A History of Islam in America - Ch. 6 Presentation.pdf

A history of Islam in America - Book Review

1. A HISTORY OF ISLAM
IN AMERICA
By Kambiz GhaneaBassiri
KH

2. Islam and American Civil Religion in the
Aftermath of World War II
CHAPTER SIX
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Reviewed by Waleed & Ke’lona
KH

3. Let’s review some concepts
NATIONAL IDENTITY
After WWII, a new American
National Identity emerged
based on loyalty to democratic
ideals; reflecting the religious
and ethnic diversity of the US.
AMERICANISM
A religion of “Americanism”
emerged, promoting moral &
spiritual values that aligned
with democratic ideals, which
all people could ascribe to.
CIVIL RELIGION
Differed from Americanism,
arguing a civil religion existed
alongside other faiths (not in lieu
of), preserving individual faiths’
principles and values.

AF. AMER. ISLAM
America’s civil religion was
rejected by AA Muslims for
its hypocrisy, and the rise of
prophetic Black Nationalism
began to gain ground.
ORGANIZATIONS
Various Islamic organizations
were established to assert an
American Muslim identity,
though the founding groups and
ideologies varied.
GROWTH OF MSA
Many Muslim students came
from abroad and the MSA grew
as an organization with a
utopian vision of Islam, based
upon Quran & Sunnah.
8 Key Points
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IMMIGRANT ISLAM
Muslims, esp from the Levant,
began establishing
organizations to demand
recognition of Islam as an
American religion/identity.
US WORLD POWER
After WWII, US became a world
power and the fear of
Communism and need for oil
led them to become more
involved in the Middle East.
KH

4. In two or three columns
CONCEPTS
◉Americanism p.233
A religion based on loyalty to American
democratic values

◉Universal religion of America p.235
Democratic values and political institutions
to which people of any race and religion
could subscribe

◉Hansen’s law p.236
Assimilation is cyclical. America does not
demand the abandonment of ancestral
religion as it does ancestral language and
culture

◉The “proper religion” of African
Americans p.247
Movements organized based on their
visions for African American Muslims

PEOPLE
◉Will Herberg p.235
Sought to explain the surge in religious
life in the postwar era

◉Robert Bellah p.237
What unified American society was not
its religious character but its
poly-religious character

◉Abdallah Igram and FIA p.238
Most successful umbrella Muslim org
of immigrant Muslims in 1950s/60s

◉The Nation of Islam p.242
Uplifting black Americans by fostering
a new black self and society through
religious beliefs and practices

◉The Uniting Islamic
Society of America
p.247
Coordinate efforts of African
American Muslims
◉Abul A’la Mawdudi
p.251
South Asian Islamist thinker

◉The MSA p.265
Participants in a historic
Islamic “renaissance”
PLACES
◉Muslim-majority
countries p.243
Foreign policy of the US


KEY CONCEPTS, PEOPLE & PLACES
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5. Thesis
The result of World War II was a new American national
identity better reflected the religious and ethnic diversity
of the us and was founded upon a new conception of
American civil religion, which demanded loyalty to
America’s liberal democratic values.
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KH

6. Issues
◉Muslims were no longer satisfied with simply rooting Islam in America but wanted Islam recognized
as an American religion.
◉The existing chasm between realities of discrimination and the democratic ideals through which
America self-identified after WWII was a powerful example of hypocrisy. Black Americans still
remained outside America's national narrative.
◉The repercussions from America’s increased involvement in muslim-majority countries, particularly
Middle East, post WWII.
◉Concept of Islamism as the number of international students emigrating from Muslim majority
countries to America increased.
◉Conflicts between ideologies and goals of various Islamic organizations.
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7. Context
Post World War II: A Watershed Moment in the Multicultural History of the US
◉Racist atrocities committed by the Nazis led Americans to take a more critical look at the racism within
their society
◉How is it "our country" (Anglo-Saxon Protestant) when other ethnic and religious groups fought for the
country?
◉Europe was devastated by the war, this shifted the economic and political center of international
relations to the US, leading to more foreign / Muslim students and academics.
◉America's national purpose was defined by its religious self-understanding, which was identified by
adherence to America's democratic values:
○Levant vs. Prophetic Black Nationalists
○The FIA & similar orgs vs. later, the MSA & more strict orgs

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8. Own Perspective
◉"White people being the bad guys" puts a considerable amount of doubt in the
idea of the "White Anglo-Saxon race" being preferred by God.

◉How do you wrestle with the idea of fighting for a country for which you/your
race is considered outside the national narrative?

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9. Assumptions
◉Students that immigrated were from Muslim-majority countries but
there is no official record of how many were Muslim.

◉Herberg’s theory of the triple melting pot dismissed the influence of
Black churches as an anomaly, thus his idea of a unifying religious
fervor is highly skewed, analyzing only those religions predominantly
followed by whites.


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10. Evidence
◉President FDR: Americanism is not, and never was, a matter of race or ancestry. p230
○Chicago Defender: Why die for democracy for some foreign country when we don’t even have it
here? P230

◉Herberg: Americanness today entails religious identification as Protestant, Catholic, or Jew. p236
○Black churches, though, were anomalies. P237

◉The FIA: Islam, rather than being an obstacle to American Muslims' participation in American life, was
instrumental to it. P238

◉Race in Muslim movements outside of the Nation of Islam. p.246-253
○Determining the “proper religion for African Americans”

◉The US’ involvement in Muslim-majority states and the formation of the Islamic Center of DC. p.255

◉Muslim students from the Muslim-majority states and the formation of the the MSA. p.256
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11. Implications
◉American Muslim Identity Formation - The new national identity established a space in
which American Muslims could organize and begin developing a national American Muslim
identity.
◉Black Muslim Nationalist Movements -Black Muslim narratives that defined Islam as the
original, national religion of black Americans found new purchase in this environment.
◉Global Appeal of American Muslim Organizations & Leaders - American Muslims caught
the attention of Muslim heads of state and Islamist missionaries who sought support in the
US for their individual causes.
◉Growth of MSAs - Muslim students from abroad sought to realize their utopian visions of an
Islamic society among the American Muslim community.

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12. How Does this Relate to American Muslims Today?
◉The divide between the interests of Immigrant
Muslims and the interests of African American
Muslims continues to be a point of contention in
many communities today.

◉America’s shifting into the economic and political
center of international relations after WWII, vastly
diversified US institutions of higher learning, not
only leading to the growth of MSA’s, but to a body
of Muslim academics who would later become
thought leaders in American Islam.

◉Hansen’s law has repeated throughout Muslim
communities in America, where a cyclical
distancing from and return to one’s ancestral faith
has continued, generation after generation. This
may provide a predictive framework for the
development of organizations that will support
future generations.

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13. ANY QUESTIONS?
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