Within the United States, a country of great diversity whose primary population is immigrants from all over the world, issues of identity are almost always complex. Were someone to ask me to tell about who I am, one of the most vague answers I could offer is to say “I am an American.”  The multitude of ethnicities, attitudes, political agendas, and religions represented within this country are such that one must be more specific.  To do true justice to my identity, I would need to explain that I am the great-great grandchild of Britons, Swedes, and Germans.  Further, I come from a protestant Christian family.  Of course this only brushes the surface; to fully convey the bundle of traits that comprise my identity would be extremely difficult, but certain assumptions are automatically made with regards to who I am.  This is due in a large part to the fact that my ancestors arrived in America during a wave of immigration that occurred over a century ago.  To be a Protestant of Western European descent in America is not a new thing, and the religion and culture of Western European immigrants have thoroughly assimilated into American cultures.  For this reason, I am rarely in a position of having to defend my identity or reconcile it with the dominant cultures of America because (at the great risk of over-simplifying things) my ancestry, worldview, and religion are perfectly acceptable in America and are often viewed to be congruent with what it means to be an American.[1]

            The same is not necessarily true for Muslims living in the United States.  Whereas I rarely have to confront major issues of what it means to be a white liberal Protestant in America, conflicts of national descent, community and religion constantly assail Muslims living in the United States.  The intent of this paper is to address such issues which Muslim-Americans have encountered in their search for reconciliation between their identities as Americans and Muslims.  In this paper, I intend to explore the approaches various Muslims take in finding their voice in the cacophony that is America in order to show that there is indeed a positive future for both the United States and its Muslim citizens through the spirit of reconciliation and conversation.

            There is a very clear reason that I feel comfortable with my Christian-ness as an American.  This is because the United States has been flooded with Christian thought and influence for hundreds of years.  The very denotation of the United States as a “Judeo-Christian” country indicates this.  This, of course, grates against most people’s notions of what America stands for, and many will assert that the U.S. has maintained a strict separation between religion and government.  However, viewed from the perspective of a Muslim, this label can be seen as reality.  As Yvonne Yazbedk Haddad points out,

Muslims believe that the professed separation of religion and state is violated every time a leader affirms that America is a Judeo-Christian country.  They ask why it is acceptable for an American president to call for the implementation of Christian values while denouncing all efforts to build a moral and just Islamic society.  And they wonder why America seems to support the concept of a “Jewish state” in Israel while Muslims are urged to be civilized and renounce their “extremist” hope of an “Islamic state.”[2]

This characterization of the United States as Judeo-Christian implies an other-ness to Muslims, regardless of political affiliation or religious motivation.  Simply put, according to popular American self-conceptions, Muslims don’t fit.

            Fifty years ago, this denotation of America as “Judeo-Christian” may have been relatively representative of the U.S. populace.  However, much has changed since then.  Since the early part of the century, conversion to Islam has been an extremely strong movement within the African American community.  In fact, some predictions suggest that by the 2020’s, Islam will be the majority religion among African American men due to the current rates of conversion.[3]  In conjunction with this indigenous movement came a dramatic breakthrough in the makeup of American immigrants.  Prior to 1965, severe regulations kept Asians from immigrating and becoming citizens of the United States.  However, under the Kennedy administration, all immigration policies based on national origin were banned.[4] Since then, the United States has seen a dramatic influx of immigrants who carry ideologies and religions much different from the Judeo-Christian norm of the U.S.  In fact, the very notion of the U.S. as a Judeo-Christian country is upset.  The denotation of the U.S. as a Judeo-Christian country is exclusionary, a politically correct way of defining our country in a seemingly inclusive manner (in that Jews and Catholics are now included in the “we”) that obviously excludes a large minority.

            What does this mean, then, for the Muslim living in the U.S.?  It seems that, despite the fact that they are part of an extremely rapidly growing minority, Muslims are still on the outside of the dominant worldview.  I have not yet heard someone refer to the U.S. as a Judeo-Christian-Muslim country, or any other combination of religions for that matter.  Before we address this issue, it is imperative to understand that there is no standard of American Islam.  As Asma Gull Hasan points out,

American Muslims don’t have the cultural support system most Muslims all over the world have.  Each Islamic country has its own set of Qu’ranic interpretations, even a group of academics that set those interpretations, called the ulema.  Here in the United States, Muslims are mostly flying blind.[5]

The difference between an African American Muslim and an immigrant Muslim is a great one, and the difference between immigrants can be just as great, depending on what countries they are from.  These differences are pertinent to issues of identity because they reveal the motivations and intentions of various groups, as well as give us insight into the varied nature of Muslim identity.  Differences must be addressed before one can search for a unified cause.

      An apt place to begin is with the examination of African-American conversions over the last century.  Interestingly, the first significant population of Muslims living in America were neither Arab nor South Asian by descent, but rather were African Americans.  There exists a long legacy of Islam being used as a force of identity among African Americans, and it continues today.  As mentioned earlier, by the 2020’s, Islam will most likely be the majority religion among African American men.[6]  The motivations for such rates of conversion are compelling.  In choosing to convert, many African Americans, throughout history, have chosen to become double minorities.[7]  There must, then, be a strong motivation toward a conversion as well as an affirmation to continue on such a path. 

            One such motivation for conversion is the ideal of a universal identity in the universal umma.[8] A popular notion is that “there is no racism in Islam”[9] which would clearly be an appealing one, particularly for an African-American who feels dispossessed by a racist social system.  This notion has performed a key role in the conversions of many African-Americans throughout this century.  The conversion of Wali Akram, founder of the First Cleveland Mosque in 1925, began with someone telling him “Come change your name, get back your original language and religion, and you won’t be a nigger anymore.”[10]  This is an attractive notion for many reasons.  First, it offers an undoing of 300 years worth of enslavement and oppression, removing the name which symbolizes the dehumanization of African-Americans: nigger.  Second, through adopting a language, religion, and manner of dress and action different from those which are common to the U.S., the Muslim convert seeks to culturally remove her/himself from the hegemony of the Judeo-Christian, neocolonialist United States. 

            This reclaiming of a forgotten identity, whether historically accurate or not, represents a symbolic undoing of history.  The importance of this is reflected in the tendency among African-American Muslims to change their names upon conversion.  In changing the name attributed to one’s ancestors through slavery, one is then able to reconstruct an identity not contingent upon historical oppression.  Imam Wali Akram was initially named Walter Gregg, Gregg being the name attributed to his great grandmother, who was a slave to the Scottish Gregg clan.[11]  The changing of his name marks a refusal to be identified any longer with a heritage of slavery and, rather, to seek the religion of his ancestry.  As he claimed frequently during his conversion speeches,

There is no such thing as the Negro race.  Black people live all over the world but they are not branded as Negroes.  Get back your religion, the religion of Islam, and stop being a Negro![12]

Interestingly, in these conversion speeches of the early Muslim movements in America, this was typical; there are no calls to join the True religion, (although that doctrine is later taught to the convert) but rather the motivation given is one of identity.  It would seem then, that for many African-Americans, conversion marks a dramatic identity change, one which is restorative of previous wrongs.  Ultimately, “s/he is no longer the product of the cotton fields rendered obsolete by machinery, but a servant of God with a glorious history and a noble ancestry.”[13]

            However, this is but one aspect of American Islam.  While part of the motivation for early African-American converts was to transform their identity and somehow distinguish themselves in relation to the popular culture, many Muslim immigrants and their descendants seem to be dealing with similar issues of identity in a different way.

Although much of society fails to differentiate, there is great diversity of ethnicity as well as belief in the American Muslim population.  The situation is such that not only is the Muslim community conflicted with the outside pressures to conform, but it is conflicted within itself.  So fractured is it that it cannot really be defined as one community.   The U.S. receives students, professionals, and refugees (to name a few) from all over the world, often attracting Muslims from extremely diverse locales.  For the immigrant, where is local loyalty to be attributed? Many have attempted to create ethnic subcommunities which consist of only Egyptians, or Pakistanis, etc.  These communities serve to foster identity and preserve language and cultural value, but at a cost.  When there exists such a strong “external other” (Judeo-Christian ideology, American popular culture, etc.), divisions and arguments against “internal others”[14] only serve to weaken what could be a positive force of community. 

            Similarly, ideological and theological differences play major roles in the identity of immigrant Muslims.  International divisions regarding the Shi’ite/Sunni debate have functioned as a dividing line for many Muslims, often depending on their country of origin.  This is well documented at community levels where Muslim community centers or student organizations at universities sponsor speakers.  Depending on the affiliation of the speaker, the audience may be all Sunni, or all Shi’ite, but rarely both.  Such divisions run deep (as they have for hundreds of years) and are not likely to be reconciled, regardless of the common goal of carving an Islamic niche in Americana. 

            Considering these difficulties, one may wonder to what extent Muslims in America can find possibilities for solidarity as well as acceptance in dominant American cultures.  This is possible, it would seem, considering the progress made already and the steps in place to secure a more positive future.  Two scriptural models exist which provide some guidance toward courses of action.  Both deal with the struggles of the early Muslims in Mecca, struggling to find a way to survive in a society that was both physically and religiously oppressive toward Mohammed’s early followers.

            The first and most common model is the Medinan model (proposed by al-Mawdudi) of purposeful seclusion in order to gain ideological power.[15]  This involves leaving the oppressive populace in order to gain strength.  One manifestation of this is seen among certain African-American Muslim groups who sought to build an alternate community, autonomous from the U.S. and governed by sharia.[16]  This model, however, has its shortcomings.  This plan emphasizes the importance of living in an area in which the majority is Muslim.  The end result of the Medina story is the establishment of Islamic rule in both Medina and Mecca.  Most American Muslims would agree that the Muslim domination of America is not a reasonable expectation, and neither do they want to re-emigrate to an Islamic country.

            The second scriptural model, then, is that of the Muslims who sought refuge in Ethiopia.  The Ethiopian Christians provided protection for the early Muslims, not returning them to Mecca to be annihilated.  As one put it, “but for the protection of Islam by the Christians, there might have been no Muslims or Islam today.”[17] Through coexistence and dialogue, the Christians and Muslims found a way toward peace.  This model is an attractive one, particularly for Muslims living in the “Judeo-Christian” West.  This model serves as a call to action for both Christians and Muslims to reach out to each other and interact.  Such an interaction facilitates the exchange of ideas and subsequently brings everyone closer to a mutual understanding.

            In conjunction with this, Muslims need to further communicate within the greater umma of Islam.  This is necessary for interaction within the United States.  One of the greatest ways to have one’s voice heard is through political involvement.  Ayatolla Khmeini once said “Islam is politics, or it is nothing.”[18]  Some may regard this observation to be extreme, but it seems rather clear that, scripturally speaking, Islam places a strong emphasis on political interaction.  However, some sort of unity is required for such political interaction.  It has been estimated that there are about 700,000 voting Muslims living in the United States.[19]  Efforts have already been made toward developing a standard interpretation and source of dialogue in order to bring a united front for advocating for Muslims.  CyberIslam, for example, is a recent phenomenon in America where the use of modern technology has allowed Muslims to break old boundaries of geography and ethnicity to seek solidarity.  Email groups and sites such as www.theprophetonline.com and www.islam.org as well as the email source hadith@sunna.com offer methods of education and discussion for American Muslims where a central authority is lacking.[20]

            It would seem, then, that due to these efforts progress is being made toward an authentic respect for Muslims in America.  The diverse origins notwithstanding, American Muslims have the methods in place to find a voice to declare their identity.  Through internet-based communication hubs as well as efforts at reconciling and redefining ethnic identities, opportunities exist to form at least a sort of American ulema which could guide decisions and give official positions with which to voice political opinions.  While it would be unreasonable for all divisions, differences, and conflicts to disappear, the embrace of open communication and unity seems to be one that will bring great rewards with time.

            The spirit of dialogue proposed by the Ethiopian model of mutual respect and communication is indeed within sight.  Muslims, through unified expression in the U.S. have found that political figures have begun to pay attention to their votes.  For instance, approximately 20 years ago, Walter Mondale rejected money offered by Muslims for his campaign.  However in the year 2000, during a national gathering of American Muslims (approximately 30,000 strong) both presidential candidates (Bush and Gore) sent representatives.[21] Through such demonstrations of unity, Muslims have at long last begun to be taken seriously as full citizens of our nation.  These developments could not come too soon, as issues involving the U.S. and the greater Muslim world seem to be constantly surfacing (at the writing of this paper, the U.S. had recently taken control of Iraq and was standing in disagreement with other countries in the region with regards to its veiled threats toward Syria).  During these times of crisis, our Muslim citizens may ultimately prove to be a strong force of accountability for the U.S. government as well as a bridge of understanding between the U.S. and the greater Muslim world.

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