Sacred site: Quba Mosque in Medina, Saudi Arabia is the oldest
mosque in the world. *Creative Commons photo by Wibowo Djatmiko
It would be remiss of me if I did not honour Black History
Month.  Though originating in America, Bermuda celebrates it
with the honour it deserves.  I will use the opportunity to
highlight one of Islam’s most famous and beloved believers,
Hazrat Bilal (RA), the first muezzin of Islam.  Bilal ibn Rabah
was a loyal companion of Prophet Muhammad. An oppressed slave
from Ethiopia, formerly Abyssinia, Bilal was one of the earliest
converts to Islam.    He accepted Islam at a time when becoming
a Muslim resulted in fierce persecution and even death for the
Arabs, let alone for a black man.  Before the advent of Islam,
slave markets thrived in the Arabian Peninsula.  The pagan
tribal chiefs were ruthless and cruel and their wealth was
usually measured by the amount of slaves they owned.  Bilal was
owned by an idol worshipper, Quraish chief Umayyah ibn Khalaf. 
At a time when idol worshipp