March 5, 2006
WORK IN PROGRESS:
A Muslim Leader in Brooklyn, Reconciling 2 Worlds (ANDREA ELLIOTT, 3/05/06, NY Times)
Sheik Reda, as he is called, arrived in Brooklyn one year after Sept. 11. Virtually overnight, he became an Islamic judge and nursery school principal, a matchmaker and marriage counselor, a 24-hour hot line on all things Islamic.Day after day, he must find ways to reconcile Muslim tradition with American life. Little in his rural Egyptian upbringing or years of Islamic scholarship prepared him for the challenge of leading a mosque in America.
The job has worn him down and opened his mind. It has landed him, exhausted, in the hospital and earned him a following far beyond Brooklyn.
"America transformed me from a person of rigidity to flexibility," said Mr. Shata, speaking through an Arabic translator. "I went from a country where a sheik would speak and the people listened to one where the sheik talks and the people talk back."
This is the story of Mr. Shata's journey west: the making of an American imam.
Over the last half-century, the Muslim population in the United States has risen significantly. Immigrants from the Middle East, South Asia and Africa have settled across the country, establishing mosques from Boston to Los Angeles, and turning Islam into one of the nation's fastest growing religions. By some estimates, as many as six million Muslims now live in America.
Leading this flock calls for improvisation. Imams must unify diverse congregations with often-clashing Islamic traditions. They must grapple with the threat of terrorism, answering to law enforcement agents without losing the trust of their fellow Muslims. Sometimes they must set aside conservative beliefs that prevail in the Middle East, the birthplace of Islam.
Islam is a legalistic faith: Muslims believe in a divine law that guides their daily lives, including what they should eat, drink and wear. In countries where the religion reigns, this is largely the accepted way.
But in the West, what Islamic law prohibits is everywhere. Alcohol fills chocolates. Women jog in sports bras. For many Muslims in America, life is a daily clash between Islamic mores and material temptation. At the center of this clash stands the imam.
In America, imams evoke a simplistic caricature — of robed, bearded clerics issuing fatwas in foreign lands. Hundreds of imams live in the United States, but their portrait remains flatly one-dimensional. Either they are symbols of diversity, breaking the Ramadan fast with smiling politicians, or zealots, hurrying into their storefront mosques.
Mr. Shata, 37, is neither a firebrand nor a ready advocate of progressive Islam. Some of his views would offend conservative Muslims; other beliefs would repel American liberals. He is in many ways a work in progress, mapping his own middle ground between two different worlds.
The imam's cramped, curtained office can hardly contain the dramas that unfold inside. Women cry. Husbands storm off. Friendships end. Every day brings soap opera plots and pitch.
A Moroccan woman falls to her knees near the imam's Hewlett-Packard printer. "Have mercy on me!" she wails to a friend who has accused her of theft. Another day, it is a man whose Lebanese wife has concealed their marriage and newborn son from her strict father. "I will tell him everything!" the husband screams.
Mr. Shata settles dowries, confronts wife abusers, brokers business deals and tries to arrange marriages. He approaches each problem with an almost scientific certainty that it can be solved. "I try to be more of a doctor than a judge," said Mr. Shata. "A judge sentences. A doctor tries to remedy."
Imams in the United States now serve an estimated 1,200 mosques. Some of their congregants have lived here for generations, assimilating socially and succeeding professionally. But others are recent immigrants, still struggling to find their place in America. Demographers expect their numbers to rise in the coming decades, possibly surpassing those of American Jews.
Like many of their faithful, most imams in the United States come from abroad. They are recruited primarily for their knowledge of the Koran and the language in which it was revealed, Arabic.
But few are prepared for the test that awaits. Like the parish priests who came generations before, imams are called on to lead a community on the margins of American civic life.
And, as America Reformed the Catholic Church, so too will it Reform Islam. Posted by Orrin Judd at March 5, 2006 8:39 AM
If the American Catholic Church has been "reformed," heaven help us. Literally.
Posted by: ted welter at March 5, 2006 8:49 AM"Demographers expect their numbers to rise in the coming decades, possibly surpassing those of American Jews." According to a 2001 tally, there were already less than 6 million Jews in the USA (see www.jafi.org.il/education/ 100/concepts/demography/demtables.html for the details). With the very low birth rate of American Jews, you can be certain that the numbers of Jews in the USA will continue to fall.
One can only hope that OJ is correct about our "melting pot." Europe replaced its Jewish "problem" with its Muslim "problem."
Think Europe came out ahead?
Europe's problem isn't Muslims. It's secularism. Muslim Europe, even unReformed, will be an improvement.
Posted by: oj at March 5, 2006 9:13 AMEurope's problem is similar to ours in the post Viet Nam era and prior to 9/11. Life is so good for its citizens (and ours) that there is literally nothing worth dying for. Certainly not for g-d or country. I agree that secularism is a major problem but even more so the loss of nationalism.
A Muslim Europe would be 300 more million people willing to die for g-d.
Nationalism is a function of Darwinism/rationalism and part of what killed them off--it makes it impossible to assimilate immigrants.
Posted by: oj at March 5, 2006 9:48 AMPerhaps there wasn't anything worth dying for in the aftermath of the Vietnam debacle, but when we were attacked on 9/11, everything changed and a lot of people thought defending us from terrorism is worth dying for. Those young men and women are out there right now risking their lives for us and our American way of life.
Let all the Moslems who want to be Americans first -- be welcome. All others, please stay where you are or go back where you came from.
We are under no obligation to change to conform to Islamic, or any other religious, laws.
Posted by: erp at March 5, 2006 11:28 AMOkay, kill for and die for.
Posted by: erp at March 5, 2006 1:38 PMNo one much dying for it.
Posted by: oj at March 5, 2006 1:40 PM"And, as America Reformed the Catholic Church, so too will it Reform Islam."
The numbers of American Muslims vs Muslims in the rest of the world is likely to remain too minute to make much difference to Islam beyond US shores.
Posted by: Ali Choudhury at March 5, 2006 2:34 PM"Some of his views would offend conservative Muslims; other beliefs would repel American liberals."
Keep an eye on this. When the NYT writes "Some of his views would offend conservative Muslims; other beliefs would repel MUSLIM liberals", you'll know they have made some progress.
Posted by: Dusty at March 5, 2006 3:50 PMOJ,
Have to differ with you as to kill for rather than die for. Talk to the young men and women who are serving. They are there to defend our country and the rights we have and they will tell you that themselves. They feel we are blessed and they are willing to give up their lives for that. That is a bit different from having someont to kill for rather than someone to die for. Time after time in blog after blog and quote after quote of these young men and women who are our best and brightest they tell you they are there to die if it saves our way of life. Shame you can't see that.
Posted by: dick at March 5, 2006 4:22 PMdick:
Yes, they serve bravely, but our losses are negligible in the WoT.
Posted by: oj at March 5, 2006 4:34 PMWhat I found troubling about the article were the questions not asked, the subjects not broached.
For example:
- What does Mr. Shata think of his co-religionists who want to bring Sharia to the US?
- Will he condemn Muslim terrorists in the West, such as the British subway bombers or the murderer of Van Gogh?
- What about Hamas and Fatah? Does he support Israel's right to exist?
Since mosques don't keep records, how do they know there's 6 million or so? It used to be 1 billion muslims, now some are saying 2 billion.
Unless they're counting the prisons.
I've read that the numbers are inflated so they can be seen with more parity to the Jews.
Posted by: Sandy P. at March 5, 2006 7:44 PMLet all the Moslems who want to be Americans first -- be welcome. All others, please stay where you are or go back where you came from.
I was born in the US. I consider myself Muslim first. Where should I go? Islam helps me to obey the law of the land. However, this piece of land defined by borders which I accidentally happened to be born into is not who I am nor does it define me.
We are under no obligation to change to conform to Islamic, or any other religious, laws.
And no one wants you to. We just ask for respect all around.
What does Mr. Shata think of his co-religionists who want to bring Sharia to the US?
Terrorism is caused by Invasion and Occupation. Not religion.
Will he condemn Muslim terrorists in the West, such as the British subway bombers or the murderer of Van Gogh?
They are already condemned. Honestly, people need to stop expecting Muslims to jump through hoops to satisfy their ignorance.
What about Hamas and Fatah? Does he support Israel's right to exist?
Why is Israel always judged by "it's right to exist" and not through a framework of law? If Israel were to conform to International Law and give the Palestinians the Right of Return, Israel as a viable state would cease to exist. But hey, we are not interested in justice, we are interested in "Israel's right to exist".
Peace.
Posted by: Shukri Shiraz at March 7, 2006 10:28 AMLet all the Moslems who want to be Americans first -- be welcome. All others, please stay where you are or go back where you came from.
I was born in the US. I consider myself Muslim first. Where should I go? Islam helps me to obey the law of the land. However, this piece of land defined by borders which I accidentally happened to be born into is not who I am nor does it define me.
We are under no obligation to change to conform to Islamic, or any other religious, laws.
And no one wants you to. We just ask for respect all around.
What does Mr. Shata think of his co-religionists who want to bring Sharia to the US?
Terrorism is caused by Invasion and Occupation. Not religion.
Will he condemn Muslim terrorists in the West, such as the British subway bombers or the murderer of Van Gogh?
They are already condemned. Honestly, people need to stop expecting Muslims to jump through hoops to satisfy their ignorance.
What about Hamas and Fatah? Does he support Israel's right to exist?
Why is Israel always judged by "it's right to exist" and not through a framework of law? If Israel were to conform to International Law and give the Palestinians the Right of Return, Israel as a viable state would cease to exist. But hey, we are not interested in justice, we are interested in "Israel's right to exist".
Peace.
Posted by: Shukri Shiraz at March 7, 2006 10:30 AMThe concern over Muslims is one of tribalism - if push comes to shove and the US finds itself at war with various Muslim nations, which side do American Muslims choose - ours or their co-religionists? It is not wrong for non-Muslims to be worried about this and look for reassurances. In an immigrant country, this transfer of loyalties is especially important. And while the average Muslim American on the street may feel they have nothing to prove, the fact is that foreigners seem to control many of the Muslim-American organizations and mosques through their money.
I must disagree with Shukri Shiraz that Muslims should not jump through hoops to satisfy people's ignorance. As a minority and relative newcomer to America, Muslims should realize that new immigrants are always held to higher scrutiny until loyalty is proven. To feel otherwise, I suggest, is to be lazy and arrogant to your countrymen.
In any event, Muslims have gotten off much more lightly than Germans did in 1914-1918 or Japanese in 1941-45. The response of Japanese-Americans in WWII to their own internment was the Nisei battalion, the most decorated unit in WWII. There has been no similar display of loyalty by Muslim Americans. I don't think the same opportunity has been there for Muslims now, but needless to say after such actions, the loyalty of Japanese-Americans was proved and people's fears were put to rest forever. Muslims need something similar to permanently assuage the concerns of others.
I think one of the major problems is that the Muslim American leadership has not adequately communicated loyalty to the rest of America. There seems to be a stock answer to concerns, such as "Islam is a religion of peace." But non-Muslims are not looking for apologetics. We are looking for affirmation and demonstration of loyalty. Some of this expectation is no doubt unfair, but given the dialogue out there by Islamic extremists, it is understandable.
Also, Kirk Parker's first question was about Sharia. Shukri Sihiraz's answer of "Terrorism is caused by Invasion and Occupation. not religion." is a non-sequiter. It does not answer the question.
Incidentally, even if the question was about terrorism, the answer does not explain Islamic terrorism in Algeria, Thailand, the Phillipines, or Russia. Nor does it distinguish between terrorism in Israel versus the non-violent approach of Tibetan Buddhists, the African National Congress, or Gandhi against colonialism and occupation. To ignore the role of Islam in the actions of Islamic terrorists is to be disingenious and reduces your credibility when speaking of other issues involving Islam.
Posted by: Chris Durnell at March 7, 2006 1:33 PMMr. Shiraz, if you aren't American first and are here only because of an accident of birth, then you are free to go anywhere on earth where they value being Muslim above all other things, and I, for one, hope you will go sooner rather than later.
You have been given the greatest gift of all, American citizenship. That you value it so little shows that such an honor was wasted on you and I only wish you could trade with people risking their lives trying to get here from all the corners of the globe.
Go with God.
Posted by: erp at March 7, 2006 5:57 PMThe concern over Muslims is one of tribalism - if push comes to shove and the US finds itself at war with various Muslim nations, which side do American Muslims choose - ours or their co-religionists?
"O ye who believe! stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even as against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin..." Quran 4:135
As can be seen from above, our stand is with justice, whether that be with the Muslims or against them.
the fact is that foreigners seem to control many of the Muslim-American organizations and mosques through their money.
I have worked for a major Islamic organization that runs several Mosques in the area. I currently work for a Muslim charity organization and have volunteered for many other American Muslim organizations. They have all at one point or another received foreign funding. In NO instance has the funder had any say about the organization or it's direction. As for the dire predictions and allegations by Freedom House and other Islamophobic haters, they are easily exposed.
As a minority and relative newcomer to America, Muslims should realize that new immigrants are always held to higher scrutiny until loyalty is proven.
Hmm...I didn't know that. But think about it: there are 6 million Muslims in the US. Any intelligent person who does a little bit of research can easily see that most Muslims are law-abiding and GOOD citizens of this country. Most people who've actually met Muslims know this already.
I mean, isn't it reasonable to assume that most people (of ANY significant group) are good people? Should I assume that most Americans are unreasonable and irrational and hence need this explained to them in an A-Z guide? I think most are capable of thinking for themselves. :)
Muslims need something similar to permanently assuage the concerns of others.
The only ones concerned about loyalty are those who don't know Muslims personally or for very long. What is the solution? Go to your local mosque, introduce yourself to the Imam and get to know them. Find a mosque here: www.islamic-finder.org
Or you might read the Primary Obligations of a Muslim
More later, insha Allah, God willing.
Peace.
Posted by: Shukri Shiraz at March 8, 2006 3:25 AM"[Islamic terrorism in Algeria?]"
Answer: A result of the Algerian-French ending of the 1991 Democratic elections in which the Islamic Salvation Party was guaranteed a win.
Thailand
the Phillipines
Answer: Don't know yet. Will research.
Russia
Anyway, I believe it is convincingly obvious that terrorism is caused by War and Occupation and pretty much nothing else.
Peace.
Posted by: Shukri Shiraz at March 8, 2006 3:42 AMTo ignore the role of Islam in the actions of Islamic terrorists is to be disingenious and reduces your credibility when speaking of other issues involving Islam.
Islam condemns terrorism and if you wish to believe the above fallacy, then you owe it to yourself to read this through and through.
--
if you aren't American first and are here only because of an accident of birth, then you are free to go anywhere on earth where they value being Muslim above all other things,
What is an "American" according to you? Someone defined by culture? By religion? By ethnicity? Please do tell...either way, my Islam is perfectly compatible with living in this country. I'm sorry that you have a problem with that.
Peace.
Posted by: Shukri Shiraz at March 8, 2006 10:38 PM