I’ve recently heard this expression used in relation to Islam. Does anyone have any idea what it means?
I’ve never heard the term but it’s probably the 5% of muslims who act (or supposedly act) a certain way. Maybe it’s a fundamentalist?
I know a 1%er is a biker who lives outside the law.
Yes i believe it had something to do with how only 5% of people live a certain way or do a certain thing. The context of the argument in which it was used is really weird though.
From here and other substantially similar articles:
Apparently, they annoy many mainstream Muslims.
To put it mildly! Muslims find the Nation of Islam pretty much blasphemous. The oddest thing about NoI is that it appears to have grown out of African-American Shriners organizations, who basically began taking the Islamic trappings of the “Mosques” too seriously and spun a theology around that and black nationalism.
I worked with a fella from N.J. back in '95 who claimed to be a “5%” Muslim. He drank liquor (borderline alcoholic), ate pork breakfast, lunch and dinner, and ran the streets at night like a Dog.
I asked him once how he could be a Muslim and do all of that stuff, and he swelled up all proud and said, “I’m a 5%!”
At my blank look, he elaborated, “We’re already right with Allah; we’ve got the word already, and our entrance to Paradise is assured, so we can do whatever we want!”
Uh-huh.
Well, I guess it’s not that much difference between that and the Baptist who goes out on Saturday night drinking and raising hell, and then denouncing “them sinnin’ heathens” come Sunday morning.
In a shocking coincidence, many 5%ers happen to be popular rappers. Jurassic 5 and the Wu-Tang Clan spring immediately to mind.
Shocking, that.
It’s a splinter group from the NOI. They maintain that Allah is a man. As proof of this, they cite the letters in the name Allah, which they say stand for “Arm, Leg, Leg, Arm, Head.”
^now that i dont get. i assume you’re being sarcastic, so why is that so not shocking? i’m actually a fan of both and I’m surprised.
er that was meant for ace
I would agree with that when it comes to describe the feeling they would provoke if an average Muslim wouold listen to their amazing and yes, for a real Muslim truly blasphemous taechings and ideas.
For me this so called Nation of “Islam” is typically one of these amazing religious sects that seem to pup up and flourish like mushrooms in the USA.
= NOI has as much to do with Islam as my cat.
To clarify: My cat is certainly created by God and being part of the creation, cats have their own way of worshipping the Creator.
For me that is where the “connection” between NOI and Islam (or any other religion for that matter) begins and ends.
I didn’t do a study on this weird organisation, yet have read a few of their publications and have (to my great amusement and amazement both) visited a few times a message board where they seem to have their own forum.
I must say that I find it unbelievable that a political organisation manages to create a mix of Bible and Al Qur’an quotes and in addition adds on all of it their very own specific interpretation, yet then found it needed to abuse the word Islam in the name of their organisation.
To give only one example out of so many: Their blatant racism is in itself already completely in contradiction with the teachings of Islam and hence with the message of Al Qur’an and I think the same can safely be said aout the teachings of Christianity and at least the OT.
Salaam. A
As always, I go to the Urban Dictionary for all my answers.
The Nation of Islam was founded in the early 20th century as a specifically black organization and religion. It was not, in any way, associated with Islam, followers of Muhammed (sp?), i.e. Mecca and all that. The central belief of those invovled was that the white race was created by a mad-scientist named Yakub some 6,000 years ago in an evil genetic experiment. The white people were destined to rule over the world, and all the real, original, non-white people for about 6,000 year, after which said original people would gain ascendency. Hence, whites are “blue-eyed devils.” The Nation of Islam was strictly a Black-Supremecist (sp?) group.
Five-percenters are those today who strictly adhere to those beliefs.
Note: The Nation of Islam was officially recognized, so to speak, when Malcom X was allowed to take the haaj (sp?) to Mecca. It was there that he saw muslims of all races worshiping together and being treated as brothers. It was there that he dropped his black supremecy, and for that he was shot and killed.
IIRC, the Nation of Islam is closer to Islam-proper than as originally conceived by Wallace Fard Muhammad.
So, to answer the OP directly: Five-percenters are those who believe that black people are the only real people, that whites were created in an evil genetic experiment and are literally non-human devils, who believe that Islam is the natural way for all real people, and that blacks are now due for a period of ascendency where they will rule the world sans the shackles of the blue-eyed devils.
Or, they’re just bullshitters trying to act all hard-core. That, I imagine, is where most rappers fall.
Wikipedia has a good article on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nation_of_Islam
I would argue that your cat has slightly more to do with Islam, as , if memory serves, your Prophet used to own one. 
…or in the original Arabic, spells out “Allah Is Not An Acronym.”
Seems like a marketing gimmick to me when it’s used in that context, is all I’m sayin’.
YMMV, of course.
The Urban Dictionary? You’ve got to be kidding. Half of the entries on any topic are sheer bullshit made up by people who have no idea what the term means (and don’t care).
So… God doesn’t have a torso?
The Nation of Gods and Earth is not the same as the Nation of Islam. The Five Percenters broke off from the NOI.
I absolutely love things like this where translliterated words have some secret meaning.
On the other hand, I now know what the Gravediggaz are talking about.