Converts and Islamic Identity

By Cyril Anderson

 Muslim converts in the West feel pressures from a number of different directions.  There is first of all the pressure fueled by misunderstanding and prejudice from the society of their upbringing, from friends, colleagues at school or work, and even, unfortunately, sometimes from family.  There is also the pressure to learn the relevant practical Islamic laws, of taharat, of how to do wudhoo, ghusl and salat, of how to fast, of how to pay zakat and/or khums.  Add to this the need to make adjustments to ensure halal diet, the challenges of learning about Qu’ran, the basics of Islamic teachings, and the intricacies of the narrative of Islamic history, particularly as a Shia.  Then tack onto this the difficulties of trying to fit in and understand things in existing Shia centres, of trying to learn a little bit of Arabic, and of the details of the Islamic code of dress and of interactions between men and women.  For sisters, add the adjustment to hijab, and, for us Shias, add the complications of pressure from Sunnis or Wahhabis to reconsider our choice of school of thought, whether politely or aggressively.

 Converts, however, sensing the beauty and power of Islam, can tolerate these sort of pressures as inevitable stepping stones on the path to God, as part of their “jihad al-akbar fee sabeel Allah,” the “greater struggle on the path to God.”  Converts deal with these challenges happily because they sense the greatness of what they have found as a system of life.

 There are some other pressures, however that are placed on converts by well meaning, but not necessarily well-knowing born Muslims.  These include pressures that are not even properly part of Islam, but are cultural elements that are explained to these converts as if they were obligatory or central aspects of Islam.  Sometimes these people, not knowing the difference, actually mistakenly tell new converts that such things are obligatory.  Of course, this can and does cause much confusion for new Muslims who already sometimes feel “in over their head” with the new things they need to learn.  This is especially true given that converts encounter people from a wide range of different ethnic communities here in the West, and each of these groups has subtly or strongly different cultural practices.  This makes it hard for new converts to try to sort out what is core religion and what is cultural decoration.   This is not to denigrate the help offered by born Muslims to new converts; often the new converts got their initial information from born Muslims with books and materials to share, and these other people are no doubt sincere in their effort to share their picture or understanding of what Islam is all about.  However, the pressure on converts to take on purely cultural practices adds extra and unnecessary burdens to already full plates.  This phenomena takes on the form of such born Muslims encouraging or pressuring new Muslims to take on superficial cultural details, such as cultural dress and cultural foods and the pressure to change ones name to a “Muslim name,” i.e., an Arabic name.  However, none of these things are actually core or obligatory Islamic matters. 

 New Muslims should first of all feel free to resist any pressure placed upon them to feel they need to change their name.  While many new Muslims genuinely feel a desire to do so out of a sense of starting a new life, and while there is nothing wrong with doing so out of a personal choice, converts should also know that there is no obligatory or recommended reason to do so.  The business some make about “Islamic names” is not well-founded.  That many Muslim converts, including famous ones such as Malcolm X, Hamid Algar, and Abdullah Yusuf Ali have done so adds to the confusion.  When cultural Muslims say “Muslim name,” what they really mean is, “Arabic name.”  The truth of the matter is that Islam is a universal religion for all humans; all names are human names.  I once attended a conference for convert Muslims in Toronto, and, when I revealed my birth name to one of the people from the center hosting the conference, he asked me, “but what is your Muslim name?”  When I told him that I already had a “Muslim name,” he was confused, to say the least.

 There is similarly no need to change the way you dress, as long as it fits within general Islamic guidelines.  Islam does not say that women have to wear chadors or niqab, or, God forbid, burkas, and it doesn’t say that men need to wear shalwar kameez or robes like Gulf Arabs.  Islam is a flexible religion created to fit any place, any environment, any culture, and respects in general the diversity of human culture.  It sets general standards for decent public dress for men and women, but leaves it free to humans to choose how to fulfill those standards in the particular society and environment in which they live.  There is no need to wear special ethnic clothes.  The Prophet Muhammad (saws) wore cloaks and robes and other desert Arab gear, which from the perspective of the modern Western world, seems rather exotic.  But from the perspective of Medieval Arabia, this was simply normal dress, given the customs of the culture.  Muhammad (saws) dressed as others dressed, albeit in a relatively modest, un-extravagant manner.  The correct extrapolation of the sunnah of the Prophet’s (saws) way of dress would seem to be not to wear exotic clothes, but simply to wear whatever is the norm for where you are living, given that the Islamic standards of decency are respected.

 In the same way, there is no need to feel one must eat special ethnic foods, or to change the way you eat, other than to ensure that the meat you eat is is halal and that no alcohol or other unclean materials are used in the food.  If a person wants to experiment with new and exotic cuisine out of a desire to try something new, there is no problem with that.  A modest amount of variety is the spice of life, and shawarma and kabab and curries are quite tasty.  But hamburgers and steaks and tacos and stir fries are every bit as “Islamic.”  Again, Islam is a flexible system designed to fit the particulars of any time and place.  Islam does not tell you what to eat; it names a small list of things that are to be avoided and leaves you free to figure out the rest.

 There is also no need to completely abandon your cultural heritage.  In any culture, there are good and bad aspects, and there is no problem with keeping parts of your heritage that are consistent with Islamic values.  Islam is not an Arab or Persian or “Eastern” religion.  Its scripture was revealed in Arabic, but the message at the core is meant for all mankind and all times.  One can compare to the Bible; it was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek from the period of about 1000 BCE to about 100 CE.  But clearly, people find these scriptures useful and relevant today even in the modern Western world.

 Because the majority of people in Muslim communities in the west are immigrants or children of immigrants, it is perceived that taking on foreign cultural artifacts is part of becoming Muslim.  However, this is not the case.  Islam has plenty of room for local variety through the concept of “u’rf, or pre-existing local custom.  This is exactly how a Persian Muslim culture, Indian Muslim culture, South-East Asian Muslim culture, Gulf Arab Muslim culture, etc, appeared in the first place.  In the same way, over time, as more converts take on Islam in the west, and as existing Muslims become more socialized to the culture here, a Canadian Muslim culture will appear. 

 In the meantime, Canadian Muslim converts should feel comfortable asserting their identity as Canadian Muslims.  To assert that they have a culture already, one that has shaped their character, their way of life, indeed, in many cases, their decision to become Muslim.  Becoming Muslim is not a reaction against all of Western Civilization; such oversimplifications do a disservice to the universal power of Islam as a system of life in its own right.  Islam is not an abandoning of one’s existing culture, but is simply another mode of being-within that culture, and needs to be respected as such.