The primary reason is because it’s unexpected.  The only groups which it’s relatively odd to see Muslims in are Whites, Latinos, and East Asians since every other broad population has significant Muslim populations.  An Angolan Muslim is probably an odd phenomenon but a Senegalese Muslim isn’t… but we don’t tend to make distinctions among Black Africans.  So, even though there is diversity of religion in groups like Blacks, Southeast Asians, Desis, and even Arabs, we aren’t surprised to see a Muslim from those groups.

I think a good question to ask (and you may be able to answer Gustavo) is do they act similarly over Latinos and East Asians?  If not it may be because converting in your home territory is seen as odd.  It makes sense that Indians were Christianized when they were colonized because of a certain power differential.  And I don’t think it’s a loss of white privilege… maybe if you change your dress… but because you don’t really gain anything through conversion just a lot of people asking you questions.  Oh, and I think it’s safe to say that Muslims in America want to be accepted as a legitimate religion like Judaism or Christianity instead of the uneasy undertones that exist.  When a White person converts it is a small sign that Islam is being accepted as another legitimate religion. 

—thought from a white, pasty skinned dude

This is in response to OmarG’s statement concerning Amr Khaled and his recent speaking engagement concerning the Muslim American and their progeny.

The most populous Muslim country in the world is in Eastern Asia, Indonesia.

However, when we think of Muslims in America, sadly stereotypes are even common among progressive Muslims.

Latinos are an oddity as a Muslim minority in this country, so our conversion to Islam is somehow less legitimate than someone of European ancestry?  Although, Latinos are treated as an ethnicity by the US Census Bureau, and most are classified as "white" racially.  Being Afghan too, though we are "South Asian" in 2000, 98% of all Afghanis classified themselves as "white."  Some statistics indicate that Buddhism is more popular among Latinos than Islam, and from living in California, I’ve encountered my fair share of Latino Buddhists in sometimes the most unexpected places.

So I guess in America it is still a white man’s world, where white people deem what is legitimate or not?

I’m not trying to trivialize your comment or that of OmarG, but something Muslims need to talk about is the issue of race in the mosque.  We live in a highly racialized society, so Muslim Americans having a discussion on race should not be deemed inappropriate.

It’s possible that whiteAmerican Muslims get more than their fair share of attention b/c of white privilege- which makes white, preferably white American faces on the news, in ads, "in the public eye" more palatable to those who choose to put them there- other white Americans. People of color internalize this prejudice, and many become uncomfortable with the idea of people of color in highly visible positions, including those of leadership.
A bit of bragging: One of the things I like about progressive Muslims is that we’re an ethnically diverse group, and we tend to make friends across ethnic lines.

Gustavo:

Ethnically, is Sicily a part of Africa or is it part of Europe

Interesting question Center, perhaps OmarG can enlighten us.

Sicily may just be Mediterranean … North African, European, and Middle Eastern.  But I’m no expert.  When the island of Malta, just south of Sicily, joined the EU, they became the first EU member to have an Arabic-derived language.  It seems Malti (or Maltese) has equal shares of Arabic words and Italian words. 

My Milanese friend hates Sicilians, she says they make Italians in America look bad.

Milanese aren’t really Italians; they’re Germans who eat cream sauces and rice-based risottos instead pasta and tomato sauce. Imagine how crappy Italian restaurants would be if all they served was Northern Italian food!

All jabbing aside, the whole Mediterranean region is one big cultural area; its easy to see the patterns and continuities in people, plants, foods, lifestyles from Sothern France to Naples to Algeirs to Malta… That’s the beauty of cultural contact and trade.

- A Salafi in worship, a Sufi in society, a Secularist in government.

I make wonderful polentas with homemade sauce for Eid.

Is polenta from Northern Italy or Southern Italy?

I love some cream sauces, when I’m cheap and lazy, I use sour cream as a substitute instead of actual cream in the carton.

I prefer southern Mexican cookery over the more commonly consumed northern Mexican cookery in America.

I prefer southern Indian cookery over the Persian-influenced Mughlai dishes of northern India, Kashmir, and Pakistan.  Bangladesh has a distinct cuisine altogether with West Bengal in India.

I want to say that the reason WhiteAmericanMuslims get so much attention is cause of privelage, but I just think that is way too simplified. Sure, privelage plays into most manifestations of Whitey-White-White doings, but it seems to me that the reason people make a fuss is cause White American is seen to be synonomous with Anti-Islam, so when a white person embraces “the deen” it’s like: Look, seeeeee, even the haters can be saved!

But really, these days I can’t take a poop without it being attributed to the privelage of my skin-color. Yes, it does come out in little shrink-wrapped plastic baggies with gold foil wrapped around it and fringe along the edges, but come on, that’s just dietary, which of course is based on socio-economic conditions, etc, but still… fringe.

I wonder how this survey defined race.

For example, Muslims from the Caribbean, would that exclude Muslims from Spanish-speaking countries like the Dominican Republic and Cuba?

Would Caribbean Muslims include anyone from the islands regardless of racial/ethnic ancestry?

For example, Muslims from Trinidad and Tobago are likely to be of South Asian origin.

Muslims from Guyana and Suriname could be of Southeast Asian (Indonesian) descent.

Race and ethnicity are very tricky.

Grenavitar,

I’m dating a white, pasty Irishman originally from the South.  He’s a Muslim convert who keeps all five daily prayers.  I barely attend Jumaah.

Hahahaha, but now with having Friday afternoon off in the meantime, I have no excuse not to attend the masjid.

After reading your article ,I feel your opinion is interesting and special ,i hope that i have the chance to communicate with you . Could you check my blog at: www.muslimfriends.com/i/free to check my blog title: helenwang`s blog"? May be we can talk further and be friends.

Yeah  it’s an interesting thing the whit epower troops converting to islam cause that’s how their seen some times like their riding the wave of some of some unique and desirable   and seen as evil at the same time too    but power always shifts and so these conversions seem to say that maybe the powerful beast is shifting and grumbling   but who would want it?

i mean elites of all kinds and colors are grabbing for the world reins so if someone who represents that power in people’s minds switchs to muslim then maybe some people think somebody besides the eurowhites are comming into power

i have a voice  saying that bein white ain’t all that,     poor whites are the house niggers of the europe inized world  alittle more "priviledged" than the shades darker and kept apart from each other by the cultural language  noosing skin into unfit ful conortions—  see a pale poor and almost everybody(including the poor "whites") thinks of cans cause trash is what you put in’em  so maybe we should deliver a new designation for the richrulers cause they are standin on top of most of all the shades and they don’t seem to like the green and the blue either—diversity doesn’t concentratepower for long  and their tryin to stay powerful FOREVER 

they will even gorge on Mother Earth’s heart

and seeing as i see it like this thank God i’m not wealthy  because to be so would help what is cold and frightend hunger in me flourish—i want my life to be bout something more interesting than the ego inflation of power over others 

if this makes it sound like i say poverty is good its not meant to

being poor shuts the door to many of life’s good experiences,  as when the children don’t have opportunity to develop interests due to the lack of funds and hunger,  and a lack of a culture of learing in most of the poor white family cultures i’ve been around—we’ve generationally not had the luxury to develop intellectually, artistically, etc—i really realized this when i became roomates of some middle class kids and they would rattle off huge discographies of multiple musicians because they had the money and accsess to explore it …and a set of drums== a rare poor kid ever gets a chance at that—man that sucks, i wish all children had  the opportunity to develop their interests  and have some good eats. Not to mention the children living in places like Iraq where bombings and the trauma of the war is most acute. It’s all connected to this greed for money and worldly power and I’m thankful i wasn’t born into a wealthy family.

i’m not saying to never mind racism but this ism of class is ignored  plus the tendency of humans to attach to isms

Noor, I notice you focus on class.

Are you an Islamosocialist?  Hehehehehehe!!!!!!

Teasing man.

Od bless you GustavoMustafa!  Have a best night

Salaamsalaam,

      Nur

It’s interesting that you don’t usually see or hear of Christians dividing themselves up so sharply along ethnic diversity lines, as Christians,  and you sure don’t hear the Jews doing it.  Do they enjoy more religious solidarity I suppose?  Or does the religion weigh more heavily in their identity than race?  I know this doesn’t include large numbers of southern Christians, but they are a small minority.  The first night here and I am already thinking this white "not real Muslim" doesn’t belong here. Exit stage left!  :)

I’ve seen churches that advertise the ethnicity they target. And what about traditionally black churches? They’re not going anywhere. And if you’re determined to go, feel free- but it’s not because of who we are.

I’ve seen churches that advertise the ethnicity they target. And what about traditionally black churches? They’re not going anywhere. And if you’re determined to go, feel free- but it’s not because of who we are.>>>>>>

Agreed, and I think I was getting at that when I mentioned the "South" part of the US.  They target a preferred ethnicity.  But I have read enough posts on this board to make it clear that "white converts" aren’t the real deal.  I used to go to my local mosque back in San Francisco in the 70s and 80s and everything was great. I know the world has changed a great deal since then and I know the role people of my hue have played in that. I am not stupid nor am I a trailer park white spending my nights in front of a TV set.  But I have seen the face of public Islam change over the decades and I slowly stopped attending any public Islamic service because there was the rising exclusionary  policies. When I moved here to NYC, well, I have never been in a mosque in NYC because I don’t believe in forcing myself where I am not welcome.  For me, Islam is a religion, it’s a relationship between me and Allah, and it didn’t happen because I married an ethnic Muslim (because I didn’t) I came to Islam on my own, stayed, on my own.  But I keep sticking my toe back in the waters now and then, because I too would like to be part of a Muslim community.   But unlike a lot of whites I see on the scene, I can’t play the reverse "Massah" thing that Gustavo was talking about. And yeah Gustavo, this is me, Aaron/Karen, Akenanubis from Muslim WakeUp!   Oh well …...

There are loads of churches up North that are clearly for one ethnicity- either by advertising only in certain venues, holding services in the mother tongue, and even going as far as to list an ethnicity in the name. Now, you’ll see some posts by contributors who think that white converts are not the real deal, but they  get shouted down fairly quickly. Have you tried Masjid al-Farah? If so, what was your experience? (I found it more welcoming than most, which is why I’m suggesting it. Look, there’s only One who decides whether you’re the real thing, and trust me, S/He does not currently hold a position on a mosque’s governing board. I don’t attend the mosque much either- except when I pop up to NYC- but I double-dog dare anyone to come between me and Allah. Be who you are, and any naysayers can eat your dust as you speed along the Straight Path, insha’Allah.

Christians have always divided themselves up.  You have baptists, calvinist, episopalians, methodist, and southern baptist, catholics, and adventist.  If they aren’t divided in that way try racially.  yes, white churches and korean churches and greek orthodox and russian and ethiopian orthodox.  But the one thing they have in common is this they aren’t fighting over whose right.  They go to their respective churches and do their thing and leave.  No methodist calls a baptist a Kafir.  Or says he’s guilty of Bida.  Doesn’t happen.   Most christian churches are mixed now, black neighborhoods have black churches but thats even changing, blacks, mexicans and whites often attend the same inner city churches.  Ethiopians attend greek orthodox because the church litergies are similar.

Anyone could walk into a christian church and be welcomed by someone and eat afterwards at the little luncheon they have.  If you never return no one cares.

If you want to join, they are happy.  But if you don’t, don’t worry, you’ll be forgotten unless you get on a prayer list.

I only go to mosques that are mixed american and other.  Purely middle eastern mosques are not that open, friendly to blacks.  I don’t think its intentional its just the paradigm. 

Have you tried Masjid al-Farah? >>>

Thanks for everybody’s replies.  At various points I have wanted to try Masjid al-Farah but I have heard enough about the place to make me stay home. And then I read yourpost on it on another thread tonight.    But your post is dead on.  My religion is about me and Allah and I have no problems with that.

Cheers,

Karen 

There are a few Protestants who say Catholics aren’t really Christian.  And I suppose each sect has its own hard core of exclusionary folks. 

I guess when John Kennedy ran for president that was the crux of the issue, he wasn’t a Christian, but since when has that been criteria for being president of the country? Aha, right now as a matter of fact, Obama? When they want to bash him they say, "Barack Hussein Obama" not just Barack…...........