How the generational dynamics have weakened the Muslim community in America and made it harder to raise our families
It’s time to take a critical look at the aims, goals and accomplishments of popular American Muslim leadership.While Muslims may be more politically active than ever before and on the cusp of mainstream recognition, one must also consider the stunning deterioration of Muslim values and scrutinize the implicit mixed messages our leaders send us.What is the impact of these messages on Muslim family values and do they bode well for our future?
THE PAST BEFORE US
IN CASE YOU missed it, presidential phenom and forerunner Barack Obama is NOT a Muslim. Not now. Not then. Not never. Not no how. No. No. No. And most of our "leading" Islamic organizations and burgeoning Muslim umbrella convention personalities assure us that this is as it should be, because, they say, religion doesn't matter. This is politics.And we ought to get behind the big O-at least to serve our own interests...which is the exact same thing they told us in 2000 about another presidential contender. If this reminder doesn't exactly fill you with confidence about the wisdom of many of those ageing community figures who have managed to keep themselves at the forefront of our meandering Muslim parade through America these past 40 years, then you should be heartened to know that they have now been joined there in the limelight by a new generation of younger Muslims, mostly in their 30s and 40s-Obama's own generation-who have jauntily leaped their feeble fifty-ish predecessors to fulfill their rendezvous with destiny at the head of this motley procession. That seems, at first, a hopeful thought.Young blood. New ideas. All the externals, at least, show well: Native tongues, cultural fluency, professional degrees from top schools, attraction to weekend spiritual immersion experiences, media dexterity, and the ability to stand in straight lines in public places.
To continue reading this article, please log in or Subscribe to Aljumuah Magazine