Mosques in America - Research Paper Example

Mosques in America Introduction If one takes a close look at the civilization that was formed by humans, one can not help noticing that religion plays an extremely important role in it. Indeed, the origins of it can be traced to the very dawn of society. While in the primitive times, religion often was seen as a way to explain natural phenomena, as the mankind evolved this area of social life became much more complicated and now tried to satisfy other needs of the people, such as guidance through the difficulties of life. Another point that should mentioned is that many centuries ago, communities all over the world primarily practiced their own local spiritual traditions and there was no world religions as we can see nowadays. However with the emergence of Christianity and Islam, the technological development, particularly in the area of transportation and distribution of ideas, people started moving around the world more intensively, settling in other countries and bringing their religion with them. As a result, the societies which used to be homogeneous in terms of ethnicity and religion now included foreign elements. At the present moment this phenomenon can be easily observed world wide. It may be necessary to narrow the analysis down to a particular religion and country to perform a detailed examination of the issue. Thus, this paper will show mosques in the United States of America feature a considerable number of peculiarities which can be explained by the relationship between this country and the Arab world. Statistical dimension of Islam in the United States The population of Muslims To begin with, it may be particularly important to pay attention to those who visit mosques, namely the believers. According to a recent study, it is suggested that the number of Muslims in the United States may be underestimated. Indeed, it has been pointed out that only a million and a half people who live in America are to be seen as followers of Islam; however, it was found that Eid Prayer which is one of the major holidays in the Islamic world was attended by over two and a half million people in 2011 (Bagby, 2011, p. 4). It is quite obvious that this number may not be used as a rough estimation, but it surely casts a shadow on the previous estimates. There is no doubt that during census people might not have stated their religion or did not take part in it at all. However, one should put emphasis on the fact that the presence of Muslims in the United States is surely being underestimated. This holds important implications when it comes to the number of mosques as well as their value since there more there are Muslims, the more mosques they would like to build to pray it. If the public fails to acknowledge the actual population of the followers of Islam, then it may be surprised by the actual state of affairs that it will find itself in. The number of mosques One would make no mistake that unlike other religious traditions, Islam has rather strict requirements for a mosque. However, those who are willing to establish one often find ways to adhere to the above mentioned rules and regulations so that the location would not be seen as an obstacle. That is why it may be quite significant to analyze the number of mosques that can be found in the United States. It was estimated that the first decade of the new millennium is marked by a rapid growth of mosques in the country. Thus, in 2000 there were only slightly more than one thousand and two hundred buildings, but in ten years time this number nearly doubled as did the number of Muslims (Bukhari, 2004, p. 302). This is a rather peculiar phenomenon since one of the most significant events on the new millennium is the attack of Islamic terrorists on the World Trade Center: an act which was justified by the verses of Quran. That is why it would be rather logical to expect that the public would turn hostile to the Muslims which will be reflected in the rate of growth of mosques. However, the evidence appears to be quite the opposite: the recent decade has been one of the most productive ones in terms of mosque building. Keeping in mind that the latter process is likely to strengthen Muslim communities all over the country, the increase in their role should be expected in the future. “Young” mosques Islam has been recognized as world religion for many centuries. That is why one can easily find mosques in the world that go back to early Middle Ages. However, the age of the American mosques is relatively modest. Indeed, it is highly improbable that the early British colonists would bring Islam with them. As a result, the emergence of the Islamic element of the American nation should be searched some centuries later. Indeed, immigrants from Muslim countries did appear much later in history; so, the peak of building mosques in the United States can be witnessed in the second half of the twentieth century as many were established (Haddad, 1994, p. 238); nevertheless, it does not mean in the first half there were significant mosques built. For example, the oldest mosque is found in the city of Ross, North Dakota, and goes back to 1929, while the oldest still standing building is called Mother Mosque of America and is five years older, erected in 1934 ("The Mother Mosque Of America", n.d.). Thus, there are virtually no mosques that are dated earlier than that time. This might be explained by historical events that were observed in America. First of all, Muslim immigrants had to integrate into the society in order to truly become a part of it. Secondly, there had to give birth to children and increase the overall population. Finally, Muslims immigrants had to secure a stable source of income since establishing a church is a rather expensive process. So, the combination of the above mentioned factors was able to contribute to the emergence of mosques only in the second half of the twentieth century. Therefore, this might be recognized as an important threshold in the development of the Muslim community in the United States since it proved to be active in terms of building places of worship. Diversity of a mosque Ethnic dimension When it comes to evaluating Islam, one can not omit the fact that this religious tradition is closely connected to the Arab ethnicity. Indeed, Muhammad is thought to be the last prophet of God, the last revelation that is sent to people is in Arabic and can not be fully translated into other languages, major places and cities of Islam are located on the territory of the modern Arabic countries. That is why one is likely to expect visitors of a mosque to be mostly Arabs since they might feel the natural call. While this might be the case in other countries, the experience of the American mosques shows quite the opposite. It was found that Arabs do not constitute the only ethnic group that dominates the number of those who pray in mosques (Kahera, 2002, p. 161). For example, there population of African Americans who are Muslims as well is relatively big. So, it would be a mistake to suggest that mosques were designed primary for Arabic population of the United States. This is might be seen as a direct influence of the cultural policies which are promoted in the American society. Indeed, the latter is known for its appreciation of other cultures and respect for customs. That is why it is quite natural that in this country Islam was able to cross the ethnic boundaries and reach the hearts of other people. Religious dimension Every person who knows the basics of Islam would point out that the latter has two distinctive branches: Sunni and Shiite. It must be noted that the second group is being significantly outnumbered by the former. In spite of the fact that there are countries where Shiite population is significant, in most cases they are seen as religious minority. However, while considering the case of the American mosques, one might witness an interesting phenomenon: Shiite mosques are also rather numerous. It is obvious that they do not outnumber the Sunni ones, but proportionally they are presented better that on the global scale (Metcalf, 1996, p. 187). Once again this might be seen as a manifestation of the respect for diversity and mutual appreciations – the fundamental principles of the American culture. One should point that the conflict between Sunni and Shiite might be rather intense and sometimes be armed as well. There are numerous examples of the situations when Muslim fought other Muslims. That is why peaceful coexistence of the two branches is quite remarkable. This may be explained by the fact that the territory as well as cultural environment of the United States is foreign to both Sunni and Shiite; so, none of them had any preferences or privileged while promoting their approach to Islam. While it is true that the majority of Muslim immigrants were Sunni, they were not able to dominate the spiritual life and establish supremacy of Shiite as they would in other Muslim countries. That is why sufficient presence of Shiite mosques in the Unites States might be recognized as an interesting phenomenon. Local dimension As it has already been noted, Islam is the religion which was introduce relatively later in the development of the United States. So, unlike Christian churches that has easily be found anywhere on the territory of this country, mosque are thought to be rather rare. In other words, it may be logical to expect these places of worship to be located primarily in big cities where the population of Muslims is great. Nevertheless, it is suggested that mosques are found in both metropolitan and suburban areas (Bagby, 2011, p. 4). Indeed, big cities attract different people and it is quite obvious that there will be a Muslim community. Another point that should be mentioned is that building a mosque in a metropolitan are makes a lot of sense since it allows people who come from other places gather together; so, the congregation will be rather big. However, surprising enough, but suburbs also feature mosques. This might be recognizes as a sing of that Muslims who leave outside the big cities are willing to practice their traditional spiritual life as well as put effort into it. As a result, they establish mosques even thought the population of people who will go there may be small. This means that Americans who are Muslims are well aware of their religious identity and are willing to comply with the fundamental principles of it which shows great amount of commitment. That is why American mosques should be seen not only as places of worship, but a manifestation of commitment and religious practice. Circumstantial dimension As it has already been noted, there are numerous mosques that can be found throughout the United States of America. Nevertheless, all of them can be divided into three distinctive groups: those which are established in places that purchased; those which were built and those that can be found in rented facilities (Bagby, 2011, p. 11). Speaking of the first group, one might suggests that it is the biggest one which lead to a conclusion that American Muslims often buy buildings to turn them into mosques. This fact has another important implication: the above mentioned people have the sufficient amount of money to be spent on such endeavor. The second group is the smallest of all. Indeed, the number of mosques that were actually built from nothing is relatively small. This might be explained by the fact that building a mosque is even more expensive than purchasing a place that will be later transformed into one. In other words, American Muslims may be fairly wealthy, but they do not possess enough money to build many mosques themselves. Finally, there is a group of mosques that are found in facilities that are rented. One would make no mistake this shows somewhat unstable nature of a mosque since there is always a possibility that the landlords might refuse to prolong the contract and the mosque will have to move. The existence of such examples shows that local Muslims might be willing to have a permanent mosque, but they are not simply able to accumulate the sufficient amount of money to buy a place for one of build one. In other words, there is surely some income disparity among the Muslims as well. People in the mosques It may be quite advantageous to pay a close attention to the kind of people who pray in the mosques. To begin with, it may be necessary to point out that Islam has a distinctly different approach toward the role that a prayer plays in one’s life. Indeed, unlike Christianity which often structures the social and spiritual life of a believer around the service that is carried out on Sunday, Islam encourages the believers to pray five times a day. So, there is no doubt that mosques are considered to be an irreplaceable part of life of a truly devoted follower of this religious tradition which means that genuine believers pray in it. In addition to that, an American mosque often features a large variety of people in terms of economic class. Indeed, one can hardly object to the fact that people who belong to different parts of the social ladder may visit the same mosque which is seen in the amount of money that they can give (Bagby, 2004, p. 27). In other words, the latter might be seen as a platform that facilitates interaction of people who would not have met otherwise, contributing to their interaction. Lastly, it is quite obvious that people with different outlook go and pray in the mosque. This means that under a single roof, there are might be people who adhere to more conservative or more liberal positions with regard to the place of Islam in the American Society or the way their faith should be integrated into it. The kind of clothes worn One of the most remarkable features of the American mosques is the number of people who wear Western clothes in them. Of course the believers wear this style of clothes naturally, but the most remarkable aspect here lies in the fact that it is rather to see so many people who wear Western clothes to a place that clearly belongs to a different cultural environment. Indeed, while in the Arab world the believers are often seen to be wearing their national clothes, the American Muslims may or may not follow this tradition. If their nationality is American they have several options: on the one hand, they may wear traditional Arab clothes to comply with the general aesthetics and show the respect for the spiritual and cultural tradition; on the other hand, they may not want to change and represent a new generation of believers who puts more weight on spiritual, rather than ritual element. This should not be seen as the sign of lack of willingness to comply with the established norms, but another manifestation of the peculiarity of the religious institute in question in this country. Nevertheless, some people who are frequent to a mosque might wear a traditional Arab article of clothes. There may not be correlation between their ethnicity and the kind of clothes that they wear; but a person who belongs to an Eastern cultural background is more likely to wear such clothes if compared to one whose ancestors come from Europe. In addition to that, African Americans might wear traditional Arab clothes as well. Moreover, women who pray in mosque may wear headscarves. Keeping in mind the amount of controversy that is generated by this article of clothes, one can not omit the fact that the use of it is quite significant and may have negative consequences for the person who wears it (Lipka, 2013). Indeed, the latter is often regarded as the symbol of oppression of women and a sign of gender inequality, the concepts that are deeply against the core beliefs of the American public. Nevertheless, it might be suggested that when American citizens deliberately choose to wear them, this should be acknowledged as a genuine desire to comply with the requirements of faith. Mosque and the American society Modern interpretation of Quran It must be noted that the religious experience that is gained by Muslims in the United States clearly differs from one that their fellow believer gain in other countries. In Islam there is no one single religious authority that has the monopoly on the interpretation of the meaning of Quran. As a result, different imams are able to develop their own vision and share it as long as it does not contradict with the fundamental aspects of faith. If one takes a close look at the way Quran is read in America, one can not help noticing it is much more flexible than if compared to other Muslim countries (Bagby, 2011, p. 4). Indeed, this may be seen as manifestation of the liberal life of the United States and the already mentioned cultural diversity and mutual respect. In other words, American mosques should not be seen as centers that promote conservative beliefs which are different from the ones that can be witnessed in the American society. In addition to that, mosques should not be regarded as focal points of a different cultural environment. There is no doubt that some elements that are preached by Islam do not comply with the Christian beliefs that are thought to be the foundation of the American world view; however, spiritual leaders do their best to avoid any conflicts. Atmosphere of acceptance As it has already been stated, the beginning of the twentieth century was marked by horrible terroristic acts which were performed by people who justified their action with the help of Islam. The natural reaction of the American public might have been manifested in the rejection of Islamic part of population and stigmatizing it. However, the evidence shows that this is not the case; quite the opposite, the beginning of the new millennium may be seen as successful for Muslims in the United States. The same is confirmed by the spiritual leaders who point out that they do not feel any aggression that is directed towards they, their faith or their community (Bagby, 2011, p. 4). This means that the American public was able to see that Islam does not bring terror and terrorists are clearly wrong then they try to support their actions with the help of this particular faith. This has important implications for the Muslims who are living in the United States: they are not being ostracized because of their beliefs. This is extremely beneficial when it comes to integration of a single community that consists of people who belong to different cultural environments. Another point that should be mentioned is that the Muslims themselves do not feel any hostility and condemn the above mentioned acts of terrorism together with their Christian counterparts. This means that the American society is truly diverse and does not allow any biases to distort relationships between different parts of it. However, one can not omit the fact that there are some situations when the social environment opposed to building a particular mosque. One of the most famous events involved the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque”. Thus, it was planned that an Islamic community center would be built in Lower Manhattan, several blocks from the Ground Zero. The public was enraged when it learned that the center would also include a prayer space (Aleaziz, 2012). In spite of the fact that it can not be fully recognized as a mosque, it surely reflects the islamophobia that goes on to a certain extent in the society. Active civic position In spite of the fact that the society is thought to be tolerant to people who belong to various minorities, those who belong to the latter often find themselves labeled in a certain way. As a result, they might not be able to advance up the social ladder, but be quite successful in the community that is formed by the people who come from the same minority. In order to break this vicious circle, spiritual leaders of the mosque often encourage young Muslims to adopt a proactive lifestyle and gain an active civic position with regard to different issues (Bagby, 2011, p. 4). All this is quite important since it shows that Muslims are willing to integrate into the society even further and will take active part in the development of the society environment, just like other citizens would. As a result, their affiliation with Islam does not prevent them to be active Americans who care about their country. What is even more important is that by doing so, they significantly enrich the social life of the United States and contribute to the stability of the society in general since the voice of the minority is being heard. Finally, when Muslims take an active part in the social environment they provide the public which choices that the latter might be take into account. Thus, the majority of the population of the United States includes Christians and a Muslim point of view might be useful especially when considering some controversial issues. Conversion to Islam Finally, it may be particularly interesting to analyze the relationship of Islam and the society from a rather peculiar aspect, namely conversion into religion. As it has already been noticed, Islam is truly closely connected to the Arabic ethnicity; however, it does not mean that other nations are not able to adopt it. The evidence shows that other parts of the population appear to be followers of Islam. That is why there is surely a phenomenon of conversion taking place. It must be noted that the number of people who make a decision to become Muslims is not significant on the national scale (Bagby, 2011, p. 12). However, there is a stead tendency to do so. This might be explained by the fact that mosques promote Islam among the population and some people find certain cultural as well as spiritual aspects that they can enrich their life with. All this leads to the fact that mosques allow people to witness religious practices, hear people preaching and experience what it may be like to be a part of the Islamic congregation. As a result, the increasing number of mosque may contribute to the increase in the number of people who decide to follow this religious path. Nevertheless, as it was put before, conversion rate is steady, yet it does not mean that over a certain period of time the entire population of the United States will be Muslim. Services in the American Society Speaking of the services that a mosque provides in the American Society, one might mentione quite a few. First of all, it serves as a center of consolidation of people based on their faith. Indeed, in spite of the fact that Christianity is a widely spread religion in America, Islam has a considerable number of followers as well which makes it a necessary to have a place where they could emerge themselves in the familiar religious environment (Bagby, 2004, p. 29). In addition to that local communities that were able to establish a mosque often witness a rise in the quality of experience that its members have Another service that is performed by the mosques in the United States focuses on promotion of the correct image of Islam. There is no doubt that the horrible events of the beginning of the millennium turned a part of the American population against Muslims, making them answer for the aggression that they have no connection to. What is more important is that mosque are able to show that Islam is a peaceful religion and does not want to cause any negative impact on others as it is often thought to be willing to. Finally, it would not be an exaggeration to suggest that a mosque in America should be seen as a pillar of its diversity. Indeed, the society in this country is largely based on the respect for other cultures and mosques might be regarded as direct representatives of them, featuring a higher level of social organization. Conclusion Having examined all the evidence, one is able to come to the following logical conclusion: if one takes a close look at mosques which are located in the United States of America, one will be able to see that they feature a considerable number of peculiarities which are conditioned by the relationship between this country and the Arab world. It was noticed that America suffered from attacks of Islamic terrorists who justified their aggression with the help of their faith; however, the evidence shows that this did not have any negative impact on the development of the Muslim community, quite the opposite: the first decade of the new mille1nnium witnessed an increase in the number of mosques, in the course of it 897 mosques were build which almost doubled the number that existed before year 2000 (Bagby, 2011, p. 4). Contrary to that some mosques were prevented from being built or frozen in construction. There is no possible way to determine the number of them since there are no relevant records. A good example, though, is the controversy over the so-called Ground Zero Mosque: people think that it is too close to the place where Islamic terrorists kill a considerable number of civilians, motivating this by their faith. Another point that should be taken into account is that the population of Muslims is often being underestimated and there is indirect evidence that it may be up to two times bigger. What is even more important is that the majority of mosques in the United States are quite “young” – they were built no earlier than 1970s. The history of the development of the Muslim diaspora provides a viable explanation for this. The research also found that Arabs do not constitute the dominant ethnic group when it comes to analyzing the visitor of the mosque. This can be explained by the increased diversity of the American society as well as promotion of respect for other cultures. Finally, the diversity may also be seen in the places where mosques are found, facilities that are used as mosques as well as the flexibility of interpretation of Quran. References Aleaziz, H. (2012, December 10). Fox News Reignites Islamophobic Campaign Against The ‘Ground Zero Mosque’. 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Retrieved March 16, 2015, from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/09/11/abercrombie-hijab-firing-highlights-muslim-concern-about-discrimination/ Metcalf, B. (1996). Making Muslim space in North America and Europe. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. The Mother Mosque Of America. (n.d.). Retrieved April 1, 2015, from http://www.mothermosque.org/page.php?2 Read More