Geneive Abdo Author: Mecca & Mainstreet

Muslim Life in America After 9/11

Author Geneive Abdo, once a UN liaison for improving relations between Western and Islamic societies, was the first American journalist to be based in Tehran after the U.S. cut off ties post-1979 revolution.

She has written a number of books on Islamic issues, and her latest, Mecca & Mainstreet: Muslim Life In America after 9/11, was recently featured on a Christiane Amanpour CNN special, God's Warriors, which examined the escalation of conflict between Islamic and Western cultures.

Shortly after the special aired, President Bush suggested the Iraq War may extend into Iran. During a televised speech last Tuesday, Bush said he had "authorized our military commanders in Iraq to confront Tehran's murderous activities."

Abdo says things will surely get worse before they get better, but improving relations must not rest on Muslim shoulders alone. Islamic revivalism is becoming more apparent in the public expression of Islamic identity in the U.S..

The average non-Muslim Americans are not aware of what it is to be a Muslim in the post-9/11 environment. Part of that is based on distorted media coverage. They suddenly woke up to a minority that, for the most part, had been invisible. Muslims were then faced with the hardships of trying to define themselves and trying to explain their religion, which had suddenly become an American obsession.

They had to first distance themselves from the types of Muslim stereotypes that Americans were then being exposed to on television, in print media and by the U.S. government. The primary challenge was to convey the message: "We're not like these militants you are seeing on television."

The second challenge was to try to educate the mainstream about their faith and Islamic doctrine, which was not the interpretation of the extremists. Muslims felt they had to educate people that Islam is not a religion, at least among mainstream Muslims, that promotes violence.

The third challenge was really determining how to protect themselves from an increasingly hostile society. Younger Muslims became more involved in their mosques, in Islamic schools and in Muslim student associations on college campuses.

There are no statistics on the membership growth in these Muslim student associations, but the numbers were quite high compared to those before 9/11. Muslim students who were not involved before, suddenly felt a need to connect with other Muslims and develop a public Muslim identity that had not existed before.

The youth embrace of Islam is a very different immigrant experience for the US. As Muslim youth seek to assert their identity, it creates strained relationships, but the hardships are not something they are all that candid about. They think that by speaking publicly about the strains, it will make the situation worse.

There is some truth to that, but it's important to recognize that institution building is a good thing, because it will empower Muslims in the U.S. The flip side of that is that there's less incentive to interact with mainstream people who are not Muslims. So, 9/11 has two opposite effects: growing empowerment, but also growing alienation.

It's hard to say what the long term implications of this segregation will be, but there are some non-Muslim Americans, particularly those who are more educated, who have reached out to Muslim communities, visited mosques and held Islamic lectures.

On the other hand, in the current climate, Americans are so influenced by global events, and that's causing a divide. Some Americans don't distinguish between the Muslims at home and the Muslims abroad. The Muslim-American experience depends more on what happens elsewhere, a great challenge and source of conflict for both sides in the years to come.