Author: Obaidullah Noorzahi
The Influence of Islam in America (Part One)
Abstract
The noble religion of Islam, as the last divine religion and due to its comprehensiveness, has spread and expanded in various parts of the world. The current state of the world shows that all global powers are mobilized to fight Islam. Colonialism with military invasions, media with the spread of Islamophobia, fanatical Christian and Jewish groups insulting Islamic sanctities, and Christian missionaries promoting distorted versions of Christianity, are all actively working against Islam. Despite these efforts, Islam today is experiencing the fastest growth among all religions in America, Europe, Africa, and some other regions of the world. It is currently the second-largest religion in terms of followers in both Europe and America. Among Muslims, the divorce rate is low, social corruption is almost non-existent, no one is arrested for promiscuity or drunkenness, murder and crime rarely occur, and theft is uncommon. Muslims in America are hardworking and reformed individuals who actively participate in their society’s serious and official events and can support charitable organizations and institutions. Furthermore, Muslims in America, due to the essence of Islam they have received, stand firm on their honor and dignity and do not accept conditions that undermine their humanity. All of these are subtle aspects that will emerge in the context of the spread of Islam in the United States of America.
Introduction
The emergence and rise of Islam in America have a peculiar history. Unlike many parts of the world, Islam did not enter America as an ideology rooted in economic relations or as a religion that ruled over a defeated people after wars and conflicts. Rather, due to events that might be described as unintentional, Islam made its way to the United States. Initially, a group of African Muslims were brought to America as slaves at a time when the term “Islam” held no meaning for the slave-owning population, and blacks were considered to represent an inferior race. For nearly 200 years, the dominant slave-owning population preserved and nurtured the core of the Muslims’ identity within itself, despite the fact that some of the imported slaves would later become pioneers of an ideology inherently in conflict with exploitation and racism.
In the second phase, when U.S. immigration laws made it easier to accept immigrants from around the world, another group of Muslims arrived in America, and once again, the government was unaware of the new (Islamic) phenomenon. In both phases, Islam entered American society under the guise of a social event, in silence and tranquility, within a society initially dominated by people who, at best, had remained loyal to Christianity, and at worst had turned to atheism.
The mystery of this history deepens when we consider that this society also provided an opportunity for the fundamental emergence of a minority group that would later become influential (the Jews). The difference between the first minority group (Islam) and the second minority group (Jews) is that Jews, more than being guided by the fate of the times, arrived in America through calculation and foresight and did not live here as subjects but as influential figures.
Therefore, from the very beginning, Islam and Muslims have been challenged in America, and at each stage, they have had to recognize their presence in this new society and defend their identity, which is continuously influenced by the pressures—both voluntary and involuntary—of this society. Over the past 200 years, events have occurred in American society that should have confined and besieged the Islamic idea further. Yet for reasons that are seemingly not entirely clear, but are nurtured within American society, Islam’s presence in the United States has become more prominent and stronger.
In the past 200 years, the young American society, which seemed to be a newcomer compared to the ancient geographies of world civilizations, has matured and gradually become an uncontested world power. In contrast, especially in the last 20 years, Muslims have emerged with awakening movements. A significant part of the attention that researchers, academics, and political thinkers in the United States give to the emergence and revival of Islam in the contemporary world stems from the capacity they see in the survival, vitality, and loyalty of Muslims. Muslims emerge at moments when it was thought they had disappeared.
In the United States, due to the unique circumstances of being a minority, Islam, before becoming political in nature, is a religion that adapts well to the host society, adjusting to its advantages and combating its social ills. News from the lives of Muslims in America is published that is pleasant and instructive for all Muslims around the world. Many black prisoners in American prisons are invited to Islam, and it is precisely here, where religions, schools of thought, and practical theories fail, that Islam demonstrates its power and influence by reviving humanity and offering a second chance to those who have been lost. Young black Muslim men in neighborhoods plagued by insecurity and crime gain trust and form patrol groups to provide security, protecting the lives and property of residents in areas where even federal police struggle to maintain order.
Continues…
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