Muslims in the United States

The Past, Present, and Future

Early Muslims• 15-30 % of African slaves were

Muslim– Some Muslim slaves stood out in their

devotion to their faith, but were eventually all converted

• 1880-1914 – Immigrated from Ottoman Empire area and South Asia– Turks, Yemenis, etc came here to

prosper and send money back

• Post WWI – Immigration dramatically increased

Note: the very first Muslims slaves predate even the Columbus expedition to the Americas.

• First Mosque in U.S – built in Ross, North Dakota, around 1930. – Lebanese Farmers decided

they were going to settle and built a house of worship

• First “official” mosque - built in 1934 in Cedar Rapid, Iowa– 87 % of mosques have been

constructed in the last 30 years

Immigration Today• South Asia (Pakistan, India, China, Bangladesh,

etc…) and Middle East (Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, etc…)

• Number of immigrants is increasing, despite the 9/11 attacks. – In 1992 – about 50,000 Muslims became citizens– In 2009 – more than 115,000 were granted

permanent residency– If the trend continues, over 130,000 to be granted residency in the year 2030.

Why?• Muslims have emigrated for several reasons:– Refuge – (Burma), to escape bad living conditions such as

persecution, poverty,, civil strife, genocide and war– Education – Muslims in colleges are increasing– Islamist Ambition – A few actually come here for extreme

purposes. These groups in the mid 1920’s came here to exploit the constitution and replace it with the Qur’an. • Ie. Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam• These immigrants are very few in numbers though

Where?

• Dearborn, Michigan – Largest concentration of Muslims.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5YIRUYPyn8&feature=player_embedded#!

Islamic Center of America – Dearborn Michigan

Discrimination• In 2009 – Muslims accounted for 2 % of the U.S population,

yet ¼ of 3,386 discrimination complaints were filed by Muslims– Muslims weren’t allowed lunch breaks for daily prayer– Muslims weren’t allowed to wear head scarf's at work– Name calling, such as “terrorist” or “Osama”

2003 – Post 9/11 discrimination study• New York City - Manhattan (survey and complaints)

– Affected by 9/11, 79 % Yes; 18 % No; 2% No Response– 11% Housing; 25% Public Accommodations, 37% Bias, 26%

Employment

• This study confirmed the hypothesis that since 9/11, discrimination for Muslims increased dramatically.

However, this was 9 years ago, so another study was done in 2008.

2008 – Civil Rights Study• Group Complaints increased, even more so than in 2003. •Anti-Muslim hate crime peaked in 2006, but decreased in 2007.

•January 17, 2007 - An attack on a Muslim took place outside a Lackawanna, NY, restaurant. The victim, a 26-year-old man of Yemeni heritage, said one of the white male assailants called him a “f**king Arab” as the attack began. Another attacker allegedly picked the victim up from behind and threw him to the ground, rendering him unconscious. The victim suffered a fractured nose and a fracture under one eye. His medical treatment included staples on the back of his head and six stitches on his face.

May 17, 2007 - An alleged assault on a Muslim woman took place in Fairview, NJ by a man shouting Islamophobic slurs. The assailant reportedly shouted, “You (expletive) Muslims are here to bomb this country, you should all die. I want to kill all of you Muslims.”

July 2007 - A fourth grader of Yemeni descent was allegedly bound and locked in a closet by two Brooklyn classmates for eight minutes before a substitute teacher intervened. The girls hurled “racial and ethnic slurs to the effect –‘go back to your country, we don’t want you here.’”

Discrimination today

• Today, discrimination cases are still disproportionately high.

• Most Muslims live in fear of expressing their faith, fear for their safety.

The Future

• Assimilation – to what point? • Discrimination – Why? • If the Muslim community continues to grow at the

present rate, by the year 2015 Islam will be the second largest religion in the United States.

Book reportArab in America by Toufic el Rassie

• Story of an Arab American living in the United States before and after the 9/11 attacks.

• Should Muslims assimilate?• Why are Muslims being stereotyped?– Osama, Terrorist, Go blow yourself up, etc..

• Graphic Novel in which he depicts his life.• People need a scapegoat. (ie. When the Oklahoma City

bombing took place, everyone blamed the Arabs but it was a white man)

What I learned

• I learned that I am not alone in this world and that there are countless others being discriminated against.

• Even though the bad economy is a big reason for why people discriminate, it’s more of a superiority complex.

• We need to educate people, education is a powerful tool and can end discrimination.

• http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/newsweek-poll-americans-are-mixed-on-us-muslims-52756242.html

• http://www.cis.org/articles/2002/back802.html• http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-chait/77913/muslim-discrimination-all-time-hi

gh#• http://www.nyc.gov/html/cchr/pdf/sur_report.pdf• http://www.cair.com/Portals/0/pdf/civilrights2008.pdf• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/29/muslim-discrimination-cas_n_84207

6.html• http://www.jamaat.org/new/library/Islamic%20history%20english/A%20Century%

20of%20Islam%20in%20America.pdf