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Akbar Ahmad who teaches in American
University, Washington D.C. and holds Ibn Khalladun Chair of
Islamic Studies and is author of several well known books has come
out with field study of American Muslims. This book will go a long
way to break many myths about Islam, Muslims and America.[1] This
book is based on field interviews with Muslims living in America
in different states. Prof. Ahmed traveled with his team across
America and talked to Muslim leaders in every state.
This is an important academic work based on field study and hence
its importance cannot be denied. Prof. Ahmed himself is a trained
anthropologist and he knows how communities and ideological groups
should be studied to know them and their behaviour. From outside
even western academics think that Muslims are a homogenous lot and
all, irrespective of their ethnic, tribal or national origin hold
same religious as well as political views. Such an unrealistic
approach becomes main obstacle in understanding Muslims and
multiple interpretations of Islam.
If this is an approach of academics what to say of lay persons. If
they hold similar views we cannot blame them. It is field study
like this which can convince people that Muslims are far from
being a homogenous lot. Despite slogans like umma wahidah Muslims
have differed both religiously and politically from each other
since the death of the Prophet (PBUH). Even within the confines of
Arabia where Islam originated, Muslims could not become umma
wahidah how could they after Islam spread in far off places like
China, India, Central Asia, Far East and Europe with radically
different civilizations, languages, tribes and ethnicity?
Yes, ideologically the slogan of umma wahidah is quite meaningful
but ideology and reality greatly differ from each other. Ideology
after all represents certain ideals and values and reality is far
more complex in which human actors bring to bear their interests,
political, economic, cultural or linguistic and many others. It is
because of this that Muslims could never become homogenous
community. This has been very well brought out in this book on
American Muslims.
America is a unique country in many ways. It is also unique as
peoples of various nations and countries have come there for
various reasons, either to improve their economic lot or for
refuge from persecution back home. Thus there is hardly any
country in the world with Muslim population whose citizens have
not migrated to America. Thus in America one finds much greater
diversity of Muslims than any other country in the world. It is, I
say and especially after reading this book that Muslim diversity
in America is indeed bewildering.
Thus it would be wrong to hold that All Muslims in America hold
same views about terrorism or for that matter about various
interpretation of Islam. Whatever trends in Islamic thinking from
Sufi to Wahabi to tablighi to ahl-e-hadith to Shi’ah to Ismaili to
Bohras to Sunni are present in America which come out clearly in
various interviews. Muslims from all these sects have flocked to
America for better living.
This migration from Asian and African countries to America has
created what can be called schizophrenic nationalism or dual
nationalism. One who migrates retains ties with his/her own
national cultural roots and also has to develop or assimilate
American culture. The first generation finds it very difficult to
do so though succeeding generation ultimately looses attachment to
the culture of the country of origin. But it takes quite a
struggle do so. This tension between two generations of Muslims
also comes out clearly in the interviews.
The question of American identity is also very important and the
author throws light on this question in the very first chapter of
the book. Identity plays very important role in one’s life as it
is deeply psychological and emotional in nature. Identity is very
complex issue and its constituents are language, culture,
ethnicity, customs and traditions. It is very difficult to shade
and acquire a new identity. It was easier for the very first
generation of Europeans to do so as all of them were Europeans,
protestant Christians though from different linguistic and
cultural backgrounds. But the fact that they were all Europeans
and mostly Protestants they found it easy to adopt what has been
called melting pot model of identity.
Their original identity melted and a new American identity
emerged. But it was not so easy for subsequent generations of
migrants from African and Asian countries. They were not
Christians (at least not all), they were not Europeans and this
made all the difference. They had very distinctive skin color and
radically different culture. It was not so easy for them to melt
their original identity and adopt new American identity. So a
different model of identity had to be evolved and now their
original identity is retained and they are called African
Americans or Indian or Pakistani or Chinese or Korean Americans
and so on. It is in a way more realistic and democratic.
Thus it would be not sufficient to call a Muslim living in America
as American Muslim; it may even be misleading in a way. So they
are referred to now as Egyptian-American or Saudi-American or
Iranian-American and so on. Of course in these countries people of
other religions like Christians, Zoroastrians and others also live
but they are generally small minorities. So an Egyptian-American
would generally mean Egyptian Muslim or Saudi Muslim living in
America. Thus the business of identity has to be taken pretty
seriously.
The part I of the book deals with question of American identity
while part II deals with “Islam in America” and Ahmed devotes
fourth chapter in this second part to African Americans as first
Muslims. The African Americans of course have been living in
America for several centuries and have forgotten their African
roots also. It is for this reason that when an African American
did great deal of research to trace his African roots and wrote a
book it sold like hot cakes. Even after centuries African
Americans want to know their roots. Such is the hold of identity
on human beings. Just imagine the plight of recent migrants who
retain strong ties with their country of migration.
The Part III of the book deals with adjusting and adapting. There
are three chapters under this part i.e. Jews and Muslims: Bridging
a Great Divide, Mormons and Muslims: Getting to Know You and The
Importance of Being American.
The author and his research team meets with different communities
of Muslims and their leaders and also imams of the mosques. Most
of the meetings take place in mosques or in restaurants on lunch
or dinner. For example sample this: Imam Fateen Seifullah heads
the Masjid As-Sabur, the oldest mosque in Las Vegas (what author
calls ‘sin city’ as this city is city of gambling dens) and a
haven for celebrities like Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson – the
latter, we were told, helps to vacuum the mosque’s prayer rugs as
an act of piety.
Imam Fateen has an easygoing charm and radiates energy in his
dedication to changing society around him. Islam provides him the
perfect platform. Like Imam Mustafa, he seemed a thoughtful man
living in the desert for spiritual answers. Akbar narrates an
interesting story about Fateen. When he went to Morocco with some
other African American Muslims he visited a sheikh. He was wearing
Muslim clothes. The Sheikh inquired where are Americans. Right
here, Fateen answered. Upon this the Sheikh inquired why are you
then wearing Moroccan clothes, bring your uniqueness as Americans
on the table. Be American.
Akbar Ahmed travels across America and visits small Muslim
communities like Vietnamese Muslims, Cambodian Muslims, Chinese
Muslims apart from Muslims from countries like Indonesia,
Malaysia, Thailand, India, Pakistan, and various Arab countries as
well as African countries. It is very clearly brought out
differences in thinking and approaches of these Muslims from
different countries. Even their concerns are so different. It
breaks once for all the myth that all Muslims in America are
admirers of Osama bin Laden or support al-Qaeda.
The younger generations of Muslims from these countries have been
greatly Americanized and that is the real worry of Muslims
belonging to older generations. They feel their language and
culture would be lost for ever and want these younger people to
retain those elements. Also, it also comes out clearly through
this first important study of American Muslims that white
Americans are, after all, not that liberal and secular we imagine
them to be. Most of the interviews bring out the kind of
discrimination they feel and despite the fact that they have
assimilated themselves in American way of life. There are often
violent attacks and some young Muslims have formed their own gangs
to retaliate.
This book is an important landmark in serious field study of
American Muslims and though by a leading academic and yet written
in a manner which can be easily understood by lay people having no
anthropological background The academic jargon has been avoided.
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