Some Factors which Promote and Restrict Islamization in America

Let me begin with a brief explicatory statement about the word‘Islamization.’ I use this term here in reference to a two-stage process.The first stage is conversion to Islam,’ and the second is thereinforcement, strengthening or deepening of Islam in the individual. Ofcourse, most Muslims in the world are born into a Muslim family, andthus they do not pass through the first stage, or so it would seem. Butmany of them do have social, intellectual and spiritual experienceswhich are the essence of the second stage of Islamization. An example ofthis would be the effects of the international phenomenon called “theresurgence of Islam”.In America, the situation is somewhat different. Recent immigrantsfrom Muslim societies-say during the last eighty years-and theiroffspring generally do not pass through the first stage per se. However,American Muslims, who are descendants of people who arrived herefrom Europe (European-Americans or “white Americans”) and Africa(African-Americans or “black Americans”) several centuries ago,passed through, in varying degrees, both stages. Now let us considersome factors which promote and restrict Islamization in America ...