Dr. Liyakat Takim University of Denver  The twentieth-century witnessed a dramatic increase in the migration of Muslims to the American shores. In the last century, Islam became an integral part of the American religious landscape and gradually, Muslims became a visible part of the fabric of American society. Even though the Muslim community has been present in America since the late nineteenth century, there was limited integration with non-Muslims before the events of September 11, 2001. agencies. Political and Social Consciousness among American Muslims Dr. Liyakat Takim University of Denver         The twentieth-century witnessed a dramatic increase in the migration of Muslims to the American shores. In the last century, Islam became an integral part of the American religious landscape and gradually, Muslims became a visible part of the fabric of American society. Even though the Muslim community has been present in America since the late nineteenth century, there was limited integration with non-Muslims before the events of September 11, 2001.       However, in the past few years, Muslims have recognized that they cannot afford to live in impregnable, self-contained fortresses and that living in a pluralistic milieu requires an active engagement with the other. The events of September 11 also proved to the American Muslim community, as if any proof was needed, that pluralism in America is a social reality that it cannot escape from. In fact, many Muslims have become more visible, vocal, and extrovert while others have stressed their American rather than homeland identities. This indigenization of American Islam represents a silent revolution that many Muslims have been engaged in since September 2001.       The Muslim community has acknowledged that the silent majority syndrome has to end simply because Muslim acquiesce has encouraged an extremist expression of Islam. It is the extremists who have spoken on behalf of Islam as their acts of violence have drowned the silent voices of the Muslim majority. Furthermore, although many Muslim groups in America have unequivocally denounced the violence perpetrated by Muslim terrorists, their voices and condemnations have been largely ignored by the media. The Construction of an American Islamic Civic Identity       The process of the indigenization of American Islam is intertwined with the construction of a distinctly American Islamic civic identity. This process has expressed itself in different forms. Muslims have joined forces with various peace and anti-racist movements. Muslim groups have also engaged in various social programs like food drives and have sought to help homeless Americans. Non-Muslims have been invited to visit the mosques at their convenience.       American Muslims have recognized the need to express themselves through a properly articulated intellectual discourse, so that they may be both physically and intellectually visible. It is correct to state that the Muslims’ struggle in America has been not only to co-exist with the other, but also to make themselves comprehensible in the American milieu, to de-mythify and de-code Islam and to challenge the negative characterization of Islam.       Especially since September 11, both Muslims and Christians in America have realized that it is better to speak with, rather than about, the other. The increased dialogue and interaction between Muslims and Christians represent a significant paradigm shift, from attempts at conversion of to those of conversation with the other. Rather than focusing on American foreign policy, Muslims now tend to concentrate more on reconstituting their identity as American Muslims. In all probability, this is because as the second generation of Muslims in America identify with and assimilate in American culture, they develop a sense of patriotism leading to a greater politicization of the community and a sense of American national consciousness. Furthermore, Muslims have realized that unless they become more vocal and American, they could become foreigners in their adopted homeland.   Muslim Engagement in American Politics       Upto the late 1970s, most of the immigrant Muslims did not organize or mobilize themselves as a political force within the American universe of political lobbies. However, this attitude changed significantly in the second generation of Muslims because of their greater assimilation into American culture and their adoption of an American identity. In addition, the denigration of Islam and hostility toward Muslims in America demanded a more positive Muslim response.       With the establishment of Muslim civic and political institutions in the 1990s, Muslims became increasingly aware of the US government’s domestic as opposed to foreign policies, especially those which impacted their daily lives. Muslims also concluded that political power can be only be enhanced by the politics of engagement between American Muslims and the political system.       Muslims also realized that the politics of numbers can benefit the community in a positive manner and that the source of power in America lies in the mobilization and institutionalization of statistical advantage i.e., by the channeling of votes, political lobbying, and influencing the views of Senators and Congressmen. As a matter of fact, Muslims have made significant progress in attaining symbolic recognition, perhaps more so than any other group, in the past few years. Since the middle 1980s, several Political Action Committees (PACs) have been established.       As the Muslim community became more visible and vocal in the 1990s, Senators, Congressmen, and even the White House paid increasing attention to the American Muslim community. Muslims were being recognized as an integral part of American society. In the fall of 1995, Vice President Albert Gore became the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit a mosque. President Clinton’s speech on religious freedom on July 12, 1995 acknowledged Muslims several times. Friday prayers are now held regularly in the U.S. Capitol building for Muslim staffers, federal employees, and other Muslims in the area. Since 1998, a crescent and star is displayed on the White House lawn alongside a menorah and Christmas tree. It is important therefore that Muslims in America engage with rather than distance themselves from the mainstream American political and social agencies.

 

< Prev		Next >