Assalamu alaikum, this is what my "original" thoughts on Akon should have looked like, not the childish, immature rants you guys have *sadly* been exposed to.
On my href ="http://www.typepad.com">Typepad Blog</a>, I've had quite a rant going on about poor Akon. And after thinking about it, I've considered removing the posts dealing with him. Last weekend, I happened to come across the now old, though I didn't realize it at the time, story of Akon supposedly practicing the art of polygamy here in the US. And something about that set me off in a big way! Now, I'll tell you that I have a reputation for absolutely losing my mind and completely flipping sometimes, and this was one of those times! And while the rest of the world has either moved on, or doesn't care, there is me, ranting and raving about it!
I actually have spent a lot of time, taking a good look at myself, trying to figure out what the Heck I was so upset about! I mean, I'm a Muslim, I consider myself to be a "practicing" Muslim, and as a Msulim, I do believe that God gives men the right to multiple wives! Although having said that, there are many, many conditions that need to be met for a man to engage in this. However, what got me going was that Akon misrepresented the "P" word on many, many different fronts. Firstly, he said that "he could have as many wives as he could afford". Now, I don't know what kinda Islam they taught him in Senegal, or wherever it was where he learned his Islam, assuming he did actually learn it somewhere, but all orthodox Muslims *know*, I mean even a child could tell you, that a man could ONLY HAVE FOUR. Perhaps Akon made that clear, and I was not able to hear that part of the interview, as the part I *did* hear was snippeted as part of an entertainment report. The second misrepresentation Akon engages in is saying that "all Africans believe in it". I know *many* "Africans" who happen to hail from the same geographical region that Akon is from, and they, to my knowledge, do not prefer to practice polygamy, though of course *some* do, but by no means could it be said that *all* Africans believe in it, considering that *not all* Afircans are even Muslims or come from places where polygamy is an accepted norm. And even if they do, again, *not all* Africans even within cultures that *do* practice polygamy, have multiple wives. In short, though polygamy is common in many parts of West Africa, *not every* man practices it!
The third misrepresentation Akon engages in is to equate the practice of polygamy with the practice of many men of having "multiple girlfriends". Wives and girlfriends are *not the same* Islamically. And this goes for whether you are Senegalese, African, American, Arab, whatever. Islamically, "girlfriends" or "boyfriends", basically any "relationship" of a sexual nature outsied of the bonds of marriage is zina (fornication), an absolute major sin in Islam, in fact there is a punishment prescribed in the sharia for those engaging in it. I'd sure like to see Akon try to engage in his "girlfriend polygamy" in, say, a place like Saudi Arabia, or Nigeria, as they have instituted the hadd punishment for that offense in those places (we won't get into the selective nature of the application of that punishment here).
So Akon has misrepresented not only polygamy, but Islam itself, on at least three different counts here, that I can think of right off the top of my head! And not only did he do this on a widely-listened-to radio program in New York, but he did it before an audience of, most likely, mostly non-Muslims.
Akon has stated in subsequent interviews regarding this "controversy", that he was not thinking through what he was saying, that it was a publicity stunt, and though he's not *clearly* come out and put the "polygamy" controversy to rest (in some articles he's kind of hum-ed and haw-ed around the topic by saying "you can't have the different women living with you and do that"), he's also in other articles stated that this was all just some kind of "icebreaker" to get the conversation started and that he had no idea that it would have snowballed into the controversy that it has!
At best, this was just a guy who severely mis-spoke, and who said the wrong thing at the wrong time. At worst, he has completely mis-represented the correct practice of polygamy, and by extention, mis-represented not only Islam and Muslims, but Africans as well by stating "all Africans believe in it".
If he is a "practitioner of street polygamy", and "feels that girlfriends and wives are the same thing", and if he has "girlfriends" instead of "wives" and wants to call it polygamy, then he should know better (as presumably he has had education in Islam 101 at some point), and would know that a wife and girlfriend are not one in the same. And assuming this, then he seems to be using his "Islam" and "Senegalese culture" to justify his "player mentality" as he has admitted on this very same radio show that a player, in fact, he is! So it would be easy for one to conclude that he may have both "wives" and "girlfriends", and assuming this, then again, I come back to his use of "Islam and culture" to justify his "playeristic ways" and couch them in terms like "polygamy", and wax all "moral-like" and talk about equal treatment, etc. When all it is is his attempt to rationalize and justify his "behavior".
And what is worse, while he's singing about "everything you do is for Allah" on the song entitled "Senegal", he turns right around and puts out songs like "smack dat" and "I Wanna Love you", and goes around telling people that "damala bouga time" a Wolof expression which basically means "I wanna f*ck you", is actually part of his real name! Now, I don't know a huge amount about Senegalese culture (I've only travleed in that area and The Gambia, as part of a study-abrod program), but what I do know is that in the mainstream of that society, it would *not* be acceptable to use that phrase, assuming it means what some on the "Talk" section of the Wikipedia entry on Akon say that it means, the "underground" of the culture that may exist, notwithstanding.
What I find also to be awfully unfortuante is that though Akon likes to wax all "Senegalese" on us when it comes to polygamy, and talk about how "African" he is, I've not yet seen him refer to any other Senegalese artists, except for his father, and when I've asked a question on his MySpace blog, as to whether he has any plans to work with any Senegalese artists, I have yet to get any response rgarding that. (Though to be fair, no one else who has commented on his blog, as far as I can tell, has gotten any response from him either). So while he is in the US, signing up American artists for his KonLive music label, one wonders if he has plans to sign any Senegalese artists to that same label?
Short of him referring to his father, or giving props to Senegal in some of his music, and making a brief promo on Radio TamTam, an online Senegalese radio station, it does not seem as though he has tapped much into his rich cultural legacy. Except of course to wax poetic about "polygamy". (and how convenient for a man to do that, don't you think).
But I guess talking about "smackin' dat" to women, and how "I wanna f*ck you" makes you more money, allows you to buy more Lamberginis and more diamond minds! And console yourself in your opinion that "there are no conflict diamonds". Seemingly forgetting that a country, (Sierra Leone), not too far from your own, just fought a war over what? You guessed it, diamonds! How sad that a Senegalese can say, rather brashly, "there are no conflict diamonds", yet someone like Kanye West, can make a song about them.
Akon commented that no one knew anything about "conflict diamonds" until "the movie", I'm guessing he means "Blood Diamond" came out. I am not sure where he has been, well, I've got a pretty good guess, but we won't touch on that right now. But, I'd known about so-called "conflict diamonds" way before "the movie" came out! I think even Akon's Senegalese compatriot Youssou Ndour? (as well as possibly other artists)has either spoken out or written songs on the subject of the conflict in Sierra Leone, though I'm not quite sure as of now. So how Akon can claim that "there is no such thing as conflict diamonds", I do not even have a clue. I guess it is the same reason he wants to equate "multiple girlfriends" with "polygamy", because then he can justify to himself the kind of lifestyle that he leads.
I have a policy of not spending my money on artists who put out, what I consider to be, objectionable material, or who otherwise act in ways which I think, are just not right! Why should I put money into their pockets to allow them to continue their pattern of "destructive" behavior. R. Kelly is one example of an artist where I have employed this policy! And we all know his story, so I'd not like to go there. And I have to admit that this is not an easy policy to uphold. And sadly, I am considering the same policy with Akon. Had I known the things that I know now, I'd not have purchased his latest CD, and if I had the energy to, I'd ask for my money back. Because as it stands, I'm wondering if I will have to answer to God/Allah Himself, for supporting a man who seems to have such ignorant views!
And that is what it is, just plain "ignorance" and his attempt at him justifying his behavior and him trying to dress it up as "Islam" and "his culture".
Assuming that Akon considers himself to be a "practicing Muslim", and if he'd be open to it, I have a lot of questions for him, seeing that what I'm hearing/reading, and the formation of my opinions of him, have come from the media and their "sound bytes" of things he has said. And we all know how the media can be. However, assuming that I'd get the chance (which I probably know I won't), I have some questions for Mr. Alioune Badara Thiam.
1. Do you consider yourself a Muslim? If so, how much of a practicing Muslim are you? Do you try to be a better Muslim than maybe you are now?
2. What do you mean by "Islam" and "culture". Do you think the two are one in the same? If so, how so? If not, why not?
3. What, exactly, do you think that "polygamy" is? Do you think that girlfriends and wives are the same? If so, what of Zina/fornication, and Islam's strong stance on the matter? Does Senegalese culture view sex outside of marriage differently than sex within the bonds of marriage (whether monogamous or polygamous)?
4. Given Islamic teaching about "lowering the gaze", i.e., not looking at certain parts of the body of the oppositve sex (provided you are married to them, of course), how do you justify, assuming that you've actually "seen women grindin' on that pole", etc., etc., going and watching such behavior? How do you justify this behavior Islamicly? Culturally? Is it acceptable in Senegalese culture to say, go and watch women performing at strip clubs?
5. What affect, negative or positive, do you think that your comments will or have had on the perception of Africans and Muslims, if any?
6. Is there anything you wish you had done or said differently during this whole "controversy"?
7. Is there anything that you think you could/would do, in the future, to "undo" any damage done as a result of any harm brought about because of this?
Notice I did not ask Mr. Thiam how many wives/girlfriends/concubines, or any other woman of the sort that he had. That is something I am *not* concerned with. What concerns me is his seeming misuse/misrepresentation of Islamic/Senegalese culture, in a bid to if not justify his current lifestyle, than to create a "publicity stunt" in order to create some sort of buzz around him, seeing as how this controversy broke not too long before his current album, Konvicted, was released.
I cannot speak as a Senegalese, as I am not from Senegal, however, as a Muslim, and also as a woman, I can speak for myself as a Muslim woman and state that I do not appreciate Akon speaking for Muslims, whether they are monogamous or polygamous, and misrepresent the teachings of a religiion that he, supposedly, professes, by mis-stating the number of wives he can have, as well as the conditions under which the term "polygamy" can be applied.
In short, you are either dealing with someone who is either severely ignorant about Islam, or deliberately being dishonest about it for the sake of "publicity". And that is what I have a problem with. I am also inclined to wonder if the same could be said in how he represents Senegalese culture as well. And I leave this up to Mr. Thiam's fellow Senegalese to comment on and take issue with him on, if necessary.
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