Muslims and the American tapestry?
Irrational religious bigots are found everywhere, including here on Hubpages. So, I thought it would be nice, for a change, to invite comments about the positive contributions made to the American tapestry by fellow Americans that are also Muslims.
If you served in the military, you probably served with other Americans who were Muslims. They have been contributing to the fabric of this country too. More than 3,700 Muslims serve in uniform on active duty in our military today alongside nearly 6,300 Buddhists, and more than 1,500 Wiccans. They are all Americans just like you and me.
Last year, President Obama spoke as the host of the annual White House Iftar Dinner, a tradition begun by former President G.W. Bush, who held eight Ramadan dinners while in the Oval Office. The event is an expression of President Bush’s desire to stress that America is not at war with Islam and all Muslims are not our enemy. The U.S. State Department, in fact, hosted its first iftar for Muslim-Americans at the State Department in 1999.
Mohammad Ali, a Muslim, contributed to the fabric of America when he said, “I know I got it made while the masses of black people are catchin' hell, but as long as they ain't free, I ain't free.” I believe “The Greatest” is very much a part of the fabric of America.
In 1492, Columbus sailed to North America with a book written by Portuguese Muslims who had navigated their way to the New World in the 12th century.
Ten to fifteen percent of all African slaves in the United States were Muslims. The stains from their blood, sweat and tears can never be washed from the fabric of America.
When Benjamin Franklin spoke out against the massacre of Native Americans by Scotch-Irish frontiersmen in Pennsylvania, he quoted the Prophet Mohammad’s words on kindness toward captives.
The town of Yarrow, Maryland, is named after a freed African born Muslim slave, Yarrow Mamout, who together with his daughter-in-law made significant contributions to the fabric of that community. I urge you to use Google to learn the number of cities in the US that have been named Mecca and Medina.
Muslims have fought and have died fighting for the United States beginning with the revolutionary war. Sadly, their numbers have never been tallied.
The abolition of slavery in Tunisia (1846) had a profound influence on the demise of slavery here in North America. Furthermore, The Ottoman Empire supported the North during the Civil War.
After the Civil War, President Andrew Johnson invited an envoy from Tunisia to the White House to transport a message of appreciation to his nation for its principled stance against slavery.
In 1957, President Dwight Eisenhower attended the opening of The Islamic Center of Washington, DC. In his speech he said, "Under the American Constitution this Center, this place of worship is as welcome as could be any similar edifice of any religion. Americans would fight with all their strength for your right to have your own church and worship according to your own conscience."
Dr. Fazlur Rahman Khan, a Muslim from Bangladesh, designed Chicago’s John Hancock Center (1970), One Shell Plaza in Houston (1971), and the Sears Towers in Chicago (1973). The Muslim who contributed these landmarks to the American landscape is an integral part of our heritage.
Keith Ellison and Andre Carson are currently contributing to the fabric of America as the first Muslims elected to Congress.
According to the American Religious Identification Survey, 10 percent of Muslims are Latino, 15 percent are white, 27 percent are Black and 34 percent are Asian.
Some Americans are needlessly living in abject fear of Sharia law. However, Sharia courts, established and funded by the government, co-exist today with the Jewish legal system in Israeli. Not one citizen has ever been beheaded or mutilated as a result.
Muslims have had a profound influence on America and their contributions are woven into the American tapestry. We are fortunate to have them.
Anyone with positive comments to share?
Elias A. Zerhouni has made extraordinary contributions in the field of medical imagery and he is recognized as one of America’s outstanding Muslim immigrants.
After being graduated from the University of Algiers School of Medicine in 1975, he began a remarkable career at Johns Hopkins that included Chief resident in diagnostic radiology (1978), assistant professor (1979), associate professor (1985), director of the MRI division, chair of the Russell H. Morgan department of radiology and radiological science, Martin Donner professor of radiology and professor of biomedical engineering and, ultimately, Executive Vice-Dean of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
In 1985, he was a consultant to the administration of President Ronald Reagan, and three years later, appointed a consultant to the World Health Organization.
Having been appointed by President G. W. Bush, he served six years as director of the National Institutes of Health (2002-2008). After leaving the NIH, Dr. Zerhouni was appointed to the boards of the Lasker Foundation, Research!America, and the Mayo Clinic.
Our culture welcomed Dr. Zerhouni when he was just 24 years old and America has been reaping the benefits of his contributions ever since.
No, Johnny, it is I who thanks you for respecting the positive tone of this thread. I have tried to keep the focus on Muslims in America and their constructive contributions throughout history.
For example, Zainab Salbi is an author, woman's rights activist, humanitarian, social entrepreneur, and media commentator who is the founder and former CEO (1993-2011) of Washington-based Women for Women.
After graduation from George Mason University with a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Women’s Studies, Ms. Salbi earned a Master's degree in Development Studies from the London School of Economics.
In 1995, President Bill Clinton honored her at the White House for her humanitarian work in Bosnia. She and her husband started Women for Women International in 1993 which has supported women survivors of war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rwanda, Kosovo, Nigeria, Colombia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan. Under her tenure as the CEO, the organization reached more than 400,000 women in eight conflict areas, distributed more than $100 million in direct aid and microcredit loans, trained thousands of women in rights awareness, and helped thousands more to start their own small businesses.
In recognition of her contributions,
Time magazine named her Innovator of the Month,
Harper's Bazaar included her among its 21st Century Heroines,
Forbes Magazine awarded her its Trailblazer Award, and
The Conrad N. Hilton non-profit charitable foundation presented her organization with its Humanitarian Prize.
Other accolades include:
World Economic Forum's Young Global Leader (2007),
David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award (2010),
Austin College Posey Leadership Award (2011),
Honorary Doctorate Degree from York University (2014),
Fortune Magazine’s “One of the Most Influential Women on Twitter” (2014),
One of the Most Influential Women on Social Media, Wear Your Voice (2015)
One of the 100 Most Powerful Arab Women, Arabian Business (2015)
In 2005, Zainab Salbi published her memoir Between Two Worlds Escape from Tyranny: Growing up in the Shadow of Saddam in which she describes her life growing up in Iraq as the daughter of Saddam Hussein's personal pilot.
She also published
The Other Side of War: Women's Stories of Survival and Hope (2006), and
If You Knew Me You Would Care (2013).
She is Muslim having a positive influence on America.
- ahorsebackposted 9 years ago
0There are so many examples, PP, of Muslims that have made positive contributions to the multicultural fabric of American society. Here are a few:
Iranian-American engineer Anousheh Ansari, co-founder/chairwoman of Prodea System and the co-founder and former CEO of Telecom Technologies, Inc., became the first Muslim woman in space.
Zalmay Mamozy Khalilzad began serving America as an adviser to the White House, State Department and Pentagon in 1985. After his appointments as US Ambassador to Afghanistan (2003-2005), Iraq (2005-2007), and the United Nations (2007-2009), he became the highest-ranking Muslim American in the Administration
of President George W. Bush.
American scholar Dalia Mogahed received the "Forward Under 40" award for outstanding contributions by a graduate of the University of Wisconsin. She also worked at the Gallup Center as chairwoman for Muslim Studies from 2006-2012 while researching and polling Muslims throughout the world. Ms. Mogahed has been recognized as one of the most influential Arab women in America and one of the 500 most influential Muslims in the world.
Acclaimed for being outspoken and highly controversial, Amina Wadud has a worldwide reputation as an American scholar of Islam with a progressive focus on the interpretation of the Qur'an. She is a renowned advocate of Islamic feminism, interfaith dialogue, and a proponent of women as imams.
Michael Wolfe is an American poet, author, publisher and award-winning producer of films and documentaries. He holds a degree in Classics from Wesleyan University and is a frequent lecturer at universities across the United States including Harvard, Georgetown, Stanford, SUNY Buffalo, and Princeton. Soon after 9/11/2001, he edited a collection of essays by American Muslims called Taking Back Islam: American Muslims Reclaim Their Faith that won the 2003 annual Wilbur Award for "Best Book of the year on a Religious Theme". Michael is an American Muslim listed in the third edition of "The 500 Most Influential Muslims,"
Thank you for commenting, Ahorseback. The inherent inability to acknowledge Islam’s positive influences on American culture has been noted.
Actually, the historic record of Islam’s positive contributions also speaks volumes and those accrued benefits are, in fact, the topic of this discussion. If you have something positive to add, please join in.
After Kieth Ellison was elected as the first American Muslim congressman, he swore his oath of office on a Quran that had belonged to Founder Thomas Jefferson. This Quran, hand-marked with the initials “TJ,” is on display in the Library of Congress, right next to Jefferson’s copy of the Old Testament.
During the Lincoln years, Tunisian Major General Heussein wrote an anti-slavery letter carried by the American consul to then Secretary of State William H. Seward. In his own words, Heussein described the ultimate abolition of slavery in Tunisia giving credit to the guidance of the Quran on the issue. President Abraham Lincoln was so impressed by his words that he had the letter reprinted in its entirety and widely disseminated throughout the states. The letter, discussed widely in the American press, was lauded by American abolitionists. Slavery was abolished in the United States in 1865.
Anyone else have something positive to add?
- PrettyPantherposted 9 years ago0
- ahorsebackposted 9 years ago0
- ahorsebackposted 9 years ago0
- ahorsebackposted 9 years ago0
Good afternoon, Ahorseback. Nice to see you have been doing some research.
However, as you have already pointed out, this thread is not about Sharia law but about the positive contributions Muslims have made in America. Have you anything to contribute that is on topic?Good evening to you too. How nice to see that you agree with me and the message intended by this thread.
This industrial engineer with a BS degree from the University of Illinois is a modern example of an American, who is also a Muslim, that contributes in a positive way to the texture of American society.
Shahid Khan owns the NFL’s Jacksonville Jaguars in addition to the Football League Championship team Fulham F.C. in England. He also owns Flex-N-Gate, the source of a fortune he built from the rusty remnants of an automobile parts manufacturer in Urbana, Illinois. His picture on the front cover of Forbes magazine in 2012 characterized him as the face of the American Dream.
In the words of Forbes staff writer Brian Solomon:
“Khan’s is the kind of only-in-America success story that has filled boats and planes with dreamers for the past 150 years, one that gives a face to an ironclad fact: Skilled, motivated immigrants are proven job creators, not job takers.” {1}
{1} http://www.forbes.com/sites/briansolomo … can-dream/
- ahorsebackposted 9 years ago0
- ahorsebackposted 9 years ago0
American Muslims share a common heritage with other Americans, whether they are descendants of immigrants that came via Ellis Island, they can trace their ancestors to patriots of the American Revolution, they are native to America, they were brought here by force as slaves, or they emigrated here freely in search of the American dream. All citizens have a right to be proud of our rich national heritage, a tradition of values derived from the participation of all faiths including Islam, Judaism, and Christianity. It is the diversity in this country that makes our story unique in the world.
I referred earlier to the many cities and towns in the US that bear the name Mecca or Medina. Well, there is one town in Ohio that actually has had both names.
Medina, Ohio, was founded in 1818 by Elijah Boardman (1760–1823), a Revolutionary War veteran and, later, a U.S. Senator from Connecticut (1821-1823). Mr. Boardman originally named the town Mecca but the name was changed to Medina when it was learned another town not far away was also named Mecca.
Perhaps the most colorful, if not historically accurate, explanation of the name change comes from the 1966 Class of Medina Senior High School:
“The old pioneers placed a great trust in their religion when wandering into Indian country… Mohammedanism was next to Christianity in size at that time and Mohammed’s philosophy (sic) much read and known by the old timers, Boardman perhaps included. The City of Mecca in Arabia was known world over, because of thousands of pilgrims who made an annual pilgrimage there, until it came to be a by-word for travelers overland to refer to the end of their journey as their Mecca. Boardman perhaps did likewise. After Mohammed was driven from his birthplace, Mecca, he fled to Medina, Arabia, the capital. Here the pilgrims traveled as they had before to Mecca, and still do. Now, when the name of Mecca, Ohio, needed changing because of a town in Trumbull County having that name, the next most common end of the voyage was Medina in Arabia.” {1}
Islam is indeed an inseparable part of the American Tapestry.
{1} http://virtuecenter.s3.amazonaws.com/fi … merica.pdf- ahorsebackposted 9 years ago0
On Oct. 28, 2015, this young American will be 36 years old. To say he is a Muslim that has altered both American and global culture is a gross understatement.
Jawed Karim, the son of a Bangladeshi American researcher at 3M, was born in East Germany at a very young age. He is a co-founder of You-Tube and he designed/developed many of the core components of PayPal, including its real-time anti-fraud system. He has a BS in Computer Science and earned a master's degree in computer science from Stanford University.Very good, Johnny. You spotted my twisted humor and pseudo-“Easter egg”. Bravo!
- ahorsebackposted 9 years ago0
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