There is something happening in America...

A couple of days ago, I posted the following on my Facebook profile that 'Keeping the Faith (any Faith) in the US has become a complex balancing act; you can't have so much of it as to be intolerant of nudity, indecency and gays, but you must have enough for moments of indignant righteousness as is currently on display in NY and elsewhere'.

It was the closest I had come to discussing the 'Ground Zero Mosque' issue. It is topical and sensitive no doubt, but unlike many people I have refused to take a few trees for the forest.
It is telling that several influential people have expressed their concern at the level of hatred and distrust on display amongst the Islamophobes, but given any group, sect, ethnicity or race, you can work up enough angry people to such levels of hatred, so for me, it comes as no surprise.

I have chosen to look beyond the Islamophobia because I perceive it is only another arsenal in a much bigger battle - the political control of America.

This nation is turning on itself, bereft of formidable external aggression, the focus of the war machine has become domestic. The fabric of America is being torn apart and we have yet to see anyone or group stand up to point this out, because it is a most inauspicious time - the countdown to a mid-term election, which may see the opposition party gain control of Congress.

Most people agree that this is a build up, but they are wrong in thinking that it is a build up to the elections. In reality, it is more of a build up to a momentous era in the history of the US; post-elections the old problems, Double-dip Depression, Budget deficit and two costly wars will still remain. Several new ones will have been added as well: Gay rights, specifically the right of Gays to marry, Immigration Reform and the Illegal Immigrant question, Islamophobia and the rising Religious Neo-conservative movement.

These new problems challenge the core of the American Society. Gay rights was the first documented evidence (in modern era) of America's commitment to 'governance through rational thinking and logic' as espoused by the Founding Fathers rather than on the 'Foundations of Christian teaching' as the Neo-conservatives would have us believe.

The Immigration question which asks whether children of illegal immigrants ought to be granted citizenship attacks a foundational precept of the United States. The proponents of the change to the 14th Amendment argue that it is self-defeating to reward illegal immigrants in this manner and that these 'anchor babies' provide a strong incentive for the illegality. While this is true, I contend that in such cases, the babies are not the illegal migrants. Citizenship by birth is granted on the basis of birth rather than on the status of parents.

These folks are promoting this as a wedge issue to drum up opposition to the party in power for not doing enough, conveniently forgetting that G.W Bush gave up on Immigration Reform during his two terms because he realized how far-reaching it was.

What these reformists fail to appreciate in their myopia for short-term electoral gains is that even though it can be argued (and has been argued) that when the amendment was put in place, the concept of illegal immigrant was unknown to law (as no visa was required to migrate into the US), however one of the founding principles of America was for it to be a place of refuge for all people seeking liberation and emancipation, so in truth, it is self-serving and narcissistic to have Americans today, shut the door on others because they got here first.

My solution is simple; tighten border control and provide a pathway to residency for the 11 million odd illegal migrants who have invested a considerable amount of their life and labour into the economy of this country.

Islamophobia. Indeed, these are interesting times for Muslims in the United States. The controversy over the proposed building of a mosque near the site of the 9/11 terror attack has been fuelled to the point where we have folks come on prime-time television to declare that 'Islam is a lie from the pit of hell'. To further this, there is also a planned 'Burn the Koran Day'.

This organized effort at painting Islam in dark hues is effective today in galvanizing people into action by pointing out that the government in power, rather than doing something about this 'dark threat' is actually siding with 'them'. The long-term fall out however would be rather interesting, because once in power, they have to find a way to reverse the rumours!

As a Muslim living in America, I would like to add that even in Nigeria, my country of birth, being a Muslim isn't popular everywhere. There have been instances where I had to conceal my faith in other to get along with people. Americans largely do not care what you believe in, those that do take care not to intrude on your 'space'.

Airport security will probably be hard on Muslims dressed in Arabic garb, as would anyone who has seen pictures of terrorist training camps.

In the workplace, Muslims are permitted by law to take a break for the five daily prayers and I don't think that exists back home. Mosques are few and far in between here, but that is just like Muslims are. Most Muslim communities are populated by immigrants who have limited access to land and resources to build mosques, traditional American Muslims followed a brand of Islam which was unpopular with the mainstream and notably, did not build mosques.

What I find most perplexing is the ease with which we are able to re-associate the 9/11 bombers with the entire Islamic Faith. Days after the bombing, President Bush declared; 'this is not a war on Islam, it is a war on terrorism', Americans believed him, today people in the same party and of the same leanings are telling Americans that Islam is synonymous with terrorism, and so many are converted!

It comes as a shock to me that many in the most liberated country in the world have not bothered with self-liberation through enlightenment. Plenty folks here get all their education from the media, as though media houses where educational rather than business enterprises.

The result is that there is ample ember to stoke any brand of fire - the type that warms or the sort that burns, the kind that illuminates or the form that annihilates. It is left therefore to the leadership to be responsible and responsive, but sadly, the evidence says something vastly different.