Islam and the Cultural Imperative: From USA to China

Brief Biography:
Dr. Umar Faruq Abd-Allah is an American Muslim scholar having studied at the University of Chicago, Cornell University and the University of Missouri in the United States. He has taught Arabic and Islamic studies in numerous universities across North America and in Saudi Arabia. He currently resides in Chicago and spends much of his time engaged in independent research, writing and teaching activities with institutions across the United States, Europe, Africa and Asia with a focus on Islamic Theology. Dr. Abd-Allah has been named to the Muslim 500 list of the world’s most influential Muslims numerous times.

Abstract:
The contemporary Muslim world has found challenge in developing sound Muslim cultural identities amidst the complexities of today’s society. This article puts forth American Muslims as among the most promising, wealthiest and educated Muslim minorities in history. The challenge underscores a fundamental need for American Muslims to consciously establish a new, unique cultural identity. To lay down roots and survive, Islam must reflect the good in America’s diverse races and ethnicities.
Historically, Islamic jurists have upheld the Prophet’s legal precedent for respecting non-Arabs’ ethnic and cultural differences as long as they did not contravene his teaching. Islam’s spread and triumphant past reflects this glorious global culture. Like a crystal clear river, Islam and its sacred law are pure and colorless until they reflect the Chinese, African, & other cultural bedrock over which they flow. Ultimately, the cultural latitude afforded within Islam should empower Muslims to develop authentic and positive Islamic cultures indigenous to and integrated into their local environments and peoples.