Works of Abul Baraa Muhamad Amreeki

In psychology, maturation is the natural process of growth and development. Developmental delays occur when a person—or an entire people—fail to reach the maturity expected at a certain stage in life. These delays can happen in childhood or adulthood. They may be caused by internal factors—such as mental dysfunction, autism, or learning disabilities—or external factors—such as bad parenting, toxic environments, and broken community structures.

When we study maturation delays closely, we begin to see not only where they come from, but also when they occur and how they shape a person’s decisions, habits, and ability to function. Environment is everything. If your home life is unstable, your parents lack skills, or your community is corrupt, your growth will be stunted—mentally, emotionally, and socially.

Now apply that to African Americans. Our lack of unity, political immaturity, and failure to build economic power through collective effort (ethno-aggregation) is not random. These are symptoms of deep developmental delays—delays caused by slavery, Jim Crow, mass incarceration, and constant attacks on our ability to organize.

Under slavery, we were forbidden to read—punishable by death. We couldn’t gather in public for fear of being accused of planning a rebellion. Under Jim Crow, Black political organizing was systematically targeted for destruction. Leaders like Malcolm X, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and Fred Hampton were assassinated. The Black Panther Party was dismantled through COINTELPRO. Vocational training was stripped from our schools. Our communities were flooded with drugs. Systems were promoted that replaced Black fathers with government checks.

And I say this as a Black man and a Muslim: in the eyes of the U.S. government—especially agencies like the FBI—writings that speak openly about Black American empowerment are seen as a threat to their establishment, often labeled as “extremism” or even considered a form of national terrorism.

Even feminism was weaponized against us—turning Black men and women against each other, while normalizing the single-mother household. Today, the LGBTQ agenda is being pushed heavily in our spaces, not as genuine liberation, but as yet another step in dismantling the natural family structure—already weakened by decades of targeted attacks.

The results speak for themselves: public schools with low expectations, high unemployment, and a culture where rappers, athletes, and actors are idolized more than leaders or scholars. Communities are saturated with entertainment, drugs, and illicit sex—tools of distraction, not empowerment.

Here’s where it gets personal. People say they want change—but who’s actually delivering real solutions? We need Islam. We need moral discipline, structure, and a divine framework that addresses the social issues destroying us.

But I have to be real: in New York, most Black Muslims I see are lazy, chasing dunya, or living in nostalgia about the “old days.” Meanwhile, the immigrant Muslims—who make up the majority here—are focused mostly on making money and chasing opportunities. They are not here for dawah, and they have no understanding of Black people’s reality.

Philly isn’t perfect—the Muslims there have their own issues—but at least I see Black Muslims active in the community, doing social work, and helping their people. In New York, that energy is missing.

Until we mature—politically, economically, and morally—we will remain stuck. The U.S. government, Democrat or Republican, runs on white supremacy. It will not save us; it was never designed to.

We have to save ourselves. That means ethno-aggregation, real education, rejecting distractions, and rebuilding our family and community structures—with Islamic discipline at the center. Until then, we will remain in a state of developmental delay—not because we are incapable, but because we refuse to break free.

This is the reality in our culture today—no discipline. And when I say discipline, I mean both definitions: structure and a code of ethics. In our community, it’s a free-for-all. Sexually, it’s a free-for-all—sleep with whoever you want, don’t think about the consequences, no accountability, no sense of responsibility. Whatever feels good, do it—even if it destroys you down the line. No remorse, no reflection, and certainly no accountability.

Then we wonder why we see the results we do: baby mamas, single women with multiple children, no fathers, no marriages. Men with no discipline when it comes to women. Men with no discipline when it comes to life. Without structure in our communities, family problems spill over into every other area—directly contributing to why we have no power as a people in this country.

We practice individualism to our own destruction. If something doesn’t happen to us personally, we say, “Why should I care?” But the truth is, you should care—because when your people are affected, you are affected. People with power don’t think like this. White Americans don’t operate like this. They push individualism on us, but among themselves, they practice collectivism—especially in business, economics, and power.

Look at the Asian community in America: they practice collectivism, maintain strong family structures, and protect their neighborhoods. I can’t just walk into their community and open a business. They buy from each other, sell to each other, and support their own. Their homes are not plagued by broken families. Men and women understand their roles and pass these structures down to their children.

Our lack of discipline and family structure is not a small problem. In psychology, a small developmental delay in childhood often has long-term consequences in adulthood. If a child cannot read, that affects their ability to earn money as an adult. If a child grows up with attachment issues, they will struggle to form healthy relationships later in life. These early issues ripple into every area of life. That’s exactly what is happening to us—our broken homes and gender wars lead directly to our lack of collective power.

That’s why I say: it’s good that people want change, but who will bring the changes we truly need? We need Islam—real Islam—because lasting solutions must address our social issues at the root. In New York, I see Black Muslims lazy, chasing dunya, and living in nostalgia. In Philly, Muslims have their issues too, but they are visibly active in the Black community, engaging in social activism and helping our people.

In New York, I don’t see that from Black Muslims. The immigrant Muslims here—who make up the majority—are here for money and opportunity, not for dawah, and they have no understanding of Black struggles.

Until we fix our discipline, family structure, and collective mindset, we will keep suffering from the same problems—just with new faces and new excuses.

References (Qur’an & Hadith)

On guarding chastity and discipline:

وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَافِظُونَ

“And those who guard their private parts.” (Al-Mu’minun 23:5)

On true strength and self-control:

The Prophet ﷺ said: “A strong man is not the one who can wrestle, but the one who controls himself at the time of anger.” (Bukhari & Muslim)

On collective responsibility:

وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَىٰ وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ

“And cooperate in righteousness and piety, but do not cooperate in sin and aggression.” (Al-Ma’idah 5:2)

On being like one body:

The Prophet ﷺ said: “The believers are like one body; if one part of the body suffers, the whole body responds with sleeplessness and fever.” (Muslim)

On family structure:

الرِّجَالُ قَوَّامُونَ عَلَى النِّسَاءِ

“Men are the protectors and maintainers of women.” (An-Nisa 4:34)

On change starting from within:

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ

“Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.” (Ar-Ra’d 13:11)written by Abul Baraa Muhammad Amreeki