Are Muslims in United States following Islam? – Are you?

The topic of today’s post is controversial and can’t be tackled with a justified conclusion at the end. What do you think; Muslims living in the United States or any other non-Muslim country are properly following Islam? While that is another topic, shouldn’t we first decide whether we, the Muslims with freedom, are following Islam the way it deserves to be?

Muslims abroad do not have the blessing of freedom as much as those who live in an Islamic country. The gift of listening to Adhaan (call to prayer) is itself a pleasant alarm that undoubtedly Muslims living in a non-Muslim society wouldn’t be necessarily blessed with. True, there are several mosques build now, a total of 56 to be specific from just a few in the past, but that doesn’t mean a population of more than one million, out of a billion living in the United States, gets to have a mosque nearby. That said, quite thankfully, Pakistan and other Muslim countries have mosques and worship places at just a distance of ten feet, yet how many of us really get up with devotion to praying in the congregation, every single day, with the month of Ramadan excluded? While many of us would nod a yes to that without hesitation, it should be seen whether that answer applies to Sundays and other holidays, as well. While a man going to pray at the mosque is a personal issue, we can measure our extent on following Islam by seeing whether our markets and restaurants close temporarily at the time of five daily prayers. Do we lower the volumes of our conversation while on a dinner, or the melodies sung in a restaurant when a Muazzin (man calling to prayer) pronounces His Power and Mercy?

We should not judge the American Muslims whether they are following Islam, because they are deprived of various things we have, because they are constantly under surroundings that do not comply with Islamic teachings, and because they are under the influence of the West, citizens and governments alike. Instead, I believe they are far better than those living in a country whose government is called Muslim, because despite all the lacking, they thrive to retain their identity. They thrive to squeeze time out of their irrevocable schedule in a non-Muslim company to pray in the congregation, and they remember the holy holidays and sacred events in Islam. It is more impressive to know that some American Muslims have managed to influence the citizens of the United States, and have emerged as successful CEOs yet proudly maintaining their identity through making their daily prayers a fixed part of their lives.

American Muslims are not facilitated, nor the coming generation living there, have the blessing of going into madrassa (a place to learn Islam), and those who have struggled with peer social, economical and influential pressure from authorities are better than those who despite having mosques, minarets, madrassa, and above all, a country that is so-called following Islamic Shariah, yet fail to follow the simplest teachings with devotion and sincerity. These symptoms are not only found in Pakistan, but many other countries. While the argument is not about which country is pious and which is not, it’s all about having a self-assessment before it’s too late.

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