The Muslim Mainstream
Islam is growing fast in America, and its members defy stereotypes
Harsh image. Perhaps the most persistent negative stereotype of Islam is that it is a faith of violent extremists, represented by a masked militant rather than the doctor or computer software designer living next door. It is a stereotype that stings: Muslims in America say they are more likely to be the victims of crime than the perpetrators. In a sense, American Muslims (many of them refugees from the regimes with which they are associated in the public mind) are held hostage to the behavior of Saddam Hussein and Hezbollah: Anti-Muslim violence in the United States rises sharply when tensions peak in the Middle East.
Sgt. George Curtis feels a special pride in having defended the holy sites of Mecca and Medina from the forces of Iraq. He is the commander of an M1A1 Abrams tank at Fort Carson, Colo., a veteran of the gulf war, and also one of the 10,000 Muslims serving in the U.S. military. He sees no contradiction in his roles, noting that the Army has provided special "halal" meals for him and has relieved him of daily physical training requirements during the fast of Ramadan. "Whether it's Iraq or anywhere else in the world," he says, "my first duty is to defend my country."
At a mall in Chantilly, Va., last January, all sides of American Islam were on display. It was Eid-ul Fitr, the festival that ends the fasting month of Ramadan, and the crowd in attendance was as multifaceted as any other mass of 15,000 people one could find. The prayer leader delivered his sermon in English--the only language virtually everyone present could understand. Somali immigrants in white robes and loosely coiled turbans rubbed shoulders with Philadelphia B-boyz in Kangol hats, Lugz jackets, and hip-sagging Tommy Hilfiger jeans. Chador-clad mothers bought their kids pink cotton candy and tried not to worry about the competence of the carnies wearily operating the miniature merry-go-round and the ferris wheel. The longest lines were for a gyroscope ride: Teenagers with scraggly beards and decorous skullcaps were strapped in place, and they grinned wildly as their world spun around and around. For these kids and their friends and classmates, it was just another all-American day at the mall.
Faith in Allah Islam, like Christianity and Judaism, is monothistic, and it views practitioners of these faiths as fellow "people of the book." Members of all three religions worship the same deity: "Allah" is simply the Arabic word for "God." Islam holds Jesus, Moses, and other biblical figures as prophets.
Teachings. The holy book of Islam is the Koran )often spelled Quran or Qur'an), believed to have been revealed to the Prophet Muhammad by the angel Gabriel. The Islamic calendar begins in the year 622, with the flight of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina.
Practice. Every observant Muslim must uphold the "Five Pillars"" of the faith: shahada, the acceptance of the unity of God; salat, prayer five times a day; hajj, pilgrimage to Mecca; sawm, fasting during the month of Ramadan; and zakat, charity.
Conversion. One become a Muslim by reciting a simple credo: "There is no god but God, and Muhammad is his prophet." Such belief must be unforced: One of the most quoted verses of the Koran reads, "There is no compulsion in religion."
Laws. Muslim tradition forbids the use of alcohol, the consumption of foods such as pork that are not "halal," and accepting or charging interest payments. Limited polygamy is permitted but practiced very seldom in most Muslim societies.
Faithful. There are two major denominations of Islam: Sunnis make up about 90 percent of the world population, while Shiites form the overwhelming majority in Iran.
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