IIUM JOURNAL OF RELIGION AND CIVILISATIONAL STUDIES (E-ISSN: 2637-112X) EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Elmira Akhmetova, International Islamic University Malaysia EDITOR Alwi Alatas, International Islamic University Malaysia BOOK REVIEWS EDITOR Kaoutar Guediri, International Islamic University Malaysia ASSISTANT EDITOR Bukuri Zejno, International Islamic University Malaysia Norliza Saleh, International Islamic University Malaysia EDITORIAL COMMITTEE Adibah Binti Abdul Rahim, International Islamic University Malaysia Arshad Islam, International Islamic University Malaysia Bacem Dziri, University of Osnabruck, Germany Fatmir Shehu, International Islamic University Malaysia Fauziah Fathil, International Islamic University Malaysia Hafiz Zakariya,University Terengganu Malaysia Hakan Gulerce, Harran University, Turkey Hazizan Md Noon, International Islamic University Malaysia Osman Yapar, Oman Rahimah Embong, UniSZA, Malaysia Rohaiza Rokis, International Islamic University Malaysia Sharifah Syahirah Binti Shikh, Kolej Universiti Poly-Tech MARA, Malaysia INTERNATIONAL ADVISORY BOARD Ahmed Alibasic, University of Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina Alfiya Yusupova, Kazan Federal University, Russia Alparslan Acikgenc, University of Ibn Haldun, Turkey Fadzli Adam, UniSZA, Malaysia Syed Farid Alatas, Singapore National University, Singapore Fatimah Ulfat, Germany Hassan Ahmed Ibrahim, Sudan Ednan Aslan, University of Vienna, Austria James Piscatori, Australian National University, Australia Jorgen Nielsen, University of Copenhagen, Denmark Mohammed Hashim Kamali, International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies Malaysia Muhammad Abdul Quayum, International Islamic University Malaysia Samim Akgonul, Strasbourg University, France EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE Comments and suggestions to: [email protected] Online journal: http://journals.iium.edu.my/irkh/index.php/ijrcs E-ISSN: 2637-112X CONTENTS Editorial 119 Elmira Akhmetova Articles Human Value in Islamic Thought 123 Müfit Selim Saruhan The Life and Political Role of Kurdish Women in the Ottoman 139 Empire Bzhar Othman Ahmed and AbdulWahed Jalal Nori Muslim Dynamics in America: Challenges and Opportunities 154 Dinar Dewi Kania, Ariesa Ulfa, Sari Tri Stianawati, Erpy Reinita, Rere Jessika Purnomo and Agus Saefurohman A Study of Dosteo Bisaka’s Contribution to the “Faith of Unity” 181 Religious Movement in Western Uganda Ismail Kadala Murutha and Saud bin Mohammad Book Review Edited by John L. Esposito and Emad el-Din Shahin, Key Islamic 206 Political Thinkers Makmor bin Tumin IIUM Journal of Religion and Civilisational Studies (IJRCS) 3:2 (2020); 154-180. Copyright © IIUM Press Muslim Dynamics in America: Challenges and Opportunities Dinar Dewi Kania, Ariesa Ulfa, Sari Tri Stianawati, Erpy Reinita, Rere Jessika Purnomo, Agus Saefurohman1 Abstract: American Muslims are faced with immense challenges, yet there are also opportunities within these challenges that have resulted in the emergence of various Muslim intellectual organisations in the United States of America. This paper aims to describe and analyse the challenges and opportunities for Muslims in America and the role of American Muslim intellectual organisations in both domestic and global issues. The result shows that Muslims in the United States (US) still need to bear the issue of Islamophobia with its related physical and psychological threats. American Muslims will also need to face the ideological and intellectual challenges to revitalise Islamic teachings so that Islam can be properly understood by the American society. The influence of Islamophobia in US government policy and foreign policy are enormous, especially since it relates to counterterrorism policy. However, opportunities for American Muslims to gain higher education and careers in various fields remain wide open. The contribution of Muslim intellectual organisations to the American society and global society has always been present and cannot be neglected. Concerning the future, intellectual Muslims in the US who currently tend to unite and work together seem to be intensifying their research and education programmes as well as consolidating various Muslim communities in the US. Keywords: Muslims of America, Islamophobia, Religious Discriminations, Intellectual challenges, Islam. 1 All the authors are Postgraduate students in Paramadina School of Diplomacy, Jakarta, Indonesia. The corresponding author, Dinar Dewi Kania, can be reached at [email protected]. MUSLIM DYNAMICS IN AMERICA: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES 155 Introduction The United States of America (USA) is a large country with people of various ethnicities, races, and religions living side by side. Initially, the United States (US) was formed from the 13 former colonies of Great Britain, which became independent on July 4, 1776. America then carried out a massive expansion of its territory by buying areas such as Louisiana, which was purchased from France, and Alaska from Russia. To this day, the United States is known as a superpower country. For a long time, we recognised Columbus as the discoverer of the American continent. However, today, this detail has been refuted by various parties based on scientific evidence. A prominent Muslim historian al- Masꜥūdī (871-957CE), for example, has written in his Murūj al-Dhahab wa Maꜥādin al-Jawhar, a historical note regarding the discovery of what seems to be the land of America, by a young Muslim man named Khashkhāsh bin Saꜥīd bin Aswad from Cordoba, Andalusia, during the time of the caliphate of ꜥAbd Allāh bin Muḥammad (888-912 CE). It was written that departing from the coast of Delba (Palos) in 889, Khashkhāsh bin Saꜥīd had taken a voyage and reached an unknown land where he met local residents and returned from this trip with an assortment of unique and rare items. Al-Masꜥūdī outlined the map of the land in his book, where the mainland is identified to be the modern time land of America (Husin, 2018). The arrival of Islam in America was due to the arrival of slaves who were brought and employed by European aristocrats. Among the many slaves brought to America were Muslims. A source further strengthens this notion that the first Muslim immigrants to have arrived early to what now is the United States, particularly in 1875 and 1912, departed from Syria. John L. Esposito strengthens this argument by stating that the origin of the arrival of Muslim migrants to the United States occurred when European aristocrats came with slaves from Africa. However, after the African slaves arrived in the United States, some of them could not maintain their faith and eventually converted to Christianity (Khalik, 2015). Muslims and Islam in the United States are an inseparable part of US history and studies in US pragmatic foreign policy. Freedom is a fundamental component in US politics; it is not bounded by any particular traditional principles, but rather has a utility purpose. The 156 DINAR DEWI KANIA, ARIESA ULFA, SARI TRI STIANAWATI, ERPY REINITA, RERE JESSIKA PURNOMO, AGUS SAEFUROHMAN main goal of the US foreign policy is to maintain the continuity and ideals of the international community and to expand the US economy abroad. For this reason, on matters of religion, there is no specific racial or ethnic group that make up the majority of Muslim adults in the US. Religious freedom is one of the fundamental freedoms applied in the US, therefore, despite Christianity being the major religion in the US, it has to be open to people of all religions, including Muslims. However, on September 11, 2001 (9/11), the bombing of the World Trade Center in the United States (US) became an incident in history that gained international attention. It not only aroused US anger due to the many fatalities it caused, but also posed a new threat to US domestic interests. This prompted a new US foreign policy that became more aggressive by way of focusing on finding terrorists, punishing those who support them, as well as developing strategies to eradicate those terrorists using methods that include hunting down international terrorist organisations in Muslim countries and the Middle East (The Official Government Featured Commission Publication, 2004). For this reason, following the 9/11 incident, an anti-Islamic discourse developed and the United States accused al-Qaeda, a Muslim militant group, as being responsible for the incident. Since then, the term “Islamophobia” continues to develop and seems to be a new identity in US politics, a trend that has especially attracted the attention of Muslim- majority countries. Islamophobia itself comes from the words “Islam” and “phobia”, which means a fear of Islam or hatred of Muslims. The events following 9/11 also became the base that describes the condition of Muslims in the United States today. Dislike towards Islam is growing and US politicians often use anti-Islamic sentiments, as was initially started through the statement of the then-President, George W. Bush, who announced to the world that the US has been attacked by the terrorist, Osama bin Laden. According to the US government, the war on terrorism is the battle of civilisation. The Bush administration also asked other nations to join forces with the United States to face this battle (The Official Government Featured Commission Publication, 2004). The United States of America has become a home country to the most diverse Muslim population in the world. This includes people of all ethnicities, countries, and schools of thought. Demographically, the MUSLIM DYNAMICS IN AMERICA: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES