Opinion: Muslims Welcomed More in America Than in Europe

June 18, 2005

Source: The Dallas Morning News

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/points/stories/061905dnedisalam.218fea50.html

On June 18, 2005 The Dallas Morning News ran an opinion piece by Reihan Salam, a writer based in Washington, D.C., in which he argues that Muslims in America have flourished with less discrimination and violence than Muslims in Europe. Salam writes, "Suspicions about Islam after Sept. 11 have given rise to resentment, fear and violence in Europe. But in the U.S., which has welcomed Muslims with its freedoms and opportunities, a more tolerant, open Islam is emerging – and setting an example for the rest of the world...Given time, there's every reason to believe that as the number of native-born Muslims grows, they will come to practice an Americanized Islam that is as open and tolerant as more familiar religious traditions. Indeed, many would argue that this process is well under way. In this manner, American Islam could become a major force in global Islam, offering a different path for believers – a path that is at peace with modernity and cultural diversity. Muslim Americans will not look backward to rue defeats and humiliations, but rather will celebrate full flowering of Islamic civilization, when Muslims were at the frontiers of knowledge."