Education and Muslim Identity During a Time of Tension

Inside an American Islamic School

Melanie Brooks

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2018
• Print ISBN: 9781138104921
• eBook ISBN: 9781351590662
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Pedagogía
• Subtopic: Educación general

Education and Muslim Identity During a Time of Tension explores life inside an Islamic Center and school in present-day America.

Melanie Brooks' work draws on in-depth discussions with community and school leaders, teachers, parents and students to present thoughtful and contemporary perspectives on many issues central to American-Muslim identities. Particularly poignant are the children's voices, as they discuss their developing identities and how they navigate the choice of being American, Muslim, or both. The book covers topics ranging from establishing the community and the considerations involved, the management of diversity within the community, and approaches to modern opinions on and experiences of gender and extremism in the western world.

Based on focus groups, interviews and observations collected over a two-year period, this book serves as a fascinating and informative insight into the culture and experiences of modern American Muslims. This is essential reading for students and researchers interested in education, religion, politics, sociology, and most particularly in contemporary Islamic studies.

1 Finding and sustaining a community

“I’m not here, I’m not there, and I want to belong.”

The community that would one day build the Islamic Center of San Rico began in 1952, the same year the Immigration and Nationality Act upheld an immigration system based on nationality quotas. The Cold War, concerns about communist infiltration, and fears that immigrants posed an existential national security threat dominated American culture. The Muslim population in the United States was 200,000 in 1951, only .13 percent of the American population (Kettani, 2010). Mr. Glen Gamal was one of the new arrivals, having relocated from Egypt to California. He reflected, “In 1952 there were a few Muslims living here and most of them were scared. There were some Palestinians, a Turkish family, and an Albanian family. I was lost. I’m was not here, I was not there, and I wanted to belong. I was invited to go to an immigration lawyer’s garage for Friday prayers. That’s the first experience I had with a Muslim community in America.” It was this sense of wanting to belong that brought Muslims to the small community and the belief system they developed. Here are five of their stories.

Mr. Glen Gamal, founding member

Mr. Gamal, a good-humored man in his late eighties, smiled as he opened his Craftsman-style wooden door and welcomed Sara and me into his California bungalow. His wife had recently passed away and as we sat in his living room, I couldn’t help but notice the number of pictures, books, and knick-knacks filling a home he and his family had lived in for more than fifty years. It was a comfortable home with red wall-to-wall carpeting and dark wood paneling.

I took a seat across from him on an antique floral couch and explained to him the purpose of the study and a bit about my background and interest in the history of his Islamic community. I asked him if I could record the conversation, and he agreed. As a member of the Islamic Center of San Rico since its founding, Mr. Gamal was excited to reminisce about the past and share his memories of the community’s early days.

I began our conversation by asking, “What do you remember from the Center’s beginnings?”

He thought for a moment and said, “I started attending the Center in 1952. When you are a stranger in a strange land, for goodness sakes, you find another Muslim and spend time together.”

“How did you find this Muslim community?”

He smiled. “A friend of mine looked at me and he said, ‘Glen, there is an Egyptian guy who gives the most beautiful lectures about Islam and the place is so close by. I think you should go on Sunday.’ I said, ‘Okay,’ and he met me and my wife there. In fact, a Lebanese friend of mine was also there – and he was a Christian. Nancy and I were not going to listen to a knucklehead talking about Islam from the Dark Ages. I never cared for the Wahhabi way of talking about Islam and I never believed in their views. When I sat and listened, I said, ‘My God, this is a fountain of purity coming from heaven. Listen to this man talk. He was not a knucklehead.’ ”

I chuckled by his use of the term “knucklehead” because he said it with such conviction – as if I too would easily recognize a knucklehead. He smiled and continued.

“My Islam was not radical Islam. I always believed in the existence of God. I always believed that a human being should do the right thing. All of these things Islam teaches. When I came to this country, I started to participate in my faith. I started fasting. I never prayed before because I never learned how to in my village. We didn’t have a mosque because an earthquake destroyed it years before. I grew up in a small village, and yet I wanted to learn. It was embarrassing for me, to not know how to pray. I reached an age where I felt I couldn’t ask anyone to teach me. I wanted to belong. That is the main thing. When I heard Dr. Zogby speak, I felt like I was home. I was no longer lost. This was my family. It was an inner feeling of complete satisfaction.”

It wasn’t long before the community began to outgrow the room over the garage. They were faced with the challenge of acquiring a larger space. Mr. Gamal explained, “I was the treasurer and we needed to purchase a bigger place. I was also a Freemason. There was an Iraqi fellow who was trying to create problems. He was Shi’a and he frequently criticized Dr. Zogby. I didn’t like his attitude and with every meeting there was an argument.

“One day, I was wearing my jacket with a Mason pin on my lapel and he turned to me and said in an angry voice, ‘You are a Mason, a Zionist.’ He was referring to the conspiracy theory that Jews and Masons were conspiring to establish Jewish world domination. This was rubbish, but at this time people believed that this was true. At this time, we were trying to raise funds to build a mosque in the valley and we already purchased four acres of land for $72,000. We had the architectural plans and knew we needed $1 million dollars for the building. We decided that a group would travel to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to raise funds.

“But there was a problem. A few years before, Dr. Zogby was studying for his PhD and was an assistant Imam at a mosque in New York City. On one particular day, the Saudi royal family was scheduled to visit. They do not take their shoes off when they go into a mosque. So, when the king entered, Dr. Zogby said, ‘Your majesty, you have to take your shoes off.’ His entourage responded to this request by telling Dr. Zogby that the king does not take off his shoes. In response Dr. Zogby said, ‘Your majesty, the foreign minister took off his shoes and he is a decent man and had no objection. How does it look when you don’t remove your shoes?’

“The media was there and they took pictures with the story all over Saudi Arabia that this guy would not allow the king to enter with shoes. So, Dr. Zogby became an unwelcome guest to Saudi Arabia. So, we were a bit worried about seeking out Saudi support.

“A few months later found we found out that a community member was related to the Saudi prince’s mother. We had a connection. Suddenly, we had a chance. So, our case was presented and the king promised a $800,000 donation to build the Islamic Center. The money was transferred to Washington, DC, but it was held by the Saudi embassy. The same Iraqi that was always causing problems traveled to the embassy and told them that the Center was being run by a Zionist treasurer and to not give us the money. He suggested they give him the money to build a school.

“We received a letter from the embassy stating that they would give the money only if the Center cancelled my membership. In the end, we never received the money and the money was given to the Iraqi. He built a school but was later convicted of molesting girls in that school. We did receive $250,000 from Kuwait, but later we sold the land and used the money as a down payment for an existing house to use for the Center.”

In 1967, the community moved to its new location on Hawthorne Street, not far from Mr. Gamal’s house. Formally, the community chose the name Islamic Foundation of San Rico, but informally referred to it as “Hawthorne House.”

He continued, “We went there on holidays. We took our children to Sunday school. My wife, Nancy, made the coffee. My kids and I took out the trash. I even cut the grass. We lived nearby and so our involvement was total – physical and emotional.”

Mr. Gamal and his wife had three young children and the Center felt that there was a need for an Islamic studies teacher. Up until that point, there were no classes for children or adults. Mr. Gamal explained, “I will never forget it. After a Sunday lecture one of my Christian friends, Nancy, volunteered to teach the kids. Imagine that, a Christian teaching Islam! I started to teach Arabic at night. In the beginning, we had a few people who were interested. Then suddenly I started having many adults coming to my class, mainly university students who were taking beginning Arabic. Soon I had over thirty students. Instead of having class one night a week, I expanded it to two. I did not have any books. I had to develop my own lessons. I did this for three years.”

Mr. Gamal stopped talking and took a drink of water. He set the glass down and continued, “In 1975, the Islamic Foundation of San Rico changed its name to The Islamic Center of San Rico because it was never simply a place for worship. It was the headquarters of a movement. Part of it was prayer, part was problem solving, part was debating, part of it was education, and part fun.”

“I remember one Saudi guy came and said, ‘Is this a mosque or a club?’ I said, ‘Sir, this is a club, but there is an area for those who want to pray.’ ”

He spoke with conviction and self-confidence. He tapped his index finger on the wooden armchair and said, “We were the only mosque in America to have no imam. Imam connotes a guy who is pious, knows what God wants, and tells us what God wants. My question then is: ‘Why do you have to tell me what God wants? I can answer that on my own.’

“The term mosque carries the connotation that people are to kiss the imam’s hand and give him a halo of honor and glamor. Imam’s don’t deserve it. In a country like America there are no regulations on how you become an imam. It becomes a funny situation because anyone who wears Saudi dress or Pakistani Pathani suit can say, ‘I am an imam’ – especially if he knows a few words in Arabic at the level of kaif halak, Allahu akbar, and Alhamdulillah.

“The leadership decided that the Center would not have an imam, just a Coordinator of Religious Service. We agreed that to have an imam where he or she – well, there’s never a ‘she’ although we’re trying so hard to integrate that into our religious leadership – interprets the Qur’an for us according to his understanding. We were team driven. If someone leaves, others will cover.

“Yet, the word imam started being used by outsiders when we engaged in interfaith circles. People would ask us ‘Where is your imam?’ They started calling our Coordinator of Religious Service, Abbad, Imam. I personally took Abbad aside and said, ‘In our Center, you are the Coordinator of Religious Services. Don’t let it get to your head.’ Abbad was very good. He got it clearly. The word imam went bye-bye with the word mosque.” Mr. Gamal waved his hand.

“Just as we didn’t want an imam to dictate Islam, we decided to reject foreign donations and live on our own contributions. The only foreign contribution we ever took was that $250,000 from Kuwait because this money had no strings attached. We said that a community that cannot finance itself does not deserve to be.”

“Luckily, by 1977 we were able to purchase our current building on State Street. In moving from Hawthorne Street to State Street, we recruited volunteers from the community. In fact, members of the community helped to complete renovations because we could not afford to hire outside help.

“When I think about it, I can’t imagine myself without the Center. When I travel I say, ‘Oh God, wow, what a difference.’ These people are hiring imams from Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Morocco. They are hiring imams because they speak Arabic and recite the Qur’an. We teach our own members how to recite the Qur’an. This is how you solve the problem of bringing in ideas that conflicted with our vision.”

“Additionally, when someone created a problem, we just escorted them out. We told them, ‘If you don’t like it, don’t come back.’ This was our policy from the beginning to safeguard our vision. The leaders agreed that policies could not be changed unless they were approved by two-thirds majority of the general membership. I think this is one reason for the major success of the Center. We owed no one anything. They can’t come and say, ‘Do this or else.’ ”

At this time, Mr. Gamal’s longtime friend, Gayle, joined us in the living room. Gayle greeted me with a handshake and Mr. Gamal with a hug. She had short gray hair, blue eyes, and wore comfortable tan linen pants and tunic with a bohemian stone necklace and earrings. She was visibly comfortable in the room and sat in the chair opposite mine. Gayle’s experience with the community began in the early 1960s after the community moved to Hawthorne House.

Mrs. Gayle Mahmoud, the convert

“I remember the community as very welcoming, warm and nice. I was not Muslim at that time. I didn’t become Muslim until 1981. They made me feel welcome, Linda, Nancy, and Barbara. All of the women were just wonderful.

“I rejected going to the Catholic church because I felt they didn’t do anything for me. I wasn’t married in the church. I couldn’t participate in the sacraments. On top of that, [my husband] Nafal wouldn’t have anything to do with the church. I still wanted our kids to have faith in their lives and to know their faith. That is why I took them to Hawthorne House on Sundays, even if Nafal couldn’t attend with us because he was at work.

“I wanted them to learn about Islam. We were blessed to have Dr. Zogby because his knowledge of Islam was outstanding. He didn’t have any baggage from back home about how you’re supposed to do things or live. He was just so practical. He knew his Islam and I learned from him. I enjoyed Dr. Zogby’s lectures, Masha Allah. It was just a blessing because if we had anyone else, it would have been a disaster. We did have a small segment of people there who tried to take the community in another direction, which often caused tension.”

As a mother myself, I was curious about how Gayle felt about raising her children as Muslims, especially since she was not Muslim. “Did you personally have any issues with your children learning Islam and not Christianity?”

Gayle quickly responded, “Well, I listened to the lessons too. I could accept it. I could agree with it. It was during those times that I thought to myself, ‘One day, I will become Muslim.’ But then, I thought, ‘Oh, I don’t have to declare as a Muslim. I feel like I’m a good person. I’m doing all the same things they’re doing.’

“I did not declare for a long time; but, I was completely at peace and at ease with my children learning at the Center. The thing that I like about Islam is that it’s easy to understand. There is no mystery about it and I thought that if it appealed to me, then it will appeal to my children. They needed this religious instruction. We weren’t doing it at home and so they got everything from the Center.”

This seemed unusual to me and I was curious as to her perspective. “Did you have any concerns about a Christian teaching your children about Islam?”

She replied, “When Nancy was teaching, she was still a Christian. No one had any issue with her teaching the kids. Really, it was Nancy, Barbara, and Linda who kept the place going. Many of the ladies in the group were American born Christians. They were involved because their husbands were Muslim.

“I remained involved from the time of Hawthorne House. In fact, I converted to Islam right here in this room. Dr. Zogby, who by then was living in Egypt, was visiting. My declaration was a very moving experience. Nafal had no idea. He never pushed me to accept Islam. I was really scared because I thought, ‘I’ve done this and I don’t know. I really don’t know anything about the religion, and if somebody asks me something about it and I don’t know it, what will I do?’ That when I started g...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Contents
• Foreword
• The (mis)understanding of Islamic education
• 1 Finding and sustaining a community: “I’m not here, I’m not there, and I want to belong.”
• 2 Establishing a unique education: “We need to teach our kids about Islam.”
• 3 Leading American Islamic Academy: “God wants us to practice responsibility, kindness, compassion and respect.”
• 4 Managing diversity: “Differences are important and so we don’t ignore them.”
• 5 Having confidence in American Islamic Academy: “The students are learning not only about the Qur’an but also about being Muslim in America today.”
• 6 Developing an American Muslim identity: “Here, kids don’t grow up in a bubble.”
• 7 Navigating gender: “We shouldn’t have that type of diversity.”
• 8 Challenging hate: “We are not planning to bomb anything. We are normal human beings”
• 9 Responding to the 2016 presidential election: “What are we going to do now?”
• 10 Finding balance during a time of tension: Lessons learned
• Glossary of Arabic and Islamic terms
• References
• Index