Cultures clash in US mosques

Young Muslims steeped in American life are tuning out imams brought in from foreign countries to teach Islam.

from the May 17, 2007 edition

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Regional strains of Islam clash in US

Given the important role an imam plays in a Muslim community, having one who understands the Islamic faith and American culture equally well is vital, say many American Muslims. Most communities rely on imams to give religious guidance, lead prayers, deliver sermons, and serve as a community representative. (Islam has no central authority, such as the papacy, to issue official decisions. It falls upon local imams to help the community deal with the various challenges it faces.)

Some American-born Muslims now question whether an immigrant imam can adequately fill this role. "There is a strong feeling that not just the immigrant imams, but also the first generation often can't relate very well to the society around them," says Umar Abd-Allah, chairman of Nawawi, a Chicago-based group that aims to provide relevant Islamic teachings for American Muslims. "There's just a very different worldview."

Though much attention is given to sectarian differences within Islam – such as Shiites versus Sunnis – equally sizable gaps can exist between regional variants. Every culture that adopted Islam infused its local traditions into the religion – from the food eaten at religious holidays to the social boundaries between men and women. Provided these indigenous customs don't clash with the theological core of Islam, this is perfectly permissible, says Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, who leads the Al-Farah Mosque in New York City.

In the US, however, the regional varieties are coming closer together, which can create friction.

"The immigrant generation is still living psychologically in their homeland," says Imam Abdul Rauf. "The second generation is the one that begins to assert itself as belonging to the new society."

Though Abdul Rauf moved to America at age 17, he spent his childhood in Egypt, Malaysia, and England. The experience, he says, taught him the difference between "what is religious and what is cultural."

"In our communities, the challenge is people who just won't let go of ideas that they think define Islam when in fact it just defines the culture in which they were born," says Asra Nomani, a second generation Muslim-American in Morgantown, W. Va., and author of "Standing Alone in Mecca: An American Woman's Struggle for the Soul of Islam."

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