Rastafarianism And Its Role In Black Youth Crime - Research Paper Example

Rastafarianism And Its Role In Black Youth Crime Introduction Even though God has created human as male and female, in the current world we can see lot of classification of human beings based, religion, cast, community, ethnicity etc. Different thinkers at different times spread their beliefs and opinions to their followers and all these opinion and thinking attained the proportion of a religion or community. The great uncertainty of what is going to happen after death and the desire to achieve salvation at any cost forced people to go after these types of mysterious thinking without bothering much about thinking rationally about such teachings. As a result so many religions, communities and ethnicities were established in the world will all of them have their own beliefs, ideologies and teachings. Even in the same religion itself, different communities were formed because of the different interpretations given to the same teachings of God by different thinkers and scholars. For example, in Christianity itself, there are lot many communities which have different beliefs and styles of worshipping even when all of them believe in Holy Bible and its teachings. Roman Catholic churches, Orthodox churches and Pentecostal churches were formed as a result of the different interpretations given to the same teachings of the Bible by different scholars. One of the major dangers associated with spreading different religions or thoughts across the world is the possibility of clashes between religions and beliefs. Once a person develops deep belief in an ideology, he may try to defend his beliefs or ideology at any cost and may engage even in criminal activities to protect it. Most of the recent terrorist activities are the bi-products of clashes between religions and beliefs. For example, Bin Laden has declared that he is fighting against the non-believers of Islam because he suspects that the non-believers of Islam like the Americans have the hidden agenda of baptizing the entire world to Christianity. In short, conflicting beliefs are the major cause of terrorism and criminal activities in the current world. Rastafarianism was responsible for black youth crime and disorder in the 1970s early 1980s, just as Islam (was) is to blame for Muslim-specific crimes and gang warfare amongst Asian youth in the 1990s and 2000s. The Rastafari movement is a "messianic religio-political movement" that began in the Jamaican slums in the 1920s and 30s. The Rastafarian lifestyle usually includes ritual use of marijuana, avoidance of alcohol, the wearing of one's hair in dreadlocks, and vegetarianism. Rastafaris dislike the term "Rastafarianism" because they reject the "isms and schisms" that characterize oppressive and corrupt white society (Rastafari, 2010) This paper critically analyses Rastafarianism and its role in black youth crime and disorder in the1970s early 1980s. History of Rastafarianism Marcus Garvey Rastafari developed in the slums of Kingston, Jamaica, in the 1920s and 30s. In an environment of great poverty, depression, racism and class discrimination, the Rasta message of black pride, freedom from oppression, and the hope of return to the African homeland was gratefully received. The Rastafarian movement began with the teachings of Marcus Garvey (1887-1940), a black Jamaican who led a "Back to Africa" movement. He taught that Africans are the true Israelites and have been exiled to Jamaica and other parts of the world as divine punishment (Rastafari, 2010) Rastafarianism blended some of the beliefs of Christians and the Jews to form a new belief. “Central to their belief is the doctrine that black people are descendants of the early Israelites and that they were exiled because of their transgressions” (Rastafari Movement, n. d). They believed that the true Israelis mentioned in the Bible were the African blacks and not the Jews. They also taught their disciples that the dispersed black community will assemble together in one land and for that purpose God will send a messiah. In former Ethiopian emperor, Haile Selassie, they have found their messiah even though the emperor denied such explanations by the Rastafaris. “Rastafarians believed that God is a spirit and that this spirit was manifested in King H.I.M. Emperor Haile Selassie I. They also believed that the Ethiopian Solomonic Dynasty is a direct representation of King David” (What Do Rastafarians Believe, 2003). Rastafarians believe in a God which was entirely different from the Godly concepts of Christians and Jews even though their principles were derived from Christianity and Judaism. Early Rasta mystical experience emphasized the immediate presence of JAH within the "dread" (God-fearer). Through union with JAH, the dread becomes who he truly is but never was, a process of self-discovery possible only through repentance. (For this reason, Rastas did not proselytize, but relied on compunction sent by JAH.) The mystical union was expressed by the use of the pronoun "I&I" (which can mean I, we, or even you, with JAH present) (Redington, n. d) They referred the God as Jah and never believed in life after death unlike the Christians and Jews. In their opinion, human has only one life and that was on earth only. They also believed that the true Rastas are immortal both physically and spiritually. Africa was regarded as the heaven on earth by them. Rastafarians gave more prominence to the Old Testament even though they accepted the existence of Jesus in a different manner. They believed that Jesus was a black rather than a Jew as declared in the New Testament. Rastafarians believe, God revealed himself in the person of Moses, who was the first avatar or savior. The second avatar was Elijah. The third avatar was Jesus Christ. Some Rastas believe Haile Selasie is Almighty god, (a god who died not for sin but because of sin!) They worship him as the living God. Some believe he is the second coming of Christ prophesied in the Bible. Some believe he is Christ-like, tracing his lineage to Christ. They even teach that Jesus predicted the coming of Haile Selassie.  Rastafarians point to the scriptures, saying it prophesied of him as the one "the hair of whose head was like wool whose feet were like unto burning brass (Let Us Reason Ministries, n. d) Whimpey (n. d) has mentioned that Rastafarian couples have some of the soundest relationships (Whimpey, n. d). Even though Rastafarians normally have a freak life style, they value their relationships more than anybody else. In fact more than 50% of the American marriages ended in divorce whereas among Rastafarians the divorce rate is comparatively negligible. They have strong belief in healthy marital relationships and they observe it as part of their religious belief itself. Rastafari movement was initially observed in Jamaica, but soon it gained grounds among the blacks, especially among the black youths. Leonard Howell emerged as the prominent leader of Rastafaris later even though Marcus Garvey can be considered as the father of Rastafari movement. Howell was an aggressive leader and he was more adamant than Marcus Garvey while taking stands against the white community. In facts his ideologies and teachings were the major reasons for the increased black crimes associated with Rastafarianism in the 1970’s and 80’s. Rastafarianism and black youth crime The fundamental beliefs of Rastafarianism were based on principles like: hatred for the White race; the complete superiority of the Black race; revenge on Whites for their wickedness; the negation, persecution, and humiliation of the government and legal bodies of Jamaica; (5) preparation to go back to Africa; and (6) acknowledging Emperor Haile Selassie as the Supreme Being and only ruler of Black people (Rastafari, 2010). Even though, Rastafarianism believe that in God’s eyes, all the human are equal, they kept a strong revenging attitude towards the while community. Their previous miserable experiences with the white community forced them to formulate principles which were against the interests of the Whites. They thought that the racial discrimination was White’s wickedness and it should be dealt with strong counter measures. They believed that black community has got some special places in the God’s kingdom and the God itself was a black rather than a white as claimed by the Whites and Jews. On the other hand Whites were not prepared to accept the claims of Rastafarianism which resulted in clashes or encounters between whites and blacks in the 1970’s and 80’s. Rastafarian Movement started to grow immensely from 1970 onwards with the worldwide exposure and acceptance of reggae music. One of the prominent advocates of Rastafarian Movement, Bob Marley created reggae music lyrics which “often touch on themes relevant to Rasta doctrine” (A Brief Introduction to Rastafarianism, 2008). Caribbean youths are famous for their freak life styles. They like to enjoy their life as much as possible. They like music very much and the reggae music lyrics touched their emotions very much and they started to engage in violence against the dominating White community. “Reggae has immensely helped in the legitimization of Rastafarian life and ideals” (RASTAFARI: ACCORDING TO THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN RELIGIONS RASTAFARIANS, 1997) Marijuana use was a ritual advised by the Rastafarian Movement which was another major factor for the increased violence against the White community. Even though, Christianity and Judaism ask its followers to refrain from smoking, drinking and any kind of activities which may destroy their consciousness, Rastafarianism called for the increased use of marijuana. “The smoking of cannabis is regarded as a spiritual act, often accompanied by Bible reading. Rastafarians believe smoking cannabis is sanctioned by the Bible, cleans the body and mind and brings the soul closer to God” (Hall, 2007). Rastafarians believed in Holy Bible; but they interpreted the Bible teachings differently. In Bible there are many stories in which former prominent kings and personalities made use of wine which may destroy the consciousness of a person. Rastafarians argued that refraining from conscious thoughts may purify the mind up to certain extent and periodical purification of mind is essential to establish relationships with the God. In other words, smoking cannabis, marijuana use, etc are divine acts according to the teachings of the Rastafarians. In fact, the herb "ganja" (marijuana) was regarded as "wisdomweed," and Rasta leaders urged that it be smoked as a religious rite, alleging that it was found growing on the grave of King Solomon and citing biblical passages, such as Psalms 104:14, to attest to its sacramental properties: "He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the service of man, that he may bring forth food out of the earth” (Beliefs, Practices and Sacraments of Rastafari, n. d) Rebecca Eschert (1998) has mentioned that Rastafarians were not drunkards or drug addicts. “Ganja, to them, brings them closer to Jah. They do not smoke it to get all "fucked up"like people who use alcohol every weekend. Ganja is spiritual to the Rastas” (Eschert, 1998). In short, Rastafarians strongly advocated the use of marijuana while they reject all other forms of addictions such as alcohol addiction and drug addiction which may destroy the conscious thoughts of a person. Moreover, they do advice their followers to practice vegetarianism and avoid non-vegetarian foods as much as possible. The above belief seems to be somewhat contradictory as on one side they encourage marijuana use while on the other side they urges its followers to refrain from all sorts of addictive materials. “Today, the discrimination tends to focus on the prejudice that Rastafarians are drug addicts and unfit for work” (Rastafarians, 2010). Many of the employers are hesitant in giving employments to the Rastafarians as they were labeled as drug addicts. On the other hand, Rastafarians consider such behaviors as an offense against their integrity. They visualize such behaviors as part of discrimination. In short, their relationships with the White community always getting strained and in many cases, such strained relationships converted into violence. The current conflicts between the Muslims and the Americans have lot of similarities with the conflicts between the Rastafarians and White community. Muslims believe that America is trying to baptize the entire world to Christianity and for that purpose they are keeping an anti-Muslim stand in global politics. Same way Rastafarians also believed that the White community has misinterpreted the teachings of the Bible in order to suppress the black community or to convert the black community as slaves. Islam and Christianity have lot of similarities in their beliefs; both these religion accept the single God theory whereas they differ in the case of Prophet Mohammad and messiah Jesus. Same way even though Rastafarians accepted Bible and its teachings, they argue that Jesus was a black rather than a Jew. In short, religious conflicts and misinterpretations were the major reasons for the clashes between Islam and Americans or the Rastafarians and the White community. In the mid 1960s Afro-Caribbean youth in Britain began to develop a style based on the ‘rude boy’ subculture of West Kingston, Jamaica. By the late 1960s rudies were adopting a Rasta style largely because it provided a way forward from the image of the individual rebel and spoke more explicitly of the development of a black cultural consciousness and the possibility of collective resistance. This was one form of black youths’ response to their increasingly strained relations with the British police and the development of Powellism and British Nationalism (Rude Boys and Rastafarians, n. d, p.1-2) The changes happening in the society affect the youths more rapidly than anybody else. Youths always try to catch the attention of others. They like publicity and heroism. In fact antisocial elements exploit the vulnerability and peculiar nature of youths cleverly to execute their mission. For example, in most of the terrorist activities and suicide bomb attacks happening all over the world, terrorists use youths. The terrorist, Mohammad Ajmal Amir Kazab, caught alive from the recent Mumbai terrorist attack site claimed that he was a minor in order to escape or to reduce the severity of punishments. In fact he was a major and his intention was to force the court to treat Mumbai attack as a juvenile crime in order to escape from severe punishments. In any case, it is a fact that teenagers are easily attracted by new styles and way of life. Rastafarianism also attracted many youths in Britain during the latter part of the twentieth century. Even some of the white teenagers joined Rastafarianism after being attracted by the new stream of life suggested by Rastafarianism. Black youths in Britain had strained relationships with the British police as they believed that the British police single them out while countering the same criminal activities of blacks and whites. The argument of superiority of black over the white by the Rastafarians, attracted many black youths in Britain and they joined Rastafarianism. In 1954 the situation grew increasingly tense as the Jamaican government intervened and overran the now Rastafarian mini-state called the Pinnacle that Howell ruled over. After this many followers migrated out of the original rural setting to the ghettos and slums of Kingston. Although authentic Elders advocate non-violence in their teachings, a frustrated and desperate few incited confrontation with authorities which resulted in deadly shoot-outs with British troops in the late '50s and early '60s bringing some negative worldwide attention to the movement (Payne, 2010). “Many Rastafarians believe that following their repatriation to Africa black people will become rulers of the world, resulting in the suppression of whites. Early Rastafarians may even have claimed that whites would eventually be destroyed” (Beliefs about race, 2009). The above beliefs motivated them to engage in activities which can destroy the white community. They thought killing of whites is a divine act in order to protect their religious beliefs. Here also we can visualize lot of similarities between the Rastafarians conflicts with the whites and the believers and non-believers of Islam conflicts. In Bin Laden like Muslim fundamentalists’ opinion, killing of non-believers of Islam may bring salvation to them. So they are not considering any sins in killing of innocent people. Same way Rastafarians also believed that the white community have denied them the opportunity to live in their promising land Ethiopia and in order to reach the promising land Ethiopia; it is the duty of the blacks to destroy the obstacles in their path to Ethiopia. The above belief seems to be rubbish as we know that Ethiopia is currently one of the poorest countries in the world. Ethiopia's poverty-stricken economy is based on agriculture, which accounts for half of GDP, 85% of exports, and 80% of total employment. The agricultural sector suffers from frequent drought and poor cultivation practices, and as many as 4.6 million people need food assistance annually” (Economy of Ethiopia, n. d). The independent on Thursday, 12 April 2007 reported the arrest of 23 people in a raid on a Rastafarian temple. “In a statement, the Metropolitan Police said: "These premises have been used in part as a Rastafarian temple, however, it is believed that a high level of serious criminality has been operating from here which is adversely affecting the local communities" (Police in raid on Rastafarian temple, 2007). Even though Rastafarians publicly deny their involvement in drug dealings, privately most of them engaged in drug use and selling across Britain. Today, Rastafarians diluted some of its adamant and fundamental stands in order to give their religion more polished look needed to the civilized world. They have not changed much even though publicly they pretend like that. As in the early days of Buddhism and Christianity which spread along trade routes, Rastafari and Reggae spread along the modern drug trade routes, and because of the championing of the cause of the poor and dispossessed, rebellion against authority, and the unique combination of politics, sex, religion, justice, and equal rights, it became the music of the young and powerless in the Caribbean and throughout the world (News : The Rastafari Memeplex - The struggle over the symbols of Rastafari is of enormous interest particularly as it relates to the use of violence or violent images in Jamaica, 2008) Religions normally exploit the weak points of the society like the poverty, discrimination, lack of equality and liberty etc. It is difficult to convince or convert the privileged people whereas as it is easy to canvas the oppressed public. Most of the religions used the above tactics very well to establish in the world. Rastafarianism also did the same thing. The leaders or prophets of the Rastafarianism exploited oppressed or suppressed emotions and feelings of the black community across the world in order to spread their religion. Rastafarianism misinterpreted many things in the Bible and taught their disciples that the dominant white community has stolen many of their rights using muscle power and it is their duty to escape from such oppression. Walter Robinson II (2009) has mentioned an incident in which he was faced life threats from Rastafarians. In June of 1992, my family and I personally discovered this when we preached in the Village of Windward for the first time. There were two Rastafarians present who immediately made their hatred for our message known. If there was ever a time I experienced fear for the cause of Christ, that was it! (Robinson II 2009) Rastafarians are so adamant in their beliefs so that they have no hesitation in attacking others who preaches against their beliefs. Any activities which are going on against the beliefs of the Rastafarian will be treated suspiciously by the Rastafarian youths. Most of the Rastafarian teachings were aimed only at the well being of the blacks. They failed to respect other religions or other people which were outside their community. In other words, they also committed the same mistake which they accused up on the whites. Rastafarians always deny their involvement in any form of criminal activities. In their opinion “all conflicts were derive from the Devil, and caused by powers much greater than themselves in these times” (Rastafarian.net). The above teachings were simply stay on papers, in practice they have no hesitation in doing criminal activities. “Rastafarianism among black people is as radical as the obnoxious white-supremacist groups are among Caucasians. Some Rastas believe that the white man’s “god” is Satan, and white people are to be designated as spiritual “Babylon”” (Jackson, n. d). Rastafarianism believes in the existence of God and Satan, but they believe that the God of Christians and Jews is not the real one. They consider all the Gods except their God as Satan. Because of the above perception, destruction of the forces of Satan (non believers of Rastafarianism) is considered as a noble act by them. In their opinion, all the other religions are trying to dominate them Apart from other religions, Rastafarianism considered the so called "-isms and schisms " also as their enemies. For example, the modern political theories such as communism and capitalism were considered as evil forces by Rastafarianism. They considered Marxism as part of the Babylonian system, which they hate very much. In fact they never like to call their religion as “Rastafarianism", because of their harsh feeling against isms. Instead of Babylonian system, they consider Zionism as the most suitable political system for the world. “Zionism is actually a Jewish movement of rebirth and renewal in the land of Israel” (What is Zionism?, 2010). But Rastafarianism considers Africa and Ethiopia as their promising land instead of Israel. Conclusions Rastafarianism was originated in Jamaican slums in the 1920s and 30s. It believes in the supremacy of black over whites and considered Africa and Ethiopia as the land of promise by the God. They considered former Ethiopian emperor Haile Selassie as their messiah even though Haile Selassie never accepted it. Rastafarianism believes in Bible, but they have their own interpretations of the biblical words. In their opinion, Bible is misinterpreted by others like the Christians and Jews in order to establish the supremacy of Whites over black. Marijuana use was considered as a ritual by Rastafarians in order to purify the mind. In their opinion, periodical purification of mind is necessary to establish strong relationships with the God. They were also motivated by the reggae music. They composed lyrics suitable to their religious beliefs and used it in their reggae music in order to attract the youths. Rastafarianism and the current Islamism fundamentalism have lot of similarities. Both Rastafarianism and Islamism treated others as non-believers and the enemies of their religion. Both these religions were adamant on their beliefs and are not ready to make any compromise with other religions. War against non-believers is considered as a sacred thing by these religions. Because of the adamant belief in their religion, Rastafarians have no hesitation in attacking others because of their interpretation of other religions and their Gods as Satan. Rastafarianism was responsible for increased black youth crime and disorder in the1970s early 1980s. Black youths found something inspirational in this religion and they were ready to sacrifice even their lives for this religion. The principle of supremacy over Whites was a delightful one for the suppressed black community and they were ready to do anything to bring the principle into practice. Moreover, marijuana use was accepted as a divine thing by Rastafarianism which was another motivating factor for the black youths towards Rastafarianism. Rastafarianism has lot of similarities with the Muslim fundamentalism as both the religions were so adamant in their beliefs and were not ready for diluting any of their religious principles. Fundamentalists in these religions have no hesitation in creating problems across the world on behalf of their religion. Rastafarianism is a religious philosophy which lost its significance even among the blacks nowadays because of the contradictory nature of their teachings. None of their teachings were accepted as logical ones by the modern world. Even though not existing in its true sense, Rastafarianism is still prominent among black community in different forms or versions. References 1. A Brief Introduction to Rastafarianism, (2008), [Online], Available at: http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/resources/religion/rastafarianism.html [Accessed 15 August 2010] 2. Beliefs about race, (2009), [Online], Available at: BBC, http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/rastafari/beliefs/black.shtml, [Accessed 15 August 2010] 3. Beliefs, Practices and Sacraments of Rastafari, (n. d), [Online], Available at: http://www.acobas.net/teaching/activities/rastafari/rastawebquest/beliefs.html, [Accessed 15 August 2010] 4. Eschert, R. (1998), The Dread Library, [Online], Available at: http://debate.uvm.edu/dreadlibrary/eschert.html, [Accessed 15 August 2010] 5. Economy of Ethiopia, (n. d), [Online], Available at: http://www.fhi.net/fhius/ethiopiafamine/economy.html, [Accessed 15 August 2010] 6. Hall, T. (2007), Rastafarianism: Origins and beliefs, [Online], Available at: Telegraph.co.uk, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1548384/Rastafarianism-Origins-and-beliefs.html, [Accessed 15 August 2010] 7. Let Us Reason Ministries, (n. d), Rastafarianism, [Online], Available at: http://www.letusreason.org/cults15.htm[Accessed 15 August 2010] 8. Jackson, W. (n. d), What Is Rastafarianism? Who Was Bob Marley? [Online], Available at: http://www.christiancourier.com/articles/868-what-is-rastafarianism-who-was-bob-marley, [Accessed 15 August 2010] 9. Payne, N. (2010), An Introduction to Rastafarianism, [Online], Available at: http://ezinearticles.com/?An-Introduction-to-Rastafarianism&id=1002498, [Accessed 15 August 2010] 10. Police in raid on Rastafarian temple (2007), [Online], Available at: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/police-in-raid-on-rastafarian-temple-444345.html, [Accessed 15 August 2010] 11. Rastafarian.net (2009), [Online], Available at: http://www.rastafarian.net/, [Accessed 15 August 2010] 12. Rastafari Movement, (n. d), [Online], Available at: http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/latam/rasta.html, [Accessed 15 August 2010] 13. Rastafari (2010),[Online], Available at: http://www.religionfacts.com/a-z-religion-index/rastafarianism.htm, [Accessed 15 August 2010] 14. Redington, N.H., (n. d), A SKETCH OF RASTAFARI HISTORY, [Online], Available at: http://www.nomadfx.com/old/rasta1.html, [Accessed 15 August 2010] 15. Rastafarians, (2010), [Online], Available at: http://atheism.about.com/library/glossary/general/bldef_rastafarians.htm, [Accessed 15 August 2010] 16. RASTAFARI: ACCORDING TO THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF AMERICAN RELIGIONS RASTAFARIANS, (1997), [Online], Available at: http://www.inithebabeandsuckling.com/EAR.html, [Accessed 15 August 2010] 17. Robinson II, W. (2009), What is Rastafarianism?, [Online], Available at: http://www.lastchanceministries.com/Rastafarianism.htm, [Accessed 15 August 2010] 18. Rude Boys and Rastafarians, (n. d), [Online], Available at: http://www.uk.sagepub.com/.../Muncie%20-%20Youth%20and%20Crime%202e%20extract.doc - United Kingdom, [Accessed 15 August 2010] 19. News : The Rastafari Memeplex - The struggle over the symbols of Rastafari is of enormous interest particularly as it relates to the use of violence or violent images in Jamaica, (2008), [Online], Available at: http://www.roots-archives.com/forum/read.php?2,64134, [Accessed 15 August 2010] 20. What Do Rastafarians Believe, (2003), [Online], Available at: http://www.jamaicans.com/culture/rasta/believe.shtml , [Accessed 15 August 2010] 21. What is Zionism?, (2010), [Online], Available at: http://www.adl.org/durban/zionism.asp, [Accessed 15 August 2010] 22. Whimpey, J. (n. d), Rastafarian religion, jamaican culture, reggae music, love, [Online], Available at: http://jamaicanrastafarianlove.com/2010/06/04/rastafarian-beliefs-on-marriage-and-relationships/, [Accessed 15 August 2010] Read More