Muslim Americans Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Muslim Americans - Research Paper Example Example: â€Å"Being Muslim in America† book contains a number of significant historic events about the Muslim Americans. Accordingly the first evidence of such Muslims visiting the United States of America dates back to the period of 1619 to 1800s (Curtis, 2009). Some other authors have recorded Muslim vendors voyaging to America even before 1500. History and development of the American Muslim Community It is believed that approximately 30percentage proportion of the total African individuals who were shipped to America as slaves during 1619 to 1800s period were Muslims. Some of these people joined the main stream economic activities of America after being released from the slavery. Example: in 1819 Yarrow (Mamout) Marmood was the property owner and bank investor in Georgetown (currently a part of Washington). And in 1907 the first Muslim organization in America was founded by the Tatar immigrants from Poland, Russia and Lithuania (pp 56). The first American Islamic associati on was founded in Michigan in 1919. Consequently many immigrants were employed in manufacturing plants. The first American Islamic religious building known as the Mother Mosque was built in 1934 in Iowa (pp 57). Gradual growth and expansion of Muslim America community is explicit in these records. Currently Muslims are believed to form a considerable proportion of the American society. According to the Pew Research Center statistics Muslim population in America amounted 2,595,000 in 2010. This figure attributed to approximately 0.8percentag proportion of the total population in the same year in America. According to the same source the Muslim population in the country will reach 4,150,000 while forming 1.2percentage proportion of the total population by the year 2020. However some sources states that there are above 7 million Muslim individuals living in America currently. American government does not record religious statistics in the population census. Thus a statistical jargon is created. According to the book â€Å"Being Muslim in America† vast majority of the Muslim individuals living in America are of South Asian i.e. Pakistani and Arabian origin respectively. Approximately 34percentage and 26percentage proportion of the total Muslim American population belongs to the above two categories respectively (pp 9). Impacts of expanding the Muslim American population The impact of Muslim community on American socio-economic sphere is drastically increasing despite the said theological or statistical jargons (ZAHEDI, 2011). The growing significance is evident in the contemporary races related socio-economic issues occurring in the country. Muslim culture, believes and even proliferation seems to have impacts on the large society (Bayoumi, 2011). According to book â€Å"Being Muslim in America† book 25 percentage proportion of the Muslim American population belongs to the indigenous American category. Thus it can be inferred that rate of converting to Muslim religion by the individuals who were born in non-Muslim families is high. This trend seems to have hurt some religions’ leaders and political activists. Hatred, despise and discrimination is rapidly growing in contemporary American society towards the Muslim America

U.S. Supreme Court decision Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

U.S. Supreme Court decision - Essay Example In April, advocates for parental choice in education scored a major victory in the precedent-setting case before the United States Supreme Court, American Christian School Tuition Organization v. Winn. The court ruled by a narrow 5-4 margin that the Arizona program promoting school choice can continue − dismissing a lawsuit waged by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of taxpayers who disliked the program. The ruling favored arguments made by the Alliance Defense Fund, a conservative legal organization that defended ACSTO over the years. The concurring justices found that taxpayers have no standing to challenge the program because the contributions going toward tax credits are private funds − not government funds (Liptak, 2011). ACSTO, like many other programs in the U.S., gives state residents the ability to receive a tax credit for contributions to private organizations that provide private schools with scholarships. This ruling has wide-ranging effects across the governmental, political, and structural spheres of America.The ACSTO decision will greatly impact the way state governmental entities deal with programs similar to ACSTO across the country. Now that such programs will be recognized as legitimate, due to U.S. Supreme Court precedent, state institutions will no longer be able to easily keep state residents from freely donating their money to organizations that help parents send their children to the private schools of their choice. Also, elected, appointed, and/or career policymakers, such as the U.S. Supreme Court Justices who presided over this case ? as well as lawmakers, senators, governors and mayors ? will be making more and more decisions based on the precedent set in this case regarding the use of private funds donated to generate tax credits. Now, bureaucracies will not be allowed to strike down such contributions within the states that adopt the precedent set in Arizona. On the political level, the ACSTO decision has man y far-reaching ramifications. Political parties, interest groups, and unions that are generally opposed to religious organizations receiving funding in the form of tax credits generated from private contributions will have their hands tied when opposing such programs. Leftist social movements opposed to private schools will now have a more difficult time shutting down programs resembling ACSTO. Also, with the case’s national attention, 2012 presidential election campaigns and voters agreeing with the decision will more likely take a stance on the parental choice issue. With the extensive media coverage, public opinion was likely swayed in one way or the other. Many were likely swayed by the executive director of the special interest group Americans United for the Separation, Rev. Barry Lynn, who said that the court â€Å"has slammed the courthouse door in the face of Americans who don’t want their tax dollars to subsidize religion (Biskupic, 2011). On the other hand, those with conservative ideals were likely influenced by media statements made by Tim Keller, executive director of the Institute of Justice’s Arizona chapter, who saw the victory as rebuffing â€Å"efforts by school choice opponents to use the courts to halt programs that empower families to chose a private school education if that is where their child’s needs will be best served (Biskupic, 2011).† The political climate on education has undergone a shift since the decision. Furthermore, the structural forces that hold our nation together, such as the U.S. Constitution, state constitutions, state laws, our federalist system, and the economy, can all be affected in some way by the ACSTO ruling. To accommodate such program funding, federal and state constitutions can be amended, laws can be changed, and the economy can be reshaped, as tax credits up to $500 for donations to groups funding religious schools redistributes much money (Weiss, 2011). The decision could also spur a demographic shift, as families