The Real Picture on Muslim Americans
It's always nice when a major research center releases a study that lends support to something I've believed for a long time -- that one of the main reasons that there have been no further terrorist attacks in the U.S. since Sept. 11 is that Muslims are more integrated into American society and culture than their counterparts are in Europe.
In the report from the Pew Research Center for The People and the Press on Muslim Americans, "Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream," I wasn't surprised to read that "Muslim Americans have a generally positive view of the larger society. Most say their communities are excellent or good places to live." Nor that 71 percent believe that if you're willing to work hard you can get ahead here. Nor that 63 percent see no problem between being a devout Muslim and living in a free society. Nor that 80 percent believe that a suicide bombing in the name of Islam is a bad thing.
These survey results, of course, don't mean something horrible won't ever happen here again. Or that there aren't any grievances in the American Muslim community. But I'm a firm believer that freedom of religion is one of the greatest gifts America gives to those who come here. I've seen it firsthand.
Several years ago, my family hired a young au pair from France named Najat. She had grown up in a secular Muslim household. She was a great au pair and my kids loved her. But she was restless and often unhappy. She started, more as a lark than anything else, attending some meetings at the mosque in Cambridge, Mass., near where we lived. It changed her life.
One day, toward the end of her stay, she said the most amazing thing. Coming to America had given her the freedom to choose to be a Muslim, something that she didn't feel she had in France. She said that America was "the greatest country in the world" for Muslims because you could live as you liked, in a free society. She said those who wanted to destroy America just didn't understand that.
11:01 AM ET | 05-23-2007 | permalink
