Examining American Islam

Abstract

Explaining the cause and character of one’s religious or nationalidentity is often like constructing a rather large, if not intimidating, jigsawpuzzle. Daunting as the task may initially seem, we can nonethelessorganize the puzzle pieces into something reasonably coherent with justa bit of effort. But if answering what it means to “be a Muslim” or “be anAmerican” is simply a matter of putting together the pieces of a puzzle,then addressing the far more nebulous question of what it means to “bean American Muslim” is like composing the overture to an orchestralpiece.What does it mean to have an American Muslim identity? Is theresuch a thing as an American Islam? If so, what do its adherents representand what exactly does it mean to “be an. American Muslim?” These arequestions which, for at least the better part of the last two decades, havecome to occupy the minds of American Muslims and non-Muslims alike.Reacting to the various social and political pressures they nowface, American Muslims have worked tirelessly to explain therelationship between their religious and national identities. Many of theseefforts have involved insisting on the allegedly natural, longstandingharmony that exists between Islamic norms, on the one hand, andAmerican values, on the other. Indeed, there is no shortage of editorialsand public statements from American Muslim leaders and thinkersaffirming this belief.Of all Muslim minority groups in the world, American Muslimsare arguably the most socially assimilated, and are noticeably proud ofthat fact. Unlike French or British Muslims, for example, AmericanMuslims have more seamlessly integrated into the fabric of Americansociety. Partly for this reason, American Muslims have come to think ofthemselves as admirably different from the rest of the Muslim world. Ifanything does truly distinguish American Muslims, it is surely this beliefin their own extraordinariness.In line with this belief, American Muslims are increasingly accepting, adopting, and defending social and political causes that are traditionally looked at with moral suspicion by the majority of Muslims worldwide. This ranges from the promotion of non-heteronormative sexual lifestyles to the endorsement of Israeli claims to Palestinian land. Many American Muslims have chosen to break with the consensus of their religious community on these and other matters, in large part to more closely align with the general, mainstream American consensus. These realities make it all the more difficult to navigate what it means to be both a Muslim and an American today. To better understand these timely and complicated issues, This volume has three essays from American Muslim scholars and researchers, analyzing various elements of the American Muslim experience. The contributions in this collection will broadly inspect the relationship between so-called “American” and “Islamic” values—paying particular attention to the impact of the former on the latter. To varying degrees, the essays discuss the following questions: What is American Islam? What makes American Islam unique? To what extent has American Islam been influenced by liberal principles, and what are those principles? To what extent have these influences been positive or negative? What social and political forces, if any, influenced the “liberalization” of Islam inAmerica? What are some of the ways in which this phenomenon is arguably evident?Department of Islamophobia and Muslim Minorities Studies (IMSS) Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA)