By Aqil Syakir
Source of the picture : The American Muslim Film
Believe or not, Islam is the third largest religion in the United States and also the population of the Muslims is huge that is 3.45 millions Muslims. Maybe we might think the population of Muslims is small and many people were scared about how the Muslims live in the United States. However, some of the American wanted and already embrace Islam. A lot of famous people in the United States who are the Muslims.
“I believe in the religion of Islam. I believe in Allah and peace.” and this is the quote from the most legendary U.S Boxer, Muhammad Ali. He is well-known as the athlete who is Muslim and he very proud of it. In every talk show or interview session, he always said about the Islam and Allah S.W.T. The braveness of him when he talked about Islam and Allah S.W.T, made all of the Muslims in the world very proud of him.
One of an American retired professional basketball player, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said “Islam is about finding your own space.” Life of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar after he embraced Islam is more to find himself, learning about Islam and knowing Allah S.W.T . “The transition from Lew to Kareem was not merely a change in celebrity brand name but a transformation of heart, mind and soul.” and what he felt after becoming a Muslim. Besides, his name also changed from Lew Alcindor to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.
The Discrimination of American Muslim
Source of the picture : The Conversation
Living as a Muslim in United States is very challenging because Islam is the religion that have many discrimination from U.S citizen. Currently, according to an overview of recent Pew Research Center polls, Americans say some religious groups tend to be discriminated against and marginalized especially Muslims. According to a 2017 survey of Muslim Americans, Some claim they have encountered concrete instances of discrimination among U.S. Muslims themselves, including being viewed with suspicion, recognized by airport security or called offensive names.
“My parents were not pleased by my conversion. Though they weren’t strict Catholics, they had raised me to believe in Christianity as the gospel. But the more I studied history, the more disillusioned I became with the role of Christianity in subjugating my people.” This is what happened to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar being an American Muslim and U.S is the country with high level of discrimination in every religion including Islam.
The U.S. public has the least regard for Muslims and slightly less than it has for atheists even though Islam is third largest faith in U.S, according to a Pew Research Center poll on attitudes towards major religious groups. Aggression, violence and inhumane acts by those who pretend to have been Muslims made the rest of the world afraid of us. We see nothing more than the worst examples, without really understanding the peaceful activities of most 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide.
How American Muslims Celebrate Ramadan and Eid Mubarak
Source of the picture : ShareAmerica
The Arab Lunar Calendar, the ninth month of Ramadan, is a popular practice for over one trillion Muslims worldwide. This is the most holy season of the year when the first verses of the Al-Quran revealed more than 1400 years ago to Prophet Mohammed. "When the month of Ramadan begins, the gates of heaven are opened and the gates of Hell are closed and the devils are chained," according to Islamic texts.
Ramadan fasting is one of the basic tenets called Islam's Five Pillars. From dawn to dusk, Muslims abstain from food, drink, and sex for a physical, psychological, and spiritual exercise. The fast is a reminder of human life's fragility, fosters compassion for the poor and is intended to foster a relationship with Allah S.W.T instead of seeking bodily pleasures. Due to the difference between the Arab lunar calendar and the traditional Gregorian calendar, the dates of Ramadan and the length of the rapid change each year. Based on estimation, Muslims fasted 16 hours on average in U.S.
In the end of Ramadan, Muslims will celebrate the Eid al-fitr after they finished fasting for 1-month. The celebration for them after succeed fasting during Ramadan, prevent themselves from doing a bad things which is could break the fast and close themselves to Allah S.W.T. One of the biggest celebration is during 2017, in California's Angel Stadium, thousands of Americans fanned across the baseball field and prostrated in prayer. They formed a microcosm of millions of Muslims across the U.S. celebrating Eid al-Fitr, the vibrant conclusion to Ramadan's Islamic holy month.
Islam is a pure religion like white cloth and it has been classified as the lowest religion because of the highest discrimination from U.S citizen towards Islam and their lifestyle. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said “Part of my conversion to Islam is accepting the responsibility to teach others about my religion, not to convert them but to co-exist with them through mutual respect, support and peace. One world does not have to mean one religion, just one belief in living in peace.”
Comments