Why is Islam spreading in the U.S.?

[vanshan]

At a time when Muslims are not normally depicted well in our media, the numbers of American converts is increasing rapidly. I read somewhere recently that over 12 new mosques have opened in the Chicago area in the past few years; before there were only 2. Why? What are they getting from Islam? Does the Orthodox faith provide some of the same things they are looking for?

 

[xenia]

I think Islam is growing in America because people are tired of American easy-believism. People want a robust faith that requires something from them, not just Sunday church with happy-clappy songs and feel-good sermons. They want to fast and pray! They want to be ORTHODOX! They just don't know it yet.

-Xenia

 

[vanshan]

Unfortunately, it seems these "robust" traditions that actually require something of us are the first we Orthodox shed or ease in the name of outreach. Ironic, isn't it? More modern parishes sit during parts of our services, have pews, don't always emphasize keeping the fasts, etc. I think an ascetic faith is something we all hunger for.

 

[Suzannah]

I cannot understand why westerners embrace Islam, any more than I can understand why they embrace Hinduism or Buddhism. To be quite honest, in my travels over the years, I have met many, many westerners (incl Europeans) who will do anything to rid themselves of the "stain" of their own Christian heritage....they become vessels of hatred for themselves and they disdain all manner of anything "western". They become enamored of anything "eastern" and will go wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy out of their way to "prove" that the Christian inheritance is somehow less valuable, less "wise", less "advanced" than these other religions. They argue that the "wisdom" contained in Qu'aran, Baghvad Gita and all else, contains "higher wisdom", on a "higher plane", and offers "spiritual advancement" that Christianity does "not" have ....

They completely ignore the fact, that these systems of thought, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, have absolutely no evidence of "advanced thinking" because if they did, their people would not still be in bondage to incredible poverty, disease, and very real enslavement in some cases. Does any body really think that Hindusim promotes "love, peace and understanding" when it has literally enslaved billions of people? 300 million, yes, million Dalits in India today, are starving, illiterate, with no human rights...under a system that glorifies Hindu "philosophy"...
This is what the westerner does not acknowledge, indeed, refuses to acknowledge: these "philosophies" have enslaved human beings into robots with no hope. The countries which actively promote these "philosophies" are all on the human rights abuses lists....If it is "eastern" it must be full of "wisdom" right????

Our Lord did not encourage blind faith or stupidity. He said "By their fruits you will know them." I don't think he was talking just about Christianity.

 

[InnerPhyre]

There's no such thing as bad publicity, and with the media focusing its attention on Islam the past few years, people are looking into it and finding a religion that actually requires deep commitment and doesn't just shout slogans and make you feel fuzzy inside.

 

[Mary of Bethany]

I think part of it is the colossal failure of what passes for Christianity in America and Western Europe these days. How many denominations have watered down the faith, or jettisoned it completely in the name of "enlightenment"?

The only parts of Christianity that are growing are the evangelicals who still hold on to the fundamentals of the faith (even if their "worship" is caught up in trendiness), and the Orthodox. I truly believe that Orthodoxy will continue to grow and become a force here as long as we hold on to "the Faith once delivered".

Mary

 

[Grand_Duchess-Elizaveta]

There's no such thing as bad publicity, and with the media focusing its attention on Islam the past few years, people are looking into it and finding a religion that actually requires deep commitment and doesn't just shout slogans and make you feel fuzzy inside.

I agree, InnerPhyre. I think this gets combined with the fact that more and more people are becoming disgusted with western culture. And, of course, Islam is about as anti-Western as you can get.

I think part of it is the colossal failure of what passes for Christianity in America and Western Europe these days. How many denominations have watered down the faith, or jettisoned it completely in the name of "enlightenment"?

I agree, Mary. I was flipping through channels the other day and came across that big cathedral church with the positive thinking guy (can't remember his name, but he's written books on positive thinking). I thought I'd stumbled onto a HS pep rally. And there were two movie stars making guest appearances. It was ridiculous.

 

[Photini]

People are spiritually starved and searching for the answers.

 

[NewToLife]

I think Mary of Bethany hit the nail squarely on the head. unfortunately many in the West have never had the opportunity to experience Christianity inall its fullness and have been disillusioned by the poor imitations that they have often encountered.

 

[Iacobus]

Unfortunately, it seems these "robust" traditions that actually require something of us are the first we Orthodox shed or ease in the name of outreach. Ironic, isn't it? More modern parishes sit during parts of our services, have pews, don't always emphasize keeping the fasts, etc. I think an ascetic faith is something we all hunger for.

I think Vanshan has hit on something really important. Clearly, Orthodoxy offers a depth and -- if the word can be used -- a challenge that people are looking for. It is a Church that demands something of us, in the sense that we are not allowed to simply loll about in our pews for an hour or so and then put it up til next Sunday. But, like Vanshan said, we need to be very aware of the creeping marginalization of the ascetic demands of Orthodoxy. If we allow ourselves to lose the ascetic nature of the Church, or downplay it as unimportant, then no matter how much our theology differs, we are simply presenting a face to the world that looks like every other western alternative.

James

 

[CyberSponge]

I once knew a woman who had converted from Baptist to Islam. I asked her about it, and she gave 2 reasons:
1) She never understood the Trinity (so to her the Muslim God made more sense)
2) She new a very kind family from Indonesia who were muslims. b/c of how serene and peaceful and loving the family was (and according to the woman, they were the most peaceful people she had met), this woman thought "I'd like to be like them!"

Reason 1 was the background, reason 2 was what actually helped her decide to convert.

But reason 2 indirectly points towards its own background...namely, she found more Christ-like Muslims than Christ-like Christians.

One more thought: although we can put down the "West" (i.e. ourselves and our own culture), the Eastern Churches also fell, and fell harder. Islam is spreading now under our watch, so what can we do about it now?

 

[Theophorus]

Apart from the many good reasons stated above, I believe it is also the moral life that Islam embraces. That was one of the things about Orthodoxy that I find appealing. Islam, and for the most part Orthodoxy, is not vague or subjective in its moral demands. That is why Islam is surpassing the trendy far eastern religions imo.
Things that should be obvious in Christianity have degenerated into a sea of subjectivity. And with evangelical and liberal theology, moral conduct has been abandoned completely in exchange for the inexhaustible mercy of God.
Moral conduct is closely related to an ascetic life which Vanshan mentioned. It is the praxis of beliefs that gives them depth. That is why even the new age religions still exert a strong pull. Even though they are subjective they do entail more ritual and discipline than the average Christian denomination. Again Islam's growth can be attributed to both praxis underpinned by strong moral expectations.

A strength of Orthodoxy is in its praxis and definite views of morality. I would hope that the Bishops would exercise strictness where it is needed. And where it is needed the most is where a cultures values are the most permissive.

 

[Patristic]

Has anyone even stopped to think about the fact that maybe people are attracted to Islam because it presents a simple and straightforward picture of God that's easy to understand, ie, no Trinity, no hypostatic union, and such. To the rational mind all those things seem downright contradictory. If God is one, then He is not three, but if He is three, then He is not one. How can God who is utterly transcendant and beyond man actually be a man at the same time. Islam doesn't have to deal with these tough questions. It simply teaches that Allah is one God. Moreover, some people actually like the paternalisitc, domineering, and sometimes vindictive Allah as he is presented in the Koran. Since that is the view of God they favor it makes sense they would choose Islam.

 

[Canmak]

You all looked at the religous aspect but forgot about Immigration and birth rates.......remember that muslims are now going through a boom in America because they are going into there second generations....they also have the highest birth rates out of any religion in the world.......but it doesn't mean that they live the longest because I think they have the lowest life expectancy rates in the world.

Think about how many Bosnians Immigrated or Albanians immigrated not to talk about how many from Africa or from the Mid east. Yeah thats why more mosques are being built and because now the communities are established in AMerica and well the fundign is there to build a mosque.

It happened with Christian Immigrants before but now its happening with the Muslim Immigrants.

I don't think its about converts I think its just for the reason mentioned above

 

[Matrona]

Welcome to TAW, Canmak!

 

[pnotc]

I don't want to overestimate it, but we also have to realize that Islam is spreading quickly in the prison system especially among African Americans. And unfortunately, it is usually of a more radical variety, one that is anti-western and anti-Christian.

And I think patristic is right - Islam is exceedingly simple. 1 God, 1 prophet, 1 book, 5 pillars. There is a certain minimum standard that is relatively easy to achieve - pray 5 times a day, fast during Ramadan, give to the poor, make the hajj if possible. There is also a strong sense of brotherhood & community with other Muslims (I've always thought this was something the Muslims did much better than Christians - recognize their interrelatedness despite their varying ethnic & national backgrounds). There is also a strong tendency - in all cultures - to favor the exotic over the familiar, and what is more exotic to the Christian west than Islam?

 

[Marjorie]

In response to the OP, Islam provides a remarkably beautiful and pragmatic answer: love God, follow Him, worship Him. Pray five times a day, fast when you are supposed to. People are attracted to Islam for its beauty-- there is so much beauty!-- and its practical approach to God and life. Of course, Islam's love of God is fulfilled in the Incarnation of God the Word, as are all religions. All ideas, beliefs, and practices are answered in Christ's Incarnation. From my point of view-- which is obviously Christian-- people are drawn to Islam without realizing that the fulfillment of Islam's beauty and philosophy is in Christ.

The Qur'an, incidentally, is on the surface a better read than the Bible. It is much more eloquent. The Bible does not claim to be what the Qur'an is, and vice versa. The Bible claims to be a collection of documents written by people who have witnessed God personally and within a specific community and context, who have followed Him, who have known Him. The Qur'an claims to be a message directly from an angel.

Anyway, to echo what some others are saying, one of the reasons people might be interested in Islam is its highly structured prayer life and discipline, which has been lost in a lot of Western Christian traditions.

In IC XC,
Marjorie

 

[Marjorie]

Has anyone even stopped to think about the fact that maybe people are attracted to Islam because it presents a simple and straightforward picture of God that's easy to understand, ie, no Trinity, no hypostatic union, and such. To the rational mind all those things seem downright contradictory.

Exactly. Also, a lot of people-- Christian and non-Christian-- have forgotten that Christianity is essentially a paradoxical faith (and we live in a paradoxical reality, no?) So basically, a non-Christian will point out a paradox as a "contradiction," and Joe Christian will respond arguing that it is in fact completely obvious and rational, not ironic or paradoxical in the least. Of course, both are wrong. There are no contradictions in the Christian faith, only holy paradoxes.

In IC XC,
Marjorie

 

[Moros]

Because we have a lot of blacks. Take a look at statistics, Arab muslims in the US are a tiny minority. Something like 98% of new converts to moon-worship are blacks.

 

[Alfred M]

All the above responses are great! I also think that many that turn to the muslim faith also do so because it is the "rebel child" so to speak...and it rebels from so much of what comprises "authority" here in the western world...be it religious or political/governmental. As many embrace Islam as converts, I wonder how long their faith will last? These are some very interesting times we live in.

Alfred, Chief of all sinners