I live in Las Vegas, Nevada USA and by grace of Allah I am here in the Holiest place on the face of earth – Makkah for Umrah. I read your article “Ramadan in the US – Islam in the United States” on Monday August 22, 2011 with great interest. I commend the author for an excellent job in writing this article. I have just a few comments on the history of Islam in the USA: Muslims explored North America at least 300 years before the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus. Columbus logged on Oct. 21st, 1492, that he was sailing past Gibara on the coast of Cuba he saw a mosque. He also logged that remnants of other Masjids have been found in Cuba, Mexico, Texas and Nevada. Muslims have been part of the American Society at least since early 17th century when many Muslims journeyed in the first slave ships to Virginia coast. By the 18th century there were many thousands of them working as slaves on the plantations? Based on many factors these early Muslims lost their Islamic identity in the new homeland. The late 19th century, saw the beginnings of an influx of Arab Muslims, who settled in major industrial centers where they worshipped in rented rooms. According to Yvonne Y. Haddad the author of A Century Islam in America, the 20th century witnessed four waves of immigrants from various parts of the world. First wave, from 1875-1912, Syrian, Lebanese and Jordanian laborers migrated and became factory workers and peddlers. The first wave ended with the First World War. In 1924 the door to non-European immigration clanged nearly shut. The first Albanian mosque was constructed in Maine in 1915, and another followed in 1919 in Connecticut. In 1926 Polish Muslims constructed a mosque in Brooklyn, New York which is still in use today. The Albanian Muslims were also responsible for creating one of the first Islamic associations for Muslims in the United States. The Muslim immigration virtually stopped in 1924, when the Asian Exclusion Act and the Johnson-Reed Immigration Act allowed only a trickle of “Asians,” as Arabs were designated, to enter the nation. Second wave, from 1930-1938, Arabs from across the Middle East arrive as laborers. The second wave was brought to a halt by the Second World War. Third wave from 1947-1960: Palestinians, Egyptians and Eastern European Muslims arrive. Unlike the earlier immigrants, they were often well-educated and from influential families. Many of them were physicians, engineers and other professionals. Many came as students and stayed after completing their studies. The black movements, the back-to-Africa groups, had come into flower by this time. This was the period which saw the formation of the early Muslim communities and mosques in such places as Detroit, Ann Arbor, Gary (Indiana), Cedar Rapids (Iowa), Sacramento and the like. It was this period which also witnessed the formation of national Islamic groups, such as the Muslim Students Association (MSA) of the United States and Canada, later to be replaced by the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), and their supporting institutions. Fourth wave from 1967-Present: Muslims from Asia (primarily the Indian sub-continent), the Arab world and Africa arrive. Most are educated professionals or come as students and remain. The number of Muslims in America was estimated at a quarter million by 1960. Although there is no official census on the number of Muslims in the USA, it is estimated that there are about 8 million Muslims in the USA today. The Muslims from the first two waves were rapidly assimilated, and nothing is left of their presence save a few town names and mosques in scattered places. The third wave built many of the older mosques that are still in use in the great urban centers of the US and Canada. The fourth and final wave has been active in political and social affairs in their communities and in the nation at large. Most of the mosques and Islamic schools on this continent were built as a result of their efforts. At present, the number of Muslims in the United States is estimated at about 8 million. It is the fastest growing faith in this country. The ten states with the highest concentration of Muslims are California, New York, Illinois, New Jersey, Indiana, Michigan, Virginia, Texas, Ohio and Maryland (listed in order of population). This represents 3.3 million of the Muslim population in the United States. Most Muslim Americans are first generation immigrants. This new ethnic group, because of modern transportation and communication, has the ability to stay in touch with the “old world” in a way that was not possible for the traditional ethnic groups of America who migrated from Europe. Muslim immigrant groups, then, are living in two worlds. Their children, however, are fast exerting efforts to socialize as Muslim Americans as they grow up, so that they will retain their religious and cultural identity. Today, American Muslims are very young, with 74% under age 50; highly educated, with 58% holding college degrees; extremely successful, with 50% earning more than $50,000 annually; and involved, in the political process with nearly 80% registered to vote. Today there are over 2700 mosques and Islamic Centers in the United States, (Reference 6) a 2010 comprehensive study by Riad Ali (www.muslimguide.com), and around 2 million Muslims are associated with them. Demonstrating the rapid growth of the Muslim faith in the United States, over 60% of the Mosques were founded after 1980, and 25% since 1994. A recent independent survey conducted by the Hartford Institute for Religious Research showed that almost one-third of US Muslims are converts (30%) and that the mosques are rarely places attended by just one ethnic group. The vast majority of American mosques are places where people of vastly different backgrounds come together, united by their faith. The influence of the first two waves on the American Society is not visible because of the assimilation in the society and lack of vertical as well horizontal propagation. The future influence if any depends on mostly on vertical and horizontal propagation as well participating in the greater good of the society that these Muslims live in. Khaliq R. Baig, M.D. President – Islamic Information Center 1610 E. Russell Road, Las Vegas, NV 89119 USA __
