U.S. Multiculturalism Tiptoes toward Islam

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Posted by Donald A. DePalma on October 4, 2007 in the following blogs: Translation and Localization
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U.S. presidential hopeful Senator John McCain (one of a dozen Republicans) told Beliefnet, a multi-denominational website focused on religion, that ''I just have to say in all candor that since this nation was founded primarily on Christian principles ... I prefer someone who I know who has a solid grounding in my faith.'' He did hedge his principles a bit, saying ''that doesn't mean that I'm sure that someone who is Muslim would not make a good president.'' The net: McCain would prefer a Christian president over someone of a different faith, calling Christianity ''an important part of our qualifications to lead.'' McCain articulated what many Americans might themselves contend: According to a USA Today survey, 65% of Americans believe that the Founding Fathers wrote Christianity into the U.S. Constitution. A wide range of religious and political leaders lined up to criticize his remarks. McCain clarified his remarks after the interview: "I would vote for a Muslim if he or she was the candidate best able to lead the country and defend our political values."

Americans increasingly realize that they live in a multicultural, multiracial, and multilingual society. Most of those who happen to be outside the "mainstream" have been the "wrong" color or ethnicity but are still Christians or Jews, 2 of the 3 Abrahamic religions (Islam being the third). With the ongoing war in Iraq, saber-rattling toward Iran, Norman Podhoretz's warning against Islamofascism, and Rudy Giuliani running for president of 9/11, many Americans don't quite know how to feel about their 5.2 million fellow citizens who identify themselves as Muslims.

The last few months have seen some multicultural friction points, mostly caused by people trying to practice their faith and live their lives in a secular world. For example, cashiers at Target stores in Minneapolis would prefer not to sell pork. In the same city, Muslim cab drivers had refused to transport customers they knew to be carrying alcohol (in containers and internally). The twin cities of Minneapolis-St. Paul rank 20th among U.S. cities by total Muslim population, perhaps first in terms of tolerance. North Minneapolis's Fifth Congressional District elected Keith Ellison the country's first Congressman who is a Muslim (Sunni, if you're keeping score).

On the business front, there is growing tolerance of Islam's business practices, at least outside the United States. Following its sale by Ford, the new owners of Aston Martin chose to leverage the company by selling chunks of of the company through a long-term Musharaka rather than issuing debt. In such an equity partnership, the Musharaka isolates assets such as buildings, equipment, or land. Investors in the Aston Martin fund will agree on the price, co-own the asset, and lease it back to the firm.

The bottom line: By tradition, the U.S. is a Christian nation whose Constitution was written by deists who separated church and state -- "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." Under Sharia, Islam sees no separation of church and state, but neither do some fundamentalist U.S. officials. In any case, the fracture lines between the American Judeo-Christian mainstream and Islam have become newsworthy in the U.S. media. In the current political climate, we don't expect abuelita-style advertising aimed at Muslims any time soon. But it is clear that multiculturalism in the United States isn't just about Latinos any more.

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