A Wakeup Call to Muslims 
in North America

Muslims are the fastest growing religious community in the world especially in the United States of America. From Indonesia to Morocco, there are 56 countries, where Muslims are a majority and several dozen more where they are a sizeable minority. Every fourth person on this planet earth is a Muslim. Muslims come from all races, genders and countries. Islamic civilization has made tremendous achievements in sciences and has produced some of the most prominent scientists in previous centuries.

But, Islam is still a misunderstood religion in the West.

A Brief History of Islam in America

The presence of Islam and Muslims can be divided in four periods:

1.         First Wave: According to some overwhelming evidence Muslims came to America before Columbus. A number of linguists, historians, and archaeologists have postulated that Arabic-speaking Muslims from North Africa had made contact with the Americas in the 7th century. Islamic coins have been found in hoards of hundreds in America dating from 9th to 11th centuries; Muslim personal names and other Islamic scripts engraved on a Nevada bedrock, in ancient Kufic Arabic dating from some time after 650 (Saga America by Barry Fell, 1980, Times Books). But, these Muslims came as traders and navigators and went back home to the Kingdom of Mali, North-West Africa.

2.         Second Wave: For 400 years, hundreds of thousands of African people were whisked from the shore of Western and Central Africa and transported to "New World" and according to reliable estimates some 7% to 30% of these slaves were Muslims from Mandinka, Fula, Susu, Ashanti and Hausa nations (African Muslims in Antebellum America by Philip Curtin, 1984, Garland Publishing). Despite the very inhumane form of slavery in America and the forced separation from Muslim lands and culture, there were scores of documented reports of Muslim slaves maintaining some form of their faith in the inhospitable climate. One of the most famous one's was Kunta Kinte. The bestseller, by Alex Haley and a popular TV series Roots were based on Kinte's life.

3.         Third Wave: In this period, between mid 19th century to early 20th century, thousands of Muslims came to America from the area of Shaam (present day Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, etc.), Palestine, British India, Southern Europe (present day Bosnia, Yugoslavia, Albania), Turkey, Central Asia and Ukraine. These Muslims had come, primarily, from the illiterate class and farming background. Most of these immigrants were understandably more concerned with finding a comfortable economic living in America than keeping their Islamic culture. However, they built a few prayer places (Mosques) in residential areas or rented homes for community prayers.

The Muslim community of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is the oldest established and continuously existing Muslim community in America today. Musa, Ali and Abbas, three brothers found their way to Cedar Rapids in 1885. By 1912, some 35 young Muslims from Syria/Lebanon joined them. In 1920, they established a temporary Mosque and laid the foundation for the construction of what would be the first Mosque in the Mid-West. They completed this project in 1934.  Amanat Ali Khan, who came to Sacramento (CA) in 1912, represents the first group of immigrants from what is now called Pakistan. These immigrants landed in Vancouver (Canada) in 1901. Between 1910 to 1920, many Pakistanis moved from the farm laborers to farm operators in the Sacramento area. Pakistani farmers also played a major role in developing the Imperial Valley (Arizona) agricultural economy.

The following are some of the Islamic communities and institutions that came into existence during this period:

1. The first Muslim organization was formed in 1920 on the West coast.
   

2. Albanian Muslims founded a religious society and a Mosque in Biddeford (Maine) in 1915.
   

3. Muslims established a Mosque in 1919 in Waterbury, (CT).
   

4. An Arab Muslim employee of Ford Motor Co. built a Mosque in 1921 in Highland Park (MI).
   

5. Syrian Muslims built a Mosque in Ross (North Dakota).
   

6. Polish Muslims (Tatar) established the American Muhammadan Society in Brooklyn in 1922 and built a Mosque in 1928.
   

7. Arabs founded the Young Men's Muslim Association in 1923.

Many of these Muslim communities, which were much bigger than the Iowa community, became totally assimilated in the larger melting pot and their distinct Islamic identity gradually vanished.

4.         Fourth Wave: After the 2nd World War and particularly in late 1960's, the immigration law gave equal opportunity to people from all countries to migrate to the U.S. on a qualification and merit basis. Since then the influx of Muslim students and professionals like medical doctors, and engineers, came to America for education and employment opportunities. These new immigrants, with the financial support of International Islamic organizations and some Muslim governments started establishing Mosques/Islamic Centers, national and professional Islamic organizations. One of the largest Islamic Centers was constructed in Washington, D.C. and inaugurated by President Eisenhower in 1957.

The following are among the major Islamic organizations established by this generation of Muslim immigrants to serve the growing Muslim community in the U.S.:

1. The Federation of Islamic Association of America (FIAA) now defunct was established in 1954.
   

2. Tabligh Jama'ah: Early 1950's
   

3. Muslim Students Association of the U.S. and Canada (MSA): 1963. Now, it is only a campus based national students organization.
   

4. Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA): 1971 (Initially, it was started as Islamic League of North America in 1968)
   

5. Islamic Society of North America (ISNA): 1979

5.         A Unique Wave: The history of Islam in America is not just the story of immigrant Muslims. It is also the wave of conversion of indigenous people. There is also a wrong impression that African Americans were the first to accept Islam. On the contrary, the first recorded American convert to Islam seems to have been a European American, the Reverend Norman, a Methodist missionary. He went to Turkey for missionary work and later he himself became Muslim in the 1870's. The next famous convert is Alexander Russell Webb. He was a journalist and son of a newspaper editor and publisher in Hudson, New York. In 1887, he was posted as American Consul General in the Philippines. From Manila he corresponded with Badaruddin Abdullah Kur, a prominent Indian Muslim official of the Municipal Council of Bombay and in the process he converted to Islam in 1891. He resigned his diplomatic service, toured India and met Muslim leaders and scholars for two months. He returned to New York in early 1893 and founded an organization in the same year called, American Islamic Propaganda Movement. He wrote three books and articles on Islam. He established seven branches called, Circles of the Muslim Brotherhood, in the East Coast and Mid-Western cities. He died in 1916.

Before Webb's death, Islam began to emerge as a religious and nationalistic phenomenon amongst the African Americans. Following are the early and major Muslim communities established by and for mainly African Americans:

1. Moorish Science Temple 1913

2. Universal Islamic Society 1926

3. Islamic Brotherhood 1928

4. Nation of Islam 1930

5. Islamic Mission Society 1939

Some of the great and very well known Muslim personalities came on the horizon through these indigenous Islamic movements. Most notably are:

Muhammad Ali: 
The most admired of the world's living Muslims and "Athlete of the Century" by USA Today.

Malcolm X (Shabazz Malik): 
A Muslim role model after entering the mainstream of Islam.

Kareem Abdul Jabbar: 
Basketball legend and Hall of Fame of 1995.

Imam Siraj Wahhaj: 
An orator and motivational Islamic personality.

Warith Deen Muhammad: 
Muslim leader who brought Nation of Islam into the mainstream Islam.

Major Accomplishments

Muslims have accomplished a lot in terms of establishing their institutions particularly religious, educational and charity needs. For instance:

• There are 1,600+ Mosques in the U.S.
  

• More than 160 full time Islamic schools.
  

• 200,000+ Muslim businesses from corner stores to big corporations.
  

• Three Muslim run universities and the world's first live, Internet based Islamic University.
  

• More than two dozen professional, national relief and political/advocacy organizations.
  

• Over 7,000 Muslims in the U.S. armed forces.
  

• Very impressive attendance in the yearly conventions.
  

• Good quality magazines, books and multi media products are coming out regularly in the U.S. on Islam and Muslims.

The Current State of the Muslim Community

In one line: In the shadow of the September 11 tragedy, mere existence of the Muslims here is threatened. Apart from this great shock and wrenching experience, the Muslim community has been confused and direction-less even before 9/11. Let's see some data only about Islamic education, which gives us a reality check:

• Every year, there are thousands of Muslim students who are graduating from colleges and universities in the United States and Canada but only 10% of them are involved in some Islamic activity after their graduation.
  

• Despite more than 160+ full time Islamic schools and more than 1,500 Sunday Islamic schools, less than 12% Muslim children have the opportunity to attend these Islamic institutions.
  

• Islamic education for Muslim converts is almost nonexistent. It is not surprising that 40% or more of those who convert to Islam revert back to old ways or are alienated due to lack of proper Islamic education and support.
  

• For non-Muslims there is no formal access to learn about Islam.

This grim picture is not just about the Islamic education. In every human affair Muslims are far behind, whether it is civic life, national political science, electronic and print media, governmental affairs, academic scholarship, or Da'wah activities. Muslims cry for unity but everyday Muslims are dividing in small pockets based on ideologies, nationalities, Madhahib (schools of thought), and linguistic divisions. Even Muslims are building the Houses of Allah (Masajid) rationalizing these pitiful divisions.

A Wakeup Call

These happenings and particularly the events after 9/11 should not scare, frustrate, or depress Muslims. Rather Muslims should take them as a wake up call and come up with a solid program to counter the adverse impacts.

One single organization or group cannot meet the current and future challenges and tap the potential and opportunities in North America. On the other hand, the dream of Muslim Unity won't be materialized in the near future. However, Muslims can do the following and achieve a lot in the long run, Insha Allah.

An Important Suggestion

To find a comprehensive and lasting solution to our dilemmas, Muslim leadership should call upon a meeting (retreat) and if needed more than one, where leaders of major groups and organizations, Islamic scholars and activists, in an unemotional mode, sincerely and seriously discuss the major burning issues, including:

1. What is the vision of Islamic work in North America for the next 10 to 25 years?
   

2. What are the targets and strategies to achieve our goals?
   

3. How should we develop and enhance Islamic educational institutions?
   

4. How to empower Muslim community economically?
   

5. What should be the role of the Muslim community in participating in North American civic, social, political, and governmental affairs?
   

6. What and how to utilize the talents of our youth and women?
   

7. How to share the teachings and message of Islam with the followers of other faiths?

We should divide the spheres of work among Muslim organizations/groups so that we become specialized in our respective areas of expertise and avoid duplication and wastage of resources. These organizations/groups should form an alliance to coordinate and follow up their activities.

In Conclusion:  If we Muslims do not come to some kind of consensus about our vision and methodology of Islamic work on a broader scale and assume that a single group or organization will be able to lead the Muslim community in North America, then we live in a fool's paradise. We will continue to lose our assets, the young Muslims.  The unnecessary bickering and lack of direction of Islamic work is damaging the very roots of the Muslim community in North America.

June / July 2002