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thepeel
Joined: 08 Aug 2004
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 Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 6:58 am Post subject: Are they 'assimilated' anywhere? |
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/25/AR2006082501169.html
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America's Muslims Aren't as Assimilated as You Think
By Geneive Abdo
Sunday, August 27, 2006; Page B03
If only the Muslims in Europe -- with their hearts focused on the Islamic world and their carry-on liquids poised for destruction in the West -- could behave like the well-educated, secular and Americanizing Muslims in the United States, no one would have to worry.
So runs the comforting media narrative that has developed around the approximately 6 million Muslims in the United States, who are often portrayed as well-assimilated and willing to leave their religion and culture behind in pursuit of American values and lifestyle. But over the past two years, I have traveled the country, visiting mosques, interviewing Muslim leaders and speaking to Muslim youths in universities and Islamic centers from New York to Michigan to California -- and I have encountered a different truth. I found few signs of London-style radicalism among Muslims in the United States. At the same time, the real story of American Muslims is one of accelerating alienation from the mainstream of U.S. life, with Muslims in this country choosing their Islamic identity over their American one. |
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happeningthang
Joined: 26 Apr 2003
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| Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 7:04 am Post subject: |
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Almost without exception, they recall feeling under siege after Sept. 11, with FBI agents raiding their mosques and homes, neighbors eyeing them suspiciously and television programs portraying Muslims as the new enemies of the West.
Such feelings led them, they say, to adopt Islamic symbols -- the hijab , or head covering, for women and the kufi , or cap, for men -- as a defense mechanism.
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Sounds like there's a reason for this. |
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thepeel
Joined: 08 Aug 2004
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| Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 7:12 am Post subject: |
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| happeningthang wrote: |
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Almost without exception, they recall feeling under siege after Sept. 11, with FBI agents raiding their mosques and homes, neighbors eyeing them suspiciously and television programs portraying Muslims as the new enemies of the West.
Such feelings led them, they say, to adopt Islamic symbols -- the hijab , or head covering, for women and the kufi , or cap, for men -- as a defense mechanism.
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Sounds like there's a reason for this. |
Yeah. Muslims kill 3000+ Americans. Americans finally realize a pattern of violence against them by the ROP and start to take notice. Muslims get pisssy that Americans are taking notice of the ROP and act even more Muslim. Of course, acting more Muslim means that more Americans will die and then even more Americans then will notice that the ROP is really a ROD and the cycle will continue. |
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sundubuman
Joined: 04 Feb 2003
Location: seoul
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| Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 7:19 am Post subject: |
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Being ambassadors of Islam is daring behavior when you consider that American Muslims live in a country where so many people are ignorant of -- if not hostile to -- their faith. In a Gallup poll this year, when U.S. respondents were asked what they admire about the Muslim world, the most common response was "nothing" (33 percent); the second most common was "I don't know" (22 percent).
Uhhhmmmm....sounds pretty tolerant to me...all things considered.
55% of Americans are diplomatic enough to speak the truth. I'm guessing a whole bunch of folks lied and found something wonderful to admire in a religion that....(you fill in the blank).......... |
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thepeel
Joined: 08 Aug 2004
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| Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 7:22 am Post subject: |
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Well, I'll go ahead and put that question here.
What do any of you admire about the Muslim world?
For me? Nothing. I would say the food, but I can get all that I want of their grub in Secular/Christian Edmonton. |
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mithridates
Joined: 03 Mar 2003
Location: President's office, Korean Space Agency
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| Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 7:32 am Post subject: |
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| BJWD wrote: |
Well, I'll go ahead and put that question here.
What do any of you admire about the Muslim world? |
Rumi and Sufism. |
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Hollywoodaction
Joined: 02 Jul 2004
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| Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 7:50 am Post subject: |
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| sundubuman wrote: |
Being ambassadors of Islam is daring behavior when you consider that American Muslims live in a country where so many people are ignorant of -- if not hostile to -- their faith. In a Gallup poll this year, when U.S. respondents were asked what they admire about the Muslim world, the most common response was "nothing" (33 percent); the second most common was "I don't know" (22 percent).
Uhhhmmmm....sounds pretty tolerant to me...all things considered.
55% of Americans are diplomatic enough to speak the truth. I'm guessing a whole bunch of folks lied and found something wonderful to admire in a religion that....(you fill in the blank).......... |
Not necessarily. I don't find anything particularly admirable in any of the religions. Religion is the opiate of the masses, after all.  |
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Bulsajo
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 8:00 am Post subject: |
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| mithridates wrote: |
| BJWD wrote: |
Well, I'll go ahead and put that question here.
What do any of you admire about the Muslim world? |
Rumi and Sufism. |
I think of the Ismaili the same way I think of Mormons- kind of wierd, generally harmless, in some cases very beneficial.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aga_Khan_Development_Network |
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On the other hand
Joined: 19 Apr 2003
Location: I walk along the avenue
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| Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 8:17 am Post subject: |
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| I think of the Ismaili the same way I think of Mormons |
That's kind of how I regard that one group, the Ahmiddiya or some such name. They believe the messiah arrived on earth in the 19th Century or something. I once went to a talk on the coming of the Messiah, which that group sponsored. Rather scholarly and dispassionate talks were given by a Catholic, a liberal protestant, a Jew, and a Muslim. Then, the representative from that sect got up and made what basically amounted to a tub-thumping revival sermon, all about how their man was the messiah and we should all follow him. I don't know how the other denominations felt about being used as foils for the last guy's speech.
Does anyone know the correct name of this group? |
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Tiger Beer
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 8:57 am Post subject: Re: Are they 'assimilated' anywhere? |
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| BJWD wrote: |
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/25/AR2006082501169.html
| Quote: |
America's Muslims Aren't as Assimilated as You Think
By Geneive Abdo
Sunday, August 27, 2006; Page B03
If only the Muslims in Europe -- with their hearts focused on the Islamic world and their carry-on liquids poised for destruction in the West -- could behave like the well-educated, secular and Americanizing Muslims in the United States, no one would have to worry.
So runs the comforting media narrative that has developed around the approximately 6 million Muslims in the United States, who are often portrayed as well-assimilated and willing to leave their religion and culture behind in pursuit of American values and lifestyle. But over the past two years, I have traveled the country, visiting mosques, interviewing Muslim leaders and speaking to Muslim youths in universities and Islamic centers from New York to Michigan to California -- and I have encountered a different truth. I found few signs of London-style radicalism among Muslims in the United States. At the same time, the real story of American Muslims is one of accelerating alienation from the mainstream of U.S. life, with Muslims in this country choosing their Islamic identity over their American one. |
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I don't think there is much choice in this.
I might think of myself in all kinds of different ways myself.. but being white.. people just view me as a white american guy. period.
i'm going to bet most musim-americans are viewed much the same way regardless of how they might view themselves. muslim guy living in the US. period. |
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happeningthang
Joined: 26 Apr 2003
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| Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 9:00 am Post subject: |
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| BJWD wrote: |
Yeah. Muslims kill 3000+ Americans. Americans finally realize a pattern of violence against them by the ROP and start to take notice. Muslims get pisssy that Americans are taking notice of the ROP and act even more Muslim. Of course, acting more Muslim means that more Americans will die and then even more Americans then will notice that the ROP is really a ROD and the cycle will continue. |
So there's no distinction between Saudi terrorists who travel and train for an attack, and muslim immigrants?
BJWD, I don't belong to this secret-conspiracy-knowing-club of yours, so I'm not up on the lingo...
What is a ROP, ROD? |
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Bulsajo
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 9:07 am Post subject: Re: Are they 'assimilated' anywhere? |
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| Tiger Beer wrote: |
i'm going to bet most musim-americans are viewed much the same way regardless of how they might view themselves. muslim guy living in the US. period. |
I'm betting a whole lot of sikhs, hindus and other religions ethnicities are regularly branded as muslim/potential-potential terrorist on a regular basis. But maybe that's a comment more appropriate to the "Hysteria" thread. |
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Privateer
Joined: 31 Aug 2005
Location: Easy Street.
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| Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 11:32 am Post subject: |
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| BJWD wrote: |
Well, I'll go ahead and put that question here.
What do any of you admire about the Muslim world?
For me? Nothing. I would say the food, but I can get all that I want of their grub in Secular/Christian Edmonton. |
Art and architecture, the gardens, the poetry and literature, and the passion for religion (where it exists). Not that I know much about them but I expect we've all seen something of them and they are impressive. |
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Bulsajo
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
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| Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 11:51 am Post subject: |
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| BJWD wrote: |
For me? Nothing. I would say the food, but I can get all that I want of their grub in Secular/Christian Edmonton. |
Nothing says 'cultural exploration' like a falafel at the West Edmonton Mall, eh?
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Ya-ta Boy
Joined: 16 Jan 2003
Location: Established in 1994
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| Posted: Mon Aug 28, 2006 12:40 pm Post subject: |
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| The men and women I spoke to -- all mosque-goers, |
I wonder if that little detail had anything to do with the writer's conclusion that Moslems are becoming more religious? While I don't doubt that many are adopting a Moslem-centered identity in reaction to the public/media attitude, talking to only mosque-goers is going to give a certain spin to the information you gather. This article is an example of 'you see what you want to see, you hear what you want to hear'. |
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