2012 Election Series Part I | Part II | Part III
Let us, as Muslims, not fool ourselves. The 2008 election of Barack Hussein Obama to the Presidency of the United States was a watershed moment for US foreign policy. A man with a Muslim-esque name was finally going to be making deals with, stopping wars against, and lifting up the many splintered nations of Islam. Or at least, that was the hope. But when Guantanamo didn’t close, when Pakistan came under the brunt of heavy drone fire, and lives of innocent Muslims continued to be affected by the American addiction to oil, many Muslims lost hope for change.
I cannot speak for the President. So explaining away his actions is futile. But what I can do is lay out reasons for why Muslims should vote, despite whatever disappointments we have. This may seem incongruous when you read the paragraph above. The disappointments are too great, the pain too far-reaching. But then you delve right into the meat of the problem: our own crisis of self-identification.
Many young immigrant communities have this same problem, most often manifest in an ubiquitous question so many parents ask themselves: will my children become like these Americans? This is not to denigrate the amazing opportunities available in this country, opportunities that aren’t readily available elsewhere, nor is it meant to paint a stereotypical portrait of immigrant parents. It’s a completely rational fear, rooted in older generation’s need to preserve some sense of their own homes and upbringing. It is absolutely normal.
It can also become stifling when the children adopt the notion whole-heartedly. The curve of history, the benefits of assimilation are revoked when children accept the notion that despite their origin of birth they are just as Afghan, or Pakistani, or Arab as their parents. Too often the educated children of immigrants fall into the trap of embracing a cultural and national identity that is not really theirs, in reaction to the ostracizing so many of us have had to face since 9/11.
We feel that by embracing this other identity, by being Afghan, or Pakistani, or Saudi, we are confronting the problems of xenophobia and segregation head on. If we wear our parents’ cultures on our sleeves, then the jokes and stereotypes we often fall victim to can be dissipated. Except the opposite happens, and for good reason. It is a farce to pretend to be a part of a culture that you were never born into.
Muslims born in America, are American. While the statement may seem obvious, in practice the Muslim-American culture is in flux between the call of the East and the reality of the West. Where this is most plain is in voting. Because young Muslim-Americans feel far more comfortable identifying as Afghan, Pakistani or Saudi, they vote based on foreign policy issues alone. They understand politics solely based on how many bombs are dropped, the hypocrisy of oil revenues, and the sloppy diplomacy that has defined America for the past 60 years. These issues concerning lands far away are paramount in their minds.
Therein lies my admonishment and my ardent plea. That we, this first generation of Muslim-Americans who are becoming educated and exposed to elements our parents never saw and hopefully our children will never see – we must recognize ourselves as Americans first. We are not Afghan, or Pakistani, or Arab just because our parents were born there or our families still live there. We were born in this country, and we will most likely live out the majority of our lives here. If we continue to vote, and base our politics on lands far away, on people who do not share our origins, then we will continue to disenfranchise ourselves.
Crying out over the segregation we have been subject to by our American peers is warranted, but so is a long hard look at ourselves. In a lot of ways, we participate in that segregation by only caring about people who look like our parents. What about the millions of people who will benefit from the Affordable Care Act? What about the millions of jobs created when the car companies were kept afloat by the government? What about our neighbor on the street who benefited from the middle-class tax cuts? Aren’t they more important than a bearded fellow we’ve never met?
We are at a unique moment in the history of our religion and our peoples. We, this first generation of Muslim-Americans, can influence what happens in our community for decades to come. Do not lose this moment to the tides of nostalgic fervor that still lap at our parents’ hearts. Reverence for the homeland is noble. We then must decide which is our home: the place we were born in, or the place our parents were. I choose my own birthplace.
Well-written! This is like one of those taboo topics Muslims like to shy away from: we say we aren’t “American” even though we are born here.
I definitely agree with the main thing you were trying to get at is (voting for policy that affects Americans rather than solely voting based on foreign policy). However, I found the way you phrased your argument to be somewhat problematic, assumptive, and reductive.
When parents ask the question “will my children become like these Americans” hoping to “preserve some sense of their own homes and upbringing”, it is not a question regarding a fear of assimilation into American culture, it is a concern for upholding certain values and ethics they consider important (e.g. family values, language) that are not prevalent in America, not an outright rejection of American-ness. How do we even begin to define what being “American” means?
And how is embracing a different cultural identity a “trap”? How can you say “it is not really theirs”? Almost every immigrant community, to varying degrees, tries to hold on to different aspects of their culture. The whole beauty of this country is that people are able to do so. Its not about where you are born because culture isn’t tied to geography (America is the proof). In fact, many would argue the opposite, that many first-generation Americans are in fact losing their culture; many are working hard to oppose this trend, and to me that is a great testimony to their “American-ness”. People want to uphold certain values, traditions, and practices they share with their relatives and people they identify with (and there’s nothing wrong with identifying with them) because many, if not most, of our parents who immigrated here did so out of necessity due to injustice, imperialism, and inequality amongst other things.
You’ve drawn out a false dichotomy by saying that “Muslim-American culture is in a flux between the call of the East and the reality of the West.” Almost all Muslims, and other immigrants, live by merging between the two. It’s not about choosing one or the other. Again, that’s the beauty of this country. Being concerned with “lands far way” doesn’t conflict with being concerned for fellow Americans.
People vote based on issues that are most relevant to them. You’ve assumed here that issues overseas are not, or should not be, relevant to American-born Muslims. I don’t think anyone is able to consider or define what is or isn’t relevant to someone else. I consider foreign policy issues to be very relevant to me because if it wasn’t for the current hegemonic imbalance and geopolitical corruption, there would be no Arab, Afghani, Pakistani, or Mexican diaspora. We wouldn’t be discussing this “problem” if it wasn’t for matters of foreign policy.
In fact, culture should have nothing to do with your entire argument because the issue isn’t about preferring one culture over another, and it certainly is not about dual loyalties (which I think is implied in your argument). The issue is about caring for people you identify with. You said, “If we continue to vote, and base our politics on lands far away, on people who do not share our origins, then we will continue to disenfranchise ourselves”. You many not consider to share your origins with these people, and that’s fine, but many other people do, and you cannot undermine such sentiments. Geographical birthplace is not the sole criterion for identity.
The issue is about also considering fellow Americans and domestic policy when voting. I don’t think anyone can disagree with the importance of that. However, by framing the issue in light of a cultural crisis, you’ve elaborated a false dichotomy and undermined sentiments shared across almost every immigrant community. Its not about nationalistic borders and confining ourselves to the appropriate one, its about considering humanity qua humanity and voting based on ethical and moral values. The problem with voting arises when you make the distinction between one person and another based on identity/culture and thereby value, or prefer, somebody over somebody else. Additionally, voting in different countries accords different nuances. Because of American’s dominant role in international relations, one should probably weigh such policies more when casting a ballot than you would in a less geopolitically significant country.
I don’t want to start a flame war in the comments section, but I will fire back against a salvo you threw in your response. I completely disagree that what I have posited is a false dichotomy. From my experience in the MSA and as part of the UAC, I’ve seen young, educated Muslims have to decide between the American culture around them and the culture of their forebears. Moreover, I’ve seen young, non-college educated Muslims fall in the struggle between the two cultures. It exists, in far greater numbers than you seemingly would like to admit.
Most of the time, the decision is made to side with the parent’s culture at the expense of the birth culture. Very rarely do we succeed in completely merging the two. Those who have are often shunned for not being Muslim enough, or they are sisters who are seen as uncouth, brothers who are distrusted because they happen to have a red cup in their hand. The gossiping and backbiting that goes on in our MSA, and others, regarding the roiling back and forth of east and west cannot be denied, and if it is then you are positing a false reality.
The false reality of harmony you are proclaiming denies the existence of young Muslims who have fallen through the cracks, those who drink excessively because they’ve chosen American culture and decided to overcompensate. They are complemented by the other extreme, those who have completely shut out the Americana around them in favor of Afghan customs, or Paki celebrations, or Arab comforts. These people exist, in large numbers, and by stating emphatically that “Almost all Muslims, and other immigrants, live by merging between the two.” you are denying that existence.
We aren’t as bad as Europe. That doesn’t mean we should rest on our laurels and accept our situation as is. It means we need to keep forging ahead, and make sure that we provide a clear model for how other Muslims can live in the West. I do not believe that model requires shunning our parent’s culture.
My views are a little more nuanced than that. I truly do believe that accepting our birth culture as our primary culture is the way to go. That doesn’t mean you have to refuse other aspects of your parent’s culture, but it certainly requires you to stop acting like you came from that country.