The Two Things I Love Most: Islam and The United States

Because it is the 235th birthday of the country I was born in, I thought I'd shed some light on why I think The United States' form of government  is adequate for my way, and that of 1.57 billion peoples way of life; Islam.

Egypt is at a crucial moment in its history. It is on the brink of drafting a new constitution, choosing a new president and potentially becoming more of a democracy. Or maybe it will become more of a theocracy. Only time, and the opinions of the Egyptians  will tell, really.

I wish I could say that if Egypt modeled its government like that of the United States’, religious freedom would prosper, all would become tolerant of each other, and transparent elections would transpire. Instead, I’d like to speak to the benefit of democracy to Muslim-Americans, and maybe that will help propogate the cause of democracy for Middle Eastern Muslims as well.

Personally, My family enjoyed living in the United States as Muslims for 30 years. Nobody could tell my mother anything about taking her veil off, we enjoyed the unity of diverse Muslim communities coming from Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Egypt and Lebanon. We became tolerant of other Muslims’ ways of thinking, and we were okay with celebrating American holidays alongside our Christian and Jewish neighbors. The way the merit based society is set up for Americans facilitated this fulfilling lifestyle for my parents and siblings. Both my parents proudly voted in multiple presidential elections, and each member of my nuclear family (with the exception of my parents) gained citizenship upon birth. It is safe to say that my parents felt like this country welcomed them with open arms.

What is it then, about the American society, that made living so different for our religious way of life than would living in my parents’ home country, Egypt?

Results from a Gallap poll conducted in 10 Muslim countries summarize the point I’d like to make most succinctly

“when asked what they admire most about the West, Muslims frequently mention political freedom, liberty, fair judicial systems, and freedom

of speech. When asked to critique their own societies, extremism and inadequate adherence to Islamic teachings were their top grievances.”

I’d like to draw attention to the part about “inadequate adherence to Islamic teachings.” What exactly does that mean, on a personal level? It means when officials and those in power manipulate Islamic teachings and further propagate a skewed, misinterpreted vision of the religion,i.e, I’ve heard members of Egyptian society criticize Muslim women who work, citing their negligence to take care of their families; which is considered religious duty.

Among other things,in general I feel there’s a whole lot of intolerant preaching and a lack of flexibility with modernity. I’m not trying to say all Egyptian Muslims are like this, rather I am trying to make the point that the liberties that are extended to all Americans in the United States often work to the benefit of Muslims.

I’m not alone in my admiration of the founding fathers set up of the United States. Faheem Younus, a Pakistani Muslim American echos this same sentiment in his article entitled

“This Fourth of July, why I love America, like most Muslim Americans”. My hope is that Egypt will establish a constitution that serves the same purpose that Younus believes the United States does, that it ” sweetens the American psyche towards the principles of equality, life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness”  and that it “establishes instill tolerance for “the different” in our minds”

Can these goals really be achieved if Sharia is the only source of legislation in drafting a Constitution? Results from the Gallup survey show that out of the 10 countries surveyed,only in 5 countries did a minority want Sharia as the only source of legislation. We can’t however, completely disregard the fact there is a desire for Sharia in some parts of the world, with the same report stating:

“Egypt, Pakistan, Jordan, and Bangladesh,(contain) majorities(that want) Sharia as the “only source” of legislation.”

While these results may seem quite alarming, the same survey reveals that this does not mean majorities want to establish a theocracy, and that only a minority in these countries want religious leaders to be involved in constitution drafting.

Question is, how can countries like Egypt incorporate religion into their constitution whilst attempting to preach tolerance and equality among all?

source: google images