Running head: MUSLIMS AND AMERICA

Muslims and America:

The Integration of Muslims into American Society
Daniel T. Goshorn
University of Kentucky

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Abstract

This document compares the Muslim culture of the Middle East and the Western culture of the
United States, exploring how these two cultures blend in a western context, with the aid of
several published articles that report on this topic, as well as first-hand research that has been
conducted by the author in the form of interviews and observation of Muslims living in
Lexington, Kentucky. The main focus of this paper will be the integration of Muslims into
Western society. There are many opinions and studies that suggest different levels of blending
between the Middle East and the West, varying in their level conformity to the host culture of the
West and the rootedness in their maternal culture. This paper will also focus on the difficult, as
well as smooth and manageable aspects of transitioning from the predominately Islamic Middle
East to the traditionally Judeo-Christian United States.
Keywords: Muslim integration into Western society, conformity to host culture of the
West, rootedness in maternal culture

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Muslims and America:

The Integration of Muslims into American Society

Imagine being dropped off in the middle of the Amazon Jungle where you must live with
a native tribe. You have a rudimentary, but not exhaustive understanding of the language, so
basic communication is possible. You also have a primitive understanding of their socio-political
system, but what you know is mainly given to you by fictional movies or the media you were
exposed to back in your home country. You arrive at this village, and you see oddly-dressed,
half-naked people with strange tattoos and piercings staring at you. Someone notices you and
your discomfort and uneasiness, so they decide to take you to where you will be sleeping. You
take a brief walk, and arrive upon a small house, a hut really. It has three walls made out of
bamboo-like shafts, and a roof made of thatch. There is no floor, no furniture, no bed. You have
no refrigerator, no oven or stove, no running water, nor do you have electricity. People are doing
strange things, they have a strange religion that is totally different from your own. They do
things that would be considered abhorrent in your culture, but to them it is perfectly normal,
expected even. You have been plucked out of your comfort zone, the place where you knew
about everything, and have been placed in a whole new, strange, unfamiliar world. Imagine what
you would be feeling. That is what is feels like to leave your country, your home, and go to the
other side of the world to live. That is what most Muslims feel like when they arrive to the
United States. They are fish out of water, confused and disoriented. Everything is unknown to
them, and they must try to adapt and learn this new culture they find themselves in.

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Islam, for the most part, was widely unknown or ignored by the United States prior the
last 25 years. Oil and violent attacks brought about a higher level of awareness of Muslims and
the Middle East, but they still remained generally unthought of by the average citizen of the US.
In 1991, when the US invaded Iraq, the Middle East was more prominent in the minds of
Americans, but not to the level it was after the attack on the Twin Towers. On September 11,
2001, the citizens of the United States were awoken to the existence of Islam. Since then, the
United Sates has been uninterruptedly involved in countries in the Middle East. Prior to 9/11, the
United States had already been involved in conflicts and wars in that region of the world, but not
to the extent it has been over the last 14 years. The Middle East is a constant presence in the
media, and because of that Americans have formulated a wide array of opinions toward the
Middle East in general, and toward individual Muslims specifically.
Generally speaking, Muslims are greatly misunderstood in the United States. Some say
that they are all violent terrorists, while others say they are all loving and peaceful. Neither of
these perceptions are accurate, nor are they both completely false. Regardless, Muslims are
misunderstood in a variety of ways, including: where they come from historically and culturally,
how they practice Islam here in the US and in their home countries, and how they live their day
to day lives. For one to truly understand Muslims, specifically Muslims living in a Western
context, one must understand their history, culture, how they view the West, how they transition
from Islamic countries to the United States, contrasts between their maternal culture and this
culture, and what their day to day lives look like in comparison to the average American. Then,
once we understand that, we may begin to understand the Muslim.

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Before we can begin to comprehend the typical Muslim living in the United States, we
must know a bit about their history and culture. Islam comes from Saudi Arabia, originating in
Mecca from a man named Muhammad in the 7th century AD. It is a relatively young religion,
though Muslims will tell you that Islam has been in existence since the creation of man.
Muhammad was a man thought of as a prophet by Muslims. Throughout the course of his life, he
would receive revelations in the form of visions given to him by the angel Gabriel. Muhammad
would then convulse and/or foam at the mouth and speak what the angel Gabriel had told him to
say. These sayings were, after the death of Muhammad, compiled into a book called the Quran.
This is the Islamic holy book, said to contain the revelations of god for man to live by.
Muslims will say, The Qur'an was dictated by Muhammad but, according to the Qur'an,
it did not originate with Muhammad. The Qur'an testifies of itself that it was given by God
through the angel Gabriel to the prophet Muhammad. "This is a revelation from the Lord of the
universe. The Honest Spirit (Gabriel) came down with it, to reveal it into your heart that you may
be one of the warners, in a perfect Arabic tongue" (Sura 26:192-195). "Say, 'Anyone who
opposes Gabriel should know that he has brought down this (the Qur'an) into your heart, in
accordance with God's will, confirming previous scriptures, and providing guidance and good
news for the believers'" (Sura 2:97) (Origin of Islam, 2015).
There is much more to the history of Islam, but since this is not a historical essay, I will
not delve into it further. One must understand, however, that the Quran, and the subsequent
Hadith (biographical writings about the life of the prophet Muhammad) are the sources of
everything devout Muslims do and say. They follow the lifestyle of Muhammad as closely as

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possible because they consider him to be the last and perfect prophet. This is crucial to
understand if one is to relate to how Muslims integrate into American society. This leads us to
our next point: characteristics of Muslim culture.
Muslim cultures are very diverse, but they all have a basic, shared set of beliefs and
customs. Each geographical region containing a high Muslim population has its own set of
interpretations and practices, but they all believe in the same thing and have common principal
traditions. Muslim society is very communal and incredibly personal. Family is of the utmost
importance, and one must be loyal to their family under all circumstances. Children must always
obey their parents, mainly their father, no matter what their age. The male is the head of the
household, and the grandfather is the head of the family. Furthermore, men may marry up to four
wives, and the wives are to be submissive to the husband at all times. Muslim communities
always observe the strict religious events of the Quran and the Hadith, which consist of prayer,
fasting, giving of alms, pilgrimage to Mecca, and confession of faith to Allah by Muhammad the
prophet. In Islamic nations, if a person leaves Islam and converts to another religion, they will be
severely punished, excommunicated by their family and friends, and in some instances, killed.
Islam even goes as far as the government. The system of government in Muslim countries is
entirely based on the Quran and the Hadith, a very different philosophy and structure than what
is found in the United States (A. Alsafri, personal communication, February 6, 2015).
For a Muslim, religion is everything. Religion decides what food they eat, what activities
they participate in, how they dress, and even how they interact. Islam dictates a Muslims life. In
America, we have a difficult time grasping that concept since we have become such a
postmodern culture with little value of true devotion and commitment to anything. As Voas and

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Fleischmann (2012) put it, Most Western nations are now relatively secular, though; nominal
affiliation often remains high, but there is a fairly uniform distribution across the spectrum from
atheism to orthodoxy, and participation in religious services is very low (p527). But for a
Muslim from the Middle East, religious participation is his very being. I observed this through
personal communication with Ali Alsafri, as well as through observation of Muslims attending
the Mosque and my own personal interactions with Muslims over a period of several years.
According to Voas and Fleischmann (2012), nearly all Muslim immigrants come from societies
that are comparatively religious and where, typically, Islam is the dominant religion (p. 527).
One observation I made while researching Islam and the Muslims of Lexington,
Kentucky answered a very crucial question: where do Muslims come from? This question is not
referring to a geographical origin, but a personal one. I wanted to know how and why subsequent
generations chose to follow such a harsh religion (to truly understand the harshness of Islam, one
must thoroughly research its history, and one must read the Quran and the Hadith, which I have
read). Voas and Fleischmann (2012) answer that question accordingly:
Religiosity, or degree of religious commitment, needs to be distinguished from religious
identity. Religion is arguably like ethnicity; something that for most people is transmitted to them
rather than being chosen by them. The extent to which religious affiliation is an involuntary
attribute or a matter of personal choice remains contentious (p. 528).
According to Ali Alsafri (personal communication, February 6, 2015), if he were to leave
Islam he would never be allowed to return to his home (Saudi Arabia), and if he did go back after
having converted to another religion, his family would not speak to him and he would most
likely be killed. One must look at Islam, not through the eyes of a North American, but through

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the eyes of a Muslim. To us, Islam seems to be just like every other religion, but for a Muslim,
Islam is absolutely everything. If a child of Muslim parents chose to follow another religion, it
would be like he is spitting in the face of his parents and rejecting them personally. They would
feel betrayed by their child and they would be obligated to either ostracize their child or kill him.
That is Islam (Nabeel Qureshi, 2013).
So how does a religion of that intensity translate to the traditionally Judeo-Christian
United States?
According to Norris and Inglehart (2012), Theories of cultural integration suggest that
immigrants gradually absorb the values and norms that predominate in their host society,
especially on an intergenerational basis. By contrast, theories of divergence suggest that
distinctive social values and norms are enduring and deep-rooted within each nation, shaped by
collective histories, common languages and religious traditions, so that migrant populations are
unlikely to abandon their cultural roots when they settle in another country (p. 229).
These are two opposing theories, and various studies suggest various results, and so one
must look at the issue on a whole. Since, compared with Western nations, Islamic societies are
highly conservative with regards to sexuality and gender equality, far less tolerant on issues of
sexual liberalization such as abortion, divorce and homosexuality. While most Western countries
are almost always more secular (Norris & Inglehart, 2012), a Muslim coming here from the
Middle East will be met with a barrage of conflicting ideas. He will view men as superior to
women, while the dominate culture of the United States will say we are equal. He will view
immodest clothing at wrong and offensive, while the contemporary culture here will promote it.
The Muslim will view religious ceremony with utmost respect and importance, while todays

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America will tell him it is all relative and subjective, unimportant and based on personal feeling
and emotions. The question is: how do Muslims respond to this conflict of ideas they face?
Based on an analysis done by Norris & Inglehart (2012), Muslims living here in the
United States do not share identical traditional values with their counterparts living in Islamic
contexts, rather they fall halfway between the dominant values of their home countries and the
dominant values held by their host country.
Imagine youve been dropped into the Amazon Jungle. You have very little knowledge of
the culture you now find yourself a part of, so everything you see is decoded through your
personal lens of your past experiences and culture. Likewise, everything you do is decoded by
those around you through their own worldviews. Thats what it is like for a Muslim coming to
the United States. One must take the time to truly understand Muslims living in the United
States. They come from a radically different culture than that of our own, thus view the world in
a very different manor. Some conform almost completely to Western society and integrate
virtually seamlessly, while others hold fast to their traditional, Islamic roots, and therefore have a
more difficult experience integrating into North American culture. We, as members of the
dominant culture here in the US, must be considerate and take the time to really get to know
people, Muslims and others, so that we may be kind, accepting human beings.