Being a Muslim in modern America

Islam is a way of life and very simple at that. It teaches piety, humility, peace, war, chastity, and more things about life that I can think of. With all the stereotypes circulating, it is difficult for a Muslim to keep up with the who-said-what in this non-Islamic country. Personally, I’ve heard my fair share of “Is that a pillowcase on your head?” to “Are you wearing a bomb tied under your dress?” If anything can be said about Muslims, you should know the essence of puns.

The ignorance of some non-Muslims is expected for the most part, that does not mean it gets easier every time they come to us. It’s difficult because we interact with them every day: work, school, bus, shopping, and airplanes. They regard our customs as very foreign and not American. When we look at ourselves and see nothing wrong with our habits. We observe their customs and we see contradictions all the time.

Take American television, for example. If I could describe popular American broadcasts in a few words, it would be sex, money, youth, and homosexuality. The most popular US shows have one or all four of these characteristics. That is not what the Bible preaches and it is definitely not what our book teaches. Yet it is still here and popular with many Americans … including myself. If this is what people are seeing and being nurtured from birth, regardless of religion or background, this is what they will end up engaging in as they age. How can you be a full-fledged Muslim if you grew up here in America? It is not impossible but misleading. When I say misleading, there will definitely be many obstacles, huge walls and narrow barriers that you must overcome in order to stay true to Islamic customs. It is possible to adapt to American customs while still participating in Islamic tradition. Something like taking the good and leaving the bad.

Has anyone who lives in the United States ever wondered how we feel as non-violent Muslims living in foreign territory? Has anyone ever wondered: How do Muslims in America who are not of Middle Eastern descent feel about everything that is happening?

You have been cordially invited to take a look at the life of an African American Muslim woman. One of whom struggles every day with her identity between being a strong Muslim who puts all her efforts into living here only for the next life versus living the American dream of wealth and glamor.

You may think we live a normal life … you have no idea. Every day we live to do a little more than we did the day before. Pray some more. Give a little more. Curse a little less. We are constantly trying to please and live our lives for the creator of humanity. Unfortunately, we are still human and we have human urges like everyone else. Do not think that the fact that we do what we do every day does not mean that we are not like the rest. We probably have more in common with non-Muslims than you think.
Human characteristics: lying, cheating, stealing, fornication, adultery, envy, lust, love and hate. All the things we’ve done and so have you. Our conscience is probably in the bombardment as we do these things because we know we are going to get paid for it here or in the afterlife, but still our own free will did it.

So here is the big question: Why is it so difficult to be a good Muslim when you lived in a non-Islamic country? There are a few reasons.

1. Born in a non-Muslim society

I was born in Detroit, Michigan. My mother was neither Muslim nor Christian. My father was a Freemason and they both never married. I don’t remember much of my life before I became a Muslim, but I had a feeling that it was not what they would call a Muslim home. Around the age of six, my mother decided to convert to Islam with her three children. When I was a child we had interaction with non-Muslim family members, we had non-Muslim children who came to play with us, neighbors, grocery store clerks and the rest. Although we went to Jumah prayer every Friday, only one day of the week we had interaction with other Muslims only. The rest of the six days it was my brothers and I against the foreign world. My mother instilled certain Islamic traits throughout the day, but afterwards we went to see non-Muslims on television. All of these advertisements infiltrated our minds like sponges and shaped who many of us Muslims are today. We may not agree with that, but it had some effect on who we are in Islam.

2. Muslims spend a lot of time with non-Muslims

I used to have a full time job. It was 44 hours a week. I was a manager at the Walgreens pharmacy. I spent 8-10 hours a day there. I slept 8 hours a day and it took me an hour in total to get to and from work. That left me 5-7 hours of downtime for those five days a week. Most of my waking time had been spent at work, working and integrating with my non-Muslim colleagues. How do you make a person feel about spending most of their time working and fraternizing with people who have nothing in common with you? And since you are the minority, you do your best to be less Muslim and more like them due to the pressures to “fit in.” They work and spend time together, why doesn’t a Muslim have the same feeling of unity in the workplace? Why can’t I just pull up another Muslim worker and say, “hey, let’s pray on our lunch break”?

3. Wanting to imitate to fit in with the rest

This matches the example above. We think that if we fit in, it would be a lot
easier for us. But in reality, we simply lose our identity. We are Muslim because we want to be. Nobody forced us to be like this. You don’t have to act like a Muslim. But if that’s the case, why are you claiming it? I see the little Muslim teenagers on their way to school and instead of wearing the Islamic robe, they look like the rest of the children. And it hurts me because they don’t dress like that at home or in front of their parents but they feel the need to be accepted by others. Children do not know the implications of not practicing their religion at a young age. For them, not wearing Islam as a proud badge of honor is a shame. The goal is not to completely separate Muslims from other people or religions, but to reinforce religion throughout the day by being close to other Muslims. Nobody wants to feel like a stranger.

Being Muslim is a great thing for me because I have access to many resourceful people from different backgrounds. They come from all walks of life and diversity excites me as do others who live to be a full human being. Staying true to one’s religion brings pride and a sense of well-being like no other. We all want to belong to someone; something and with Islam I can say that we all feel that way about our religion. No matter what situation we find ourselves in, perhaps not Islamic or how many death threats, strange looks or laughter, we will stand firm because the only entity we must please is God.

Lots of love,
Leah