America is moving towards Islamization

Demographics of Muslims in America

Half a century ago, sociologists and political science experts in the West did not think that Islam would become a major power center in the international system. Therefore, the study of Muslim influence in the world from political, economic, cultural, and regional aspects was almost negligible. In North America and the United States, the Muslim population and their activities were also on the margins.

In the last three decades, and especially with the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran, not only have these presuppositions and equations been upended, but today a new perception and analysis of the position of Islam and Muslims in international affairs has emerged.
There are no official and precise statistics on the Muslim population in the United States because, according to US laws and regulations, the religion of citizens is not included in the national census, which is conducted approximately every ten years. Therefore, statistics on Muslims in America are estimates, and information on this matter is gathered using other sources, including the origin of citizens and immigrants, and the type of nationalities collected by official census authorities.
US government statistics show that the number of immigrants to America from Islamic countries, from the beginning of entry until 1965, was very low compared to religions and nationalities from other regions. According to these statistics, between 1820 and 1965, a total of 517,367 people immigrated to America from Islamic countries, most of whom were from the Balkans, the former Ottoman Empire (Turkey), and India (which includes present-day Pakistan and Bangladesh).
According to the US Immigration and Naturalization Service, the number of immigrants from Islamic countries increased between 1966 and 1980, reaching 865,472. Although the majority of these immigrants were Muslim, many were also from other religions, including Christianity and Judaism. The number of immigrants from Islamic countries in the 1980s reached 921,100 and increased to 997,000 in the first seven years of the 1990s (1991-1997). Muslims constituted only 30 percent of Lebanese immigrants to America between 1980 and 1990, while one-third of immigrants from India to America between 1820 and 1960 were Muslim. A very large number of Iranians who immigrated to America after the Islamic Revolution, especially between 1980 and 1990, were Jews, Christians, and followers of other religions, not Islam.
Overall, between 1820 and 1997, according to US government statistics, approximately 3.3 million people from Muslim countries immigrated to America, which was only 5 percent of the total 64 million immigrants to America during these years. The largest numbers of immigrants from Islamic countries to America are, in order, from Arab countries, Iran, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Tunisia, North Africa, Europe (especially the Balkan region: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the former Yugoslav republics). Other regions of Africa and Asia, such as the Central Asian republics, Indonesia, Malaysia, South Africa, etc., are next in line. The number of immigrants from Afghanistan between 1980 and 1990 was about 30,000, and in the first seven years of the 1990s, it reached 13,600. Today, the Muslim population in America is estimated at a minimum of 6 million and a maximum of up to 9 million.

A Look at History

Muslims not only helped and assisted Christopher Columbus in his voyage to the American continent in 1492 AD but were also accompanying Europeans in the discovery of this land. The story of Columbus’s journey and admiralty to the American continent occurred precisely a few years after the last Muslim government on the Iberian Peninsula was completely ended by the Christian princes of that region. However, the accumulated knowledge of several centuries of Islamic civilization in Europe, especially in that region, in the fields of geography, history, astronomy, mathematics, navigation, cartography, and the expertise and technologies of world exploration, fell into the hands of Spanish and Portuguese Christians.
A credible hypothesis put forward by some historians and scientists suggests that at least two centuries before Columbus’s discovery of the American continent, Muslims from the Iberian Peninsula and the African continent had succeeded in reaching the American continent and even intermingling with the indigenous people of that land.
It is worth remembering that from 1474 AD, the team of Catholic Christian monarchs, namely the couple Isabella from the Seville region and Ferdinand from the Aragon region of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain-Portugal), gradually succeeded in exploiting the weakness and disunity of the Muslims to establish their rule and dominance over that land. Finally, the last Muslim government and city, Granada, was conquered and captured in 1492, precisely when Columbus began his voyage towards the American continent. Under the pressure and oppression of the Spanish and Portuguese kings, Muslims were driven from the region, and from that date onwards, no attention was paid to the role of Muslims in the discovery of the American continent in Western literature.
The European discovery of the American continent coincides with two other historical processes in the Islamic world: one is the Mongol invasion and rule in East Asia, which brought great catastrophe to Muslim governments on the Iranian plateau, Central Asia, and the Arab lands; the other is the emergence of the Turkish Ottomans and the conquest of Constantinople, and the defeat of the Christians and the Byzantine (Orthodox) Church in the East. This occurred simultaneously with the decline of Islamic governments in the Iberian Peninsula (Spain-Portugal) and led to the establishment of the Ottoman Empire and the expansion of Islamic and Turkish civilization in the Eastern Mediterranean and Europe.
Spain, England, and France divided the American continent and annexed it to their colonies at a time when the Ottoman Empire was engaged in political and military conflicts with Europe in the West and with Iran (the Safavid dynasty) in the East. With the weakening of Islamic states in Western Europe, the Indian Ocean region, and Africa, and the conflicts between the Ottoman and Safavid empires across the vast expanse of Asia and Eastern Europe, maritime supremacy, especially in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, shifted to the Western world, particularly Spain, Portugal, England, France, and the Netherlands.
Contact between Muslims and the Islamic world with the American continent in the mid-19th century was very insignificant.
Muslim migration to the American continent from all corners of the world occurred in several stages. In the early 19th century, travel and migration of Muslim individuals to America, especially North America, took place through invitations, employment, and their specific utilization in professions that Europeans were unfamiliar with. For example, in 1856 AD, the US Cavalry hired a Muslim named Hadji Ali to raise camels in Arizona and California and brought him to America; he later settled and lived in California. However, the first group of Muslim immigrants to America arrived between 1875 and 1912, i.e., after the end of the American Civil War and before the beginning of the First World War. The majority of these immigrants were Christians from Syria, Jordan, Palestine, and Lebanon who had studied at religious missionary schools in the Middle East and immigrated to the American continent for economic and religious reasons. However, among this group, Sunni Muslims, Shia, Alawites from Syria, and Druze from Lebanon were also identifiable.
The second stage of Muslim immigration to America occurred after the First World War and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, mostly involving countries that were under Ottoman rule. Due to the nationality quotas in US immigration law in the early decades of the 20th century, which favored Europeans, the number of Muslim immigrants to America was still limited.
The third period of Muslim immigration to America began in the 1930s when, under new US immigration laws, Muslims residing in America were allowed to invite their family members to immigrate to America.
The fourth stage of Muslim immigration and residence in America, which constituted a significant number from the Islamic world, especially the Middle East, started from the end of World War II and continued until the 1960s. The majority of Muslims who immigrated to or settled in America during this period were businessmen, students, and people from various trades and professions, with their main motivations being economic, cultural, educational, and social.

With the new changes in US immigration law in 1965, immigration quotas based on nationality and ethnicity were abolished and redesigned based on professional and economic needs. This provided a suitable opportunity for Muslim immigration to the United States.
The fifth and most recent stage of Muslim immigration to North America, especially the United States, is largely connected to international developments, internal transformations in Islamic countries, and the limitations and opportunities created in the American continent. The largest Muslim immigration to America in this period occurred, particularly from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Arab countries of the Middle East, Palestine, Turkey, and North Africa.
This period began in the mid-1960s and continues to this day. The Arab-Israeli wars in 1967 and 1973, the Lebanese civil war in the 1970s, and the occupation of some Islamic countries by European powers, such as the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, had immense impacts on Muslim immigration to America. Israel’s attack on Lebanon and Palestine and the occupation of these two countries, the two recent wars in Iraq after the Soviet collapse, the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the independence of the Central Asian republics from the grip of the Soviet system, political developments in Africa and the Maghreb, and generally the trend of the global economy along with the development of communication and transportation tools, and especially university education and new employment opportunities, all combined to increase the number of immigrants and resident Muslims in America, despite the restrictions resulting from the events of September 11, 2001. For example, in the mid-1970s, before the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the number of Iranians residing in America for various reasons did not exceed 70,000, of whom more than 50,000 were students. In the three decades since the Islamic Revolution in Iran, the number of Iranians residing in America has reached nearly one million, a small minority of whom are Iranian Jews.

The Shia Community in America

The Shia community is the largest group of Muslims in the United States after Sunni Muslims, and the Twelver Shia constitute the vast majority of this Muslim group. Out of ten million Muslims in America, including indigenous Black American Muslims, nearly two million are Shia. In other words, out of every ten Muslims in the United States, two are Shia. The largest group of Shia Muslims are Iranians, numbering nearly one million. Other Shia in America come from Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, India, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Syria, with a significant number also from other Islamic countries and regions. Muslim immigration to America in recent years, especially from Pakistan, Iraq, Bahrain and the Persian Gulf coast, Bangladesh, North and South Africa, and Central Asia, has increased the Shia population in America.
The Shia community in America, especially after World War II and in the decades between 1950 and 1970, due to the increase in Iranian, Lebanese, and Iraqi immigrants, particularly students, constituted a very important part of the Muslim population in the United States. However, the importance of Shia from political, economic, and cultural aspects expanded with the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran and the extraordinary attention of the public and public opinion to the awakening of Muslims. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Shia community in America formed the most active and important political group. For example, the Muslim Students’ Association (MSA), which was administered and operated under the supervision and leadership of Iranians residing in America and Canada, played a very significant role in mobilizing Muslims and raising American public awareness during the Islamic Revolution.

Islam and the Black Community in America

The Black community in America, or what has been called in recent decades the African American community, has developed an extraordinary sensitivity towards Islam and Muslims.
At the beginning of European immigration to the American continent and the development of the slave trade and slavery in the United States, a considerable number of slaves sent from Africa to America were Muslim.
However, since the British colonies in America were predominantly Christian, the Blacks of this land adopted various Christian denominations, and the traces of Black Muslims in America were not very apparent until the late 20th century. Nevertheless, the names and reputations of some early Black Muslims can be seen in books and stories related to the slavery period in America, including in the writings of Alex Haley and his novel “Roots.” The memoirs of a Black Muslim slave named Muhammad Bilali, who immigrated to America from West Africa in the 1720s, written in Arabic, are still preserved in the library of the University of Georgia in the southern United States.
In the early decades of the 20th century, when the social and civil rights movement of Black Americans for achieving individual and national rights and freedoms was growing and developing, a Black man from Detroit, Michigan, the center of the automobile industry, turned to Islam and formed a group and organization called the “Nation of Islam.” This individual’s original name was Elijah Poole, which he later changed to Elijah Muhammad. The famous Black revolutionary activist in America named Malcolm X, who was active in the 1960s, and another leader of the Blacks from this school who is active today, Louis Farrakhan, were in fact nurtured alongside Elijah Muhammad. Some of the beliefs of this school contradict the rites, methods, and beliefs of traditional Muslims.
The Nation of Islam movement, led by Elijah Muhammad, was in fact influenced by various Christian denominations in America, thus considering itself a kind of group or nation wanting to regain its lost freedoms in American society. On the other hand, the tendency towards Islam was seen as a form of resistance against the cultural, political, economic, and racial aggression of white Americans against Blacks. Elijah Muhammad’s Nation of Islam sought to find this identity for Blacks under the umbrella of Islam. Malcolm X left Elijah Muhammad’s group in 1964 and formed a new group called “Muslim Mosque, Inc.,” which collaborated with the Organization of Afro-American Unity. According to Malcolm X’s memoirs, during his pilgrimage to Mecca, which deeply impressed him, he felt ashamed because he was unfamiliar with Arabic, the language of the Islamic world.
Malcolm X was assassinated in 1965 while giving a speech in New York City.
After Elijah Muhammad’s death in 1975, his son Wallace Muhammad continued his father’s activities but was not very successful in mobilizing Blacks. One of his father’s followers, Louis Farrakhan, took on this mission from the 1980s until today. Farrakhan, more than other Black American leaders, has approached and mingled with other Muslim groups in America. In the 1990s and early 21st century, he organized two million-person marches in Washington to mobilize Blacks for liberation from the oppression of the global white supremacist system and their sympathizers. Farrakhan has incurred the wrath and anger of the Zionist regime due to his criticisms of it, and the conflict between him and his followers and American Jews has always been apparent.
However, the influence of Islam among Black Americans extends beyond the groups of Elijah Muhammad, Malcolm X, and Louis Farrakhan. Many indigenous Black American Muslims are Sunni, and some follow other Islamic denominations, including Shia. In recent decades, the influence of Islam among Black Americans has been greater than that of all other religions and denominations. The Islamic identity of Blacks can be clearly seen in the names and reputations of many professional, cultural, sports, and business figures. Today, there are various offshoot sects and groups of Black American Muslims, most of which are small, and a few belong to the “Nation of Islam” that are active at the religious and civic level.
The rate of conversion to Islam in America during 2005 was estimated at around 20,000 people, of whom 63% were African Americans, 27% were white, and 9% were Latino.

Muslim Organizations and Institutions

Muslim organizations and institutions in America in the political, social, cultural, professional, and economic spheres are of two types: organizations, institutions, and Islamic centers that include Muslims and transcend the circle of nationality, ethnicity, and membership of a particular country; and organizations and centers specific to a particular Islamic country or nationality, whose members and activities revolve around specific nationalities, cultures, and groups. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) is of the first type, and the Center for Arab Community Economic and Social Services is of the second type.
The Muslim community in America also includes all Islamic schools of thought, including Hanafi, Shafi’i, Maliki, Hanbali, and Ja’fari (Twelver), and various sects like Ismaili, Ahmadiyya, etc., have their own specific organizations and activities. A special characteristic of Muslims in America is also that it encompasses various nationalities, making contact, cooperation, and familiarity with Islamic cultures and nationalities easier for Muslim citizens.
The first mosques in America were established in the first two decades of the 20th century; for example, in 1915, Albanian immigrants from Europe built the first mosque in the state of Maine in the northeastern United States. With the increase in the immigrant Muslim population in America, the number of mosques grew and increased in all states, so that by the beginning of the 21st century, over 1,200 mosques had been established in various cities and states across America. Full-time and part-time schools that provide primary and secondary education along with teaching the Quran, Sharia, and religious and social matters are on the rise in America, and the number of such schools and educational centers exceeds one thousand. Additionally, charitable centers and endowment institutions, numbering several hundred, are important factors in social, health, family, and educational services for Muslims in America.
One of the active Muslim organizations in the United States is the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA). This organization was established by several early organizations, one of which was the Muslim Students’ Association (MSA), and includes other associations like the Association of Muslim Scientists and Engineers, the Islamic Medical Association, and the Association of Muslim Social Scientists. One of the main activities of ISNA is its annual convention, which attracts nearly 30,000 participants annually. The Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA) is another Muslim association formed in the 1970s by a group of South Asian Muslims and has been active in social affairs in recent years, publishing “The Message International” magazine to introduce Islamic identity and research issues related to Muslims across America and Canada. The Muslim American Society (MAS), initially established by students and graduates from Arab countries, has expanded its activities in recent decades and publishes the English-language magazine “Muslim American.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) was formed in 1994. Its main goal and activity are to inform and raise public awareness about issues related to American Muslims and the Islamic world. It acts as a watchdog for protecting the rights of Muslim citizens in the United States and works against religious and racial discrimination. Other Muslim organizations in America, including the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC) and the American Muslim Alliance (AMA), are other institutions and organizations that work alongside CAIR for the unity and recognition of Muslims and encourage Muslim citizens in the United States to participate in general and local elections and engage in political, social, and cultural affairs. The International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT), established decades ago by the Palestinian scholar Ismail al-Faruqi in the suburbs of Washington D.C., is an example of cultural and scientific activities that published numerous works on topics of Islamic history, civilization, and society in America. Islamizing contemporary social sciences is one of the goals of this institute.

Political, Economic, and Social Dimensions of Muslims Residing in America

Recent studies comparing the social and economic status of Muslims in America with other minorities show that the average level of education among Muslims is 14 years, an indicator significantly higher than that of other races and minorities residing in America. In other words, the average educational attainment of Muslims in America is above high school diploma level, equivalent to the first two years of university.
Similarly, the income of a Muslim family in America is higher than that of an average Hispanic or white family.
The Iranian population in America ranks higher in terms of annual income compared to other minorities; the average income of an Iranian in America exceeds $65,000. Overall, resident Muslims in America have a significantly better and more prominent position in terms of education, income, and employment compared to other resident minorities in America.
It should be noted that these statistics do not include Jewish minorities who immigrated to America in earlier years.
Available statistics show that in recent years, the income, homeownership rate, and educational attainment of Muslims have been increasing annually. For example, the average income of a resident Muslim in America 10 years ago was $51,966, which has now increased to $55,958. On average, 59.5% of Muslims residing in America own their homes, an increase from 57.4% ten years ago.
It is also worth mentioning that Muslims reside in areas and centers where the education level of the residents is high, at least holding a bachelor’s degree. Here again, Muslim Iranians residing in America have an educational and financial advantage over other Muslims, such that the minimum income in geographical areas where Iranians reside exceeds $70,000, 63% of people in these areas own their homes, and 46% of people in these areas are university graduates.
There are no precise and accurate statistics on Iranians residing in America who have immigrated, naturalized, or are residing in some other way. For example, the 2000 US Census estimated the Iranian-American population at around 370,000, which is likely a significant undercount, while statistics published in the same year from other national sources estimated the resident Iranian population between 800,000 and 1,100,000, of whom about 300,000 to 600,000 live in Southern California. The vast majority of Iranians residing in America are Twelver Shia Muslims. In 2006, the Interests Section of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Washington D.C. had approximately 400,000 files on Iranians residing in America. According to officials at this office, each file could represent a family of 2 to 4 people, in which case the number of Iranians residing in America according to this data exceeds one million.
Despite the pressures on Muslim immigrants and citizens residing in America resulting from the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the political activity and social pride of resident Muslims in America have progressed remarkably in the last four years. A Zogby International poll on the activity of the Muslim community conducted shortly after the 9/11 attacks showed that Muslims were a politically active group, with 95% registered to vote in national elections and 88% turning out to vote. According to this poll, Islamic identity is the biggest factor in the political activity of this group in America.
Despite the negative and distorted images of Muslims portrayed in America in recent years, according to the Zogby poll, a large majority of Muslims believe that the current situation is the best opportunity for the spread of Islam in America. The same poll shows that a strong tendency towards Islamic unity has emerged among Muslims, which is evident in the political, civic, cultural, scientific, and social organization of Muslims and their affiliated organizations.
Numerous polls by Zogby International in recent years indicate that three-quarters (75%) of American Muslims participate in charitable activities and almsgiving, paying a fixed monthly or annual amount to support these centers. 45% of American Muslims stated that they volunteer their time without pay in some way for Muslim social and community development work. These same polls show that a large segment of resident Muslims in America, around 33% to 38%, believe that the United States is fighting against Islam, not against terrorism.
The results of Zogby polls regarding the social behavior and norms of resident Muslims in America are interesting. According to these polls, 19 out of 20 resident Muslim citizens support universal healthcare (national health insurance for all).
It should be noted here that America is the only major Western industrialized country without a national health insurance system for all citizens. Resident Muslims in America also believe, with a rate close to 95%, that all racial discrimination in America must end. Resident Muslims in America also, with an indicator close to 50%, support the regulation of environmental protection laws and regulations, and the vast majority of Muslims in America favor government support for the disadvantaged and poor classes.
Another poll by Zogby shows that 29% of resident Muslims in America attend Friday prayers at mosques and Islamic centers in their area of residence, and 25% attend mosque and Islamic center gatherings more than once a week.
A year ago (August 1, 2005), The Washington Post, in a detailed report on the activity of mosques and Islamic centers in the states adjacent to the US capital, Virginia and Maryland, reported an increase in the number of large new mosques – each costing between 2 to 3 million dollars. Over 300,000 American Muslims live in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, and each of the newly established mosques in this region has a capacity for over one thousand worshippers at a time.
Today, the largest religious growth in terms of population is seen in Islamic denominations. In America, as in Europe, not only is the Muslim population increasing, but the tendency towards the religion of Islam is also greater than towards other world religions. Currently, Muslims constitute 5% of Europe’s population, and according to a report by the Financial Times (July 15, 2005), the Muslim population in Europe will double in the next twenty years, reaching forty million.
According to this report, Muslims make up five percent of Germany’s population, three percent of Denmark’s, four percent of Sweden’s, five and a half percent of the Netherlands’, over eight percent of France’s, and five percent of Switzerland’s population. Other European countries also have Muslim populations, in addition to the fact that over 50% of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s population is Muslim, and a large majority of Albania’s population is Muslim. The majority of the Muslim population in Europe resides in the 25 member states of the European Union, and this is in a situation where Muslims do not have a nation-state structure of their own within this union, and this political entity has largely maintained the supremacy and dominance of Christian culture and religion.
The movement towards “New Frontiers” has been a term used by the United States and Americans to explain the expansion and development of their geographical, political, cultural, and economic power. Today, Muslims are breaking through the new frontiers of the Islamic Ummah in the world.
Only a handful of American elites thought that the United States could be a place for the community and activity of the Islamic Ummah. International developments, transformations in communication, economics, and politics, and the awakening of the Islamic world have caused American Muslims today to be at a historical crossroads. The growth of the Muslim community in America is an opportunity to understand and recognize the challenges of the contemporary world and the role that Islam can play within the largest military and economic superpower today.

Professor Hamid Mowlana