[BITList] Two Viewpoints

[John Feltham]

G'day,

Two separate views on Muslims, the first from India, the second from  
the US.




 >>>>>>>>Clearly, many Americans are convinced Muslim Americans pose  
some kind of threat to American society.\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Muslim's Track Record proves them to be what they are perceived as ?

Islamic World domination & application of Shariah Worldwide, is this a  
NON Islamic Affirmation ?

Not ONLY Americans, Whole NON Muslim World perceives Muslims as threat  
to their way of Life

: 1. Having migrated - nobody brought them in chains from wherever.
They want to impose their 'Way of Life' on their hosts ?
or else Kill & Bomb them?

2. Demand application of Shariah on a Non Muslim World ?
Do they Care about Non Muslim's Rights ?

3. People & Govts instead of Collective Action believe their Self  
inflicteddelusions, of Peaceful Minority or Majority; whatever.

 >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>





Muslims in America

Jen'nan Ghazal Read* | Contexts Magazine | Fall 2008

http://www.reflecti oncafe.net/ 2009/03/muslims- in-america. html

Recent national polls find that four in 10 Americans have an  
unfavorable view of Islam, five in 10 believe Islam is more likely  
than other religions to encourage violence, and six in 10 believe  
Islam is very different from their own religion. All this despite the  
fact that seven in 10 admit they know very little about Islam. And yet  
Americans rank Muslims second only to atheists as a group that doesn’t  
share their vision of American society.

These fears have had consequences. In 2001, the U.S. Department of  
Justice recorded a 1,600 percent increase in anti-Muslim hate crimes  
from the prior year, and these numbers rose 10 percent between 2005  
and 2006. The Council on American-Islamic Relations processed 2,647  
civil rights complaints in 2006, a 25 percent increase from the prior  
year and a 600 percent increase since 2000. The largest category  
involved complaints against U.S. government agencies (37 percent).

Clearly, many Americans are convinced Muslim Americans pose some kind  
of threat to American society.

Two widespread assumptions fuel these fears. First, that there’s only  
one kind of Islam and one kind of Muslim, both characterized by  
violence and anti-democratic tendencies.. Second, that being a Muslim  
is the most salient identity for Muslim Americans when it comes to  
their political attitudes and behaviors, that it trumps their social  
class position, national origin, racial/ethnic group membership, or  
gender—or worse, that it trumps their commitment to a secular democracy.

In 2001, the U.S. Department of Justice recorded a 1,600 percent  
increase in anti-Muslim hate crimes from the prior year. Most  
complaints involved U.S. government agencies.

Research on Muslim Americans themselves supports neither of these  
assumptions. Interviews with 3,627 Muslim Americans in 2001 and 2004  
by the Georgetown University Muslims in the American Public Square  
(MAPS) project and 1,050 Muslim Americans in 2007 by the Pew Research  
Center show that Muslim Americans are diverse, well-integrated, and  
largely mainstream in their attitudes, values, and behaviors.

The data also show that being a Muslim is less important for politics  
than how Muslim you are, how much money you make, whether you’re an  
African-American Muslim or an Arab-American Muslim, and whether you’re  
a man or a woman.

The notion that Muslims privilege their Muslim identity over their  
other interests and affiliations has been projected onto the group  
rather than emerged from the beliefs and practices of the group  
itself. It’s what sociologists call a social construction, and it’s  
one that has implications for how these Americans are included in the  
national dialog.

some basic demographics
Let’s start with who Muslim Americans really are. While size estimates  
of the population range anywhere from 2 million to 8 million, there is  
general agreement on the social and demographic characteristics of the  
community.

Muslim Americans are the most ethnically diverse Muslim population in  
the world, originating from more than 80 countries on four continents.  
Contrary to popular belief, most are not Arab. Nearly one-third are  
South Asian, one-third are Arab, one-fifth are U.S.-born black Muslims  
(mainly converts), and a small but growing number are U.S.-born Anglo  
and Hispanic converts. Roughly two-thirds are immigrants to the United  
States, but an increasing segment is second- and third-generation,  
U.S.-born Americans. The vast majority of immigrants have lived in the  
United States for 10 or more years.

Muslim Americans also tend to be highly educated, politically  
conscious, and fluent in English, all of which reflects the  
restrictive immigration policies that limit who gains admission into  
the United States. On average, in fact, Muslim Americans share similar  
socioeconomic characteristics with the general U.S. population: one- 
fourth has a bachelor’s degree or higher, one-fourth lives in  
households with incomes of $75,000 per year or more, and the majority  
are employed. However, some Muslims do live in poverty and have poor  
English language skills and few resources to improve their situations.

One of the most important and overlooked facts about Muslim Americans  
is that they are not uniformly religious and devout. Some are  
religiously devout, some are religiously moderate, and some are non- 
practicing and secular, basically Muslim in name only, similar to a  
good proportion of U.S. Christians and Jews. Some attend a mosque on a  
weekly basis and pray every day, and others don’t engage in either  
practice. Even among the more religiously devout, there is a sharp  
distinction between being a good Muslim and being an Islamic extremist.

None of this should be surprising. Many Muslim Americans emigrated  
from countries in the Middle East (now targeted in the war on terror)  
in order to practice—or not practice—their religion and politics more  
freely in the United States. And their religion is diverse. There is  
no monolithic Islam that all Muslims adhere to. Just as Christianity  
has many different theologies, denominations, and sects, so does  
Islam. And just like Christianity, these theologies, denominations,  
and sects are often in conflict and disagreement over how to interpret  
and practice the faith tradition. This diversity mimics other ethnic  
and immigrant groups in the United States.

Remaining article can be read at: http://www.reflecti oncafe.net/  
2009/03/muslims- in-america. html

*Jen'nan Ghazal Read is in the sociology department and global heath
institute at Duke University. She is a Carnegie scholar studying the
economic, political, and cultural integration of Muslim Americans and  
Arab Americans.

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