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History of Islam in IOWA |
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A Thought for
the Day!
Coming together is a beginning
Keeping together is progress
Working together is success
Remembrance of Times Past
This is an enchanting tale of ferocious energy to succeed through
dignity, hard work and a strong unyielding faith in God alone, the
Supreme Power of the Universe.
Circa 1880
The 500-year reign of the Ottoman Empire was in decline, vis-à-vis,
on full throttle downhill.
As the empire continued to crumble, the Turkish government in the
remaining territories became more and more tyrannical. Minority
groups and populations in general were abused and persecuted.
Compounding this woeful condition was the coupe de graceˆ . . .
compulsory conscription of young men into the Ottoman Army and Navy.
One such oppressed area was a land known in antiquity as Phoenicia
but today called Lebanon. Located at the eastern end of the
Mediterranean Sea, it is slightly smaller than the state of
Connecticut (north-south 120 miles, east-west 50 miles). Rich in
history, for over 4,000 years, it has been a world transportation
and trade center while its capital, Beirut, lies at the crossroads
of three continents.
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Lebanon is a mountainous land with two mountain ranges covering much
of the country . . . Mt. Lebanon and the Anti-Lebanon Mountains.
Nestled between the two is a fertile valley, Al-Bakaa, ten miles
wide and eighty miles long.
This small area is where our chronicle of remarkable happenings
unfolds.
At this point in time, day in and day out, one could travel to any
village in the valley and witness the same scenario. Small groups of
teenagers, Muslim and Christian alike, huddled in conversation,
exchanging news of the moment regarding the great new land to the
West.
They had never heard of George Washington or Thomas Jefferson, but
they had heard the myth that the streets of American were paved with
gold while currency dangled from the branches of every tree.
These young people, derring-doers all, totally unlettered but highly
inquisitive, came to one conclusion: When the present is bleak and
the experiences of the past were wretched, then there’s only one
place to look; the future . . . and the future was America.
For these proud and disciplined youngsters the vision was succinct,
to breathe free with an opportunity to succeed.
Thus the odyssey began!
Hundreds of Muslims from the Bakaa Valley answered America’s clarion
call: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning
to breathe free”. Filled with untold perseverance and good-natured
humor, they became part of the great immigration tidal wave of the
late nineteenth and early twentieth century.
Many of the early arrivals settled on the East coast while most
forged inland to such areas as West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio,
Illinois, Indiana and Michigan. A few pressed onward to the fertile
fields of Iowa. In 1895, the first Muslim arrived in Cedar Rapids,
and became the bellwether of what was to become a highly visible and
successful community.
Over the next quarter of the century these immigrants, still few in
number (less than 20), were forging successful careers. In the first
decade of the 20th Century, most were peddlers, while others tilled
the soil as farmers. In the interim, Cedar Rapids was growing by
leaps and bounds. A population explosion became the centerpiece to a
rapidly growing economic development
Recognizing a definite need, this small group seized the opportunity
by establishing ten neighborhood grocery stores. Strategically
located throughout the city they became the primary food purveyor
for much of Cedar Rapids. Meanwhile these new Americans were
assimilating. The community by the late 1920’s had grown to three
score.
Over the millennia human’s basic religious beliefs and culture were
carried with them as they migrated from continent to continent. The
Muslims were no different. During the lat 1920’s and early ‘30’s,
halls had been rented for congregational prayer and social
activities. It became obvious. . . . More was needed! Much, much
dedication and more sacrifices followed, and despite the rigors of
the Great Depression, a dream reached fruition.
On June 16, 1934, the first Islamic house of worship in the Western
Hemisphere was dedicated. It was destined to become known as
“America’s Mother Mosque.” Today it is serving history rather than a
congregation.
During this period the winds of war were descending on planet Earth
and by the time America entered the Second World War, all of these
early Cedar Rapids settlers had become American citizens. One had
already served his adopted country during the First World War.
Throughout the centuries Muslims have dwelled in every conceivable
area of the globe. They have lived under countless forms of
governments and laws, but when they live in a state where freedom of
movement, freedom of expressions and freedom of religion exist, then
therein lays their homeland. As a resident of a state that grants
and guarantees these precious freedoms, it then becomes a strict
requirement of Islam and incumbent on every Muslim to be a loyal and
faithful citizen.
The apothegm of Islamic ethics is this: devout Muslims are patriots
when their faith and homeland are threatened or come under attack.
They are enjoined to sacrifice everything, including their earthly
existence, in the defense of these joyful freedoms.
Now came the unexpected . . . a bolt from the blue . . . that Sunday
afternoon, the first in December, 1941. A slumbering giant was
awakened!
Sixteen sons of this small Muslim community would join twelve
million other Americans in the great struggle against the forces of
tyranny and evil. Two of the sixteen would pay the ultimate price in
this All-American war.
The euphoria, following the stunning triumph, quickly faded as
millions of veterans returned home to rekindle their lives and help
create what was to become an abundant life.
When the decade of the ‘40’s came to a close, the mantle of
leadership had been firmly placed over the shoulders of the second
generation. Performing brilliantly they nourished, sustained and
perpetuated their heritage.
Probably their crowning achievement was the charting of a course
that led to the Western Hemisphere’s first Muslim convention. After
months of careful planning, invitations were circulated and in June,
1952, Muslims from across the land converged on Cedar Rapids. From
that three-day conclave, “The Federation of Islamic Associations in
the United States and Canada” emerged.
Swiftly the years passed and by mid-1960, the community numbered
275. In addition to the local residents the original Mosque was
attempting to accommodate the spiritual needs of Muslim students
from around the globe. Literally scores of Muslims were attending
eight colleges and universities, all within 90 miles of Cedar
Rapids.
Again, as in the ‘20’s, it became obvious . . . more was needed.
Spearheaded by a thoughtful second and third generation, the
present-day Islamic Center is a testament to their prudent wisdom.
Opened in the spring of 1972, this new Mosque has undergone two
major expansions, three extensive renovations and is presently on
the threshold of a prime addition that will include a multi-purpose
building housing a nursery, first-class gymnasium, additional
classrooms and a new prayer hall.
Currently the Center has become a kaleidoscope as Muslims from over
thirty nations regularly attend services.
The community now boasts five generations descendant from those
first settlers and like their forefathers, they take great pride in
their contribution to this great American experiment. All of her
sons and daughters over the past three generations have attended
schools of higher learning leading to careers in every conceivable
endeavor, e.g., law, music, medicine, engineering, dentistry,
education, health care, authors, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees abound.
Also, small medium and large business enterprises are engaged in
local, national and international trade.
As the year’s telescope and the community evolve we would be remiss
if not ever-mindful of the first lonely settler who pioneered the
way in 1895. Moved by a dream of a new beginning he, and others of
that same era, was hoping to erase the echoes of a dismal past.
Whether conscious of it or not, they did pave the way for succeeding
generations to live out that dream.
These founding fathers had a core quality that quickly fathomed that
it is a gift and a luxury to live and work in a country where each
culture can celebrate life without any imposition on others.
Like millions of other immigrants from that ear, they left a legacy
of responsibility and compassion, laced with moderation and
tolerance.
They are all gone now but during that incredible voyage they were
devout believers in God and in prayer and they lived a life of
astonishing moral rectitude.
They are missed! They are remembered!
What’s in a Name?
“What’s in a name?” William Shakespeare once wondered.
What’s Islam?” Many Americans now wonder.
“This day I (God) have perfected for you your religion and
completed My favor towards you, and have consented to grant you
Islam’ as a religion; a commitment to live in peace.” Qur’an, 5:4
. . . Voilà! That’s what’s in a name!
“What’s in a name?” the Bard of Avon once wondered. Well, let’s
continue the word game, and discover more about “What’s in a Name?”
Qur’an
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Revealed by God through the angel
Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad. The divine Noble Reading’ is a set
of principles and a detailed plan encompassing all aspects of human
behavior and endeavor.
Unlike the Bible or Torah, the original text has endured, surviving
the test of time; its purity stands for all the ages
Allah
A comfortable translation from Arabic. . . God. A more functional
interpretation . . the Creator and Supreme Power of the Universe,
without beginning and subsequently without end.
Islam
The name and its meaning:
The word Islam means the act of committing oneself unreservedly to
God, the word based on its linguistic root also means to achieve
peace with God, peach with oneself and peace with the creation of
God.
Muslim
A peaceful person committed to the tenets of Islam, the Oneness of
God and the prophesy of Noah, Moses, Jesus, Abraham and Mohammed.
Life, cleanliness and knowledge – not the supplication to an unknown
vagueness – is the cornerstone of a Muslim’s earthly existence.
Jihad
In American terminology it has come to mean an aggressive or
war-like stance. Not so! In Islam there is an interpretation of a
higher and lesser Jihad. The higher and more important, deals with
what rages within every human being, the struggle of the inner-self,
the relationship with God and resisting the tendency toward evil.
That is the primary struggle.
The lesser Jihad sanctions physical conflict only in self-defense
and all would agree everyone is not only entitled but obligated to
defend oneself In the narratives of Muhammad it is written “I would
lay down my life in the defense of Islam.” He did not say he would
take another’s life.
Ramadan
One of Islam’s ‘Five Pillars,’ this is a month of fasting with
intensified spiritual reflection. During the Arabic month of Ramadan
in A.D. 610, Mohammed received his first revelations from God
through Gabriel.
This monumental event in recorded history is celebrated by a
dawn-to-sunset daily fast and is eventually observed through all
seasons because of its lunar calculations.
This most revered period in Islam is intended to invoke a deepened
devotion to God with an emphasis on piety and an increased
compassion for the poor. It is a time of rebirth and rejuvenation
and introspection.
Ka’Ba
Erected by Abraham and his first son, Ismail. This structure was
sanctified as the first house of worship dedicated to God Alone.
Located in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, it is the site of the annual
Pilgrimage which is one of Islam’s ‘Five Pillars.’ The annual event
is the world’s largest and continuous religious and social
happening. Makkah is also the locale of Muhammad’s birth, April 20,
571.
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Oh! By the way . . . that long-ago
musing of Shakespeare just goes to show that there really is
“Something in a Name!”
The Muslim Creed and Islam’s Five Pillars
Recognizing humanity as rational and social beings, Islam’s core
curriculum is unified by a central theme, i.e., what Muslims believe
in and what Muslims are required to do.
The first is a set of six principles or articles of faith:
(1) The belief in God, alone.
(2) The belief in God’s angels.
(3) The belief in God’s Prophets
(4) The belief in God’s Books. (The Torah, the Psalms, the New
Testament and the Qur’an, only as they are preserved in their
original text.)
(5) The belief in Life after Death; The Day of Resurrection.
(6) The belief that every event throughout the cosmos is in harmony
with Almighty God’s will and His knowledge.
Islam’s imposing edifice is ofttimes referred to as the “Five
Pillars of Islam.” In essence these ‘Five’ are the optimum
requirement of all Muslims.
(1) Public declaration of faith. (Belief in God alone.)
(2) Five Daily prayers.
(3) Fasting during the month of Ramadan.
(4) Obligatory tax for social welfare.
(5) Pilgrimage to Makkah, the site of the first house of worship
erected on earth for the worship of One God. (Only if financially
and physically able.)
Fundamentalism
Totally unknown in the lexicon of
Islam and its one billion two hundred million adherents. Any attempt
to associate this brief expression with Islam, or any Muslim group,
is an absolute misnomer.
Islam is explicit and steadfast in its injunction regarding order,
discipline, forgiveness and the mastering of passions and instincts.
Selected passages from the book, “Survey of Islamic Doctrine,” by
the late, Kamil V. Avdich.
“Islam is more advanced and far more elaborate in its attempt to
answer those eternal questions which every sensible person is bound
to face once in a lifetime: Who am I, where do I come from, where am
I heading, what is the purpose of this ephemeral life, and is there
anything after I die? What is my position in this vast Universe and
what is my relation to the Creator of everything in it? What kind of
life should I lead and shall I be responsible to Somebody for my
deeds and actions?
Any person wishing to study Islam in an attempt to quench their
intellectual thirst will acquire what we call the traits of an
Islamic personality. An Islamic personality, beside having an
intellectual attitude that is distinguished by an inner peace,
tranquility, and satisfaction, will show a certain lifestyle which
is the outward reflex of this intellectual attitude.”
Foreign Students in America :
The perception that the American public is prejudiced against Islam
is helping to crystallize a commitment by many Muslims to Islamic
radicalism. This is particularly evident among foreign students on
American campuses. |
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MOMENTS IN AMERICAN MUSLIM HISTORY:
1539 Moroccan guide Estephan
participated in the exploration of Arizona and New Mexico for the
viceroy of New Spain
1717 Arrival in North America of
Arabic-speaking slaves who ate no pork and believed in Allah and
Muhammad
1790 Moors reported living in South
Carolina
1856 Hajj Ali hired by the United
States cavalry to experiment in raising camels in Arizona
1869 A number of Yemenis arrived
after the opening of the Suez Canal
1900 Earliest recorded Muslim group
to organize for communal prayer in Ross, North Dakota
1913 Moorish American Science Temple
founded in Newark, New Jersey
1919 Islamic Association formed in
Highland Park, Michigan
1922 Islamic Association formed in
Detroit, Michigan 1930 Arab-American Banner Society formed in
Quincy,
Massachusetts
1930 Lost-Found Nation of Islam in
the Wilderness of North America (Black Muslims) established
1934 First building designated as
mosque, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
1952 Muslim servicemen allowed
identifying their realign as Muslim by the Federal government
1952 International Muslim Society
(IMS) organized
1954 IMS renamed Federation of
Islamic Associations (FIA)
1957 Islamic Center of Washington,
D.C. opened
1963 Muslim Student's Association
(MSA) founded
1972 Islamic Party of North America
organized in Washington, D.C.
1974 Muslim World League granted
non-governmental organization (NGO) status at the United Nations
1975 Warith Deen Muhammad renounced
Elijah's teachings and restored the Nation of Islam to orthodoxy
1976 The Nation of Islam assumed the name of The World Community of
Islam in the West as Warith Deen Muhammad began the reformation of
the beliefs of the community.
1977 First Islamic Conference of North America met in Newark.
1978 Warilh Deen Muhammad named as
consultant/trustee by Gulf States to distribute funds for Islamic
missionary activities in U.S.
1980 The World Community of Islam in the West assumed the name of
the American Muslim Mission
1981 The International Institute of Islamic Thought founded
1982 Islamic Society of North America
(ISNA) formed
1983 Islamic College founded in
Chicago
1985 Warith Deen Muhammad decentralized the American Muslim Mission
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Ever since the early 1950's, Muslim
students from third world countries have been flocking in increasing
numbers to the United States for technical and professional
training. In the process, certain American campuses as well as, some
of the mosques and Islamic centers associated with them have become
important locales for theological reflection and for debate on a
variety of Islamic world views. Shielded from the watchful eyes of
the police in their homelands, Muslim students in the United States
have been recruited into a variety of Islamic organizations,
covering a spectrum running from moderate groups like ABIM of
Malaysia, Jamiyat al Islah of Kuwait, the Jamaati Islami of
Pakistan, and the Muslim Brotherhood of Sudan, to radical groups
banned in many Muslim countries, including Jihad, Takfir wal Hijra,
and Hizbullah; Here they are able to Forge links with students of
other nations providing the nucleus for an international network of
leaders committed to the creation of an Islamic state, or an Islamic
world order-Prior to the Second World War, earlier generations of
Muslim students found in Europe, especially in France, models for a
secular nationalism in which separate ethnic identities were
subsumed under the ideal of a single state. The postwar Muslim
experience of the United States appears to be different. America is
experienced not as a secular but as a religious society. Churches
with active and sizeable congregations provide a focus for much of
the nation's social organization and activity. While the Muslim
student may not be aware of the historical circumstances,
theological conflicts, or sociological factors that deter- mined the
way these churches developed their present roles, he does see that
it is possible to forge one nation out a variety of nationalities, a
nation self-consciously described as under God. And this aspect of
how he experiences America can have a profound influence on how he
experiences Islam later in life. |
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On a practical level, students who
return home may seek to replicate some of the adaptations Islam has
made to American ways. At least five "full ser- vice" mosques, for
example, have been established in Cairo in the past few years. These
provide a variety of services including tutoring, Quran studies,
marriage ceremonies, counseling, and free medical care. The growing
phenomenon of Christian fundamentalism in America, most conspicuous
in the medium of the electronic church, appears to be influencing
many Muslim students on a more pro- found level. Some of these
students can them- selves be characterized as "evangelical," in the
sense that they openly announce that they are "born-again" Muslims,
or talk about bringing about the "Kingdom of God" on earth. {Such
affirmations are not traditional Muslim definitions of the faith;
"new birth" to Islam appears to occur only in the United States.)
Many students, including a substantial number that had never been to
a mosque or practiced Islam before they came to America, report that
their American experience has led them to a search for identity and
religious roots. It is not that young Muslims who come to America
experience the religious messages preached on radio and television
as poignant or relevant. On the contrary, such messages appear
offensive in that they can only be characterized as hostile to
Islam. What is happening is that some of these students are
absorbing the process as opposed to the content, and taking it as a
new and powerful vehicle for proclaiming the Slavonic power of
Islam. The chosen medium of ultra-conservative Christians is thus
becoming a formidable tool in the hands of revivalist Muslims, a
process by which they become a kind of mirror image of their
Christian counterparts. And often this newly acquired mode of
expression is retained when they return to their home countries and
adopted as their chosen medium for revolutionary rhetoric. These
Muslim students are absorbing the notion that Christianity is
hostile to Islam, and translating it into hostility toward America
and toward Christianity in general. Many of them are being turned by
their American experience into anti-Western, anti-Christian Islamic
revivalists. The consequences for American foreign policy interests
in future decades are potentially very serious. The root of the
problem is the perception of many resident Muslims that the nation
as a whole is prejudiced against them. If these factors can be
reversed, and that perception overcome, future Muslim students will
hopefully carry home a better impression of America, one that will
be more con- genial to the nation's long-term interests.
CONCLUSIONS
Increasingly conscious of their own identity, America's Muslims wait
for the day when their presence will be recognized or, as one Muslim
put it, "for the day people will talk about America as Protestant,
Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim." Until the present, Muslims have not
played an effective role as a community in the nation's political
process. However, they are beginning to understand the mechanisms
that under gird the American democratic system. It seems reasonable
to assume that they will eventually achieve the participation and
recognition that thus far has been denied them.
Recognition and participation will be
the products of a mutual process in which Muslims seek to build
bridges of understanding and cooperation, and in which leaders of
other communities reach out to Muslims and learn to appreciate their
contributions. Such a process is slow and often difficult, but it is
one other community have followed in the past, and many Muslim
Americans see it as natural and inevitable in a country based on
ideals of freedom and equality. As the American experience slowly
molds the disparate elements of the American Muslim community into a
group of citizens fully responsive to those ideals, those same
Muslim citizens will themselves increasingly hold their country
accountable to their own aspirations for equal status. |
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