The Muhammadan Presence: an American Vision
From Reaction to Design to Vision
For decades, the Muslim American narrative has been dictated by others—responding to prejudice, explaining ourselves, defending our right to exist. But survival is not life. We are present and contributing, regardless of external acceptance. The question before us now is not whether Muslims belong in America, but what kind of America we will help build. This vision articulates a shift from defensive posturing to creative contribution, from margin to mainstream, from consumers to creators. It is time to grow into something greater. There is no time like now.
The following framework outlines pathways for Muslim Americans to achieve deep-rooted influence across every sector of society—not as a separate entity, but as an integral thread in the American tapestry. This is a generational vision that requires patient institution-building, strategic investment, and a commitment to excellence that transcends immediate political concerns. That requires craft and character at once—ihsān in work, justice in policy, service in community, and consultation in decision-making.
The Ethical and Values-Based Foundation
Before exploring the specifics, it’s crucial to define “full integration.” Years ago, I came across three concepts: isolation, assimilation, and integration. Communities that isolate themselves from the rest of society usually end up dying. Isolated communities often face decline as younger generations gradually leave to explore broader horizons, leading to a slow erosion of cultural ties. Sometimes they assimilate and eventually shed parts of their culture and identity to feel a part of the whole. As a result, cultural contributors decline to the point that there is nothing left.
The difficult move is integration. This demands awkward conversations. This necessitates creativity. This obliges us to engage and explore what binds us: Islam. How does that bring us together?
Integration, not Assimilation
Assimilation demands shedding of one’s unique identity to meld into the dominant culture. Integration, on the other hand, is a two-way process. It involves active participation and contribution to the society at large while maintaining one’s core values and identity. Ethically, this respects the dignity of both the individual and the collective. The goal should be the preservation of faith (Hifdhu al-Deen).
The Principle of Ihsān (Excellence and Beauty)
The Islamic practice of Ihsān—spiritual excellence achieved by acting with the constant awareness that God sees you—extends to all actions. Full integration would mean applying this to one’s role as a citizen: to be the most excellent neighbor, the most diligent professional, the most engaged citizen, and the most compassionate community member, all as an expression of faith. This is living a Muhammadan life.
Being “Witnesses unto Mankind” (Quran 2:143)
This Quranic role is about embodying justice, balance, and moral character. The world should see us as the pinnacle of the definitive way of life. An integrated Muslim community would be a living testament to its values, contributing to the moral and ethical fabric of the nation.
The Muslim American community stands at a pivotal moment. Where we are already contributing significantly to the nation’s cultural, economic, and intellectual landscape, it is time to come together under a comprehensive vision. This outlines a strategic framework for Muslim Americans to enhance their civic participation, cultural contributions, and community development across multiple spheres of American life.
Part I: Building Community
Where do we go when we are not home? For adults, the obvious place is work. A good portion of our lives is there. Where next? If you are religious, it probably is the mosque. Since the time of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, the mosque was a prayer space, school, and community center. Some communities have resources to accomplish this. How can they help others who do not?
Community building starts at home. But life is not just there. Rural and suburban living has greatly separated us from one another. Because of this, we need intentional spaces to come together and build community.
In Person: The Mosque
When the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ made the hijra to Madinah, establishing the Mosque was his first priority. The Prophet’s Mosque was not merely a place for ritual prayer, but the primary community hub for governance, education, and cultural life. For example, the Prophet ﷺ permitted the Abyssinian delegation to perform their traditional cultural display on the mosque grounds.
Strategic Imperatives:
Implement comprehensive programming that goes beyond daily prayers
Design physical infrastructure similar to the region’s architectural style
Establish the mosque as a key node for civic action
Create an inter-mosque mentorship network
Ensure professional staffing and operational excellence in line with the principle of Ihsān
Online: The New Public Square
Digital spaces shape identity, mobilize action, and build community. Muslims must move from consumption to creation. With the advent of the internet, some have tried to move online, establishing digital communities like Shifaa.
Strategic Imperatives:
Develop and support Muslim content creators across all platforms
Develop and support Muslim social media companies and platforms
Create Muslim digital media literacy programs
Build Muslim online communities focused on excellence, not grievance
Develop Muslim podcast networks and YouTube channels
Cafes and Physical Third Spaces: Where Community Happens
Beyond mosques and homes, Muslims need casual gathering spaces that welcome all while reflecting Islamic values. Taleef Collective is foundational in this.
Strategic Imperatives:
Support Muslim-owned cafes, bookstores, and community centers
Create Muslim co-working spaces and innovation hubs
Design third spaces that are welcoming to both Muslims and our neighbors
Build Muslim cultural centers in diverse neighborhoods
Develop Muslim community foundations that sustain these spaces
Access to food and education for the underserved
There are countless people who do not have access to good food and education. There are still endowments that are still functioning that specifically meet these needs.
Strategic Imperatives:
Modernize and establish Awqāf (endowments) specifically dedicated to sustainable food security and scholarship funds
Form strategic partnerships with local agricultural cooperatives and food banks to build Muslim-led, community-based distribution networks
Establish community pantries that provide immediate, low-barrier access to essential resources in underserved areas
Develop robust community-funded scholarship programs to bridge the gap for students in neglected school districts seeking higher education or specialized vocational training
Advocate for local municipal policy changes to eliminate “food deserts” and ensure equitable funding for public education in marginalized neighborhoods
Part II: The Education Continuum - Shaping Future Generations
Elementary Education: Foundations
Early childhood education shapes lifelong trajectories. Muslims must influence not just Islamic schools but public and private education broadly.
Strategic Imperatives:
Recruit qualified Muslims into elementary education teaching and administration
Develop curriculum materials that naturally include Muslim contributions
Create a variety of educational companies with Muslim perspectives
Support Muslim teachers financially and professionally
Engage deeply with PTA and school board politics
High School: Critical Years
High school shapes identity, aspiration, and college access. For Muslim students, these years are a crucible where faith meets the “hidden curriculum” of secular social norms. Engagement here must be holistic, addressing both academic excellence and the preservation of practice.
Strategic Imperatives:
Increase Muslim representation in teaching, counseling, and mental health roles
Formalize institutional accommodations for religious practice
Develop mentorship frameworks that navigate the ethics of gender interaction and social boundaries (Haya)
Create college prep programs that align students with high-impact career paths while reinforcing an ethical foundation
Cultivate Islamic high schools that match or exceed public academic standards
Higher Education: The Leadership Pipeline
Universities produce leaders, shape ideology, and credential expertise. Muslim presence must extend beyond student groups to faculty, administration, and governance.
Strategic Imperatives:
Support Muslim PhDs across all disciplines
Support Muslim faculty and staff in universities
Develop Muslim studies programs beyond Middle Eastern studies
Create Muslim professorship endowments
Build Muslim alumni networks that support institutional influence
Educational Administration: Systems Change
Real change requires influencing educational policy and systems, not just individual classrooms.
Strategic Imperatives:
Place expert Muslims in superintendent positions and state education departments
Create Muslim educational consulting firms
Influence accreditation and standards bodies
Support Muslim leadership in teachers’ unions and professional associations
Outside Traditional Schools: Alternative Learning
Education increasingly happens beyond classroom walls—through tutoring, online platforms, summer programs, and gap year experiences.
Strategic Imperatives:
Create Muslim educational technology companies
Develop Muslim youth leadership programs
Build Muslim learning centers and libraries using Muslim architects
Support Muslim educators in alternative education models
Create Muslim scholarship and enrichment programs
Part III: The Ethics of Governance and Prophetic Stewardship
Local Politics: The Foundation
The path to political influence begins at city councils, school boards, and planning commissions. These are not merely stepping stones but sites of immediate impact. Local politics determines zoning laws that affect mosque construction, curriculum decisions that shape how our children are educated, and policing policies that affect our safety.
Strategic Imperatives:
Develop leadership pipelines through local civic academies
Build coalitions with other communities around shared interests
Master the mechanics of municipal governance
Create mentorship networks
Follow through with a multi-year, multi-step plan for all
State Politics: Laboratories of Democracy
State legislatures control education standards, healthcare access, criminal justice reform, and economic policy. Muslims must move beyond single-issue advocacy to comprehensive engagement with state governance that is bipartisan.
Strategic Imperatives:
Establish state-level policy institutes that produce credible research
Recruit and support Muslim candidates for state office across party lines
Build relationships with state agencies and regulatory bodies
Develop expertise in state constitutional law and legislative process
Federal Politics: The Long Game
Federal power is often misperceived as limited to Congress, yet the state’s enduring architecture is maintained within federal agencies, the executive branch, and the diplomatic corps. Moving from reaction to design requires placing individuals of character and craft in this “engine room”—where policy becomes practice and the nation’s long-term trajectory is shaped.
Strategic Imperatives:
Support Muslims entering government sectors
Cultivate expertise in federal regulatory frameworks
Build genuine bipartisan relationships based on policy, not just identity
Invest in training programs for federal careers
The Judiciary: Generational Investment
Judicial appointments shape rights for decades. Muslims need representation not just as defendants but as prosecutors, judges, and Supreme Court Justices.
Strategic Imperatives:
Encourage top Muslim law students to pursue clerkships with federal judges
Establish organizations to help Muslim lawyers’ pathways to the bench
Develop expertise in constitutional law, religious liberty, and civil rights
Create mentorship networks connecting Muslim law students with judges
Lobbying and Political Action: Professional Advocacy
Effective advocacy requires more than passion—it demands professional sophistication, credible research, and sustained relationships.
Strategic Imperatives:
Strategically audit Muslim advocacy organizations
Build issue-specific coalitions beyond Muslim-only groups
Invest in lobbying infrastructure and policy expertise
Move beyond reactive advocacy to proactive agenda-setting
Part IV: Economic Sovereignty and the Ethics of Prosperity
True independence requires economic self-sufficiency. For the Muslim American community to build the vision, it must move from individual success to collective wealth building. The waqf must be brought to today.
Strategic Imperatives:
Move to an institutional Zakat system that focuses on empowerment
Create Muslim-led venture capital funds and angel investor networks
Acquire strategic real estate and establish modern Awqāf
Develop “Buy Muslim” directories and supply chain networks
Establish professional associations and trade guilds
Part V: Economic Power - Business and Entrepreneurship
Economic independence enables cultural and political influence. Muslim business leaders must think beyond ethnic restaurants and gas stations to other industries.
Strategic Imperatives:
Create Muslim venture capital funds and angel investor networks
Establish Muslim business incubators and accelerators with support systems
Build relationships with major corporations and financial institutions
Develop Muslim talent pipelines into Fortune 500 leadership
Part VI: The Power of Story - Arts and Culture
Music: The Universal Language
Music shapes consciousness, builds empathy, and creates cultural currency. Muslim musicians must move beyond “Muslim music” to excellence in every genre. We must create an industry that contributes to society in a positive manner with spiritual excellence and etiquette.
Strategic Imperatives:
Support Muslim artists in mainstream music industry
Create platforms for diverse musical expression
Build relationships with music festivals, labels, and venues
Develop Muslim arts patronage and investment networks
Literature: Controlling the Narrative
Who tells our stories matters. Muslims must write not just about being Muslim, but in all genres.
Strategic Imperatives:
Establish Muslim literary prizes and residencies
Support Muslim writers through all stages of career development
Establish publishing houses, literary institutions, and create agents
Create Muslim book festivals and reading networks
Fund MFA programs and writing workshops
Visual Arts: Expanding the Canon
From galleries to public installations, Muslim visual artists must help shape how America sees itself.
Strategic Imperatives:
Create support networks for artists
Support Muslim artists’ work in major museums and galleries
Commission Muslim artists for public art projects
Create Muslim arts foundations and collectors’ networks
Develop art education programs in Muslim communities
Online: Social Media
Television time continues to move towards the internet. Muslims need to make a presence online, creating native Islamic media that speaks to everyone.
Strategic Imperatives:
Creator incubator programs for long-form and short-form content
Muslim-focused MCNs (Multi-Channel Network) to provide production support and cross-promotion
Create funds to reinvest in other projects
Part VII: Screen Dreams - Film and Television
Hollywood shapes global perceptions. Muslims cannot afford to be mere consultants—we must be writers, directors, producers, and studio executives.
Strategic Imperatives:
Invest in Muslim film schools and production training
Support Muslim creators in getting projects greenlit
Build Muslim production companies and investment funds
Create Muslim film festivals that showcase excellence
Develop Muslim talent agencies and management firms
Fund Muslim screenwriters’ rooms and directors’ labs
Conclusion
The question, “What does success look like?” is asked in different contexts: mental health, academia, business. If we are to be driven by ihsān, success looks like Allah’s pleasure. Worldly key performance indicators are necessary because we live here. But otherworldly indicators are what is most apparent.
The areas above are what I believe to be foundational for a community. Our future should no longer be an aspiration; it is a generational charter. The moment of reaction has passed; the era of design is now. Our call is to transform a comprehensive vision into committed daily practice, ensuring that the Muslim American presence is not merely tolerated, but indispensable—a visible, ethical, and enduring thread in the American tapestry. The power structure is chaotic, perfect to bring something human in one voice.