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Islam In The United States
All the discussion about the proposed recreational center and mosque near Ground Zero got me thinking and wondering just how many Muslims are in the United States, how long they have been here, and where they came from.
First, however, I thought I would digress just a little about Muslims that I have known personally. The first people of that faith that I ever met came to the U. S. in the 70's from Iran when the Shah was deposed by the Ayatollah.
Many Iranians left the country at that time and came to the United States. This couple were educators who were hired at the university in my home town. They became good friends with my cousin and her husband, who also taught at the university.
One of the interesting things she told me about them years later was that their relatives used to send them shoe boxes full of cash. Evidently getting their wealth out of the country before the government seized it.
In the 80's a young Muslim pediatrician who had taken his residency at St. Jude's in Memphis moved to Clinton. I took the girls to him several times. He was the only pediatrician who ever successfully kept Holly's asthma in check. That quickly made me a fan of his medical abilities. I liked him personally as well.
When I lived in Dallas caring for Little Buddy, there were two Muslim families who lived on their street. They also had their mothers living with them. The younger generation and their children were quite Americanized in their dress and their social habits while the older women wore the traditional long wrap-around in bright colors; but I never saw them with their heads covered.
Little Buddy and Big Sis played with their children just as they did others on the street.
Personally, I have never seen any indication from any Muslim I knew of animosity or hatred toward Americans. In fact, they were always very friendly, visiting in their yards with their neighbors just like everyone else. The older women were quieter and more reserved; I'm not absolutely certain if they could speak English, as I would only see them outside on rare occasions.
It might surprise some to know that, according to the Pew Institute a large percentage, about 37 per cent of those who practice the Islam faith in the U.S. are actually white.
In fact, those of the Muslim faith are the most ethnically diverse of all religions in the states. Tomorrow, more on the numbers of Muslims in the U.S., where they came from and how long they have been here.
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posted on Sept 2, 2010 11:58 AM (CST)
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Their names usually give them away, though not always. |
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Ah but are all Arabs Muslims? I don't think so. Are all Mediterranean people Arabs/Muslims? Are all Arabs/Muslims Mediterraneans? You know what I mean. :O) |
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And the answer is no, so there goes my name theory right out the window. LOL |
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Just for the record, I mant toadd, I could no more hate a GROUP of people for what soem do in that group, after all these years of beign hated for being Gay and/or a Jew--something like that doesn't compute in my mind which is why I find it remarkable that some people here at blogster are such vocal haters |
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It amazes me as well. Who made them God? I am a Christian and I try to live by the commandment that Jesus gave us, which is to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. These people all profess to be Christians, but they don't act like it. Living one's faith is what it's all about to me. |
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I don't personally know any muslims. The ones I've met online have been young women who are nice and sweet and seem to come from families who are more lenient than many that we read about. So the fact that I don't have personal knowledge leads me to learn from what I read or from others that who have had personal experience. I know that in the Christian religion that there are fanatics and those who are very judgemental of others and who also try to push their values on everyone else. Some kill. But they are in the minority. I don't know about Islam and that's why I have mixed feelings about the community center/mosque thing in New York. I know there are those who hate our way of life and wish death and destruction on all who don't believe the way they do. My problem is that I don't know how many of them there are or if this is what their religion teaches. Maybe I need to do more reading. I do know the horror stories we read about how women are treated, and that upsets and bothers me the most. And I'll never forget how I felt on 9/11 and the weeks that follow. I still go back and watch the videos occasionally about it because it's hard for me to understand that kind of hatred. What happened to live and let live...and I say that also to Christians who can't just live their lives according to their beliefs, but who also feel they have to judge others and talk down to others as if they are up on some pedestal. So I just dont know about Islam. And I don't know how to learn either. I have an uneasy feeling and that's simply because we always hear the bad stories and very little good. I have an Indian friend who says the millions of muslims in India all feel the same and they hate all nonmuslims. Don't know if he's right or wrong. So I try to read, listen, and learn. |
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I view it much the same way as we once felt about the Russians. Back in the '50's and 60's, we were fed so much propaganda about the Russians that we automatically thought the entire Soviet Union hated us. The Muslim religion is just like the Christian religion. It has many, many different sects. Some are fanatical but they are in the smallest of minorities. However, they are the ones we hear about. Talk to Maria. She lives in a Muslim country and has many Muslim friends. The culture is a male dominated culture; yet, there are women who have held high government offices. Again, the worse case scenarios are the ones we hear about. What I have learned from visiting with people from around the world is that we are all basically the same. We love our families and, for the most part, we are all peace-loving people. |
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True. You make good points. What I don't understand is that knowing all the heartache and pain across the country and the terrible loss of life that took place at the hands of muslims in the name of Islam on 9/11, why don't they understand how insensitive it seems not only to the families, but too a huge number of Americans to build a community center/mosque that will throw it's shadow over where the twin towers used to be. Do you know when this land was purchased? Was it since 9/11? I'm probably making it worse in my mind than it really is. I'm a very open minded and nonjudgemental person. I've surprised myself at my feelings about this whole thing. I guess time will tell and so I wait and watch. |
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I truly do not know when the land was purchased. I do know that the Imam who wishes to build the recreational center plans to construct a 13-story complex with all sorts of activities for people of all faiths, that only one floor will be a mosque, and that he envisioned it as a tribute to all those who died in 9/11. I think an awfully lot of that has got lost in the furor it has stirred among many people. |
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In the movie, "Mao's Last dancer", a true story, it shows how young Chinese were taught how poor Americans were, how mean and bad and the young boy in the picture finally learns the truth when he somes to the USA---as R & H wrote (Rogers and Hammerstein for you yong kids) "you;ve got to be taught by the time you are 7 or 8, you've got to be taught to hate..." |
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I see the reverse of that every day. My grandchildren mix and mingle with black children, Muslims, Hindus, etc. Their parents put no restrictions on them as to who their friends can be and they welcome these children into their home just as they do Christian, white children. If all parents were as tolerant as my daughter and son-in-law, we would not have any problems with hatred among different ethnic and racial groups. |
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Yes, I live in a country which has the largest population of Muslims in the world and have been living here for 8 solid years...that means full time and not a month or so here and there. I interact with them every single day, my co-workers and colleagues are Muslim, my driver is Muslim, my maid is Muslim and all my neighbors are Muslim. These people are devout with their religion, and their daily prayer sessions and devout in their discipline during the holy month of Ramadhan. Their devotion to me is very awe inspiring and many people think it is a form of brain-washing and that is just a pile of hog-wash. These people love and enjoy their religion just like many devout Christians do. In every other sense, they are just as normal as anyone else and they have the same values and moral standards as the best of us. This "thing" about their treatment of women, although prevalent in many sects, it is not part of being a Muslim. Women are not being murdered or tortured or disrespected or beaten in the name of their religion, it is a culture thing rather than a religion thing. In the west, women are abused all the time...by their spouses, their fathers, their boyfriends, by other women....emotionally, physically and sexually. What are the stats on those??? One in five women have been physically or sexually abused...and they are the ones that have been reported. So using their "treatment of women" as a means to denigrate their religion is ridiculous....if that is the case, what is the west's excuse? You are absolutely right Joan, even Muslims love their families and for the most part are all peace-loving people...and I might even venture further to say, even more peace loving than the non-muslims (westerners) who have no qualms about expressing hatred, disrespect and antagonism towards their own.
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Hello, I agree with you violence and ill-treatement has to do with culture more than religion! it is something universal in every faith! |
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"Women are not being murdered or tortured or disrespected or beaten in the name of their religion, it is a culture thing rather than a religion thing." I have been saying that for years but those who go to "certain" Muslim countries known for their backward barbaric history think that is Islam. They don't realise that in fact if it wasn't Islam those same countries would treat women and in general behave in a more barbaric way. One example: Before Islam, ALL the Arabs in the Arabian Peninsula "buried" their daughters alive if they reach 8-10 years old without being engaged for marriage when they reach 14 yrs old. Islam ENDED that and allowed women to be free from that barbaric treatment. They were also denied inheritance AT ALL from their parents ,Islam dictated their share (which still does not exist in ANY other religion or Civil system). Islam also allowed them to uncover their faces but they still not obeying that after 1400 years. .... People need to read and learn before they talk about things they dont know ANYTHING about. "I might even venture further to say, even more peace loving than the non-Muslims (westerners) who have no qualms about expressing hatred, disrespect and antagonism towards their own." You dont have to "venture" anything Maria. It is THE truth. Before you jump into the wrong conclusion, let me add that this being "more peace loving than the non-Muslims "is not due to them being better people than anyone else, IT IS BECAUSE Islam actually forces them to be that way. Muslims CAN NOT be Muslims if they did not BELIEVE in Christianity and Judaism or if they do not respect their followers as "people of the Book". Find me something like that in those two religions. It does not exist. They both not only do not acknowledge Islam but they do not even acknowledge each other. As for the non-believers in The God of Abraham, Muslims are told to treat them as they are treated. and stay away from arguing with them .... again the reason is this: "Non-believers" tend to insult God, and Islam tells its followers do not engage in anything that leads to that. In plain language Qura'n says "DO not insult them so they do not have a chance to Insult God". That is the reason that Muslims actually refrain from anything that insults or disrespects any one. The "People of the Book" to be treated with a higher standard than that i.e To be respected since Muslims believe in their Message as much as they believe in it themselves and even more, according to Qura'n. Thanks Maria for saying what was on my mind for a while. @ SWG: I will be looking forward for your information, I have an idea about those points you plan to address. I hope you confirm what I think. |
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I will do my best. Yes, all the abominable acts we read about are "cultural." They have nothing to do with Islam. That includes the practice of genital mutilation in African countries. Muslims are also forbade from attacking other people unless those people first attack them or deride their religion. Even then the Quran specifically states that the attack must be not be excessive but appropriate for the injustice done to them. Many sects of the Muslim faith actually have even outlawed this practice. |
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Very true. Thanks for sharing this information. People just don't really know Islam or Muslim countries at all. Just look at this fact: Countries of the Arabian Peninsula, the ones who used to bury their girls if they were not engaged at 8-10 yrs old and still do not allow women to drive or uncover their faces (all against Islamic rules), are the ones who today laugh and make fun of other Muslim countries who practice genital mutilation. .. Go figure !!! |
As far as I know I don't personally know a Muslim--am I the only one? Am I that sheltered? Or is it because they are just like me and don't wear a sign saying "I am a Muslim"?