ABSTRACT

The twentieth-century emergence ofIslam in Americais an important development in the history ofthe Abrahamic tradition and critical in molding the civilization that is being forged in this part of the world. When we look closely at the two parts ofthe Americas, we find that the Northern Hemisphere is largely dominated by the Protestant churches, with several significant pockets of Catholic, lewish and Muslim cultural presence here and there. In the Southern Hemisphere, the situation is reversed. There the Catholic is the dominant order, and Protestant, lewish, and Muslim congregations and communitiesfonn thesignificantminorities. Given this cultural diversity in the Americas and the great opportunities for the human beings engaged in the important task of cultural engineering, one could therefore argue that the arrival ofIslam can only add to what was already a melting pot of cultures; or, to put it in the language of those who do not believe in the reality of the melting pot concept, the preparation of a delicious American salad bowl. In the Americas in general and the United States of America in particular, an experiment in civilization-building is in progress; its success lies not only in the manner in which the cultural engineers carry out their respective assignments, but also in the development of a spirit of tolerance.