The Case for an American Muslim Identity

The growth of Islam in America, driven by migration and conversions, has created a diverse and multicultural Muslim community. While scholars are busy studying how this community is faring in the pluralist and multicultural environment of the U.S., very little attention has been paid to the fact that the American Muslim community itself is a multicultural community. Composed of people from all races, and from nearly every country on the planet, American Muslims have rapidly become a microcosm of the global Muslim community. The politics of identity and identity formation that are shaping the American Muslim community cannot be fully understood until the internal diversity within the community itself is fully appreciated.

The two issue areas which have the greatest impact on the development and politics of the American Muslim community are religious development and political goals. The community has been struggling to build Islamic institutions like mosques and Islamic centers, Islamic schools, and Islamic societies for

(religious outreach) and religious development of the community. In these endeavors they have succeeded to a great extent.

Islamic movements like the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) are well seconded and are serving their purpose amicably. Today there are nearly 2,000 Islamic centers and hundreds of Islamic schools that are also toiling to defend against the erosion of Islamic identity, as well as doing Dawah to sustain one of the fastest growing religions in the West.

But in the arena of American politics, American Muslims have yet to make an impact proportionate to their size and potential. In spite of the growth of the Islamic organizations designed for political mobilization and education, Muslims have yet to enjoy the fruits of political victories.

Like its markets, America's political environment has very high entry barriers. But more than external barriers, there are certain characteristics of the American Muslim community itself which have erected internal barriers to political cohesiveness and effective mobilization. The single most important barrier to political cohesion is the inability of the community to prioritize its political goals and evolve a widely accepted short list of political goals. American Muslims came from many parts of the Muslim world, and with the growth of the community many subgroups have emerged. The two biggest represent Muslims from the Arab world and from South Asia.

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