Another topic that popped up in my mind after all this meeting and talking is, “why are we Muslim?” It was brought to my attention (this question) when I heard an imam make a statement in talking about our status here as Muslims (indigenous) in America. He’s comment was, “We became Muslims because we were displeased with the way in which America was headed, not because we wanted to fit in.” Hmm… This man’s comments really made me do some thinking which only lead me to more questions(!). Is it true that we became Muslim because we didn’t like the way America was? And if so, does this delegate us to the status of Protest People? I myself didn’t become Muslim because I was displeased with America per se. I guess for me, it just felt like the right thing to do. I’m not saying that my environment didn’t influence me in my choice but then all aspects of my environment would have to be acknowledged. Where I grew up. How I was raised. My parents. Books I read. People I met and so on. I would cite my parents as one of the highest reasons I became Muslim, and I mean that in the best way. I was taught to respect elders. To respect people the way you wanted to be respected and a whole other parcel of moral and ethical things I was taught by my parents, who are not Muslim, by the way.

So when I hear this part about “not wanting to fit in”, I get concerned. What happens to a Protest People when there’s no protest? Or the mood of that protest has changed (in the case of Black America today - blacks do not face the same obstacles in the same ways as they used to). It seems to me that there are two choices for the revolutionary: find a new revolution or collect the fruits of your labor (your revolution) and trade in your swords for plow-shears (turbans for Brooks Brothers Suits?). There is a poignant hadiyth (a narrated saying, action or tacit approval of the Prophet Muhammad ), in which it states, “Actions are based on the intention. And if someone makes their migration for the sake of God and His Messenger , then their reward will be from God and His Messenger . And if someone makes his intention (for the migration) solely for the purpose of this world, then he’ll be reward for that.” In a sense, you’ll get what you go after for. So in the case of the Protest Person or the Permanent Revolutionary, if your intention is for revolution, you’ll most surely find it (though the revolution may not be what it was originally about when it started!). I only state this because as we move forward with all of these new ideals and thoughts (claiming American ownership of Islam and some of the other points I’ve made here), we must examine what exactly in the hell are we doing. For as it has been put to me in a lyric, “if you don’t know the equation then you can’t do the math.”

Finally, how does this (not wanting to fit in) play out when Islam starts to grow from a minority to a majority? Or, when the majority of people who convert to Islam in America aren’t coming because they’re displeased with it? And where will they be when the protest is over? I believe we must find, again, an alternate modality of being, here. My children may not have the same issues with America that I have with it. And this is not to down play the problems that exist here in America. We know them, we’re all familiar with them. And to add further to that, I believe we, as American Muslims can have a powerful, effective and appropriate voice of dissent here. Ultimately, human beings are social creates and by nature want to fit in. So, my response is that we must find an “alternate modality of fitting in”. Because I myself, like so many others, consider America to be my home and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.