Being Muslim in America

By Anastacia Mott Austin

Muslims in America, just like people of any other religious faith, will tell you they run the gamut from those who don’t practice their faith at all, to those who are devout, to those on the extreme end of the pendulum.

Muslims, also called followers of Islam, (the word Islam means "surrender to God") believe that Allah is the one true God, and that his message to the faithful has been passed down through Muhammad the prophet.

Islam is the second largest religion on the planet, behind Christianity. Yet while the Christian faith loses followers every year, Islam is gaining.

Muslims practice the "five pillars of Islam," which are five tenets they are required to follow. In addition, they also follow the guidelines set forth by "sharia," or Islamic law.

The five pillars include Shahadah, or the profession of faith; Salah, prayer; Zakah, giving alms; Sawm, or fasting during the religious holiday of Ramadan; and Hajj, or a pilgrimage to the holy Mecca.

The Shahadah is a recitation of belief (perhaps similar to the Christian Lord’s Prayer), which is as follows – in English – "I testify that there is no god but Allah, and I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah." This statement is recited often and is considered the foundation of the Muslim faith.

Salah is a prayer that is performed at five set times during the day. In Muslim countries, a call to prayer is announced at those fixed times, and everyone prays then. The salah is required to be performed while facing the direction of Mecca, and is seen as a time for personal connection to Allah, a time for giving voice to gratitude. If it’s not possible to stop one’s activities at the fixed time, then it’s permissible to utter the salah wherever one happens to be at the moment.

Zakah is the practice of sharing wealth with those less fortunate and is seen as a requirement for all Muslims, who wish to balance any financial inequality with others.

Sawm is the practice of fasting, most often observed during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. During this month, Muslims are expected to fast from dawn until dusk, in order to achieve a closer connection with Allah. Similar in ways to the Christian practice of lent, Muslims are supposed to be more aware of their other sins during this time as well and try to be mindful of getting along with others, and refraining from feelings of anger, greed, envy, etc. The Ramadan fast is also intended to give a better awareness of those who are hungry.

Hajj is a journey or pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca. And while not everyone is expected to make this journey every year, each Muslim should make the pilgrimage at least once during his or her lifetime.

For followers of Islam living in primarily Muslim countries, these practices are relatively simple to abide by, as the majority of the populace is Muslim also.

Not so in America. A predominantly Christian country by religion, and certainly culturally based upon Christianity, it can be challenge to be a Muslim in the United States these days.

There are between 2-7 million Muslim Americans. Islam now makes up the third largest religious group in the United States, behind Christianity and Judaism.

Though purported to be the land of religious toleration, American Muslims report that especially since the 9/11 attacks, tolerance has sometimes been in short supply.

In addition to finding challenges in the structure of American culture that does not allow for practices such as a five-times daily prayer, for example, Muslims here find frustration in not having understanding for their own religious holidays and practices.

And while Muslims born in this country can sometimes incorporate the decidedly American interpretation of Christian holidays such as Christmas and Easter, those born in other countries who have moved here sometimes find themselves and their children isolated on those holidays during which seemingly everyone around them celebrates whether or not they identify themselves as Christian.

Says one American Muslim, originally from Somalia, "It’s hard to be immersed in American culture with its Christian focus, even though I know that culture and religion are two separate things. It’s easy to confuse them, but you have to remember that misinterpretation can come from not being able to tell the difference. Misunderstandings of Muslims often happen that way."

She referred to the fact that in some Arab countries, women are required to cover themselves, but that is not true of all countries where Islam is the primary religion, so a cultural confusion then results, often helped by misinformed media.

Muslim Americans say that since 9/11, the common interpretation among their neighbors is that Islam=terrorism. And that’s frustrating.

As one blogger on a discussion board about Muslims wrote, "As long as we put all Muslims in one class we shall never overcome the widening abyss that is separating us. This is not a war on Muslims it is a war on ‘terrorism’ and not all Muslims are terrorists. Thinking like that would be like believing all blonde people are stupid or all Italians are great lovers or all black people are great dancers or all Germans are Nazis."

And not all Muslims are the same. Just as with Christianity or Judaism, it’s easy to find those who are religiously devout and live by their beliefs every day, and it’s just as easy to find those who only attend church on holidays. It’s unfortunately also simple to find fundamentalist extremists in just about any faith, even those who would kill for their cause. And those people are not representative of their religion as a whole, either.

As the Somali Muslim woman says, it’s important for people of all faiths to not judge each other based on the extreme examples. "The Q’uran does not condone killing, and I don’t understand why people would kill each other if their religion is criticized," adding that Islam is a religion of peace.