CHAPTER 12
The Imam and the American Community
The Founding Families
Imam Eid was not insensitive to the precautions taken by the founders to restrict his role. He understood that anyone bringing Islamic knowledge to an isolated community has to be very careful. When he first arrived, he attempted to hang a curtain in the prayer room, to separate the men from the women. The American born Muslim women, joined by immigrant women, protested and the Imam did not insist. He learned that, "if imams try to change the people, confront them too often, or press them too hard, they will alienate themselves from the community and become ineffectual. "
His advice to a new imam is to find out what the people expect from him, and not to focus on what he expects from them. The people in Quincy were set in their ways. For example, weddings of American born Muslims (usually to non-Muslims) were modeled after American church weddings. They were held in the prayer room where friends and families (non-Muslims included) gathered to observe the taking of the vows.
After the Imam's arrival in 1982, this type of wedding continued to be requested by the American born founding families. The Imam honors these requests, even though he prefers that anyone who enters the prayer room be purified in the Islamic tradition by performing the wudu (ablution). Since it is unlikely that an immigrant from Pakistan or Iraq would want to imitate a Christian church wedding, similar requests are not made. Rather than ban this imitative practice, the Imam knows it will die out on its own because he is teaching the children of the American born Muslims (fourth generation founding families) about Islamic marriages, customs, and principles.
Indigenization Activity
The indigenization of the Muslim community in America derives much of its steam from the effects of secularism. In the secular society, religious matters and feelings are confined to a small arena of life. De Tocqueville wrote in his Democracy in America:
"Religion in America is a world apart in which the clergyman is supreme, but one which he is careful never to leave."
Dr. Marston Speight defines secularism as, "The result of a process by which religion loses its influence in society"
Regarding secularism, Imam Eid states:
"People grow accustomed to thinking of the mosque as a place to pray once a week. It is not the priest or the rabbi who decides that the people will only worship one day a week. It is the law that decides." To this extent, secularism defines the religious community.
Indigenization is also powered by the residual of Christianity which is the basis of American culture. For example, since most people do not work on Sunday, the largest number of Muslims attend the mosque on Sunday during the school year (Sept.-June). A congregational prayer is held, even though the traditional Islamic congregational prayer day is designated as Friday. Fridays are not as well attended as Sundays during the school year. But in the summer, the opposite is true. Sunday prayers are not well attended while large numbers come on Friday. This would also indicate that the Muslims are making a special effort to bring their children to Sunday Islamic school. The Islamic school does not meet in the summer, but models itself after the American educational system.
The role of the imam is also subject to the indigenization activity because his role in the community is so similar to the American clergy. For example, like his counterparts in America, the Imam spends about 1/3 of his time counselling married people.
Islamization Activity
With the coming of the Imam, attendance at the mosque on Sundays and Fridays is five times greater. In 1986, a fourth expansion of the Center was completed, adding a duplex nextdoor to the mosque (costing approximately $260,000) One side of the duplex functions to house the Imam and his family.
Overall, the impact of the Imam's coming has been in the area of increased knowledge of Islam among the members of the community. Imam Eid believes that the ever-increasing growth and cohesion of the community corresponds to the degree of their knowledge. The youth, whose interest is always a concern, have returned to the mosque in recent years. They have even adopted many of the traditional Islamic values.
Presently, however, the mosque is limited to its role as a place to pray. The Center needs to be expanded in order to make it and Islam more attractive to the youth. Social and economic needs are met minimally by the mosque. There is not enough space or social/recreational activities to bring young people together so that marriages would be possible between community members. There is not enough money in the zakah fund to meet the demands of indigent community members or students seeking money for higher education. And, there is not yet a full-time Islamic school to meet the social and educational needs of Muslim families. When more Islamic institutions are built, Imam Eid foresees an increased role for the mosque and Islam to play in the lives of the Muslims in America.
As representative/clergyman of the Muslim community, it is my opinion that the Imam has a great opportunity in America to pioneer a new role for himself. The Imam has an extent of knowledge in Islamic law and jurisprudence which is a scarcity in America, not only among Muslim community leaders, but also in American universities. Because of the centrality of interfaith relations and the paucity of information about Islam in America, the Imam, becomes a valuable educator in both communities, the non-Muslim and the Muslim. He is increasingly involved in interfaith and educational activities which demand much of his time. The Imam is a member of the Quincy Clergy, a group which meets once a month.
Politics
Does Imam Eid feel the sway of influence from the Muslim World League which is funded mainly by Saudi Arabia? To date, there is no evidence of any conflict of interests. In the American context of the separation of church and state, the Imam enjoys political immunity.
He regards his relationship to the Saudis as between an employee and employer. He accepts invitations he receives from the Saudi Embassy in Washington, D.C. For example, when some of the Iranians caused a disturbance in Mecca in 1986, the Imam was invited to view videos of the situation. His travelling expenses were paid, he was put up over night, treated to lunch, and given the video as a gift.
Since the prayer room is likely to be filled with Saudis, Iranians, Iraqis, and Kuwaitis, hostile political situations involving countries where both groups are Muslims never tempt the Imam to take sides. Although the role of an imam in a Muslim country is different, immigrant Muslims come to appreciate the indigenization of his role in America as it is defined by secularization, because if he took sides in the community, war would most likely break out in the prayer room.
The mosque, like other religious institutions in America, side-steps the political arena in favor of a more "humanistic" approach to world conflicts. Common themes for religious leaders to share with their congregations and each other are: the value for human life and sympathy for its unnecessary loss; abhorrence for the killing or holding of innocent people; advocating peace with justice and fostering compassion and understanding for all people.
The politics of prayer and peace practiced by the clergy (including the Imam) in America are not without controversy. For example, during the Gulf War the clergy in this country were nearly unanimous in rejecting war as a solution to the problems in the area. This stand opposed President Bush who resolved to attack Iraq in January of 1991.