May 6, 2003

By Jane Ford

Muslims have been immigrating to the United States since the 1870s. Over the years they have come from Western and Eastern Europe, the Soviet Union, Middle East, Asia and Africa. The followers of Mohammad and his teachings in the Koran are members of the fastest-growing faith in America.

"Islamism encourages its followers to seek God’s blessings anywhere on earth," Abdulaziz Sachedina, professor of religious studies, told a Charlottesville audience last week at a forum on "Imagining Unity: Muslim Cultural Diversity in North America."

Despite the long history of Islam in the U.S., non-Muslims know little about this religion, which is growing faster than any other across the world.

Sachedina and Farzaneh Milani, associate professor in the departments of Asian and Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures and Studies in Women and Gender, spoke to a crowd of about 200 on May 1 in Charlottesville’s Jefferson Theater. The presentation was part of the University’s "Engaging the Mind" outreach program.

The professors said they were there to help bridge the understanding between American Muslims — not as a monolithic group, but people from a variety of races, nationalities and cultures — and the people of Charlottesville.

"These are not easy times to be a Muslim, much less a Middle Easterner," said the Iranian-born Milani. She emphasized that the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and subsequent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq have led to misconceptions and locked Muslims in a posture of defensiveness.

"Nine-11 was the turning point," said Sachedina. "It made Muslims aware of how they need to be part of the larger community."

Cultural differences play a large part in the divide. Milani pointed out that in most people’s minds, Islamic women are reduced to stereotypes and are denied individuality.

Milani was surprised at her students’ reactions the first time she came to class covered from head to foot in a full black chador. To the students, the veil cloaked her humanity, leaving her as an abstraction, she said. "Most of the comments the students made were negative."

Before Milani revealed herself, one student said she was afraid Milani was a gun-toting terrorist. Asked for their impressions, other students responded with adjectives like "victimized" and "oppressed."

These stereotypes were the exact opposite of the position Muslim women hold in their communities, which are family-oriented and view women as being strong, caring contributors who hold active and important roles in Islamic life, she said.

Both Milani and Sachedina drew parallels between the teachings of the Bible and the Koran. To a question from the audience about reconciling televised images of Muslim crowds chanting, "Death to the infidels," with the teaching in the Koran, Sachedina said those people were reading the Koran literally and not contextualizing it — much as some Christians read the Bible literally and some see it as being open to interpretation. He added that the Koran says that if you kill one person without justification then you have killed humanity, and if you save one person, you have saved humanity.

Like those of any faith, there are cultural Muslims, nominal Muslims and religious Muslims, Sachedina said. Although economic and material integration is established easily between the American Muslim communities and the larger American population, many isolate themselves to preserve their religious and cultural heritage.

Citing integration and assimilation as the biggest challenges Muslims in North America face, Sachedina emphasized that communities living together need to reach out and share their lives with their neighbors.

"Muslims need to hear pluralism," he said. "All Muslims await the second coming of Jesus to save the world. We need to go beyond dialogue and engage in ‘diapractice’," he said.

"Share with one another narratives of despair and happiness. We need to begin to share at home while we are building democracy in Iraq," said Sachedina, who is consulting with the State Department on bridging the gulf between the repressive rule of Saddam Hussein and democracy.

Sachedina has lived in the same Charlottesville neighborhood for 23 years and said the first time a neighbor reached out to his family was the day after 9/11.

"On 9/12 my neighbor came and knocked on my door and asked ‘Are you OK?’"