Evolution of Muslims in America
Introduction
Based on various studies, Islam has been recognized as the most racially diverse religion in the United States and around the world currently. Religion makes up about 0.8% of the total population in the United States. From a study carried out by the American Institute of Social Policies, it is evident that the highest percentage making up the Muslim religion is the African Americans, who are 25% of the total Muslim population in America currently (Zurlo and Johnson 50-74). American Muslims are not entirely American citizens since some migrated during the reign of the Ottoman Empire and as a result of the slave trade across the African-American –European continents (Zurlo and Johnson 50-74). As time progressed, the population of American Muslims increased due to increased birth rates and immigration leniency, which saw the rise of Arabic and Asian Muslims in the 20th century. Zurlo and Johnson (50-74) indicate that despite the progressive increase in growth in terms of membership and acquaintance globally, the movement has undergone a transition period characterized by criticism, slavery, and racial segregation among other indomitable outrages. The religion encountered a period of skepticism where Muslims were accused of violence, terrorism, and correlation to suicide bombings (Robinson-Dunn). However, the faith has managed to evolve through phases of slavery in the US, the Nation of Islam movement, during the pre and post 911 wars, and the current state of Muslims in America.
Muslim Slavery in America
Allison (19-29) states that Muslim slavery was mainly subjected to African American citizens who, by then, were an integral part of developing America during her war against British rule. Muslims arrived in America as part of the colonial expeditions in the US and fought alongside these colonialists during the Revolutionary War of 1775 (Allison 19-29). The enslaved Muslim Africans played the role of soldiers, guards, worked in the American farms, among other roles. Colley (393-415) notes that the period was marked by a sleek reputation and prejudice of the Islamic religion, where the slaves were denied their rights to practice their faith openly. They were also forced to wear sacrilegious clothing and ignore the dietary rules and quit religious fasting (Colley 393-415). To some extent, the enslaved Muslims were forced to convert to Christianity, which was a course they had no choice about as they had to survive by all means.
However, Robinson-Dunn notes that the existence of Islam founding fathers such as Thomas Jefferson kept the religion ablaze. He campaigned for religious freedom and included Islam in all his writings and political treatises. For instance, in the proposed Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, he argued that no religion should be excluded from the Commonwealth civil rights (Robinson-Dunn). However, his pleas were ignored, and the enslaving of African Muslims took its toll. Allison (19-29) indicates that the enslaved Muslims applied their faith and the bilingual literacy they possessed to build a community that would resist slavery in pursuit of freedom. They used letters, autobiographies, and diaries articulated in Arabic in America to communicate with each other in an attempt to undermine slavery (Zurlo and Johnson 50-74). They also applied their literacy as a form of leverage for their freedom through their labor. For instance, slave owners restricted their reading and writing abilities, so they took advantage of jobs like bookkeeping and personal serving to acquire physical mobility and increase their knowledge of American business practices. However, sad and overwhelming odds they faced, the enslaved Muslims managed to succeed in forming religious networks and communities that still uphold Islam up to date (Colley 393-415). The material culture they left behind like books, beads, clothing helps in building stories regarding the origin of Islam and emphasizes on the importance of standing for one’s religion (Colley 393-415). These materials are preserved in the National Museum of African American History and Culture as a sign of appreciation for their predetermined efforts in building and maintaining the Islamic Culture.
The Nation of Islam
Formed to serve as an African American political and religious movement, (Felber), the Nation of Islam was first initiated by Fard Muhammad in 1930. It aimed at improving the social, mental, and economic conditions for the African Americans who were subjected to racism, segregation, and religious discrimination (Felber). During the reign of Malcom X as a pioneer of the movement, Islamic religion, and the African American society underwent an evolutionary phase that positively changed them (Movement and the Carceral State). After he was released from jail, Malcom X assisted in leading the Nation of Islam movement. This period was marked for its most significant growth and influence on the Islamic religion ((Felber). More so, in collaboration with Elijah Muhammad, he established temples in different American cities like Philadelphia, New York, and Boston, which considerably contributed to the increase in membership of Muslims in the movement and the religion (Malcolm).
Additionally, Malcom X launched a newspaper for the movement, Muhammad Speaks, which was his technique to earn more recruits and as a fundraising tool as well. The paper assisted him to address the Nation of Islam’s articulation of the inherent evil in American society and the natural superiority that was evident also (Malcolm). After he was named the National Representative for the Nation of Islam, Malcom X leadership claimed an increased membership of close to half a million Muslims. Malcom possessed a charismatic personality, which enabled him to address the frustrations and bitterness of the African Americans during the era of civil rights movements (Movement and the Carceral State). As a keen intellectual and an energetic radical, he criticized the American Society and the civil rights movement’s mainstreams (Malcom). He openly challenged ideas put across by Martin Luther King Jr. regarding non-violence and urged his followers to fight for their freedom ‘by all means’(Movement and the Carceral State). During his pilgrimage in Mecca, where he adopted his Muslim name el-Hajj Malik el-Shabazz, he renounced the separate beliefs of the movement. He advised Muslims that the solution to their racial predicaments lay in customary Islam (Malcom). His ideas helped in the formation of the Black Nationalist ideology that advocated for not only Muslim rights but also black Americans as well.
Pre 911 Relations
Smith and Zeigler demonstrate that the gulf wars of the 1990s initiated by the Islamic terrorist Saddam Hussein increased public tension, animosity, and loath towards the religion. It was a period termed as the evolution of Islamic terrorism in the world. The war was as a result of the formation of nationalist and revolutionary Islamic movements that believed political goals would be achieved through international terrorism more effectively (Smith and Zeigler). Islamic borders such as Iran, Iraq, and Palestine were marked territorial states that the whole world was at war with. The American media, inclusive of television programs, newspapers, and films, propagated antagonistic portrayals regarding the Islamic religion (Smith and Zeigler). It was viewed as a foundation based to initiate and progressively bear-human terror and discomfort in the American world. According to Smith and Zeigler, these wars yielded an exaggerated fear and hostility towards Muslims in America and the whole world up to date.
Post 9/11 Relations
According to Bayraktaroğlu, the 9/11 aftermath was such a great ordeal for both Muslims and the world against them. There developed radical arguments and sentiments that were all as a result of the Islamophobia (Bayraktaroğlu). According to scholars, Islamophobia existed even before the 9/11 terror attacks, but its frequency accelerated after the wars. Various reports filed about the same identified that the aftermath of these wars reflected complicated lives for Muslims across the world. Attempts to address the global issue of Islamophobia took its toll. In the US, for instance, the government arrested Muslim-American suspected terrorists (Bayraktaroğlu). However, the existence of Islamic scholars like John Esposito assisted the American Muslims in surviving these predicaments (Smith and Zeigler). He urged them to use Muslims who articulated English accentlessley to communicate their community’s message to ensure their survival. Smith and Zeigler state that the non-violent Muslims were advised to reclaim their faith, which had been hijacked by the biased and terrorist individuals who had reaped away their peace. Additionally, the Muslim-American community assisted the US government in preventing several al Qaeda terrorist attacks on American soil (Bayraktaroğlu). They availed vital information to the government, thus forming reliable allies to prevent more terror attacks.
Current Day Muslims in America
Aydin observes that ever since the events of 9/11, the American Muslim community has faced prejudices, discriminations, biases, and sentiments from many Americans, particularly the current president Donald Trump. According to Khan (115), since the time of his campaigns before the 2016 presidential elections, Trump’s anti-Muslim and Islamophobic attitudes have been eminently showcased throughout. According to a study to examine the prejudicial discourse of Trump towards Muslims, his statements have been pinpointed as evidential facts that exhibit his loathe for Islamic religion (Khan 115). For instance, in one of his campaign statements, he promised Americans that he would ban Islam (Nuruzzaman 16-20). Consequently, after his election and inauguration, he attempted to ban Muslims’ entry in the US by restricting immigration policies (Nuruzzaman 16-20). Trump terms himself as Islamophobe and presents rhetoric sentiments on anti-Muslim even to date. As Aydin notes, he employed Islamophobia as a political concept that made him win the support of the Americans in his elections. Unfortunately, (Khan 115), Islamophobia has created a basis for discrimination, bias, and racism that still prevails in the current American Society.
Conclusion
Besides being the fastest-growing religion in the world currently, Islam has faced a myriad of concussions that, without the resilience of Muslims, the doctrine could have been extinct. Since the early days of religious civilization, Muslims have encountered all sorts of prejudice, all of them based on their religion and color. It is eminent due to the religious stereotyping that was at its prime and still is in America and the whole world as well. Due to the 911 event, the political tension that existed towards Muslims increased, which gave rise to concepts like Islamophobia and Anti-Muslim, which stand as blocks towards the thriving of the religion. Discrimination against Muslim communities despite their innocence is prevalent. It is evident that the portrayal of Muslims as negative stereotypes since the 911 event still exists. The evolution of Muslim marks a phase of strive for acceptance in a community that can never embrace them.
Work Cited
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