What does it mean to be Muslim?

I do not like broad generalizations, because they do a poor job of characterizing individuals. That said, broad generalizations are quite useful when talking about a group, especially if they tend to be accurate enough to make meaningful predictions about the group.

Okey, dokey. Now that the disclaimer is out of the way, let's get to the interesting bit: Jawa notices a great comment made by a Muslim in Britain, then goes on to provide some excellent analysis. Read it; I'll wait. Done? For the lazy among you, here's the quick synopsis:

• Britain has been enjoying some less than enthusiastic support of its war efforts in Iraq and elsewhere.
• Some Muslims have made their displeasure known through violent protest
• This has created a conversation within the Muslim community in Britain, where at least one individual gets the idea that:
• Muslims are guests in the mainland of Britain, and should respect their laws and government
• Jawa notes that there is a problem with this argument: That British Muslims are Brits, too

Now the question, "What does it mean to be Muslim?" Jawa goes on to posit that being a Muslim, for many, means that "the Ummah is your nation, Muslim is your nationality." If this is indeed how many Muslims view themselves, they have chosen to make themselves a group that is incapable of assimilation into their host society. While having a diversity of backgrounds may add to the richness of the flavor of a society, assimilation of identity (I am an American, not a German-American, and not a German) is crucial to the continued well-being of that society. Jawa says it better, and I will show the full context of the quote here (italics original):

If one begins [with] the premise that the Ummah is your nation, Muslim is your nationality, and that the place and the people you reside with are aliens then you are one step closer to supporting violence against your fellow countrymen. If sociology has taught us one thing it is that people are much less likely to commit acts of violence against other people of the same "tribe".

So, again I ask, "What does it mean to be Muslim?" If Jawa's take is correct for a majority of Muslims (or a majority of any other group, for that matter), then it follows that any country that desires peace within its borders should seriously review its immigration policy with an eye toward this knowledge. I do not know that this definition is characteristic of Muslims in general, nor of any other group. I do, however, know that this definition is one that is incompatible with living peaceably in a Western nation. No group can live peaceably in another nation if it forever sees itself as being not a part of that nation.

For a different, positive, perspective I look to India. Within the nation of India exist Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs. Within India government are individuals from each of these religions and surely some atheists, too. How do they co-exist peaceably? Simple. When it comes to matters of state, they are Indian. When it comes to matters of personal belief, practice, and heritage, they follow their respective religions. This is a model that we in the West should seek to emulate--that each immigrant is welcome to his beliefs, but that allegiance must be pledged to the state of residence, not a far-off land.

(To further my point, and to deflect any misinterpretation of my comments to mean that I wish to see no immigrants in America, I must tell you how I know anything at all about India. I have a dear friend who was born there and keeps close ties with India. He now lives in America and is a citizen. Without his knowledge and experience that he shared with me, one American to another, I would not have the background to write such an opinion. It is a beautiful thing when one person comes to another country and loves it so much that he chooses to become a citizen of it. It is not a beautiful thing when a person comes to a country, uses what he finds useful in it, but hates it in his heart.)