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The Rise of Islam in America
Mrs. Ivan Yazbik Haddad the professor of the History of Islam in the University of Massachusetts as well as editor- in – chief of the Journal of "the world of Islam" and Mrs. Adirta Lumiss the researcher of the Religious and Social Researches Center of the Hartford have performed deep and constant studies in connection with the religion. Both of them as the researchers have studied for two years upon the Muslim migrants, their children as well as their grand children in the United States of America. In the meantime they have carried-out Joint researches which the outcomes of their Joint research have been published by two organizations respectively: one of them called the Center of the Religious and Islamic Studies and the Relationships between Islam and Christianity known as "Dunkan palk Mac Donald " and another one, the Religious Studies Center entitled "the Development of the Religious Values in the United States of America".
These two researchers believe that today Islam has been converted into a brilliant phenomenon in the United States of America, a phenomenon that previously was supposed as a method of life particular to the Arabs and a religious belief alien with the Jewish and Christian religions. Now it has reached to such a vastness and power which should be looked as a dominate religious movement, a movement which rapidly is developing.
At present in the United States of America there are acting more than 600 mosques and the Islamic religious centers even though there are witnessed many differences among the people who claim that they are American Muslims, nevertheless the statistic which has been presented by the various researcher shows a figure between two up to three million. Of course the rate of birth among the Muslims, the increasing conversion of a great number of the non- Muslims to Islam and the wave of migration of the Muslims to the United States of America (annually almost 25 up to 30 thousands people) show that in the first decade of twenty first century in all likelihood the number of the Muslims in the United States of America will reach to a number which after Christians they will constitute the biggest religious minority in this country.
The categorizing of the North American Muslims:
The Muslims of the North America could be divided into two specific groups:
The migrants and the natives. The first group include the persons that either they themselves or their fathers or fore fathers have migrated to this land from the other points of the world. The students of the universities could be put to this group.
The biggest figure in this group belongs to the Lebanese but as a whole there could be seen 60 nationalities in this group particularly Pakistani, Iranian, Afghan, Turk and the Muslims of the Eastern Europe.
The second group meaning the native Muslims which mainly include the African Muslims residing in the United States of America who are citizens of this country and gradually have been converted to Islam. The number of them at present is almost 75 thousands people and every day their number is being increased.
The establishment of the Federation of the Islamic Associations:
The first mosques and the religious centers in the United States of America were established by the individuals and groups with the purpose of gathering and probing the Muslims’ religious and social needs in any regions and their activities were restricted to the specific area. After a generation there was established a kind of federation from a number of the mosques and the religious center but not very strong with the purpose of creating relationships and solidarity among the regions and the various states which as usual it was initially carried-out by the Lebanese. This federation today is known as the Federation of the Islamic Associations, which its headquarters is located in Detroit, the capital city of the state of Michigan. It is notable that from 1960 in addition to this federation also the other Islamic organizations have been established gradually with the support from abroad that follow the same goals.
The aforesaid organizations today have very important role with respect to the various activates of the Islamic mosques and centers. Among these organizations there could be indicated “the World Union of the Muslims” which its headquarters is located in the holy Mecca. This union has a local office (Bureau) in the United States of America which has initiated the formation of "the Council of the Mosques" that so for 70 mosques have membership in it. The main activities of this council are as the provision of budget for establishing the mosques, dispensation of holy Quran as well as the religious teaching pamphlets.
The another active group from the Muslims includes "the Islamic Community of North America" which has been established recently which has two organizations under the banner of its support such as "the Islamic Communities of America, and the Students Islamic Associations". This community has hundreds branches and local offices throughout the United States of America. The Students Islamic Association which has branches in many of the universities is a very active forum which has undertaken the responsibility of the provision, dissemination and distribution of the Islamic books and pamphlets and its members are known as the fundamentalist Muslims.
The reforms in the structure, the mode of organizing and the leadership of the Islamic groups in the United States of America:
In the two past decades there took place main changes in the structure and leadership of the entire Islamic groups existing in the United States. There were inflicted new pressures from inside and outside upon the Muslim migrants who inevitably covered- out a number of reforms on the mode of their formation as well as organizational management.
Previously, the Muslim migrants usually used to gather around one another in the shape of the small groups and mostly in the matrix of social and ethnical clubs in the shape of a religious organization. These small groups have entirely fixed themselves with the cultural framework of American society and such as the other religious groups they had adjusted themselves with the American life method. In the recent years the personalities affiliated to the mosques and Islamic religious centers with the firm decision have revised upon the issue of the Islamic leadership and through appointing of the educated individuals under the title of the congregational prayer Imam of the mosques they have given new colures to their activities.
The present migrant Muslims on the contrary of the initial emigrant Muslims are the educated individuals who hold the university grades. At present in the American Islamic community the percent of the educated Muslims in comparison is more than the entire Islamic communities throughout the world.
A plentiful number of the Muslims, residing in the United States of America, in the recent years have acquired new tracings from Islam. This has been carried out by the Islamic Community of North America, which its goal is guiding the American Muslims towards a life compatible with the Islamic teachings. This organization wants to teach the Muslims that within the framework of a completely materialistic life how there can be maintained the Islamic values.
Undoubtedly the recent events and the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran have deeply impacted upon the American Islamic Communities and they belief in that, bounding to the Islamic teachings is the sole way of victory and acquirement of power for the Islamic countries and based on it as well as taking into consideration the revolutionary powers of Islam in line with mobilizing the deprived grass roots of the Islamic nations who are under the oppression and cruelty of the arrogant powers. Thus the Governmental of U.S.A is intensive in anxiety and afraid with respect to the logic of Islam hence in the case of happening any incident or events in that country they promptly and automatically condemn the Muslims to the terror and destruction! While they know well that the dignity of Islam is the school of logic and dialogue, and its basis is on the basis of peace and Justice and it is harbinger of philanthropy.
The wave of migration of the Muslims to the United States of American in five phases:
The migration of the Muslims to the country of the United States of America took place in five specific phases in the shape of five extensive waves.
The first wave of the migration is relevant to 1875 up to 1919. Those migrants were Arabs who in the era of the Ottoman Empire had expatriated their own countries in the rural areas of the Arabic countries such as Syria, Jordan. Palestine and Lebanon who most of them were illiterate. The migrant Muslims who have migrated to the United States in the above mentioned years which was due to the stagnation in the Middle East hoped to reach to the financial and welfare break through same as the Lebanese Christians who had previously migrated to that country. A number of them after gaining the required incomes had returned to their own homelands but another group of them remained in the United States of America and founded the Muslim communities in the various points of that country.
Owing to the illiteracy of this group as well as their lack of proficiency in English they merely were able to work in the factories or mines or be active in the shape of the tradesmen, shop keeping, or retailers. Because they used to work in the industrial areas they didn’t have enough time to become familiar or acquainted with the Americans and the most associations of them were merely with the Muslims as well as their fellow-country men.
The second wave of migration took place in 1918 up to 1922 which means after the First World War. Those migrants were mostly from the urban areas that had somehow a kind of kinship or bonds with those who had previously been settled in the United States of America. Those Muslims had petrifaction in the release of Syria from the hegemony of the Ottoman Empire and they wished one day the English and French laws and regulations be ruling upon their country.
The third wave of the migration is relevant to 1930 up to 1938 because in those years U.S. A authorized the migration of the relatives and kinsmen of the migrant to that country.
The fourth wave of the migration took place over a span of between years 1947 up to 1960. That huge wave of migration not only brought the migrants from the Middle East to the United States of America but also from India, Pakistan, Eastern Europe, Former Soviet Union and the other Islamic regions which it dispatched innumerable migrants towards the United States of America.
In the recent wave innumerable leaders of the origin countries who were mostly educated and holding the university degrees and the westernized intelligentsia had presence along with their families and children.
Their influx towards the United States of America was with the purpose of migrants as refugees and with the aim of accessing to the better life, higher education, advanced technology as well as the noble opportunities for progress also upgrading their thoughts.
The wave of migrant began from 1967 and at present also continues. In addition to the economic reasons, the political necessities also are reckoned as the main factors For example in this era the strife between the Israelis and the Arabs and the successive defeats of the Arab nations owing to the treasons and disabilities of their leaders which inflicted many hurts to the personalities and the identity of the Arabs had an important role.
The attention of the people to the World to Islam:
One of the contemporary realities is the presence of Islam in the entire points of the world. Every where of the world the Muslim minorities have been formed and today the attention of the inhabitants of the world have been focused on this point that not only Islam has presence in the societies such as China and former Soviet Union but also in the far countries such as Japan, Australia and South of the Africa Continent which in them also are witnessed active Muslims. Also there exist coherent Islamic communities in the most of the nations such as Germany, Belgium, France, England also in the north and South of America. Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) is consisting of 53 delegations from 53 Islamic countries which covers almost the entire world of Islam and feels responsibility towards the life situation of the Muslims minorities throughout the world and is interested about their status.
Quarrel of the American politicians with Islam:
The biased politicians as well as the prejudiced researchers of the western countries have attempted to separate Islam from the Christian and Jewish religions so that they have proclaimed Islam is a faith alien with the two already mentioned religions and there is no relationship between the legacy, in the religious researches and studies which have been carried-out with the Americans and are being carried-out the repeated usage of the word of (Jewish-Christian) in describing the Heavenly Religions have a main purpose which is the isolation of Islam and separating it from the other Divine Religions. The governmental officials of U.S.A through this plan and the other similar acts are attempting to ostracize the Muslims with the followers of the other religions from the multi-religious and multinational society of America. Without considering that this action is intentional or unintentional is keeping away the Muslims in participation in the future structure of the American society.
Indignation of the Americans against Islam have caused the intellect also this land are either entirely remain ignorant about Islam or Judge about it improperly, nevertheless the future belonged to Islam even though it be in the United States of America because a great number of the migrants who have recently arrived in that country are intensively worried about a problem which is the lechery and disturbance of ethical yardsticks ruling upon the society of America.
The excess statistics usage of drugs, prostitution warmongering of the American governmental authorities, nakedness of the women and eradicating the indecency of the sexual problems which they attribute these corruptions to the Christianity because the initial of this religion have been obliterated and they believe in there does exist any thing worthy of imitating in the United States of America.
Footnotes:
1- The following books have been published from her so far:
- Women, religion and the social changes (in collaboration with Ellison Fondly)
- The strike of Islam (in collaboration with Byron Hains and Ellison Fondly)
- The point of view of Islam concerning the death, and the resurrection day (in collaboration with Joan Smith)
2- Her main work is: The women and the veil
3- For further formation the interested ones can refer to the following essays:
- The essay of Dr. Raghib-al- Zaman entitle “the Muslims of the United States of America including resident and gusset” containing in the year book of AAPSS/1891
- The American Encyclopedia with respect to the ethnical groups. Publication no891, Cambridge has various articles a bout the Muslims groups of the United States of America.
- The expense of Islam in the United States of America written in the link Journal, 12th year, resign no.4.
- The book entitled "the Arabic language group in the cities of the United States of America" written by Barbara from the publications relevant to the migration, New York 4791
- The book entitled "the Muslim Arabs in the United states of America" written by Abdullah-al- Quli from the university publications of new meson
- The book entitled "the Arab Americans: a number of studies with respect to the assimilate of the ethnical groups" written by Aalin Manchurian and Ann Paden.
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