The immediate impetus for this diary is reading the NY Times book review of American Cresent the autobiography of the Shia Imam Hassan Qazwini, born in Iraq, trained in Iran and now head of the Islamic Center of America.
The book also outlines a narrative -- one that parallels a resrugent narrative in my fellow American Jews but is not I suspect fully appreciated by most American or Kossaks -- a plea for Muslim Americans to BOTH immerse themselves in the life of the United States while simultaneously deepening their identification as Muslims.
American Jews (and Catholics and Christians) will, if they are honest, recognize this call.
After several generations when just assimilation was the cultural imperative, there was starting (I believe) in the 1970s, a resurgence among many American Jews to retain and re-emphasize a Jewish identity. I am not referring to Hasidic or other ultra-orthodox, who maintain a stricter insularity (except for a willingness to take government social services, aka: "welfare"). There has been an increasing religious re-orthodoxy in the Reform movement, and an ongoing drawing of line in both the Conservative and Modern Orthodox movements. Classic American Jewish identity in the 1950s through 1970s was defined by a combination of agressive assmimilation, loss of religiosity and knowledge of religion, and a Judaism defined by Israel and Holocaust (and fear of continuing anti-Semitism). But since the 1970s, there has been a resurgence in non-orthodox religiosity. Defining ourselves just by Israel and anti-anti-semitism is not enough anymore we are told.
For example: We American Jews are encouraged not only to send their children to once a week Bar Mitzvah oriented religious school (notably there has been a movement away from calling it Hebrew school, to calling it explcitely religious school), but indeed to private Jewish day schools Jewish day schools for elementary and high school. There is in effect a chain of these for the Conservative movement known as the Solomon Schechter Day Schools, and umbrella group for Reform Jewish day schools and various other such umbrella umbrella organizations.
These are all private schools, partially subsidized by the community, only partially controlled by their religious affiliation, and partially paid for by tuition.
In the case of American Jews, graduates generally go on to secular mainstream universities, althought there are certainly Jewish universities such as Yeshiva University in NY and "Jewish" universities such as Brandeis.
Obviously there are parallels to the creation of Parochial and other Catholic schools following Irish and Italian immigration, and more recently with fundementalist Christian academies.
These are all attempts by communities to retain their religious, cutural and ethnic identity. To partially resist the melting pot. To reject pure assimilation into a common U.S. culture. To retain and pass along not just a secular cultural identity but an explicitely religious one as well.
Of course many many Jewish Americans are not going down this path, are continuing to self-identify as secular, or fully assimilationist, or not as Jewish at all. And every shade and variation within.
But there has been within the community a re-emphasis on Religion and Religious knowledge (beyond cultural identity).
Clearly American Muslims are stuggling with similar issues.
I suspect many an immigrant Hindu family and Sikh family are as well. To say nothing of Hispanic Catholics.
Do we assimilate completely?
Do we retain just a cultural and ethnic, but essentially non-religious (or only token religious) identity?
Or do we continue to maintain explcit religious identity as an important part of of self, in addition to and as part of being American?
The difference is that with the heightened visible vocal religiosity in America with the rise of public Christian Fundementalistim (action), the immigrant reaction is not only for secular assimilation was it heavily was for Jewish American from the 1880s through 1970s. The explicit retention of religion as part of the identity is felt to be a more needed option by many (reaction). It is a fundementally (!) conservative reaction, that has implications socially, culturally and politically for America.
Many, but not all, of those who are seeking to retain the religiosity of their origins might be theoretically in the camp of Christian social conservatives and Republicans. Among my fellow American Jews this has so far not happened too much. We still vote overwhelmingly Democratic despite some appeals by Christian Conservatives. Reform Judaism, though re-emphasizing some traditional religiosity has continued to be at the forefront of gender and sexual egalitarianism. The conservative movement has just become officially more gay friendly. Both have a mix of hardliners and peaceniks with regard to Israel-Arab peace. Itnerestingly, and little realized by outsiders, even the ultra-orthodox are, at least in congressinal and local elections, often voting Democratic, since they depend on "big government" welfare programs to maintain their insularity. Many Jews understand the implications of Christian Dominationism and its ties to Republiglican (everytime they argue that the U.S. is a Christian nation, they lose an otherwise sympathetic right wing Jew). Jewish Repuglicans, neocons or otherwise, fortunatley remain a minority within a minority. Bottomline, most of us Jews are still mostly progressive liberals or moderates, and turned off by Repuglcian extremism.
Attempts of Republicans to recruit Hispanic voters on cultural conservative grounds, have floundered in the face of the anti-immigrant nativist rhetoric of the Repuglican grassroots.
Similarly I would think/hope, Muslim Americans, even those who may be cultural conservatives, are for the moment more likely to think twice about voting for the party of domestic spying, the endless war or terrorism and Islamofascism, etc.
But we shall see how this plays out...