An American Identity

The emergence of a rigid definition of an “American” identity may actually be a response to the rise of multicultural diversity. A decade of finger-pointing has increased this phenomenon and there seems to be too much to overcome towards initiating a way of reversing this social shift.

Even with globalization and multicultural interaction around the world,  the evolving human mind and its psychosocial needs have not transitioned to the point of favorably responding to the varied definitions of Islamic culture. Both the human mind and other religious institutions of our societies increasingly struggle with tolerating Muslim beliefs, even though to more than a billion people worldwide, Islam is a way of life, a belief system, and a guide.

There has never been a time when the mainstream classes of our modern societies were more aware of and living with conflicting religious claims, sharply distinct sources of meaning, and widely variant claims on ethical norms. Among it all, Islam is the least of the appealing. Dubbed by both its advocates and critics as a political religion, bizarre and unconventional concepts of Islamic fundaments have emerged. In spite of the multiplication of Islamic organizations, Islam remains an enigma to Americans because its essence is still unknown to the average American, although it continues to affect many Americans.  There is, therefore, a profound fear of the unknown or an unwillingness to discover.  

And this is one of the major obstacles towards Christian-Muslim dialogue initiated some time ago, but still at its initial stage, remains cognitively impaired in the United States.