Dr. Jamillah Karim's lecture titled "Becoming a Model Community" was very insightful. She gave a brief summary of the basic beliefs of the Islamic religion, focused on Muslims in America and their goal as a religious community. One aspect of her lecture that I was surprised to hear about was how many Muslims have immigrated to the United States over the years. She said, "
three to six million Muslims live in the United States from 75 different countries." As a result of this, many Americans have converted to Islam; "20,000 conversions occur per year" from various religious and ethnic backgrounds. Dr. Karim also informed us that, "Islam has become indigenized as a popular religion in the United States and American Muslims have “found acceptance in the U.S. regardless of religion.” How astonishing! It is great to see that so many religions, including Islam, have found prosperity in the United States.
Another idea that Dr. Karim focused on was how Muslims are determined to become a "model community." She said that their vision in America and other countries is to “emerge as a community that surpasses racial divides.” According to Dr. Karim, there are many ways in which Muslims have already started to change communities around the world. In southern Spain “Muslims are associated with intelligence and higher learning, while in Africa, Muslims were the first literate class in oral civilization,” Karim explained. Muslims have also become involved in politics and charitable organizations and see America as a land of opportunity. Many Muslims registered to vote in the 2008 election, several American Muslims have supported donations to non-Muslim charities, and countless Muslims have taken on jobs in the U.S. Also, Muslim-founded organizations and groups like UMMAH and EMAN are focused on transcending "racial boundaries to accept all people" and becoming involved in their community by way of providing interaction between many races and religions. I think it is admirable to see Muslims striving to make the world more accepting of all people and they have the determination to transform world communities for the better by becoming a "model community." Like Karim said, "a bright future remains in the hands of Muslims and non-Muslims” for America and the Islamic religion, and I believe that the goals they want to accomplish are both attainable and will shape religious and non-religious communities around the world into involved and religiously and culturally aware societies.
Another idea that Dr. Karim focused on was how Muslims are determined to become a "model community." She said that their vision in America and other countries is to “emerge as a community that surpasses racial divides.” According to Dr. Karim, there are many ways in which Muslims have already started to change communities around the world. In southern Spain “Muslims are associated with intelligence and higher learning, while in Africa, Muslims were the first literate class in oral civilization,” Karim explained. Muslims have also become involved in politics and charitable organizations and see America as a land of opportunity. Many Muslims registered to vote in the 2008 election, several American Muslims have supported donations to non-Muslim charities, and countless Muslims have taken on jobs in the U.S. Also, Muslim-founded organizations and groups like UMMAH and EMAN are focused on transcending "racial boundaries to accept all people" and becoming involved in their community by way of providing interaction between many races and religions. I think it is admirable to see Muslims striving to make the world more accepting of all people and they have the determination to transform world communities for the better by becoming a "model community." Like Karim said, "a bright future remains in the hands of Muslims and non-Muslims” for America and the Islamic religion, and I believe that the goals they want to accomplish are both attainable and will shape religious and non-religious communities around the world into involved and religiously and culturally aware societies.
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