Page 4 The Islamic Bulletin Issue 15 That willingness to challenge convention is revitalizing a religion that many think has stagnated since the Middle Ages. Today a reformation is afoot.Muslimsworldwide areworking to square a faith founded inArabia with modernity. Debates rage: Is Islam compatible with Western-style democracy?Withmodern science?With feminism? AmericanMuslims, wealthy, wired and standing on the fault line between cultures, are well positioned to bring a 13-century-old faith into the next millennium. TheUnited States is arguably the best place on earth to beMuslim. Multicultural democracy, with its guarantees of religious freedomand speech, makes life easier for Muslims than in many Islamic states in the Middle East. It’s an idea they’d like to export. U.S. Muslim social organizations sendmoney andmedicine to beleaguered Kashmiris and Bosnians. The Web site of theMinaret of Freedom Institute, an organization devoted to “promoting the establishment of free trade and justice,” has links to the Islamic University of Gaza. “The U.S. Constitution describes the perfect Islamic state,” saysMuhammedMuqtader Khan, who teaches American politics to Muslims. “It protects life, liberty, and property.” GrowingMuslim-Americanpolitical consciousnessmay be the surest sign of assimilation. While their parents may have been happy to sit on the sidelines and pine for the Old World, the new generation realizes that to protect its rights as Americans-andMuslims-it has to speak out. Some mosques educate their communities to be more politically assertive, registering voters and holding programs on how to be an active PTA parent. Freshly minted Muslim lawyers are joining other ambitious young politicos in Washington. “When people say we’ll never have electedMuslim-American officials, I say, ‘Hey, those are the same things they said about a Catholic named Kennedy running for president’,” says Suhail Khan, a 28-year-old congressional staffer. Muslim and Arab groups have protested against airport-security profiling, which they say unfairly targets them as potential terrorists. In the 1996 election, three times asmanyMuslims supportedBill Clinton as BobDole. TheWhiteHouse has not forgotten. This year the First Lady threw a Ramadan party in the marble-and-gilt Indian Treaty Room in theWest Wing. Hillary Clinton’s talk-which touched on everything from peace to democracy to the trials of being a beleaguered minority-drew fervent applause. Long after the First Lady left, guests loitered, munched baklava and humus and took snapshots of one another. Having made it to the White House, it seemed, they didn’t want to leave. Editor’s Note: What is Islam’s presence in the United States? It is almost impossible to generalize about American Muslims: converts, immigrants, factory workers, boxers, doctors; all are mak-ing their own contribution to America’s future. This complex community is unified by a common faith, underpinned by a countrywide network of a thousand mosques. Muslims were early arrivals in North America. By the eighteenth century thereweremany thousands of them, working as slaves on plantations. These early communities, cut off from their heritage and families, inevitably lost their Islamic identity as time went by. Today many Afro-American Muslims play an important role in the Islamic community. The nineteenth century, however, saw the beginnings of an influx of Arab Muslims, most of whom settled in the major industrial centers where they worshipped in hired rooms. The early twentieth century witnessed the arrival of several hundred thousand Muslims from Eastern Europe: the first Albanian mosque was opened in Maine in 1915; others soon followed, and a group of Polish Muslims opened a mosque in Brooklyn in 1928. In 1947 the Washington Islamic Center was founded during the term of President Truman, and several nationwide organizations were set up in the fifties. The same period saw the establishment of other communities whose lives were in many ways modeled after Islam. More recently, numerous members of these groups have entered the fold of Islam. Today there are about six million Muslims in America. Answer: The 23 marble relief portraits depict historical figures noted for their work in establishing the principles that underlie American law. Sultan Suleiman was also known as Kanuni, The Lawgiver. Muhammad Ali is known by his trademark statement “I am the greatest!” This was not a sign of arrogance. He is still the greatest heavy weight champion of all times. He was asked by an interviewer how he balanced his humility as a Muslim with this statement and Ali replied “Allah is the Greatest; I am just the greatest boxer.” He was a pious person and showed utter humility and always gave credit to Allah for his victories. Ali is the only celebrity to have turned down the offer to have his name placed on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood.He so revered the Prophet Muhammad (S), that he did not want to have people stepping on his name and thus is the only celebrity to have his star placed on the wall. Watch this video on the Walk of Fame: http://www.islamicbulletin.org/videos/clay/star/ali.mp4 Why does the figure of Ottoman Sultan Suleiman (1494-1566) of the Ottoman Empire appear above the House Chamber door, US Capitol building in Washington DC?
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