Muslims have a long history in the United States that dates back to the time of slavery, with adherents of Islam believed to have served in every war since the Revolutionary War. And while the religion is often associated with the nation’s Arab Americans, the reality is far more diverse – with Black Americans and Asian Americans comprising large segments of the community.
These are some reasons behind a campaign from Muslim Americans this week in Washington, D.C., to advocate for federal recognition of a Muslim American Heritage Month that would celebrate the community – one that has experienced sustained levels of bias since 9/11.
“Being such a diverse community, we’re not always aware of each other’s accomplishments as Americans, so it’s a way for our children to have a sense of belonging and pride,” said Robert McCaw, government affairs director for the Council for American-Islamic Relations, the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization. “Especially, in the face of the adversity that the community has faced in the last two decades.”
The group reported receiving more than 6,000 reports of anti-Muslim incidents in 2020 alone, most of them involving discrimination. Anti-Muslim incidents comprised about 10% of the nearly 1,600 hate crimes involving faith in 2021, according to the FBI’s 2021 Hate Crime Statistics Supplemental Report, released in December 2022 and the most recent data available.
The effort is part of National Muslim Advocacy Days. Hosted by the U.S. Council of Muslim Organizations, the 8th annual event connects national, regional and state organizations and community members with their elected representatives in Congress. The gathering is expected to draw about 400 people from 25 states.
How many Muslim Americans are there in the US?
Between 3.5 and 4 million Muslims live in the United States, a Pew Research Center analysis found, comprising about 1% of the U.S. population. According to the center, the number of American mosques more than doubled from around 1,200 to more than 2,700 in the two decades from 2000 to 2020.
Prominent Muslim Americans include names like NBA great Shaquille O’Neal, actor Mahershala Ali, musician Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def), fashion model Bella Hadid and U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Andre Carson, D-Ind., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich.
“In the past several decades, America has made a point of recognizing minority communities and their accomplishments and impacts on society,” McCaw said. “The American Muslim community is the most ethnically diverse religious community in the U.S. and has been in this country since its founding…. But so much of that history has been lost on the average American who only views Muslim Americans as recent immigrants.”
A handful of states already celebrate Muslim American Heritage Month, including Illinois, New Jersey, Utah and Washington. The United States already recognizes nine cultural heritage months, all written into law and usually reinforced by annual presidential proclamation. They include Black History Month (February), Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month (May), Jewish American Heritage Month (also May) and Hispanic Heritage Month (Sept. 15 to Oct. 15).
“Muslim American Heritage Month is a way to educate not only our community but all Americans on our positive impacts in American society,” McCaw said.
Previous resolutions to recognize Muslim American Heritage Month were unsuccessfully introduced in the Senate and House by Booker in 2022 and by former Rep. Karen Bass, D-Calif., in 2021.
Muslim Americans worried about anti-Muslim violence
With anti-Muslim violence on the rise around the world, activists also calling on Congress to pass the Combating International Islamophobia Act reintroduced last week by Minnesota Rep. Omar along with Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.
The legislation would address what it calls a “staggering” rise in Islamophobia by creating an office within the U.S. State Department to monitor and combat Islamophobia in foreign countries, tallying instances of physical or verbal abuse against Muslims or propaganda inciting such behavior.
The act, which Omar first introduced in 2021, would create a special envoy to oversee the development of a comprehensive strategy for establishing U.S. leadership in fighting global Islamophobia, similar to an existing State Department position dedicated to combating worldwide antisemitism.
The lawmakers note increasing incidents of anti-Muslim violence, including Chinese atrocities against the Uyghur community, crackdowns on Muslim populations in India and Sri Lanka, acts of white supremacist violence targeting Muslims in New Zealand and Canada and the scapegoating of Muslim refugees and others in Hungary and Poland.
“Disturbing incidents of Islamophobic rhetoric and attacks continue to threaten the safety and well-being of the Muslim community at home and around the world,” Booker said in a press release. “Ensuring that people can practice their faith without fear of discrimination or violence is one of our nation’s core values, and we must continue our urgent work to safeguard religious freedoms at home and abroad.”
