Proud to Be
Both Muslim and American
By Moin Moon Khan
Chicago, IL
In the post-9/11 America,
Muslims are seriously perplexed with their identity
issue. Outside their community, the loyalty of
Muslims is increasingly questioned, overtly or
covertly.
But when somebody asks me whether I am an American
or a Muslim first, I feel that the person is either
confused or has some kind of ulterior motive.
This question generates the same annoyance in
me as if somebody would ask whether I prefer my
father or my mother, or my mother or my wife,
or my liver or my kidney, or my hands or my feet.
To resolve the identity crisis, I have developed
my own defense mechanism.
In front of my house, an American flag unfurls
on a large post, but my home also has a big placard,
like a welcome logo, that reads Mashaa Allah,
which means "May Allah shelter you."
Sometimes I wear a tie that symbolizes the American
flag. To manage the tie, I use a tiepin tha t
has the Kalima, Muslims' declaration of faith
("La Illaha Illallah Muhammad ur Rasool Ullah"),
printed on it.
In this way, I don't experience any dichotomy
in being an American and a Muslim. These two attributes
are like the two gorgeous eyes of a beautiful
bride.
I live at an equal distance from two full-time
Islamic parochial schools.
But my son goes to a public elementary school
and, later in the day, goes to a mosque to study
the Holy Koran for an hour. He is a member of
the Cub Scouts, where he proudly participates
in the Pledge of Allegiance at each meeting.
Recently, he was elected president of his school's
Student Council.
My son's name is Shaan, a very popular Irish and
African name. But when his first and middle names
are combined, it means Glory of Allah in my native
language, Urdu.
By being a US resident, I am a citizen of a country
that is not only big in size, wealth, and technological
resources, but also the only country on Earth
where a lot of I slamic principles are implemented
sincerely and not rhetorically.
Religious traditions are practiced without the
fear of the vigilantes or edicts of a government.
Here, one can enjoy a discrimination-free career,
a chance to start a second life, a constitutional
guarantee of equality before law, the right to
vote, the freedom to practice any religion.
In fact, this country provides me more ge nuine
sense of being a part of the virtual Muslim Ummah
(one Muslim nation) than any country in the world.
Despite the alleged resurgence of the Islamist
movement in the Middle East, people there identify
themselves more being an Arab than a Muslim.
They have special words to distinguish between
Arab Muslims and non-Arab Muslims: Rafeeq and
Siddeeq. Also, they are obsessed with ethnic pride.
Syrians feel themselves superior to Yemenis. South
Asian Muslims are frequently identified as Punjabis,
Sindhis, Muhajirs, Pathans, Bengalis, Biharis
and Hyderabadis.
The chasm between Shiites a nd Sunnis is well
known.
The ancient animosity between Turks and Kurds
is as intense as the antagonism between Pashtuns
and Pakhtuns. We know about the bitterness between
Qataris and Iraqis. The rivalry between Iraq and
Iran and between Iraq and Kuwait does not need
any introduction here.
On the contrary, there is more understanding and
respect among Muslims living in the United States
than among Muslims overseas. Aside from the Hajj
time in Mecca, when Muslims from the world over
gather, America is the only place where one can
meet Muslims from Algeria to Yemen and from China
to Peru.
At Chicago's Muslim Community Center or the Islamic
Foundation in Villa Park or at any other centers,
you can see Muslims praying and working together
without any sense of ethnic superiority or animosity.
It happens because, unlike other countries where
ethnicity is constructed, in the United States
it evolves.
African-Americans can be black, but they are African-Americans.
Tiger W oods can be black as well as Asian. Muhammad
Ali can be American, black and Muslim. My son
can be American, Asian and Muslim. I don't see
any problem in having several layers of identities.
Since my arrival here, I have structured my identity
by stressing unity in diversity. Let me take you
back to 1988. It was my first day in the United
States, and at the Atlanta airport I asked a person
named James Howard how to get to the University
of Georgia campus. When Howard finished his orientation
lecture, he asked me about my nationality. I replied,
"I'm an Indian." He said, in jest, "You
cannot be right." He advised me to call myself
an "Asian Indian." But it was very difficult
for me. Until now, I had identified myself as
an Indian, and a patriotic Indian.
Next day, I was at the university's admission
office, filling out various forms. There, I was
advised to declare myself as Asian. Later, my
friends suggested that I go to the International
Students Office, though I could not comp rehend
how a foreign student became an international
student overnight. At ISO, I was advised to get
in touch with the officers of the South Asian
Students Association, who would help me find an
ethnically suitable roommate. Since the people
and governments of those countries don't get along
very well, I questioned how they could live together
here.
To my surprise, I got accommodations in a building
where students from more than two dozen countries
were living together without any obvious signs
of antagonism. It was a place where you could
find salsa, gyros, rye bread, hummus, egg rolls,
sausage, pizza, apple pie and chutney.
After all these journeys and detours, now I am
an Indian by birth, an American by choice, and
an Asian by legal classification. All these identities
are part of my comprehensive ethnicity. Being
an American Muslim, I hold the prestigious and
honored dual nationality status, which means I
am an American by choice and a citizen of the
superpower, and a Mus lim by faith and connected
with 1 billion Muslims worldwide. Shouldn't I
be proud of who I am?
(Moin Moon Khan is a computer network administrator
and founding president of the DuPage Minority
Caucus. He can be reached at moonkhan2006@yahoo.com)
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