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Islam in America

The large majority of Muslims arrived in the United States after 1965, when immigration quotas discriminating against non-Europeans were lifted. The new laws favored family reunification, allowing men to bring over brides and families. Over the last 40 years, the Muslim community has grown steadily, raising the first generation of American-born children. At the same time, many African American converts to the Nation of Islam turned toward orthodox Sunni Islam. Major communities are found in Los Angeles, Detroit, Chicago, New York, and New Jersey.

Demographics

There is no clear consensus regarding the number of American Muslims; the 2007 Pew Forum survey estimates 2.35 million (less than 1 percent of the population). Of these, 65 percent are foreign born. In the total Muslim population, 32 percent are from Arab countries (including Iran), 18 percent from south Asia and 20 percent are native-born African American. 46 percent of the Muslim population is female (compared to 52 percent of the U.S. population). The main gender imbalance lies in the African American Muslim population, which is only 36 percent female. This is likely due to patterns of conversion, many of which happen in prison.

The relationship between African American and immigrant Muslims has been strained on occasion, with the two communities maintaining mainly separate spheres. One reason for this split is that post-1965 immigrants have generally maintained a higher socioeconomic status than African Americans. As well, African Americans see U.S. racism as a Muslim issue (it was often the impetus for their conversions) but immigrants do not, preferring to focus on injustice abroad in places like Palestine or Iraq. This tension may lessen as the next generation, who have been born in the United States and have grown up with orthodox Sunni Islam, engage in dialogue.

Theology and Practice

Islam is a monotheistic religion that dates to the 7th century. It began in Saudi Arabia when Muhammad revealed himself as the last and greatest prophet of God (Allah). His teachings, believed to be Allah's literal word, are gathered in a text called the Qur'an (Koran). To become Muslim requires a Declaration of the Faith (shahada): “There is no God but God, and Muhammad is his Prophet.” The shahada is one of the Five Pillars of Islam, the five duties that every Muslim must perform. The others are salat (pray five time a day), zakat (give charity to the poor), sawm (fast during daylight in the month of Ramadan), and hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca). Islam is diverse, comprised of different schools of jurisprudence and divided into a number of sects that do not always recognize one another. More than 85 percent the world's Muslim population is Sunni.

Muslim American women range from highly practicing to seeing Islam as important primarily for historical and ethnic reasons. A small but important number of Muslims practice Sufism, a mystical movement that cuts across sectarian divides and uses dance and music to connect emotionally with faith. For some women, this provides an outlet not otherwise available in more legalistic expressions of Islam.

Hijab (The Veil)

Hijab is controversial because, for many non-Muslim Westerners, it is symbolic of perceived Islamic repression of women. Most American Muslim women do not believe that Islamic dress is a religious requirement yet nearly all, whether they cover or not, have stressed repeatedly that hijab is not repression but a choice. Some Muslim women who wear hijab have complained of discrimination at school and work. A number of instances have come to public attention where employers, such as U.S. Airways and Domino's Pizza, refused to allow employees to wear hijab with their uniforms. In a few instances this has led to court cases.

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