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Details on the picture (above) of Great Mosque in Mali and its treasures can be found here.

Ninety-nine percent of the estimated eleven million Malinke people in the world today are Muslims most of whom live in West Africa. Among the many famous Malinkes of history, Mansa Musa, the emperor of the Mali Empire, is perhaps one of the most renowned. He is reported to have been one of the wealthiest people of all time. Mansa Musa was also known as the first truly devout Muslim ruler of the region. In the year 1324, he, along with his very large convoy of approximately 70,000 men by some accounts, made the pilgrimage to Mecca. Historians and economists say that he gave so much gold away to the poor and to the cities along the way to Mecca that the effect of his voyage could still be felt on global gold prices 700 years later.

With an Islamic heritage spanning more than seven centuries, the Malinke people take great pride in their Islamic faith and Identity. I was born and spent the first half of my life in Conakry, Guinea, a small country on the western coast of Africa, and I belong to the very same Malinke people of Mansa Musa. Growing up in Conakry, my identity was tested in many ways but never in regard to being Muslim. Consequently, I never found myself having to defend or justify being Muslim to anyone including myself.

After moving to the US as a teenager, I was repeatedly asked by many to relate to them the story of how I 'found Islam.' At the time, this was one the strangest questions I had ever been asked. Even more strange was that I couldn't recall a single non-Muslim asking me this question. I couldn't fathom why Muslims, mostly immigrant Muslims just like me, would consistently make such inquiries. The only explanation I could conjure up was that these individuals were attempting to build an identity for me. Merely being Muslim was not enough; I had to be cataloged into a specific faction to make it easier to compare and contrast against their own 'more superior' trademarked brand of Muslim.

Fifteen years later, I'm still being asked the same question and still overwhelmingly by other Muslims like me. Unlike before, this question is no longer strange to me. I now appreciate it for better or worse. In the sight of most non-Muslims, Muslims enjoy a communal identity that transcends the majority of all conceivable boundaries known to men. Consequently, it's up to Muslims to adhere to their Islamic value of simply being content with being Muslims, without the need of any suffix or prefix. Our unique heritage, irrespective of its origin, does not make one Muslim superior to another. I once heard that 'we are what we have to defend,' and the only identity that we find ourselves having to defend lately is our Muslim identity. If we are perceived as Muslim by others, I ask why is it that we seek to differentiate among ourselves?

Abdel Camara is an Atlanta Resident and is active is involved in AMYP and other community service organizations.

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