POLITICAL MATURATION
Most Muslims who migrated to the United States grew up in societies that had become
accustomed to political elitism and popular quietism. It was, therefore, quite natural for
them to shun political activism and maintain low-key political posture.
However, beginning with the late seventies, a new wave of Islamic activists arrived in
America. These were mainly young men who have come to pursue their higher education in
American universities. Emboldened by the nascent Islamic resurgence in the Muslim world,
and saturated with Islamic idealism, they busied themselves with political agitation and
mobilization. But the political activism of these Islamists was limited to activities
targeting the Muslim community in particular, and involved mainly programs that were high
on rhetoric and low on action. While high-rhetoric conferences and meetings served
initially as an outlet for the anger and frustration of Muslim activists with regard to
moral degradation and political subjugation practised by Muslim regimes supported by major
western powers, including the U.S. government, they also served as avenues for exchange of
views and ideas, and the education of the American Muslim community about the plight of
Muslims the world over.
The early nineties witnessed a remarkable elevation in the level of Muslim political
involvement. For the first time American Muslims began to rally mainstream political
leaders to their causes. The effort to use the voting power of Muslims to influence the
decisions and priorities of American politicians has been led by Islamic centers and
community-based organizations; some national organizations (e.g. AMC and CAIR) have been
playing an important role in educating the public on Islamic causes, and providing
logistical and technical support to Muslim activists. National political action groups
have also been lobbying the Congress and the Administration in support of Islamic causes.
Yet the overall impact of the political action of Muslim organizations on the general
public and the American political scene is hardly noticeable. While reasons for the meager
impact of Muslims on American politics are multifarious, two clearly stand out: political
fragmentation and political aloofness.
Political fragmentation is often the result of the lack of political experience and
maturation. Many Muslims are comfortable in working with those who share with them
cultural attitudes and habits, or ideological commitments. The result is a lot of
reluctance and hesitation in dealing with individuals and organizations outside their
group. Some self-seeking community leaders have found it convenient to play the ethnic and
ideological card to maintain their grip on the community affairs. While selfishness and
short-sightedness play an important role in the fragmentation of Muslims, the lack of
political experience and maturity lies at the core of the problem.Many Muslims came, as
has been pointed out earlier, from a socio-cultural background characterized by political
quietism. People of
such background often possess a negative attitude towards political action in general and
tend to harbor suspicion against any individual or group projecting an assertive agenda.
It is therefore imperative for the American Muslim political leadership to address the
misgivings and insecurities of the American Muslim population and gradually build
confidence and trust. One way to overcome this limitation is to demonstrate the uplifting
effects of concerted political action by providing exemplary models and success stories.
Such success stories of effective cooperation can stir the imagination and uplift the
spirit of the community.
Political aloofness, on the other hand, manifests itself in the lack of serious
involvement in issues of concern to the general public. By and large Muslim political
action addresses questions involving the violation of the civil rights of American
Muslims, or human rights and political liberties of Muslim communities worldwide. While
these are legitimate concerns of American Muslims, and should naturally take priority over
others, it is very vital for Muslim individuals and groups to stand for the principles of
right and justice in general, and support good causes, regardless of the ethnic and
religious affiliation of their beneficiaries. Muslims should also join hands with
different groups including non-Muslims, in fighting injustice and corruption; such an
involvement of the Muslims is only natural as emphasis on universality of good will and
intention is the hallmark of Islam itself. After all this is the essence of the principle
of tawhid which emphasizes the unity of: the divine, revelation, creation, truth, and
humanity. The dynamism and integrative power of Islam has been beautifully captured by
Hegel when he states : "The leading features of Mohammedanism [Islam] involve this,
that in actual existence nothing can become fixed, but that everything is destined to
expand itself in activity and life in boundless amplitude of the world, so that the
worship of the one remains the only bond by which the whole is capable of uniting. In this
expansion, this active energy, all limits, all national and caste distinctions vanish, no
particular race, no political claim of birth or possession is regarded, only man as a
believer."
Yet the political mobilization of the Muslims should not center on the assertion of
rights and the promotion of justice. Equally important is the question of institutional
building and the development of human resources. Muslim socio-political organizations
should work towards the development of educational bodies devoted for producing school
curricula based on the idea of integration of knowledge, discussed in the previous
section, and for the preparation and training of quality teachers. They should also
channel Muslim talents to the various areas of services the community requires, including
journalism, law, media, scholarship, etc.
Community strength does not come from sheer activism, but requires strategic planning.
While it is true that numbers count in a democracy, it is equally true that spiritual and
technical strengths of the individuals whose numbers add up to form the community are
quite essential for the making of a critical mass. A good strategy, therefore, should
enhance unity and cooperation among Muslims and ensure the diversity and sophistication of
their skills; while the bulk of Muslim professionals work as physicians, engineers, and
businessmen, the Muslim community is in a dire need for lawyers, teachers, journalists,
novelists, and similar professions that provide direction, project the correct and true
image of Islamic ethos and values, and raise the Muslim voice so that the American Muslim
community can be heard loud and clear.
To sum up this discourse, the emerging Muslim Communities like their earlier
counterparts of various religious communities from Europe, have lodged themselves in a
free, challenging and dynamic world where all have the opportunity to express their true
Islamic impact. Islam by its universalistic value system and simple, commonly understood
ethical norms and practices has a natural vitality which prevails in such situations.
Islamic history is full of precedents where as Islam appeared on similar-cross-roads of
cultures and conglomerations of peoples in situations of chaos and moral confusion, it
succeeded in uniting them around the central and binding core of unity of tawheed and led
to the new vision of building the society on the divine purpose. So today in America
Muslims have a role and a duty to lead the way through Islamic education, sound moral
conduct, and active participation in positive political movements, to the creation of a
just, peaceful and righteous society
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