The Past, Present, and Future

Note: the very first
Muslims slaves predate even the
Columbus expedition to the
Americas.
• 15-30 % of African slaves were
Muslim
– Some Muslim slaves stood out in their devotion to their faith, but were eventually all converted
• 1880-1914 – Immigrated from
Ottoman Empire area and South
Asia
– Turks, Yemenis, etc came here to prosper and send money back
• Post WWI – Immigration dramatically increased

• First Mosque in U.S – built in Ross, North Dakota, around 1930.
– Lebanese Farmers decided they were going to settle and built a house of worship
• First “official” mosque built in 1934 in Cedar
Rapid, Iowa
– 87 % of mosques have been constructed in the last 30 years

• South Asia (Pakistan, India, China, Bangladesh, etc…) and Middle East (Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon,
Syria, etc…)
• Number of immigrants is increasing, despite the
9/11 attacks.
– In 1992 – about 50,000 Muslims became citizens
– In 2009 – more than 115,000 were granted permanent residency
– If the trend continues, over 130,000 to be granted residency in the year 2030.

• Muslims have emigrated for several reasons:
– Refuge – (Burma), to escape bad living conditions such as persecution, poverty,, civil strife, genocide and war
– Education – Muslims in colleges are increasing
– Islamist Ambition – A few actually come here for extreme purposes. These groups in the mid 1920’s came here to exploit the constitution and replace it with the Qur’an.
• Ie. Malcolm X and the Nation of Islam
• These immigrants are very few in numbers though

• Dearborn, Michigan – Largest concentration of
Muslims. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5YIRU
YPyn8&feature=player_embedded# !
Islamic Center of America – Dearborn Michigan

• In 2009 – Muslims accounted for 2 % of the U.S population, yet ¼ of 3,386 discrimination complaints were filed by
Muslims
– Muslims weren’t allowed lunch breaks for daily prayer
– Muslims weren’t allowed to wear head scarf's at work
– Name calling, such as “terrorist” or “Osama”

• New York City - Manhattan (survey and complaints)
– Affected by 9/11, 79 % Yes; 18 % No; 2% No Response
– 11% Housing; 25% Public Accommodations, 37% Bias, 26%
Employment
• This study confirmed the hypothesis that since 9/11, discrimination for Muslims increased dramatically.
However, this was 9 years ago, so another study was done in
2008.

• Group Complaints increased, even more so than in 2003.
• Anti-Muslim hate crime peaked in 2006, but decreased in 2007.
• January 17, 2007 - An attack on a Muslim took place outside a
Lackawanna, NY, restaurant. The victim, a 26-year-old man of Yemeni heritage, said one of the white male assailants called him a “f**king
Arab” as the attack began. Another attacker allegedly picked the victim up from behind and threw him to the ground, rendering him unconscious. The victim suffered a fractured nose and a fracture under one eye. His medical treatment included staples on the back of his head and six stitches on his face.

May 17, 2007 - An alleged assault on a Muslim woman took place in
Fairview, NJ by a man shouting
Islamophobic slurs. The assailant reportedly shouted, “You (expletive)
Muslims are here to bomb this country, you should all die. I want to kill all of you Muslims.”
July 2007 - A fourth grader of Yemeni descent was allegedly bound and locked in a closet by two Brooklyn classmates for eight minutes before a substitute teacher intervened. The girls hurled “racial and ethnic slurs to the effect –‘go back to your country, we don’t want you here.’”

Discrimination today
• Today, discrimination cases are still disproportionately high.
• Most Muslims live in fear of expressing their faith, fear for their safety.

• Assimilation – to what point?
• Discrimination – Why?
• If the Muslim community continues to grow at the present rate, by the year 2015 Islam will be the second largest religion in the United States.

• Story of an Arab American living in the United
States before and after the 9/11 attacks.
• Should Muslims assimilate?
• Why are Muslims being stereotyped?
– Osama, Terrorist, Go blow yourself up, etc..
• Graphic Novel in which he depicts his life.
• People need a scapegoat. (ie. When the Oklahoma City bombing took place, everyone blamed the Arabs but it was a white man)

• I learned that I am not alone in this world and that there are countless others being discriminated against.
• Even though the bad economy is a big reason for why people discriminate, it’s more of a superiority complex.
• We need to educate people, education is a powerful tool and can end discrimination.

• http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/newsweek-poll-americans-are-mixedon-us-muslims-52756242.html
• http://www.cis.org/articles/2002/back802.html
• http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-chait/77913/muslim-discrimination-all-timehigh#
• http://www.nyc.gov/html/cchr/pdf/sur_report.pdf
• http://www.cair.com/Portals/0/pdf/civilrights2008.pdf
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/29/muslim-discriminationcas_n_842076.html
• http://www.jamaat.org/new/library/Islamic%20history%20english/A%20Century%
20of%20Islam%20in%20America.pdf