Muslim or non-Muslim) or try to undermine the Islamic Way of Life with their personal mores and beliefs. Besides that, non-Muslims in general do not fall under this prohibition, especially those who live in Non-Islamic societies. 

SIDE NOTE 2: The people of Prophet Lot (AS) were not destroyed for their disobedience, but they were destroyed for their disbelief and denial.  The Quran clearly speaks of this when it says;

And We said "Go down all of you. And when Guidance comes to you from Me, whoever follows My Guidance, there will be no fear for them, nor shall they grieve. And whoever DISBELIEVES and DENIES My Signs, those will be the Companions of the Fire, they will abide in forever... Surah Baqarah (Chapter 2) verses 38-39

And Lot, when he said to his people, do you commit such immorality as no one has preceded you among the worlds? Indeed you approach men with desire, instead of women. Rather, you are a transgressing people. But the answer of his people was only that they said "Evict them from your city, indeed these are MEN OF PURITY."   So We saved him and his family, except for his wife, she was of those who remained.  Surah Al Ar'af (Chapter 7), verses 80-84.

SIDE NOTE 3: There is no evidence in the Quran or The Sunnah in any way to justify or validate what happened in Orlando, Florida as being Islamic, especially considering these facts;

1. The people were not Muslim.

2. They were not in an Islamically run environment.

3. There was no evidence showing any of them were hostile to Islam, nor even heard of Islam. Islam concerns itself with calling the people to its Way, not killing.

As I stated in my last blog, when someone does not like you, there's nothing you can do to change them. All you can do is take control of the narrative.

Anyway, I took the dubious and unpleasurable task of watching certain excerpts of this dialogue between Rogan and Milo, concentrating on the part where things got really heated, and being a former Christian, I felt Milo was not being sincere in most, if not all of his responses, but was in fact very patronizing of Joe Rogan, and the Christian religion, talking about his alleged sexual encounters with Catholic priests, and proclaiming that if he could in his own words, "cure his homosexuality", he would.

I came out of that wondering if Joe knew when somebody was playing him for a fool.

Even more troubling are the conservatives who employ or support this guy simply because of his "logical" arguments against feminism, the Left, his racist beliefs, and his undeniable bigotry towards Islam, which had him rubbing elbows with fellow propagandist Pamela Gellar, the co-creator of the Prophet Muhammad cartoon drawing contest disguised as "free speech", and founder of the pseudo-patriotic American Freedom Defense Initiative, supposedly dedicated to stopping the "Islamicization" of America, a phrase which along with radical Islam, Islamic extremism, and fanatical Islam I have yet seen defined by these propagandists. Together with sites like Answering Islam, with its rabidly inaccurate article 164 Jihad Verses In The Quran, it seems that these people will stop at nothing to have their idea become the dominant thought or belief in America, and throughout the world. Even if it means lying and deceiving, something supposedly abhorred in the Holy Bible...

Do not steal, do not lie, and do not deal falsely with one another... 

The Holy Bible, Leviticus 19:11

It just seems nowadays The Truth Don't Matter.

The Big Switcheroo...MORE HARM THAN GOOD CONTINUED.

To continue: Labeling someone a deviant indicates there was an established system already in place, yet for whatever reasons, beit ignorance or willful deception, some people wish to tread a different path. Islam strongly denounces such actions, as well as sectarian groups who attempt to create their own niche. The methodology of implementing the Islamic Way of Life came only through the Prophets of God, ending with Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Only he and God(Allah) alone can sanction any action with the intention of servitude, or in arabic ibaadah.

But in efforts to distort and manipulate, appropriate terms such as deviant, inventor (mubtadi), liar (kadhab), transgressor or sinner (faasiq), wrongdoer (dhaalim), and astray (dhaaleen) are replaced with extremists, terrorists and such to intentionally mislead, and from there comes as the late psychoanalyst Edward L. Bernays coined as "The Engineering of Consent". The creations of "anti-Shariah" laws in certain states, which have now been renamed as "anti-foreign" laws to disguise bigotry towards Islam, as well as the Patriot Act, which allowed spying on American citizens all come from this social engineering and social control.

To further illustrate the point, looking at the profiles of the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, and the current so-called khalifah of the group ISIS, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi (which is not his real name mind you), Wikipedia classifies both individuals as "Sunni Muslims" (another descriptive term that does not exist). This implies that all of their actions have their basis in core Islamic principles. That means when one hears reports of suicide bombings, or internet beheadings, kidnappings, all which are designed to antagonize the so-called "free world" and challenge the "free world" to come and fight, it has it's roots in  "Sunni" Islam, although there is absolutely no evidence to suggest such actions are permissible or even make sense, especially in the constant proclaimation of committing such horrendous acts by certain so-called groups.

Wikipedia also has a site entitled WikiIslam, a page dedicated to discussing Islamic topics only. On this site I found a horrendous article intent on discussing a statement made by Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) regarding men who are killed for the religion receiving 72 virgins in Paradise as a reward. Using an array of information, mostly not attributed to the Quran and/or the Prophet(S) himself, as well as unauthenticated statements reportedly made by him,  this article goes to great lengths to 1) describe the Islamic concept of Paradise as a pleasure palace, complete with orgy-esque and free-flowing sex amongst the men and 2) Show justification of the modern-day concept of suicide bombings, or some refer to it as "martyrdom operations".

For the sake of digressing even further, I plan to address that particular article in the very near future, but what I can state now with surety and clarity that there is no evidence that Islam sanctions such actions, and how can such actions be attributed to "Sunni Islam" when there is no such concept mentioned by the Prophet of killing oneself in order to kill others, nor was such actions even possible during his time? History tells us that explosives and gunpowder were invented two centuries after his death! So if "Sunni Islam" is to follow the Way of Prophet Muhammad(PBUH), how can he give such directives without knowing what is an explosive?

 It represents an excellent case in point with regards to the quote "A lie can travel halfway across the globe, while the truth is putting on its shoes." Truth sometimes require extensive research, and those who show so much animosity towards others so much so that they are willing to lie about another's lifestyle or culture can realize the tedious task of finding out the truth in a matter by looking up several sources, and going to the official text to ascertain the truth.

So why the long drawn out digression from the initial topic of Muhammad Ali? 

     (To Be Continued)

Click here to go to Part One:

http://realquwwa.blogspot.com/2016/06/more-harm-than-good-making-muhammad-ali.html

To Read Part Two, Click on the link;

http://realquwwa.blogspot.com/2016/06/more-harm-than-good-making-muhammad-ali_15.html

Read Between The Lines: One Sick Puppy Continued

I really wanted to end the conversation on Afrika Bambaataa's sexual assualt allegations, however after listening to a couple of interviews on the subject, I felt like elaborating a little further on my stand that I took in the last blog.

My main point of contention took place when a Facebook friend shared an article dated May 4, 2016, entitled Dear Black Men, It's Time For Us To Talk About Afrika Bambaataa,  which appeared in an online Black celebrity gossip website called Bossip (I can only assume that's fusing the two words boss and gossip together.) This article attempts to exhort Black men to discuss the accusations against Afrika, regardless if they are true or not.

Bossip is owned by the Moguldom Media Group, which also owns Madame Noire and Hip Hop Wired, all three dealing primarily with celebrity gossip geared toward African Americans, with Bossip and Madame Noire focusing particularly on Black women. One is left wondering why would a website who is obviously preoccupied with gossip and patronized by more women than men just by reading most of the titles of the stories presented would all of a sudden turn advocate and exhort Black men to engage in a community forum to talk about one individual's allegations against him.

To drive home this point the article raised the Bill Cosby sexual assault allegations as some sort of example of how Black women "rose to the challenge" via social media in calling out Bill's misconduct, while most Black men refused to discuss the issue, and some accused the women involved of conspiring against Bill and/or Black men for many reasons. This gives the reader the idea that Black men's silence toward this issue either represented cowardice, shame, or worse tacital approval, which is what feminists have always tried to prove about men in the first place, especially Black men.

It left no room for consideration of men being cautious against speaking out of term or out of ignorance before all of the facts come in. Nope, it was either this or that, which is kinda funny when you think of people who speak against absolutism, yet would draw up their own absolute conclusions when they feel like it would benefit their argument.

Late last year I produced a video regarding Ebony Magazine's November issue entitled "The Family Issue" which was reported to raise "dialogue" of whether one could separate Bill Cosby from the fictitious character he created on The Cosby Show, the father figure Dr. Heathcliff Huxtable. Using a video clip taken from a CBS News interview with Kierna Mayo, recently appointed editor-in-chief of Ebony and self proclaimed Black feminist, and comparing the Cosby allegations with what happened with Willie Horton by conservatives in the late 80s, along with articles from The Root.Com, a Black feminist website owned by Univision, I set out to prove that there was more to this Ebony article, which even today remains unchallenged by so-called Black media. Due to the large file, I was unable to post it to the blog, but the Facebook link is below.

https://www.facebook.com/quwwa.davis/videos/10206244885695048/?l=5155088739720063097

The final point I want to bring up regarding the article is the claim made that one in six black men have been sexually assaulted as a child, a claim based on supposed research by author Robin D. Stone, author of No Secrets No Lies. I can't comment on the whole of the book, due to not having read this book, but I can express a level of wariness concerning these figures and its usage, especially in light of the attack by feminists and the propaganda of "street harrassment" "rape is about power and not about sex" and "rape culture", common phrases and terms used by feminists to demonize men. It coincides with the claim made by moderate feminist Christina Hoff Sommers, author of Who Stole Feminism, and The War On Boys, that a rape culture does not exist, but gender propaganda aimed at men and advocating laws that actually promote irrationality, double standards, and downright oppression of the opposite sex.





Afrika, Bill Cosby, or any other public Black male figure's personal issues should not be used in any sense to indict a collective group of men, especially when the advocacy comes from a celebrity gossip website, or any other crap the media pukes out. Unless that entity is implying that this indicative of ALL Black men, which Ebony and any other Black feminist or publication that focuses on women has tried to assert.

Creating hysteria and paranoia around one individual's allegations will do nothing for any community but hurt it tremendously, as it did with The War On Drugs, The War On Poverty, and The War On Terror.

Although I read this article after publishing the initial blog One Sick Puppy, it corroborates with every statement I made in the initial blog, of how a corrupt and mind warping media, mixing a few truths with a truckload of falsehoods, bent on sensationalism, and controlled by corporations and special interest groups preoccupied with propaganda, profits and power, can infect and corrupt an either unaware or uncaring public with lies and gossip, and how such an ignorant society can easily fall for such filth, and succumb to such nonsense that ultimately leads to suppression, and even genocide.


If you turn on the TV, all you see's a bunch of what-the-f***ks
Dude and dating so-and-so, blabbering 'bout such-and-such

And that ain't Jersey Shore, homey that's the news
And these the same people supposedly telling us the truth....

lyrics from the song "Words I Never Said", performed by Lupe Fiasco

One Sick Puppy...

Usually I don't speak on personal issues, or personal allegations, however the issue of Afrika Bambataa's allegations of sexual misconduct has deteriorated exactly how I expected it to when compared to when I initially read the story. What was initially presented in the press by Ronald Savage as an issue of principle with regard to a statute of limitation has now turned into an all-out tabloid-esqe, TMZ inspired assault on ONE individual, with people now taking sides, accusations now being thrown around, courtesy of the mind-shaping media.

Now my Facebook news feed is being populated with virtual soapbox speeches condemning those who they say "sit idly by and say nothing regarding pedophilia and sexual abuse." It's as if they're trying to shame (it's funny how that word takes a different tone when you attach it to liberals...side note) people for not saying anything, or for not condemning Afrika regarding this subject, which for all we know as of right now are mere allegations, and regardless of guilt or innocence, should be handled in a court of law, not a court of public opinion. I've said the exact same thing regarding Bill Cosby's personal allegations, and I will say it regarding any person's personal issues. 

Courting or trying to shape public opinion regarding an issue is not always the best thing to do in this society, and eventually you risk the chance that it may come back to bite you in the ass. Especially for marginalized and disenfranchised people, who have seen rogue police get away with murder and brutality despite damning camera footage, recorded voice messages, as in the case of Kenneth Chamberlain's death in White Plains, N.Y in late 2011, witness accounts, and a barrage of social media comments, these people walk the streets unabated, and some even received publicity, compensation and funding from television networks and internet funding outlets.

We must never forget the words of the late Malcolm X (Al-Hajj Malik Al-Shabazz) regarding the hypocrisy and double-standards of this society when he stated"

"They sell you liquor, then arrest you for getting drunk. They sell you a deck of cards, then arrest you for using them."

You may ask "why is he using this quote in this context? It doesn't seem to make sense." But allow me to expound.

Malcolm was commenting on the double-standards of this country where some things that harm and contribute to the destruction of individuals, families and communities are legalized and marketed by this country, however one is punished in crimes where such objects may have been contributory. We see this yearly with alcohol-related deaths in the 15-20,000 range in this county, yet the issue regarding prohibition of alcohol can never come up again, because those same people will tell you "you can't legislate morality."

Let's take a look at how public opinion was shaped, leading the federal government to declare the now-infamous "War On Drugs." The propaganda surrounding that topic, leading with "this is your brain on drugs", "Just say no" ads on TV, news articles and TV features showing crack addicts, prostitutes, and gang members, the violence and mayhem, all lead Black community leaders to give the go-ahead on laws that we know now wreaked havoc on the Black community, and hasn't been able to recover from it since. Black men were profiled(and still are), arrested and charged with huge sentences, sometimes in triple digits, while others returned back to society only to experience what we now know as "The New Jim Crow". 

However, what happened to the REAL gangsters, the real criminals, who lived outside of the inner cities, who brought the drugs in, who profitted off the lives destroyed by the sale of drugs and guns, and the mass incarceration of young Black men, sent to prison and made to work for slave wages?

This is an excellent example of how the public opinion of an uneducated and uninformed community can come back to haunt them, and the real exploiters of such opinion can get away with virtually anything they desire.

In a 2005 book entitled Pornified: How Pornography Is Transforming Our Lives, Our Relationships And Our Families, the author Pamela Paul discussed how she interviewed several men who watched porn, and discovered that a majority of those interviewed expressed some interest in child pornography, regardless of the level of the interest, and despite knowing the illegality of it. Many who were interviewed expressed that initially they had no interest in child pornography, even finding it repulsive, however they found themselves gradually harboring an interest in such form of "entertainment". 

But if I was a betting man, I would be willing to bet the house that you could not garner enough public opinion to see a possible connection between pornography and pedophilia. And don't even mention advocating its' prohibition, for the notion of banning pornography would label one "prude" or relegate one to being "conservative" or "religious", and the howls of "censorship" would forever ring out, and one would be cast off as infringing on one's "constitutional rights". 

And in an even more stranger twist of fate, despite the claims of "rape culture", "street harrassment", "misogyny" and "patriarchy" that flood the media now,  modern-day feminists now do not see any harm in pornography, nor do they see it as a contributory factor in how some men view women as sex objects, and will defend its usage and purported purpose, although the one exception would be that they are in control of the content, production and manufacturing of the material. Such a strange change of events, when just a few years ago anytime a rapper showed strippers on a video, or called someone a bitch or a ho, the calvary would come in, men who didn't "speak out" were labeled and shamed...Go freaking figure.

If you're still reading this blog, by now you should know that the title "One Sick Puppy" is not a reference to Afrika Bambataa, but to the society as a whole. A society that picks and chooses its heroes and enemies, its angels and demons, its vices and virtues by way of a mind-warping media and an unknowing and/or uncaring public, filled with hypocrisy and double-standards, harboring a cake-and-eat it too attitude, and susceptible to view the latest gossip or satire website as some form of actual news. 

After all, many still believe Beyonce performed a tribute to the Black Panthers in the Super Bowl....




Just be careful of what you're advocating....

Ayesha Curry: How To Make A Mountain Out Of A Molehill (Part 1)

Okay, I know this incident occurred in December of last year, so sue me. But I have my reasons for bringing it up now.

First of all, until three weeks ago, I didn't even know who Ayesha Curry was. I mean I'm on social media, but not on the magnitude that some people are, commenting on EVERY LITTLE THING said or done, and commenting on what so-called celebrities have said and done is definitely not the move for me.

However, some things have to be addressed, and this is one of them. Not just because of the ultra-sensitivity black feminists exhibited on this issue, but also how this reflects the tense environment concerning Black male-female relations on the whole. Yes, I am very critical of feminism and it's meteoric rise in the culture and psyche through all media outlets, but truth is truth, regardless of who delivers it.

A couple of weeks ago I was shown a blog post entitled Ayesha Curry Is A Threat To Black Feminism, written on March 9th, 2016, by one Ali Shakur, aka Hannibal X, a Youtube blogger and host of a podcast show called Hannibal At The Gate. Seeing that I was busy continuing with deconstructing the Beyonce Super Bowl performance, I put it over to the side, still curious as to what it meant, but not curious enough to interrupt what I was already working on. To be honest I wondered who was this Ayesha Curry, this woman who from my initial impression openly opposed feminism, and their pundits.

When I finally read the article, I was kinda taken aback, expecting to hear damning statements about feminism from this Ayesha The Feminist Slayer character that the title insinuated, but what I seemed to have gotten was a sensationalized article, taken out of context by virtually all parties involved.

First off, when I realized Ayesha Curry is the wife of All Pro Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry, my enthusiasm quickly turned to skepticism, because I usually don't perceive supposed celebrities or their spouses to make comments about political issues, especially when they concern the Black community. And after reading this blogpost, I rest my case.

Seems that this "threat to Black feminism" made comments in late December concerning certain unspecified attire that she considered to be trendy, and stating her opinion that although wearing barely anything in public seems to be the trend, she'd rather "save the good stuff for the one that matters".

Somehow the super-duper-ultra-sensitive felt shamed, and therefore a flurry of responses flew, reading more into what they felt Ayesha was implying, and immediated accusing Ayesha of feeling herself, and attacking women who wear provocative clothing in public. This seems commonplace for certain people who tend to read into everything as some type of shaming, or the new word "micro-aggression" against feminism, accusing others of being judgemental while they themselves exhibit the same tendencies, as shown in the last tweet, where the word "patriarchal" is used to assert that Ayesha is not thinking with her own mind, but instead is "indoctrinated" with what they consider "male thinking."

Now where the "slut shaming" accusation came from I have no earthly idea, but again, that's feminism for you. Or better yet, that's what liberalism is about...

TO BE CONTINUED...