The Muslims of America (Religion in America)

135 Pages·1991·9.24 MB·English

by  Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad

The Muslims
Religion in America Series
Harry S. Stout
of America
General Editor
A PERFECT BABEL OF CONFUSION
Dutch Religion and English Culture
in the Middle Colonies
Randall Balmer
THE PRESBYTERIAN CONTROVERSY Edited by
Fundamentalists, Modernists, and Moderates
Bradley J. Longfield YVONNE YAZBECK HADDAD
MORMONS AND THE BIBLE
The Place of the Latter-day Saints
in American Religion
Philip L. Barlow
THE RUDE HAND OF INNOVATION
Religion and Social Order
in Albany, New York, 1652-1836
David G. Hackett
SEASONS OF GRACE
Colonial New England's Revival
Tradition in Its British Context
Michael J. Crawford
THE MUSLIMS OF AMERICA
edited by Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad
(J
New York Oxford
OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
1991
Oxford University Press ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Oxford New York Toronto
Delhi Bombay Calcutta Madras Karachi
Petaling Jaya Singapore Hong Kong Tokyo
Nairobi Dar es Salaam Cape Town
Melbourne Auckland
This book brings together studies on the religion of Islam as it is experienced in
and associated companies LB
Berlin Ibadan a variety of contexts in North America, in recognition of its expanding minor
ity status in the United States and Canada. The papers collected in this volume
Copyright © 1991 by Oxford University Press, Inc.
were first presented at a conference devoted to the "Muslims of America," held
Published by Oxford University Press in April 1989 on the Amherst campus of the University of Massachusetts,
200 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 which was j ointly sponsored by the Department of History, the Near East Area
Oxford is a registered trademark of Oxford University Press Studies Program, and the Arabic Club of the university, The project was
AD rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, Department of Education, the Arabian American Oil Company, Five College
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without the prior permission of the publisher. Incorporated, and Mobiloil Corporation. Resources at the University of Massa
chusetts were also provided by the Arabic Club, the Office of the Chancellor,
Library of Congress. Cataloging-in-Publication Data
the Department of History, the Faculty of Humanities and Fine Arts, the
The Muslims of America / edited by Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad.
p. cm. — (Religion in America series) International Programs Office, the Faculty of Social and Behavioral Sciences,
Includes bibliographical references. and the Near East Area Studies Program. The viewpoints and beliefs expressed
ISBN 0-19-506728-2
in these papers are those of the individual authors and do not necessarily reflect
I. Islam—United States. 2. Muslims—United States,
I. Haddad, Yvonne Yazbeck, 1935- the opinions of the sponsoring organizations.
II. Series: Religion in America series The organizing committee of the conference wishes to express particular
(Oxford University Press)
thanks to the following individuals: Joseph Duffey, chancellor of the Univer
BP67.U6M87 l»l 29T.0973—dc20 90-44510
sity of Massachusetts; Murray Schwartz, dean of the Faculty of Humanities
and Fine Arts; Glenn Gordon, dean of the Faculty of Social and Behavioral
Sciences; and Barbara Burn, director of the International Programs Office.
Special acknowledgment is made of the contributions of Elizabeth Brewer,
assistant dean for Area Studies and codirector of the conference, who was
involved in all aspects of the undertaking since its inception. Robert Engle,
conference coordinator, and Alice Izer and Kathleen Moore oversaw all local
arrangements in connection with the conference.
Gratitude is expressed to the chairs and respondents of the many panels
conducted in the course of the conference. The chairs and respondents from
the University of Massachusetts include Roland Sarti, chair of the Department
of History; Elizabeth Brewer, assistant dean for Area Studies; Anna Tsing,
professor of anthropology; Walter Denny, chair of the department of art
history; W. Barnett Pearce, professor of communication; Adnan Haydar,
director of the Near East Area Studies Program; Anwar Syed, professor of
political science; Robert Griffith, professor of history. Other chairs and re
spondents include John A. Petropulos, Amherst College; Jonathan Lippman,
13 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Mount Holyoke College; Willem Bijlefeld and David Kerr, Hartford Semi
nary; Robert Haddad, Smith College; Allan D. Austin, Springfield College;
Printed in the United States of America
on acid-free paper and Barbara Aswad, Wayne State University.
vi Acknowledgments
The final form of the present text is the result of the efforts of many people.
Jane I. Smith and Elizabeth d'Amico provided editorial assistance for all of the
papers. Alice Izer typed several versions of a number of manuscripts, and
CONTENTS
Kathleen Moore maintained general organizational, oversight of the collection
as a whole. Gratitude and thanks are extended for all of these contributions,
without which neither the project nor this volume would have been possible.
Contributors ix
Introduction: The Muslims of America 3
Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad
I. The Muslims of the United States
1 Muslim Organizations in the United States 11
Gutbi Afahdi Ahmed
2 Estimate of Muslims Living in America 25
Carol L. Stone
II. Perceptions of Muslims in the United States
3 Perspectives of the American Churches on Islam and
the Muslim Community in North America 39
Byron L. Haines
4 The Muslim as the "Other": Representation and
Self-image of the Muslims in America 53
Abubaker al-Shingiety
III. Islamic Thought in the United States
5 Ismail R. al-Faruqi: Muslim Scholar-Activist 65
John L. Esposito
6 Seyyed Hossein Nasr: Defender of the Sacred and
Islamic Traditionalism 80
Jane I. Smith
7 The Legacy of Fazlur Rahman 96
Frederick M. Denny
IV. Islamic Activity in the United States
8 Political Activity of Muslims in America 111
Steven A, Johnson
9 Da'wah in the West 125
Larry A. Boston
viii Contents
10 Muslims in Prison: Claims to Constitutional Protection of
Religious Liberty 136
Kathleen Moore
CONTRIBUTORS
11 Islamic Education in the United States and Canada: Conception
and Practice of the Mamie Belief System 157
Nimat Hafez Barazangi
V. Muslim Women in Intercultural Perspective
Qutbi Ahmed, a doctoral candidate at the Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill
University, Montreal, Canada, is the director of the New York office of the
12 African-American Muslim Women 177
Muslim World League and the former president of the Islamic Society of
Beverly Thomas McCloud
North America.
13 Two-Way Acculturation: Muslim Women in America Between
Individual Choice (Liminality) and Community Affiliation Nimat Hafez Barazangi was educated in Damascus University, Columbia
(Communitas) 188 University, and Cornell University. Her research and teaching interests
Marcia K. Hermansen center on multicultural pedagogical problems. She has published several
papers on Muslim children's education, Muslim Arab youth, and
Muslim/Arab women. Currently she is designing an action plan for
VI. American Muslims and the Question of Identity
Islamic education in North America based on the results of her
14 Islamic Issues for Muslims in the United States 205 dissertation.
John O. Voli
Frederick Mathewson Denny, associate professor of religious studies at the
15 American Foreign Policy in the Middle East and Its Impact on University of Colorado in Boulder, is the author of Islamic Ritual Practices:
the Identity of Arab Muslims in the United States 217 A Slide Set and Teacher's Guide, An Introduction to Islam; The Holy Book
Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad in Comparative Perspective, and numerous journal and encyclopedia
16 Convergence and Divergence in an Emergent Community: A articles on Islam and Islamic ritual. He has received several research
Study of Challenges Facing U.S. Muslims 236 scholarships and has traveled extensively in the Muslim world.
Sulayman S. Nyang
John L. Esposüo, professor and director of international studies at College of the
Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, is the author of Mam and Politics
and Women in Muslim Family Law. He is the editor of Islam in Asia:
Religion, Politics and Society, Voices of Resurgent Islam; Islam and
Development: Religion and Sociopolitical Change; and coeditor of Islam in
Transition: Muslim Perspectives. He has authored scores of journal articles
on Islamic revival and Islam in the modem world. He has traveled
extensively throughout the Muslim world and is involved with organizations
working with Muslims in the United States.
Byron Haines is the former director of the Office of Christian-Muslim
Relations at the National Council of Churches. He is the author of several
articles on Muslims in the United States and a coauthor of Christians and
Muslims Together.
Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad, professor of history at the University of Massachusetts,
Amherst, is the author of Contemporary Islam and the Challenge of
History, and coauthor of Islamic Values in the United States and Islamic
Understanding of Death and Resurrection. She is the coeditor of Islamic
Impact and Women, Religion and Social Change. She has been engaged in
X Contributors
research on the Muslim community in the United States for the last ten
years.
Marcia Hermansen, associate professor of religion at San Diego State The Muslims
University, has authored numerous articles on Islam in the subcontinent
of America
and is engaged in research on American women who convert to Islam and
marry immigrants. She has written several articles on Islam and women.
Steve A. Johnson lectures in Islamic studies at Christian Theological Seminary
and is an instructor in the English department at Indiana University-
Purdue University at Indianapolis. He is the former editor of Islamic
Horizons and author of the booklet Dtfwah to Americans: Theory and
Practice, as well as many articles on Islam.
Beverly Thomas McCloud, an assistant professor of Islamic studies at De Paul
University, has been studying the role of women in the African American
Muslim community.
Kathleen Moore is a doctoral candidate in the department of political science
at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Sulayman Nyang, chair of the department of Afro-American studies at
Howard University, is a former editor of Journal of Muslim Social
Sciences. Dr. Nyang has authored several articles on Muslims in the
United States and is a coauthor of a forthcoming book on the Muslim
community.
Larry A. Poston is chairman of the department of Missiology at Nyack
College, Nyack, N.Y.
Abubaker Al Shingiety, a doctoral candidate in the department of commu
nication at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, is the former
secretary general of the Union of Sudanese Writers and former editor of the
monthly Islamic Horizons.
Jane I. Smith, vice president and academic dean at the Miff School of Theology
in Denver, Colorado, is the author of The Precious Paper and The
Concept "Islam" in the History of Qur anic Exegesis. She is the coauthor
of The Islamic Understanding of Death and Resurrection, the editor of
Women in Contemporary Islamic Society, and coeditor of Introduction to
Religions of the East: A Reader. She has written numerous journal and
encyclopedia articles on Islam.
Carol L, Stone is a research scientist at Indiana University School of Medicine
in Indianapolis.
John O. Voll, chairman of the department of history at the University of New
Hampshire, Durham, is the author of Historical Dictionary of the Sudan,
Islam: Continuity and Change in the Modern World, and coauthor of The
Sudan: a Profile in Unity and Diversity. He has written countless articles
on Islam in the Sudan and in the modern world.
Introduction:
The Muslims of America
Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad
The conference on the Muslims of America grew out of a desire to expand the
scope of scholarly investigation of the growing Muslim community in the
United States, heighten public awareness of the Muslim presence, and provide
better understanding of the ways in which Muslims experience the United
States and adapt to their institutions, as they become increasingly an indige
nous part of America.
American Muslims are experiencing both exhilaration at the opportunity
to increase their numbers and develop their institutions and frustration and
dismay as they continue to experience prejudice, intimidation, discrimination,
misunderstanding, and even hatred. It is increasingly important, therefore, to
take a fresh look at some of the ways in which they have succeeded in creating a
distinct identity and establishing an Islamic community in North America. The
dramatic growth in the number of Muslims in the United States has come
about at a time when anger is rising among many American citizens toward
Muslims overseas as well as hostility toward and discrimination against Ameri
can Muslims. The situation of Muslims in America must be understood in
terms of the dynamics of their relationship to their environment in the United
States and its influence on the development of Islamic ideas throughout the
modern world.
Interest in the Muslims of America has grown in relation to their increasing
presence in urban areas as wei as the development of their distinctive institu
tions across the country. These include more than 600 mosques/Islamic cen
ters, two Islamic colleges, scores of parochial day schools, several hundred
weekend schools, women's organizations, youth groups, and professional and
civic organizations. The leadership of the Muslim community has been pre
dominantly in the hands of lay volunteers concerned about the maintenance of
their heritage and the perpetuation of the faith by the next generation. In the
last decade they have been able to organize several printing presses, book
distribution centers, and national and regional denominational magazines to
help guide the faithful in maintaining Islamic beliefs and practices in what is
3
4 Introduction: The Muslims of America Introduction: The Muslims of America 5
often an alien environment..1 Regular television2 and radio3 broadcasts feature tage of the immigration laws in the sixties and seventies are now seeking
programs on Islam and the Arab heritage; tapes (both audio and video) of institutional support for educating their children in the traditions of their
sermons and speeches are distributed through national networks. forefathers.
The American media, in the form of newspaper reporting* and some tele The American experience has presented Muslims with a special challenge.
vision programming5, have begun to take note of these developments. Scholarly They have unprecedented freedom to experiment with forms and structures for
interest has been limited, either within the Muslim community itself or from the separation of religion and state away from the watchful eyes of wary
social scientists concerned with ethnographic investigation and the social, eco governments and the criticism of traditionalists. At the same time, this freedom
nomic, and psychological adjustment of immigrants to their North American is fraught with the danger of innovation and deviance; the great range of
environment. American scholars of the humanities have tended to view Muslims options available in the American context carries the threat of sectarian
in the United States as of marginal interest because of their small number as division and fragmentation. The essays in this volume are intended to initiate
compared to the worldwide Muslim, community.6 Their importance has been scholarly investigation of such questions as whether a common understanding
overshadowed by the tempestuous American relationship with Middle Eastern and interpretation of the Muslim experience exists in the United States; in
countries. what way and to what degree the "imported" Islamic heritage, whether Iranian,
Arab, Turkish, or Pakistani, affects the redefinition of Islam in the American
The dramatic growth of the Muslim community in the United States is a
context; how American Muslims in different areas and at different times have
recent phenomenon, taking place primarily over the last three decades in
been able to organize Islamic institutions while maintaining their full participa
response to changes in American immigration laws and the demands of the
tion in the American mainstream; and how Muslims have drawn on their
labor market. The majority of recent Muslim immigrants are university gradu
heritage, their theological structures, and their attendant religious institutions,
ates, part of the "brain, drain" of persons who have joined the ranks of
in either the traditional or some refashioned form, to create a cohesive milieu
American professionals. (There are, for example, an estimated six thousand
in the United States.
Muslim medical doctors in the United States.) They are economically inte
grated into the American middle class but. appear to be increasingly alienated If it is true that intellectual and institutional activity becomes more intense
by American attitudes toward. Islam and Muslims. during periods of crisis, does Islam either function as a kind of refuge or take
The impact of American Muslims on the ideological formation of contem the initiative in the quest to provide meaning and relevance in an ever-changing
porary Islam generally and on Muslim people overseas has been overlooked. environment? Are Muslim intellectuals active in seeking a creative reordering
In the last four decades, the United States has become a center of Islamic of life and a cohesive worldview? Do they perceive their role as providing
intellectual ferment as an increasing number of Muslim students (estimated at community stability and integration, or are they marginal actors outside the
times to be over a hundred thousand a year) have enrolled in American arena of power who strive to stem the tide of apathy and erosion of support
colleges and universities.7 Their understanding of Islam, and its role in the among members? Studies in this volume focus on the range of ways in which
world is being shaped and reshaped in the American milieu. Muslim intellectu Muslims have responded to the challenge of maintaining their identity and
als and leaders who have become a significant part of the American academic living out their faith in the American context.
scene have been able to provide an interpretation of Islam relevant to life in the The volume is organized into six sections, taking the reader from specific
United States as well, as to the modern world. Their' writings and ideas have details and descriptions through material that is more suggestive and interpre
been exported by students returning to their home countries to assume leader tive. In the first section Gutbi Mahdi Ahmad discusses the organizational
ship positions in the Muslim world. In this manner the opinions and interpre structures of American Muslims, primarily Sunni, providing historical back
tations of American. Muslims have influenced persons in the Middle East, ground, reasons why Muslims have chosen to configure themselves in formal
Africa, and Southeast Asia. Their Islamic worldviews have also been attractive organizations, and an overview of the major groups in North America today
to many indigenous Americans, both black and white, who have converted to and the constituencies they serve. The essay concludes with an introduction to
Islam in the last four decades.8 some Islamic subgroups, including the American Muslim Mission, Darul
Islam, and the Ansarullah. Next Carol Stone offers a detailed projection of the
Initial investigation suggests that the number of Muslims who participate
number of Muslims living in America today, extrapolating from 1980 Census
in Islamic institutions in America is small, but such participation can be seen
Bureau emigration statistics. Looking at proportions of Muslim populations
to increase during periods of stress. Recent international events and the reac
across the world and estimated numbers of immigrants, she calculates that
tions of the American public to them seem to have stimulated Muslims to
there are some 4 million Muslims in the United States today, with the largest
become involved in community activities on social, political, and educational
communities in California, New York, and Illinois.
levels. Much of this activity is designed to influence the views of the general
American public—specifically to blunt the negative image presented by the In the second section Byron Haines and Abubaker Al Shingiety deal with
press. Also, many in the generation of Muslim young people who took advan- ways in which Muslims have been, and continue to be, perceived by non-
4 Introduction: The Muslims of America Introduction: The Muslims of America 5
often an alien environment.1 Regular television2 and radio3 broadcasts feature tags of the immigration laws in the sixties and seventies are now seeking
programs on Islam and the Arab heritage; tapes (both audio and video) of institutional support for educating their children in the traditions of their
sermons and speeches are distributed through national networks. forefathers.
The American media, in the form of newspaper reporting4 and some tele The American experience has presented Muslims with a special challenge.
vision programming5, have begun to take note of these developments. Scholarly Tr.ey have unprecedented freedom to experiment with forms and structures for
interest has been limited, either within the Muslim community itself or from :he separation of religion and state away from the watchful eyes of wary
social scientists concerned with ethnographic investigation and the social, eco governments and the criticism of traditionalists. At the same time, this freedom
nomic, and psychological adjustment of immigrants to their North American is fraught with the danger of innovation and deviance; the great range of
environment. American scholars of the humanities have tended to view Muslims options available in the American context carries the threat of sectarian
in the United States as of marginal interest because of their small number as division and fragmentation. The essays in this volume are intended to initiate
compared to the worldwide Muslim community.6 Their importance has been scholarly investigation of such questions as whether a common understanding
overshadowed by the tempestuous American relationship with Middle Eastern and interpretation of the Muslim experience exists in the United States; in
countries. w - at way and to what degree the "imported" Islamic heritage, whether Iranian,
Arab, Turkish, or Pakistani, affects the redefinition of Islam in the American
The dramatic growth of the Muslim community in the United States is a
context; how American Muslims in different areas and at different times have
recent phenomenon, taking place primarily over the last three decades in
been able to organize Islamic institutions while maintaining their full participa
response to changes in American immigration laws and the demands of the
tion m the American mainstream; and how Muslims have drawn on their
labor market. The majority of recent Muslim immigrants are university gradu
heritage, their theological structures, and their attendant religious institutions,
ates, part of the "brain drain" of persons who have joined the ranks of
in either the traditional or some refashioned form, to create a cohesive milieu
American professionals. (There are, for example, an estimated six thousand
:n the United States.
Muslim medical doctors in the United States.) They are economically inte
grated into the American middle class but appear to be increasingly alienated If it is true that intellectual and institutional activity becomes more intense
by American attitudes toward Islam and Muslims. during periods of crisis, does Islam either function as a kind of refuge or take
The impact of American Muslims on the ideological formation of contem t'r.L- initiative in the quest to provide meaning and relevance in an ever-changing
porary Islam generally and on Muslim people overseas has been overlooked. em irunment? Are Muslim intellectuals active in seeking a creative reordering
In the last four decades, the United States has become a center of Islamic of life and a cohesive worldview? Do they perceive their role as providing
intellectual ferment as an increasing number of Muslim students (estimated at community stability and integration, or are they marginal actors outside the
times to be over a hundred thousand a year) have enrolled in American arena of power who strive to stem the tide of apathy and erosion of support
colleges and universities.7 Their understanding of Islam and its role in the among members? Studies in this volume focus on the range of ways in which
world is being shaped and reshaped in the American milieu. Muslim intellectu Muslims have responded to the challenge of maintaining their identity and
als and leaders who have become a significant part of the American academic living out their faith in the American context.
scene have been able to provide an interpretation of Islam relevant to life in the The volume is organized into six sections, taking; the reader from specific
United States as well as to the modern world. Their writings and ideas have details and descriptions through material that is more suggestive and interpre
been exported by students returning to their home countries to assume leader tive In the first section Gutbi Mahdi Ahmad discusses the organizational
ship positions in the Muslim world. In this manner the opinions .and interpre Mruc:ures of American Muslims, primarily Sunni, providing historical back
tations of American Muslims have influenced persons in the Middle East, ground, reasons why Muslims have chosen to configure themselves in formal
Africa, and Southeast Asia. Their Islamic worldviews have also been attractive organizations, and an overview of the major groups in North America today
to many indigenous Americans, both black and white, who have converted to and the constituencies they serve. The essay concludes with an introduction to
Islam in the last four decades.8 some Islamic subgroups, including the American Muslim Mission, Darul
Islam, and the Ansarullah. Next Carol Stone offers a detailed projection of the
Initial investigation suggests that the number of Muslims who participate
number of Muslims living in America today, extrapolating from 1980 Census
in Islamic institutions in America is small, but such participation can be seen
Bureau emigration statistics. Looking at proportions of Muslim populations
to increase during periods of stress. Recent international events and the reac
across the world and estimated numbers of immigrants, she calculates that
tions of the American public to them seem to have stimulated Muslims to
there are some 4 million Muslims in the United States today, with the largest
become involved in community activities on social, political, and educational
communities in California, New York, and Illinois.
levels. Much of this activity is designed to influence the views of the general
American public—specifically to blunt the negative image presented by the In the second section Byron Haines and Abubaker Al Shingiety deal with
press. Also, many in the generation of Muslim young people who took advan- ways in which Muslims have been, and continue to be, perceived by non-
6 Introduction: The Muslims of America Introduction: The Muslims of America 7
Muslims in the American milieu. Haines traces the attitudes of Christian describe American. Muslims in terms of their philosophies of da'wah, or
groups to Islam and Muslims through an analysis of documents published by mission. He sees a basic division between those who are interested only in
or on behalf of a variety of churches and denominations. He sees a general making sure the Islamic community remains true to its ideals (the "defensive
decline in anti-Muslim rhetoric and in many cases an attempt at more objective pacifists") and those who wish to convert non-Muslims to the faith (the
understanding, though in some cases the old "conversion" polemics still per- "offensive activists"). He explores the historical background of Muslim mis
tiin. Implicit in his presentation, is a projection of implications for present and sionary movements in America, examining the roles of such groups as the
future relationships between Christian churches and the community of Islam. Ikhwan al-Muslimin, the Jama'at-i-lslami, the Muslim Student Association,
Shingiety uses the Nation of Islam as a case in point to illustrate his thesis that and others that actively promote da'wah.
there is a dialectical relationship between the way the West views and repre Kathleen Moore discusses the fate of Muslims who have come up against
sents Islam and the image Muslims have of themselves. He sees the Nation as the American legal system. Her detailed study of Islam and the U.S. Constitu
typical of those groups that attempt to break away from the American ethno tion examines the rights of Muslims to the free exercise of their religion in
centric model and move to a more "orthodox" position in a broader historical prison. Among the issues considered are diet, dress, grooming, conduct of
and geographical context. prayers, and other religious activities in the general context of potential dis
Three contemporary Islamic scholars who have made a significant impact criminatory treatment.
on the American academic community are the subject of the third section. In an examination of Islamic education in North America Nimat Hafez
John Esposito presents the life and thought of the late Palestinian scholar Barazangi posits four underlying presuppositions that distinguish Islamic and
Ismail al-Faruqi, tracing, his movement from Arabism to a more comprehen Western worldviews and shows how these affect philosophies, of education. She
sive view of Islam as the integrating factor for all aspects of culture, doctrine, presents the results of interviews of forty immigrant families in five major
and faith. Esposito stresses the importance of Faruqi's Western training and his American cities concerning education and the transfer of Islamic values. Bara
broad familiarity with Christian theological diciplir.es for both his scholarship zangi encourages a new approach to the education of North American Muslim
and his role in interfaith discussion. By integrating thought and action, know children designed to help preserve Islamic identity in Western society.
ing and doing, Faruqi was an eloquent spokesperson for Islam in the American Beverly Thomas McCloud and Marcia Hermansen discuss aspects of the
educational establishment. role of Muslim women in the American context. McCloud treats Sunni Afri
Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Iranian expatriot and prolific interpreter of Islam, in can-American women, drawing on her oral history research in a community in
his many roles .as apologist, philosopher, mystic, and interpreter of the physical Philadelphia. Looking specifically at issues and problems confronted by Afri
sciences is presented by Jane Smith. Nasr argues throughout his writings for can-American women who choose to convert from Christianity to Islam, she
what he calls Islamic traditionalism over against modernism, rationalism, presents four categories of converts in the persons of four individuals (fictional
evolutionism, and fundamentalism. Deeply versed in Western philosophy, but synthesized from personal conversations) who reveal a range of responses
theology, and psychology, he sees all contemporary religion as having moved to the issue of what it means to be a convert to Islam. Hermansen then
from its grounding in what he calls scientia sacra. discusses ways in which American Muslim women choose to express their
The life and work of Fazlur Rahman, the recently deceased Pakistani Islamic identity, with specific reference to women's religious meetings and
scholar, are described by Frederick Denny. Three aspects of Rahman's marriage arrangements. The discussion covers life-styles, dress, and other
thought—the philosophical-theological, moral-ethical, and religious-commu "patterns and symbols of acculturation. " Hermansen concludes that immigrant
nal—are presented as integrated aspects of his personality and his life as a women in America tend to affirm their identity as Muslims in a number of
scholar. An articulate interpreter of Islam, Rahman concentrated particularly characteristic ways, including participation in Muslim women's organizations.
on the understanding and interpretation of the Qur'an and its themes, philo The last section of the volume contains three essays dealing with identity
sophical theology, ethics, and the question of Islam and modernity. Denny issues faced by American Muslims. John Voll distinguishes between two types of
gives special emphasis to Rahman's twin legacies of intellect and morality. such issues—those affecting Muslim minorities in any country at any time and
The next section of the volume presents various aspects of Islamic activity. those specific to Western postindustrial or postmodern society. He calls on Ismail
Steve Johnson discusses political involvement both among groups of Muslims Faruqi's image of Muslims as making a hijra or emigration to the West, project
and between Muslims and non-Muslims in the larger society. He suggests ing the vision of America as a kind of modern Medina with the potential for a
reasons for some Muslim groups' opposition to political activity in America, similar transformation of society. Yvonne Haddad traces the changes in Ameri
distinguishing between Muslims and Arabs as political activists and noting the can foreign policy that have taken place over the last four decades in relation to
difficulty some Muslims have in associating with Christian Arabs in political the Middle East and their impact on. how American Muslims frame their own
organizations. Various ethnic groups are characterized as to the degree of their identity. A steadily increasing sense of frustration and disillusionment has led to a
participation in the American political scene. Next Larry Posten attempts to growing number of persons in this country actively committed to an Islamic
8 Introduction: The Muslims of America
identity. Also considering challenges facing Muslims in the United States, Sulay-
man Nyang posits four specific needs: to maintain an Islamic identity, to defend
I
Islamic institutions, to build Islamic economic structures, and to find ways to
participate in American political life. Although clear differences exist among
Muslims, he say s, rituals and values hold them together. Nyang also distinguishes
between what he calls the assimilationist and the simulationist Muslim, the first
setting Islamic identity over against identity as an American and the second
T HE MUSLIMS
finding ways to reconcile both affiliations.
It is clear that these studies are the beginning of what must be an even more OF T HE UNITED STATES
farreaching effort. Much work remains to be done on such topics as Islamic
society in relation to American social and diplomatic history, the ways in
which a new community is formed by individuals from a variety of national
and social backgrounds, the role(s) of the mosque, the development of Islamic
leadership, attempts to create an Islamic economic system, the establishment
of Islamic businesses to meet specific Islamic needs as well as ethnic prefer
ences, the integration of black Americans into an Islamic system, and the inte
gration of Muslims into the American black culture.
The present volume is the first of what must be ongoing efforts to organize
and present the research of a wide range of scholars dedicated to an examina
tion of Islam in the American context..
Notes
1. For a list of available material, see Yvonne Haddad, "Muslims in America: A
Select Bibliography," The Muslim World 76 (1986): 93-122.
2. The producers of two television programs are seeking national outlets for their
products. These include "The Arabic Hour," which is produced in Boston and telecast
in Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Francisco, and a new weekly series on Islam
produced in Los Angeles. There are other groups with local access, including a youth
group in Virginia.
3. The most widely heard radio personality is Warith Deem Muhammad, the leader
of what used to be called the American Muslim Mission, whose weekly broadcasts are
carried by over thirty stations. Other local programs are heard in New York City and
Houston.
4. Stories have recently appeared in The Atlanta Constitution and Journal, the
Philadelphia Inquirer, the New York Times, the Orange County Register, the San
Francisco Examiner, the Washington limes, and the Chicago Sun.
5. Radio Canada of Quebec and WNBC have carried stories about Muslims in the
New York area, as have "CBS Morning News," Monitor TV, CNN, and WCBS. Issues
have been discussed by Morton Downey and Phil Donahue, and on "60 Minutes."
6. There are an estimated 3 million to 4 million Muslims in America, more than the
total membership of the Episcopal Church or of the United Church of Christ. The number
of Muslims in the world is estimated at eight hundred fifty million to one billion.
7. For example, there were twenty-eight thousand Iranian students studying in the
United States in .1978.
8. Such persons are estimated at about one million.