--- In ppiindia@yahoogroups.com, Satrio Arismunandar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > *Islam: The Next American Religion?* > *By Michael Wolfe* > http://www.islamfor today.com/ wolfe3.htm > > *The U.S. began as a haven for Christian outcasts. But > what religion fits our current zeitgeist? The answer > may be Islam.*
--------------------- Here you are: The Islamic States of America? by Daniel Pipes FrontPageMagazine.com September 23, 2004 The hardest thing for Westerners to understand is not that a war with militant Islam is underway but that the nature of the enemy's ultimate goal. That goal is to apply the Islamic law (the Shari`a) globally. In U.S. terms, it intends to replace the Constitution with the Qur'an. This aspiration is so remote and far-fetched to many non-Muslims, it elicits more guffaws than apprehension. Of course, that used to be the same reaction in Europe, and now it's become widely accepted that, in Bernard Lewis' words, "Europe will be Islamic by the end of the century." Because of the American skepticism about Islamist goals, I postponed publishing an article on this subject until immediately after 9/11, when I expected receptivity to the subject would be greater (it was published in November 2001 as "The Danger Within: Militant Islam in America"). I argued there that The Muslim population in this country is not like any other group, for it includes within it a substantial body of peoplemany times more numerous than the agents of Osama bin Ladinwho share with the suicide hijackers a hatred of the United States and the desire, ultimately, to transform it into a nation living under the strictures of militant Islam. The receptivity indeed was greater, but still the idea of an Islamist takeover remains unrecognized in establishment circles the U.S. government, the old media, the universities, the mainline churches. Therefore, reading "A rare look at secretive Brotherhood in America," in the Chicago Tribune on Sept. 19 caused me to startle. It's a long analysis that draws on an exclusive interview with Ahmed Elkadi, the Muslim Brotherhood leader in the United States during 1984-94, plus other interviews and documentation. In it, the authors (Noreen S. Ahmed-Ullah, Sam Roe, and Laurie Cohen) warily but emphatically acknowledge the Islamists' goal of turning the United States into an Islamic state. Over the last 40 years, small groups of devout Muslim men have gathered in homes in U.S. cities to pray, memorize the Koran and discuss events of the day. But they also addressed their ultimate goal, one so controversial that it is a key reason they have operated in secrecy: to create Muslim states overseas and, they hope, someday in America as well. Brotherhood members emphasize that they follow the laws of the nations in which they operate. They stress that they do not believe in overthrowing the U.S. government, but rather that they want as many people as possible to convert to Islam so that one dayperhaps generations from nowa majority of Americans will support a society governed by Islamic law. This Brotherhood approach is in keeping with my observation that the greater Islamist threat to the West is not violence flattening buildings, bombing railroad stations and nightclubs, seizing theaters and schools but the peaceful, legal growth of power through education, the law, the media, and the political system. The Tribune article explains how, when recruiting new members, the organization does not reveal its identity but invites candidates to small prayer meetings where the prayer leaders focus on the primary goal of the Brotherhood, namely "setting up the rule of God upon the Earth" (i.e., achieving Islamic hegemony). Elkadi describes the organization's strategic, long-term approach: "First you change the person, then the family, then the community, then the nation." His wife Iman is no less explicit; all who are associated with the Brotherhood, she says, have the same goal, which is "to educate everyone about Islam and to follow the teachings of Islam with the hope of establishing an Islamic state." In addition to Elkadi, the article features information from Mustafa Saied (about whose Muslim Brotherhood experiences the Wall Street Journal devoted a feature story in December 2003, without mentioning the organization's Islamist goals). Saied, the Tribune informs us, says he found out that the U.S. Brotherhood had a plan for achieving Islamic rule in America: It would convert Americans to Islam and elect like-minded Muslims to political office. "They're very smart. Everyone else is gullible," Saied says. "If the Brotherhood puts up somebody for an election, Muslims would vote for him not knowing he was with the Brotherhood." Citing documents and interviews, the Tribune team notes that the secretive Brotherhood, in an effort to acquire more influence, went above ground in Illinois in 1993, incorporating itself as the Muslim American Society. The MAS, headquartered in Alexandria, Va. and claiming 53 chapters across the United States engages in a number of activities. These include summer camps, a large annual conference, websites, and the Islamic American University, a mainly correspondence school in suburban Detroit that trains teachers and imams. Of course, the MAS denies any intent to take over the country. One of its top officials, Shaker Elsayed, insists that MAS does not believe in creating an Islamic state in America but supports the establishment of Islamic governments in Muslim lands. The group's goal in the United States, he says, "is to serve and develop the Muslim community and help Muslims to be the best citizens they can be of this country." That includes preserving the Muslim identity, particularly among youths. Notwithstanding this denial, the Tribune finds MAS goals to be clear enough: Part of the Chicago chapter's Web site is devoted to teens. It includes reading materials that say Muslims have a duty to help form Islamic governments worldwide and should be prepared to take up arms to do so. One passage states that "until the nations of the world have functionally Islamic governments, every individual who is careless or lazy in working for Islam is sinful." Another one says that Western secularism and materialism are evil and that Muslims should "pursue this evil force to its own lands" and "invade its Western heartland." [links added by me, DP] In suburban Rosemont, Ill., several thousand people attended MAS' annual conference in 2002 at the village's convention center. One speaker said, "We may all feel emotionally attached to the goal of an Islamic state" in America, but it would have to wait because of the modest Muslim population. "We mustn't cross hurdles we can't jump yet." These revelations are particularly striking, coming as they do just days after a Washington Post article titled "In Search Of Friends Among The Foes," which reports how some U.S. diplomats and intelligence officials believe the Muslim Brotherhood's influence "offers an opportunity for political engagement that could help isolate violent jihadists." Graham Fuller is quoted saying that "It is the preeminent movement in the Muslim world. It's something we can work with." Demonizing the Brotherhood, he warns, "would be foolhardy in the extreme." Other analysts, such as Reuel Gerecht, Edward Djerejian, and Leslie Campbell, are quoted as being in agreement with this outlook. But it is a deeply wrong and dangerous approach. Even if the Muslim Brotherhood is not specifically associated with violence in the United States (as it has been in other countries, including Egypt and Syria), it is deeply hostile to the United States and must be treated as one vital component of the enemy's assault force. Sept. 26, 2004 update: In a verbose and technical response to the Chicago Tribune article cited above, Esam Omeish, the president of the Muslim American Society, acknowledges that MAS has been influenced by the "moderate school of thought prevalent in the Muslim Brotherhood" and makes no effort to refute the article's premise that MAS has in mind "the goal of an Islamic state." How odd. _________ --- In ppiindia@yahoogroups.com, Satrio Arismunandar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > *Islam: The Next American Religion?* > *By Michael Wolfe* > http://www.islamfor today.com/ wolfe3.htm > > *The U.S. began as a haven for Christian outcasts. But > what religion fits our current zeitgeist? The answer > may be Islam.* > Americans tend to think of their country as, at the > very least, a nominally Christian nation. Didn't the > Pilgrims come here for freedom to practice > their Christian religion? Don't Christian values of > righteousness under God, and freedom, reinforce > America's democratic, capitalist ideals? > > True enough. But there's a new religion on the block > now, one that fits the > current zeitgeist nicely. It's Islam. > > Islam is the third-largest and fastest growing > religious community in the United States. This is not > just because of immigration. More than 50% of > America's six million Muslims were born here. > Statistics like these imply some basic agreement > between core American values and the beliefs that > Muslims hold. Americans who make the effort to look > beyond popular stereotypes to learn the truth of Islam > are surprised to find themselves on > familiar ground. > > Is America a Muslim nation? Here are seven reasons the > answer may be YES. > > Islam is monotheistic. Muslims worship the same God as > Jews and Christians. They also revere the same > prophets as Judaism and Christianity, from > Abraham, the first monotheist, to Moses, the law giver > and messenger of God, to Jesus--not leaving out Noah, > Job, or Isaiah along the way. The concept of > a Judeo-Christian tradition only came to the fore in > the 1940s in America. Now, as a nation, we may be > transcending it, turning to a more inclusive > "Abrahamic" view. > > In January, President Bush grouped mosques with > churches and synagogues in his inaugural address. A > few days later, when he posed for photographers at > a meeting of several dozen religious figures, the > Shi'ite imam Muhammad Qazwini, of Orange County, > Calif., stood directly behind Bush's chair like a > presiding angel, dressed in the robes and turban of > his south Iraqi youth. > > Islam is democratic in spirit. Islam advocates the > right to vote and educate yourself and pursue a > profession. The Qur'an, on which Islamic law is based, > enjoins Muslims to govern themselves by discussion and > consensus. In mosques, there is no particular priestly > hierarchy. With Islam, each individual is responsible > for the condition of her or his own soul. Everyone > stands equal before God. > > Americans, who mostly associate Islamic government > with a handful of tyrants, may find this independent > spirit surprising, supposing that Muslims > are somehow predisposed to passive submission. Nothing > could be further from the truth. The dictators > reigning today in the Middle East are not the result > of Islamic principles. They are more a result of > global economics and the aftermath of European > colonialism. Meanwhile, like everyone else, > average Muslims the world over want a larger say in > what goes on in the countries where they live. Those > in America may actually succeed in it. In > this way, America is closer in spirit to Islam than > many Arab countries. > > Islam contains an attractive mystical tradition. > Mysticism is grounded in the individual search for > God. Where better to do that than in America, land > of individualists and spiritual seekers? And who might > better benefit than Americans from the centuries-long > tradition of teachers and students that > characterize Islam. Surprising as it may seem, > America's best-selling poet du jour is a Muslim mystic > named Rumi, the 800-year-old Persian bard and > founder of the Mevlevi Path, known in the West as the > Whirling Dervishes. > > Even book packagers are now rushing him into print to > meet and profit from mainstream demand for this > visionary. Translators as various as Robert Bly, > Coleman Barks, and Kabir and Camille Helminski have > produced dozens of books of Rumi's verse and have only > begun to bring his enormous output before the > English-speaking world. This is a concrete poetry of > ecstasy, where physical reality and the longing for > God are joined by flashes of metaphor and > insight that continue to speak across the centuries. > > Islam is egalitarian. From New York to California, the > only houses of worship that are routinely integrated > today are the approximately 4,000 > Muslim mosques. That is because Islam is predicated on > a level playing field, especially when it comes to > standing before God. The Pledge of > Allegiance (one nation, "under God") and Lincoln's > Gettysburg Address (all people are "created equal") > express themes that are also basic to Islam. > > Islam is often viewed as an aggressive faith because > of the concept of jihad, but this is actually a > misunderstood term. Because Muslims believe > that God wants a just world, they tend to be > activists, and they emphasize that people are equal > before God. These are two reasons why African > Americans have been drawn in such large numbers to > Islam. They now comprise > about one-third of all Muslims in America. > > Meanwhile, this egalitarian streak also plays itself > out in relations between the sexes. Muhammad, Islam's > prophet, actually was a reformer in his > day. Following the Qur'an, he limited the number of > wives a man could have and strongly recommended > against polygamy. The Qur'an laid out a set of > marriage laws that guarantees married women their > family names, their own possessions and capital, the > right to agree upon whom they will marry, and > the right to initiate divorce. In Islam's early > period, women were professionals and property owners, > as increasingly they are today. > > None of this may seem obvious to most Americans > because of cultural overlays that at > times make Islam appear to be a repressive faith > toward women--but if you look more closely, you can > see the egalitarian streak preserved in the > Qur'an finding _expression in contemporary terms. In > today's Iran, for example, more women than men attend > university, and in recent local > elections there, 5,000 women ran for public office. > > Islam shares America's new interest in food purity and > diet. Muslims conduct a monthlong fast during the holy > month of Ramadan, a practice that many > Americans admire and even seek to emulate. I happened > to spend quite a bit of time with a non-Muslim friend > during Ramadan this year. After a month of > being exposed to a practice that brings some annual > control to human consumption, my friend let me know, > in January, that he was "doing a little Ramadan" of > his own. I asked what he meant. "Well, I'm not > drinking anything or smoking anything for at least a > month, and I'm going off coffee." Given > this friend's normal intake of coffee, I could not > believe my ears. > > Muslims also observe dietary laws that restrict the > kind of meat they can eat. These laws require that the > permitted, or halal, meat is prepared in a > manner that emphasizes cleanliness and a humane > treatment of animals. These laws ride on the same > trends that have made organic foods so popular. > > Islam is tolerant of other faiths. Like America, Islam > has a history of respecting other religions. In > Muhammad's day, Christians, Sabeans, and Jews > in Muslim lands retained their own courts and enjoyed > considerable autonomy. > > As Islam spread east toward India and China, it came > to view Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, and Buddhism as > valid paths to salvation. As Islam spread north > and west, Judaism especially benefited. The return of > the Jews to Jerusalem, after centuries as outcasts, > only came about after Muslims took the city in > 638. The first thing the Muslims did there was to > rescue the Temple Mount, > which by then had been turned into a garbage heap. > > Today, of course, the long discord between Israel and > Palestine has acquired harsh religious overtones. Yet > the fact remains that this is a battle for > real estate, not a war between two faiths. Islam and > Judaism revere the same prophetic lineage, back to > Abraham, and no amount of bullets or barbed wire > can change that. As The New York Times recently > reported, while Muslim/Jewish tensions sometimes flare > on university campuses, lately these > same students have found ways to forge common links. > For one thing, the two > religions share similar dietary laws, including ritual > slaughter and a > prohibition on pork. Joining forces at Dartmouth this > fall, the first > kosher/halal dining hall is scheduled to open its > doors this autumn. That > isn't all: They're already planning a joint > Thanksgiving dinner, with birds > dressed at a nearby farm by a rabbi and an imam. If > the American Pilgrims > were watching now, they'd be rubbing their eyes with > amazement. And, because > they came here fleeing religious persecution, they > might also understand. > > Islam encourages the pursuit of religious freedom. The > Pilgrims landing at Plymouth Rock is not the world's > first story of religious emigration. > Muhammad and his little band of 100 followers fled > religious persecution, too, from Mecca in the year > 622. They only survived by going to Madinah, an > oasis a few hundred miles north, where they > established a new community based on a religion they > could only practice secretly back home. No wonder > then that, in our own day, many Muslims have come here > as pilgrims from oppression, leaving places like > Kashmir, Bosnia, and Kosovo, where being a > Muslim may radically shorten your life span. When the > 20th century's list of emigrant exiles is added up, it > will prove to be heavy with Muslims, that's > for sure. > > All in all, there seems to be a deep resonance between > Islam and the United States. Although one is a world > religion and the other is a sovereign > nation, both are traditionally very strong on > individual responsibility. > Like New Hampshire's motto, "Live Free or Die," > America is wedded to individual liberty and an ethic > based on right action. For a Muslim, spiritual > salvation depends on these. This is best expressed in > a popular saying: Even when you think God isn't > watching you, act as if he is. > > Who knows? Perhaps it won't be long now before words > like salat (Muslim prayer) and Ramadan join karma and > Nirvana in Webster's Dictionary, and > Muslims take their place in America's mainstream. > > *Michael Wolfe is the author of books of poetry, > fiction, travel, and history. His most recent works > are a pair of books from Grove Press on the > pilgrimage to Mecca: "The Hajj" (1993), a first-person > travel account, and "One Thousand Roads to Mecca" > (1997), an anthology of 10 centuries of > travelers writing about the Muslim pilgrimage. In > April 1997, he hosted a televised account of the Hajj > from Mecca for Ted Koppel's "Nightline" on > ABC. He is currently at work on a four-hour television > documentary on the > life and times of the Prophet Muhammad.* > > *+++* > > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around > http://mail.yahoo.com > *************************************************************************** Berdikusi dg Santun & Elegan, dg Semangat Persahabatan. 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