Islam at Our Doorstep: Addressing Division in America

America is heading down a perilous path, and it is in our hands to try and save it.

As recent events have shown us, the American populace is becoming increasingly divided and siloed. Politically motivated violence is surging as many on both sides of the spectrum appear to have consolidated a mutually agreeable resolution of their differences to the past. These conditions are further aggravated and manipulated by social media companies, who set algorithms which prioritize attention-grabbing “rage bait” content and distance the user from content which is unlikely to align with their existing views. If one were to perch upon any of the major poles of political and social interest today, they would be led to believe that America is destined to be severed forever on these lines. As Muslims, we must never forget that Allah Almighty has the power to bond all people together and erase even the most deeply rooted divisions. His final revealed Book, the Qur’an, is the rope to which every Muslim clings and bases their life around. This mutual commitment to Truth is what makes one Muslim a brother or sister to every other.

وَٱعۡتَصِمُواْ بِحَبۡلِ ٱللَّهِ جَمِيعً۬ا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُواْ‌ وَٱذۡكُرُواْ نِعۡمَتَ ٱللَّهِ عَلَيۡكُمۡ إِذۡ كُنتُمۡ أَعۡدَآءً۬ فَأَلَّفَ بَيۡنَ قُلُوبِكُمۡ فَأَصۡبَحۡتُم بِنِعۡمَتِهِۦۤ إِخۡوَٲنً۬ا

“And hold firmly to the Rope of Allah (i.e., the Qur’an) together, and do not become divided. And remember the grace of Allah upon you when you had been enemies, and He brought resolution between your hearts, and by His grace, you became brethren.”[1]

However, when issues are not firmly tethered to the “rope of truth” and consistent epistemology, the dividing lines are condemned to be blurred, moved, and obfuscated at the whims of politicians and their lobbyists, leaving only a practiced sense of tribalism and masterful propaganda to lead the charge. Records in political spending are consistently being broken by both sides of the aisle, and the average American is either culturally siloed from the “other side’s” way of seeing things, or feels trapped in a system that appears to only be benefiting the interests of society’s elites.

The current turmoil already may seem too complex of a problem to address, but what if we imagined it continuing and aggravating for over a century? Would there still be hope for people to come together after that? If you answered “No”, think again.

Before the Prophet’s ﷺ coming, the two tribes of Yathrib (later Madīnah) fought one another continuously for 120 years, in a conflict which had caused the deaths of their leaders and most valued, and the harm of which permeated their entire society. A small group from the Khazraj tribe gave the first pledge of faith to the Prophet ﷺ at ‘Aqabah, and they sought to include their sister tribe the Aws and call them to Islam also. They recognized they were one people with presently irreconcilable differences but saw the potential of Islam as a catalyst to end their conflict. Soon after, a second and third ‘Aqabah pledge was given with both tribes represented, the members of which returned to Yathrib/Madīnah together to invite their people to true faith. This would be no small feat; in the tribal culture of the time, the tragedies, betrayals, and grief incurred by the other side were memorialized and re-stirred by the Arab poetic tradition, which resembles the cultural power of today’s social media landscape. Yet through the bond of Islam and their deferential love for His Messenger ﷺ Allah Almighty caused their differences to disappear almost overnight and made them a single body, dubbing them collectively as the Anṣār. Their individuality and history did not disappear – the Aws remained the Aws and the Khazraj the Khazraj, but they were now united upon one faith and goal: to live according to the Qur’anic revelation and Prophetic example.

وَأَلَّفَ بَيۡنَ قُلُوبِہِمۡ‌ۚ لَوۡ أَنفَقۡتَ مَا فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ جَمِيعً۬ا مَّآ أَلَّفۡتَ بَيۡنَ قُلُوبِهِمۡ وَلَـٰڪِنَّ ٱللَّهَ أَلَّفَ بَيۡنَہُمۡ‌ۚ إِنَّهُ ۥ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ۬

“And He brought resolution between their hearts. If you were to spend everything there is on earth, you could not bring resolution between their hearts; however, Allah brought resolution between them. He is All-Powerful, All-Wise.”[2]

This can be contrasted with Twenty-First Century America, in which tens or even hundreds of billions of dollars are being spent across the cultural-political spectrum to entrench existing divisions. Allah says that, if such wealth and even more was spent to unite rather than divide a people, it would not be effective, save for the predominance of His divine enablement through the brotherhood of Islam.

Like Yathrib in the prophetic era, the United States is home to as many peoples and categories as can be counted. With freedom of speech and expression enshrined into law, it has also been witness to eras of passionate disunion among political, cultural, religious, racial, and other lines. Such divisions at one time literally divided the country, culminating in the nation’s only civil war between the Union and the seceding Confederacy. Other such eras have come and gone or merely faded, permanently leaving their mark upon the nation’s political culture.

One of these moments of turmoil was the Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968), during which hate-fueled attacks terrorized black communities as they fought for equal rights. Many black men and women during these decades turned to Islam, partially as an escape from prejudicial paradigms taught to them by white Christian society. Some of the groups formed within this migration of faith began to preach the irreconcilability of white and black society, among other concepts foreign to Islam.

Among these converts was Al-Hajj Malik El-Shabazz (then Malcolm X, may Allah grant him mercy and forgiveness), who discovered Islam while imprisoned and initially became a prominent voice on behalf of the Nation of Islam[3], calling for separation between races. After abandoning the NOI and embracing the true teachings of Islam, Malcolm embarked on the Ḥajj pilgrimage, which forced him to rethink many of his beliefs about race and America’s fate. He spent time with Muslims who exemplified to him a previously unprecedented ethos of brotherliness. He remarked that although their physical appearance was like that of white Americans, they did not share the same prejudicial treatment against people of darker complexions. He wrote in a now famous letter:

“We were truly all the same (brothers) – because their belief in one God had removed the white from their minds, the white from their behaviour, and the white from their attitude. I could see from this, that perhaps if white Americans could accept the Oneness of God, then perhaps, too, they could accept in reality the Oneness of Man – and cease to measure, and hinder, and harm others in terms of their ‘differences’ in colour. With racism plaguing America like an incurable cancer, the so-called ‘Christian’ white American heart should be more receptive to a proven solution to such a destructive problem. Perhaps it could be in time to save America from imminent disaster…”

Malcolm finally had cause to believe that, despite all the weight of America’s long history as a divided country, there was still hope for the American people to find peace with one another odds, prejudices,

 إِنَّمَا ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُونَ إِخۡوَةٌ۬ فَأَصۡلِحُواْ بَيۡنَ أَخَوَيۡكُمۡ‌ۚ وَٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تُرۡحَمُونَ

All believers are brethren, so make compromises between your brethren, and within themselves.

As of today, the offer remains on the table. An America wherein Allah Most High unites the is for the rich and poor, the educated and the uneducated, rough and soft mannered, the esteemed and the lowly, men and women from every placerace and background, without subtracting from the rich diversity which makes this country unique. This is a vision worth fighting for, even when the prospects seem distant in our current political situation. It can only be made reality by our actively extendingaware of Allah, so that you may receive mercy. [Hujurat, 10]

الْمُسْلِمُ أَخُو الْمُسْلِمِ، لاَ يَظْلِمُهُ وَلاَ يُسْلِمُهُ، وَمَنْ كَانَ فِي حَاجَةِ أَخِيهِ كَانَ اللَّهُ فِي حَاجَتِهِ، وَمَنْ فَرَّجَ عَنْ مُسْلِمٍ كُرْبَةً فَرَّجَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ كُرْبَةً مِنْ كُرُبَاتِ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ، وَمَنْ سَتَرَ مُسْلِمًا سَتَرَهُ اللَّهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ

A Muslim is a brother of another Muslim, so he should not oppress him, nor should he hand him over to an oppressor. Whoever fulfilled the needs of his brother, Allah will fulfill his needs; whoever brought his (Muslim) brother out of a discomfort, Allah will bring him out of the invitation of discomforts of the Day of Resurrection, and whoever screened a Muslim, Allah will screen him on the Day of Resurrection. [Bukhari]

Islam to all people, regardless of their current beliefs and political predilection. We must nurture within ourselves the belief that Islam will turn our allies into brethren, and present-day antagonists into future confederates. Monumental as it is, no singular individual or organization is capable of mass-conveying Islam to America. In fact, if it is within Allah’s decree for Islam to spread here, it may occur organically within and between households, or it may rely upon da’wah efforts directed by knowledgeable ulama’ who understand the American psyche and the deeply set values which make this country unique.

Converts to Islam, like most of the Companions had been, will prove a valuable resource in this cross-cultural communication. We are constantly beckoned with the question of whether we are strategizing convert care correctly in our communities; aside from teaching the farḍ ʿayn (which few communities do strongly), are we prioritizing assimilating new Muslims into our micro-community’s pre-cultured standards, or assimilating Islam unfettered into their life, beautifying and validating their acceptable cultural habits? Are we encouraging learned and experienced converts to influence our communal decision-making, or do we prefer they take a seat in the back? A healthy result of Islam taking root in America is to see American-born Muslims starting and running their own communities upon the precedented standards of Ahlus-Sunnah, further developing the Islamic-American landscape into something familiar and attractive to their peers. It cannot be overstated that the concepts we rely on in our tradition – properly-transmitted knowledge, Sharīʿah compliance and Sunnah-focused methodology – underpin the authenticity and success of any effort made in support of dīn. Before we can expect anyone in our communities to lead others, we must first prepare them to lead themselves.

Finally, no effort we make will be significant or effective unless we actively seek the acceptance and enablement (tawfīq) of Allah Most High. This is a gift for Him alone to give, but we have a role in preparing ourselves to receive it, like Mūsā (upon him be peace) advised his nation: “Seek help [from Allah] and be patient. Certainly, the earth belongs to Allah; He gives it to whomever He wills of His slaves. And the final state of things is for the pious.”[4] Our public and private actions must be properly informed, in strict conformity to the Sacred Law, and done solely for Allah’s pleasure. Missing this, we cannot expect our words to surpass our tongues and enter the hearts of many. It is also our responsibility to be a living demonstration of the Umma-wide unity we are proposing as a cure for this nation’s illness; a healthy doctor is much more likely to be trusted, and a healthy community is much more appealing than one plagued with the same divisions we have now set out to address.

History tells us that the political and intra-cultural disarray we see in today’s America is neither new nor damning. It is a fresh opportunity for Americans to discover their own spiritual fertility and potential for unity. As we can see from the lives of the Companions, may Allah be pleased with them all, Islam blossoms and takes shape whenever it is planted in fertile soil and cared for by a capable gardener. Likewise, just as plowing exposes the most fertile soil, sometimes it takes a significant upheaval for people to find their potential to seek God’s grace. We learnt from the Anṣār that an entire society plagued with political violence can be unified into a powerful force for good, and from Malcolm X that the brotherliness taught by Islam surpasses barriers once thought unmovable. What is needed for this reality to take root is for our communities to first endorse the belief that the American people hold individual and collective value worth saving and then embrace the desire to become the gardener. We rely upon Allah Most High and ask His help to make this a reality.

[1] Qur’an, 3:103

[2] Qur’an, 8:63

[3] The Nation of Islam is a sect founded by Elijah Poole, who claimed prophethood for himself and amplified the divisive rhetoric of the time.

[4] Qur’an, 7:128