Muslim in America: Islam in Exile, Essay Example

Despite American militarism activities in the Middle East, predominately in Islamic countries, it is hard to believe that there is a growing Moslem faith in the middle of America’s Christian Bible belt.  The difficulty with those Muslims living in Appalachia is not one of acceptance by their Christian neighbours but more the odds of coming to terms with the practice of their religion in a culture that is completely different from Islam.  As such it is remarkable as to how resilient this faith has become in the strength of such adversity in the Western World.

As the philosopher Averroes has shown in early Spanish / Moorish history there is a great deal that Islam can offer in terms of injecting cultural heritage into the Western World; including that of Philosophy, Science, Medicine and the Arts. As such there is also a lot of common ground between the people of Christian and Moslem faith.  The real fact is that both religions i.e. Christianity and Islam have their roots in the Old Testaments; they even share the same prophets like Abraham.  The Islamic religion is a peaceful one but the small minority of extremists have seen it become stereotyped in the West and supportive of Terrorism.  These violent extremists use the Islamic faith to try and create religious wars and unite larger forces behind their causes in order to achieve their goals.

One of the most important acts of stereotyping is that portrayed by the Media and pointing out that Islam is associated with Terrorists and this depicts people, mainly of Middle East origin as potential enemies of the State.  This has made it extremely difficult for immigrants living in the USA to practice religious freedom without being treated with fear and suspicion. The act of terrorism committed on 9/11 by Islamic extremists has made this situation even worse. This together with two wars that have raged in both Iraq and Afghanistan resulting in the loss of American lives at the hands of Islamic extremist elements.  The media has not really helped in demonstrating the bigger picture here.