A Tocqueville of Our Time
By Ryan Maloney
Washington , DC
Since the United States was founded, Americans have defined themselves by their common values and belief in individual freedom, not by their racial, religious, and ethnic identity. Yet religion has a very profound and strong impact on the lives of many Americans. The United States is the only developed nation where a majority of citizens report that religion played a “very important” role in their lives, according to a 2002 study conducted by the Pew Global Attitudes Project. It was also the first nation to have no official state-endorsed religion.
Many faiths have flourished in the United States, including the later imports spanning the country’s multicultural immigrant heritage, which led the US to become the world’s most religiously diverse country. However, the American self-image has always harnessed a creative tension between pluralism and assimilation. This tension has created a spectrum of political beliefs about what that identity is, and what that identity should be.
Alexis De Tocqueville’s Democracy in America is considered a classic work of political science, social science and history. Tocqueville — at just age 25 — was sent to America in 1831 to study the American prison system. Indeed he did fulfill his endeavor — entitled Du système pénitentiaire aux États-Unis et de son application en France, in 1833 — and submitted his report to the French government. Yet, it was not his observations of America’s prison system that made him out to be a classical writer, but rather it was his book, De la démocratie en Amérique, translated as “Of Democracy in America,” and significantly commemorated as a classic—Democracy in America. Tocqueville demonstrated much passion for democracy and liberty by often associating it with greatness and making it distinct from other forms of government; however, he never just appraises democracy for being “great.” He was a seeker of causes: a man who came to visit the New World and study Americans in their everyday state. He was a defender and reformer of politics, and he chose to write about the most important events that pertained to this new way of living.
His thoughts arise from his observations of facts. Neither was he a proponent or opponent of democracy — indeed and yet favorable — but rather a man who studied how and why such a society and government was formidably successful in relation to others across the Atlantic.
“The greatness of America lies not in being more enlightened than any other nation, but rather in her ability to repair her faults.”
Tocqueville was many things: among these he was a statesman, writer, scholar, an aristocrat, a philosopher — in a sense. He was an anthropologist. Anthropology, by definition, is “ the science that deals with the origins, physical and cultural development, biological characteristics, and social customs and beliefs of humankind.” How does an anthropologist work? The answer, as Dr. Ahmed puts simply, is that “an anthropologist is like a detective looking for clues.”
Before entering Dr. Akbar Ahmed’s class, “Muslims in America,” I had little-to-no prior knowledge of Islam or the Muslim culture. Most importantly — like many Americans — I was unfamiliar with some of my country’s significant history, thus, unaware of what it truly means to be an American. Even as an US citizen, I knew very little about my own identity.
“The real argument is not necessarily about religion, but about identity and what America wants that identity to be.”
- Dr. Akbar Ahmed, addressing a congregation at St. Alban’s Church on November 21, 2010
Journey into America was designed to help students participate and interact with Muslim communities. Essentially, it provides a spectrum that seeks to provide a review and reflection among the prospects and challenges facing Muslims in America today. When we step back and look at Ahmed’s work, we not only see an interaction with Muslims living in the United States; but rather, a reflection of American history and a journey to realize the process of equal opportunity — the bedrock of the American way of life.
It is within these clues, as Dr. Ahmed states, and observations like those of both scholars that allow us to truly see why or why not people are able to understand others’ origins, characteristics, and social customs and beliefs. In the context of individual freedom, Ahmed undertakes a position to explain today’s “Democracy in America,” as well as uses the experiences of others to illustrate his rationale and draw conclusions. Crafting his own journey with the assistance of him team, he travels to more than 75 cities and visits more than 100 mosques.
On 9/11, America was slammed from a blind-spot that would ultimately lead to a series of controversies, both internally, as well as on the international stage. The event would lead her to two wars: one in Iraq and another in Afghanistan. Now, nearly a decade after those infamous attacks, America has entered into a new war — a third war — one with itself. It is not one that will be fought with military tactics or billion dollar budget plans. Its battlefields will not consist of IEDs in the desert or hit and run tactics employed by insurgents, but will rather be consumed by political figures and religious leaders. Its soldiers will include angry protestors in the streets of New York holding signs that read: “All I need to know about Islam — I learned on 9/11,” and individuals in Florida who urge American Christians to “stand up” against what they see as a monolithic Muslim threat. Backlash towards the Muslim community has surfaced all throughout the United States from as far northeast as New York to as south as Florida and as far west as California. Muslims must now adjust to the new political and social realities of life in the United States. They have felt compelled to transform themselves to connect more intimately with American mainstream society.
Before 9/11, there was very little tension that existed between Muslims and non-Muslims living in the US. Today, anything to do with Islam is instant news: more bad times than good, we often hear and read about Muslims and associate them with terrorism. This distorted image creates and instills Islamophobia in our society. As a reaction, issues dealing with Muslims living within the US have become very complex, as well as presented a multitude of growing concerns—but there are answers for America’s problems.
“ In the United States, the majority undertakes to supply a multitude of ready-made opinions for the use of individuals, who are thus relieved from the necessity of forming opinions of their own.”
America truly is a melting pot. Mainstream American society must understand that most Muslims do not riot, issue fatwas or kill other people. In return, Islam warrants equal respect and responsibility. With that responsibility, Muslims, however, do have an obligation to shut down the multiple organs of Muslim terror, hate and intolerance — just as non-Muslims do. Likewise, we as Americans, too, must play a role. We cannot allow events overseas to foster anti-Muslim sentiment and Islamophobia at home. We must recognize the insecurities and fears of our Muslim neighbors and extend a hand of friendship and support — not hold signs that read: “All I need to know about Islam — I learned on 9/11.”
Though it would seem preposterous to believe Ahmed’s work is complete beyond practical or theoretical improvement, let it attempt to serve and demonstrate what has been learned — as Tocqueville had —through thoughts of observations of facts rather than appearing in the sequence of argument.
In conclusion, different groups of religion, race, ethnicity, sex and most recently sexual orientation, have all weaved their way into American society. Alexis De Tocqueville’s Democracy in America and Dr. Ahmed’s Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam provide detailed observations that allow us to truly see why or why not people are able to understand others’ origins, characteristics, and social customs and beliefs.
"Creative Quotations from Alexis De Tocqueville (1805-1879)." Quotations for Creative Thinking. Web. 27 Nov. 2010. <http://creativequotations.com/one/2544.htm>.
"Anthropology | Define Anthropology at Dictionary.com." Dictionary.com | Find the Meanings and Definitions of Words at Dictionary.com. Web. 26 Nov. 2010. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/anthropology>.
"'Burn Quran Day' an Outrage to Muslims - CNN." Featured Articles From The CNN. 20 Aug. 2010. Web. 02 Oct. 2010. <http://articles.cnn.com/2010-08-20/opinion/ahmed.quran.burning_1_qurans-anti-muslim-sentiment-islamic-center?_s=PM:OPINION>.
