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NATIVE AMERICAN MUSLIMS??
rachel
06/21/02 at 18:14:58
[color=Blue][/color]Hello everyone!! :)
Okay, take a deep breath, because I have long winded questions.....
Here it goes....

I am Native American:  enrolled into the Oklahoma Seminole Nation, also blood lines to the Choctaw & Creek Nations of Oklahoma.

Well, to let everyone know, I am Roman Catholic, but I have been SERIOUSLY thinking of converting to Islam.  I have been studying the Quran with some Muslims here in my college town, and it seems as though the more I learn of Islam the more I feel that it is the right direction.  I have been taking baby steps as far as changing my ways, and attitudes.  I have also started going to the Mosque with fellow women, who make me feel at home...okay, on to the problem.

Being Native means having a strong cultural tie to your tribe and your people.  I adamently respect my tribal customs, and I am extrodinarly proud to be Native.  There are certain aspects that we do, that go against the teachings of Islam.  For example:  as a woman I have long hair.  To us hair is a sign of our heritage, and who we are.  So to cover that, would be in a way hiding my heritage and who I am (is this making any sense?).  Another example: i attend powwows (Native gatherings where we dance, sing, and just hangout with my people), but many aspects of our powwows also go against Islam.  There are some tribal rituals, which I  can't mention here, because it is for tribal members only.  Once again, many of the tribal practices go against Islam....  

As you can see the ways of my people come into conflict with the teachings of a religion that I am falling in love with!  I want to put my whole heart into Islam, but at the same time I do not want to turn my heart on my culture and my people.  I have spoken with my family, and they think that if I become a Muslim, that I will throw away who I am.  Native( Oklahoma Seminole).  This is really hard for me, and since there are no Native American Muslims, I feel as though I am doing this by myself.  I hope this is making sense to people...

I have been trying to find Native American Muslims, but I have a better chance at finding the pot of gold at the end of a rainbow :D.   So I have put posts on many Muslim websites, and they have directed me to this particular website...so if you know of ANY ANY ANY ANY  Native American Muslims, PLEASE  :'( give them my email address: beadedthong@collegeclub.com (sorry but that is my only email).  

Thank you for taking half of your life to read this and respond:):)  
God Bless!!,
Rachel


Re: NATIVE AMERICAN MUSLIMS??
zeyn
06/21/02 at 18:33:44
i believe sis amina assilmi is a native american (cherokee i believe) does anyone have her contact info?
Re: NATIVE AMERICAN MUSLIMS??
nouha
06/21/02 at 18:37:12
[slm]

rachel..... i have never met a native american muslim let alone one who wants to be muslim. islam is all about diversity:)

im not a convert, so i wouldnt be much help, but hey if u post this at the al manar (the forum for converts) im sure they would help more than me.

many of them have said stories about how their families did not accept islam. and yet they chose islam:), also for a women i suggest reading "Daughters of Another Path" by Carol L. Anway.

wasalam
nouha:)
Re: NATIVE AMERICAN MUSLIMS??
Kashif
06/21/02 at 18:45:36
assalaamu alaikum

Alhumdulillah, i hope Allah makes your path easy for you.  

I've read bits and pieces about Muslim interaction with the native American population on the internet and also heard about it in lectures. You may be surprised to hear that Muslims came to America before Columbus and were engaged in pacts and treaties with the local populations.

Anyhow, below is something i found.

Kashif
Wa Salaam

------------------------------------------------------
Native American Muslim

My name is Mahir Abdal-Razzaaq El and I am a Cherokee Blackfoot American Indian who is Muslim. I am known as Eagle Sun Walker. I serve as a Pipe Carrier Warrior for the Northeastern Band of Cherokee Indians in New York City.  
There are other Muslims in our group. For the most part, not many people are aware of the Native American contact with Islam that began over one thousand years ago by some of the early Muslim travelers who visited us. Some of these Muslim travelers ended up living among our people.  

For most Muslims and non-Muslims of today, this type of information is unknown and has never been mentioned in any of the history books. There are many documents, treaties, legislation and resolutions that were passed between 1600s and 1800s that show that Muslims were in fact here and were very active in the comunities in which they lived. Treaties such as Peace and Friendship that was signed on the Delaware River in the year 1787 bear the signatures of Abdel-Khak and Muhammad Ibn Abdullah. This treaty detailes our continued right to exist as a community in the areas of commerce, maritime shipping, current form of government at that time which was in accordance with Islam. According to a federal court case from the Continental Congress, we help put the breath of life in to the newly framed constitution. All of the documents are presently in the National Archives as well as the Library of Congress.  

If you have access to records in the state of South Carolina, read the Moors Sundry Act of 1790. In a future article, Inshallah, I will go in to more details about the various tribes, their languages; in which some are influenced by Arabic, Persian, Hebrew words. Almost all of the tribes vocabulary include the word Allah. The traditional dress code for Indian women includes the kimah and long dresses. For men, standard fare is turbans and long tops that come down to the knees. If you were to look at any of the old books on Cherokee clothing up until the time of 1832, you will see the men wearing turbans and the women wearing long head coverings. The last Cherokee chief who had a Muslim name was Ramadhan Ibn Wati of the Cherokees in 1866.  

Cities across the United States and Canada bear names that are of Indian and Islamic derivation. Have you ever wondered what the name Tallahassee means? It means that He Allah will deliver you sometime in the future.

http://www.themodernreligion.com/convert/convert_namuslims.htm


PS Welcome to the board. *smile*
NS
Re: NATIVE AMERICAN MUSLIMS??
AbdulJalil
06/21/02 at 22:41:41
More on Native Americans :

http://cyberistan.org/islamic/sequoyah1.htm



this is the main page,scroll down to  "Americas" section


http://cyberistan.org/islamic/



Re: NATIVE AMERICAN MUSLIMS??
UmmZaid
06/22/02 at 02:59:31
Rachel:

I'm Native American (Choctaw) and Muslim.  Part of what we (Muslims) believe God asks of us is to leave things we enjoy b/c they may be bad for us in a way that we don't know.   All, or almost all, Muslims have culture vs. religion issues, even people raised in Muslim countries.  

Your long hair is still a sign of your heritage and who you are, but the thing is that the Muslima Native American becomes more selective about who she shows that heritage to.  I have also attended pow-wows, in Islamic dress, and enjoyed the aspects of them that are not in conflict w/ what God wants.  There are many aspects of Native culture(s) which are in harmony with what Islam teaches.  I concentrate on those, and leave behind what isn't in harmony with Islam.  

There *are* other Native American Muslims out there.  You will find Muslim people of NA descent in most every city.  Just keep your ears and eyes open.  You say your family thinks you will be throwing away who you are... if you walked away from Islam, even though you believe it to be the truth, you would really be rejecting who you are inside.  God tells us in the Qur'an that He made us from many nations and tribes, that we might know one another.  You can *be* Native American and Muslim, just as you can be an Arab and be Muslim.  But we also come together as brothers and sisters in faith -- the Ummah.  The Ummah is multi-racial, multi-ethnic, and multi-lingual.  Trust me, there is room for you in here.  :)
Re: NATIVE AMERICAN MUSLIMS??
SisterHania
06/22/02 at 12:26:12
[slm]

Pardon my ignorance Rachel, I do not know much about native American Indian people except you look really exotic and beautiful.  :)

Is it common for most native Americans to be Roman Catholic? What religons do they usually follow?

Hania.

p.s. I hope you find some native American Indian sisters that can help you feel less isolated  :)

Re: NATIVE AMERICAN MUSLIMS??
zomorrud
06/22/02 at 12:33:29
assalamu alaikum,

as far as I know, Dr Abdullah Hakim Quick is an aboriginal  - he's native Canadian.

wassalam
Re: NATIVE AMERICAN MUSLIMS??
rachel
06/22/02 at 20:41:23
Hello Hania :-/

Thank you for saying my people are beautiful:)  I guess I am biased...
To answer your question, many tribes have various religions.  You can find in one tribe that Catholic, Protestant, Baptist, Lutheran, Morman, or any other Christian sect will dominate depending on which religion set up the missions in order to "civilize" us to become white (non-Indian).  Then again you can find Natives who follow the tribal religion which depends on the tribe.  My family for example is part of the Native American Church, which combines Native beliefs with those of Christianity.  So it really depends on the tribe, and the Native.  

:D :D :D :D
Rachel



[quote author=SisterHania link=board=madrasa;num=1024697700;start=0#6 date=06/22/02 at 12:26:12] [slm]

Pardon my ignorance Rachel, I do not know much about native American Indian people except you look really exotic and beautiful. ÿ:)

Is it common for most native Americans to be Roman Catholic? What religons do they usually follow?

Hania.

p.s. I hope you find some native American Indian sisters that can help you feel less isolated ÿ:)

[/quote]
Re: NATIVE AMERICAN MUSLIMS??
Sis_Malak
06/23/02 at 03:52:44
[slm] :-)

 I was reading "The Idiots Guide to Understanding Islam" by Yahiya Emerick  (hey-don't laugh! Its an awesome book, and if you haven't read it yet, I reccommend it strongly  :-)) back in January while driving with my sister from Georgia back to California.  OK, I just looked through the whole book quickly and I didn't see it, so I will try to remember correctly.  In the book, it said that there were many Navajos (I think that was the right tribe) who converted to Islam, and so they were going to build a mosque on the reservation.  So my sister and I tried to find it, but no luck.  My point is, though, that there are apparantly a lot of Natives converting to Islam.
 May Allah guide you sister
Tara
Re: NATIVE AMERICAN MUSLIMS??
Aliya
06/23/02 at 16:46:56
Salam,

I have learned to make a distinguish between traditions that we people develop and the feeling deep in ourselves, the contact with God through which we find the guidance towards the right path. It will be all about which thing have priority in our lives.

If u decide to follow that guidance, u will encounter difficult situations in which u don’t know what to chose...And chosing the right path will make ur Iman develop. The stronger Iman will able u to contact God more easily...in this way ur self-development cycle will be started.  

I hope u understand what I am trying to say  ;)

May God guide us all.

Anyway, Take Care

Re: NATIVE AMERICAN MUSLIMS??
Soulman
06/24/02 at 16:25:44
Asalaamu alaikum

Mashala! Allah has put guidance in your path and iman in your heart. Maybe only in time does one come to realise what an immense gift it is. I used to follow the materialistic traditions of my culture believing them to hold the solution for me in this life. When I became a muslim, only by the grace of Allah and nothing of my own, I found happiness in this life and hope for the next.

I was often too certain of my choice in islam. This made me harsh to my family and cold and uncompromising with my friends whose ways I could no longer tolerate myself. This made me lose all of my friends. It was because I thought that islam was a harsh religion that made me this way, it was not islam itself. With time I have learneed that islam is a profound and extremely gentle religion which actually makes a lot of sense. Try not to place hijab (covering) and other outward symbols of islam in front of belief (IMAN) in Allah and His messenger; His prophets, books, angels, judgement and destiny. Remember obligations of ISLAM: salat prayers 5x; zakat every year on Eid; fast ramadan and try for Hajj (remember these ALL the time). Other things like alcohol, stealing, lying and the rest are all serious sins but they will come with time and do NOT take precedence over the pillars of Iman an Islam. If you are fulfilling your obligations then these sins will all be washed off you.

The other important thing to remember is to be VERY kind to your people and family. Try your best to avoid arguments with them, but quietly refuse to engage in what is obviously forbidden in islam. This way inshallah, they can see what an excellent deen you have and find faith as well. It is an immense sin to break the ties of kith and kin, and you cannot reprimand your parents. This is a priority rule for all us muslims so beware of doing this.

Sometimes I wish I had the opportunity for a pow-wow with my folk but we have become isolated and faceless in modern society. If I were you I would DEFINITELY continue to attend the pow-wow. Remember the Prophet, 'alaihi salaam, had protection of his uncle, Abu Talib. Even though he was not a muslim he held him in immense respect and treated him with the utmost courtesy at ALL times. He himself was protected through his being a member of bani Hashim tribe. He displayed the most excellent manners and understood the way his people thought. He attended tribal gatherings whether there were muslims there or non-muslims and he was intimitly aware of the doings of his people. Through your understanding of your own tribe, Allah has placed you in a position where you can have a special insight into the tribal community structure and achieve a lucid understanding of how the prophet,  [saw], and his sahabas lived, thought and acted.

Abdullah Hakim Quick is a native American Imam living in CAnada although he does travel a lot. He is an immensely kind imam with a heart of gold and a face which literally shines with noor - divine light. I had the honour of having lunch with him while he was visiting the UK. If you can find his address on the web, he can inshallah give you clear guidance on this matter.

[url]http://www.islaam.com/Article.asp?id=190[/url]

Another great N.American imam is Hamza Yusuf from zaytuna institute California - his wife is native american and you can email him at the zaytuna institue for advice. PLease do this, I am sure they would be very happy to help.

[url]http://www.zaytuna.org/about/contact_us.html[/url]

Wa alaikum asalaam

[wlm]

[glow=red,2,300]Soulman[/glow] ;-)
06/24/02 at 16:31:33
Soulman


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