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Across several American cities, growing Muslim populations are translating demographic strength into political and cultural influence. A sweeping report from RealClearInvestigations examines communities from New Jersey to Michigan and Minnesota, raising questions about assimilation, Islamic political activism, and the growing influence of Sharia principles in American public life.\n<\/p>\n
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From RealClearInvestigations:\n<\/p>\n
Founded by Alexander Hamilton as the first industrial city in America, Paterson, N.J., is now home to America\u2019s largest Palestinian community and largest proportion of Muslim residents. Today, New Jersey\u2019s third-largest city is effectively run by its 30,000 Muslims, some of whom say they don\u2019t need to learn English because it\u2019s like living \u201cback home\u201d in an Arab city.\n<\/p>\n
Paterson holds an annual Palestinian flag-raising ceremony, during which residents chant, \u201cFree Free Palestine!\u201d And in 2022, it renamed a five-block stretch of Main Street \u201cPalestine Way.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
In June 2023, Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh signed a sister city agreement with the mayor of Ramallah, a city in the West Bank and the seat of power of the Palestinian Authority, which officially celebrates the killing of Israelis. And last year during a ceremony kicking off Ramadan, he declared his city the \u201ccapital of Palestine in the United States of America\u201d and the \u201cfourth-holiest city\u201d in Islam. \u201cWe are 100% halal!\u201d Sayegh gushed, meaning pure and lawful under Islam. The mayor even agreed to hang a sign at the city entrance that reads: \u201cWelcome to Little Palestine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Paterson is far from the only community examined in the report. In Hamtramck, Michigan, Muslim officials hold significant positions throughout municipal government, and the city has changed policies to accommodate Islamic practices. Mosques are permitted to broadcast the Islamic call to prayer, schools serve halal meals, and the city has faced an ongoing election-fraud scandal involving members of its Muslim-majority council.\n<\/p>\n
The report also points to growing political influence beyond the local level. Muslim political organizing has become increasingly consequential in New York and Michigan. In New York City, activists have worked to develop what Linda Sarsour called a \u201ccadre of political leadership,\u201d while Muslim political organizations are backing candidates for state and federal office. In Michigan, Muslim voters have emerged as an increasingly important constituency, while Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed has drawn scrutiny over his views on Israel and other issues.\n<\/p>\n
Critics argue that the issue is not Muslim Americans participating in politics\u2014a right guaranteed to every American\u2014but whether Islamic religious and political movements hostile to American constitutional principles are gaining institutional power. The report notes that Muslim leaders reject such criticism as anti-Muslim prejudice and argue that their communities are simply participating in American civic life.\n<\/p>\n
America\u2019s commitment to religious liberty protects Muslims just as it protects Christians, Jews, and people of other faiths. But religious liberty does not require Americans to ignore ideologies that conflict with constitutional government or threaten Israel and the Jewish people. As Islam\u2019s influence grows in American politics, let\u2019s pray for discernment among voters and leaders, protection against radicalization, and a renewed commitment to the biblical and constitutional principles that have shaped our nation.\n<\/p>\n
Share your prayers for America\u2019s communities and leaders in the comments.<\/strong>\n<\/p>\n (Excerpt from RealClearInvestigations. Photo Credit: RONALDO SCHEMIDT\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Across several American cities, growing Muslim populations are translating demographic strength into political and cultural influence. A sweeping report from RealClearInvestigations examines communities from New Jersey to Michigan and Minnesota, raising questions about assimilation, Islamic political activism, and the growing influence of Sharia principles in American public life. Our Monthly Ministry Partners are the lifeblood<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31819,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[185,4253,782],"class_list":["post-31818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-prayer","tag-american","tag-cities","tag-islam"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31818","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=31818"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31818\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/31819"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=31818"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=31818"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/biblelon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=31818"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}