The main driving force behind the book is Papa Labas trying to find the Text for Jes Grew and at the end it is revealed that Abdul Hamid had gathered all the parts up and completed the text. But in a twist, it is revealed that Abdul Hamid, with his Islamist traditional values, had burned the text for being too lewd and doomed Jes Grew. The fact that he did this has changed my perception as to who the Atonists are because by burning the text, Abdul seems like an Atonist himself.
I used think that the Atonists were only white people that hated black culture so much that they wanted to erase and repress all traces of it. This was the most obvious characterization of the Atonists as all the members and organizations featured in the story were European based or white like the Knights Templar, the Teutonic Knights, Biff Musclewhite, etc. Also, because of Atonism's oppressive nature, it was very easy to draw historical parallels with European colonialism and imperialism. But after Abdul's betrayal to Jes Grew, I realized that Atonism is more than white versus colored, its about freedom of expression and passion versus discipline, control, and stability. JGC's are non-white because of the oppression in the Americas while the Atonists happen to be mainly white because of their institutional power in America.
Atonism's "diversity" can be seen further in its North African roots where it was first started with the Egyptian god Set who celebrated the traits of discipline and strictness while yearning to subjugate and conquer. Obviously Set and his followers weren't white because they were in North Africa. This shows that Atonism isn't synonymous with white people. This however doesn't mean that Abdul is in cahoots with the white Atonist organization as he was killed by Wallflower agents and very much opposed to them. It's just Abdul is a different kind of Atonist that might be more prevalent in other parts of the world as he believes in many of the tenants of Atonism being an Islamic traditionalist.
Abdul's example--and Set's--suggests that we shouldn't associate Atonism with whiteness per se, but that Reed's focus is more cultural than racial. Atonism flourished in Europe, and its conflicts with Jes Grew/the Work/etc. became racialized in much the same way that colonialism and imperialism were underwritten by racist ideas--this chicken followed the egg, if I read Reed correctly. It's true that, by the time we get to the "present day" 1920s in America, these cultural ideals are deeply embedded in ideas of race, but Abdul's example illustrates that not all black people are automatically aligned with Jes Grew. Reed doesn't address African American Christianity directly in the plot, but in a number of passing comments, he voices similar ideas about black churches serving a similar anti-JG function, or serving Atonist causes.
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