9.11 이후 미국 무슬림들의 정체성 변화에 대한 고찰

Abstract

September 11 events will forever be remembered as the day the American spirit was tested to a greater degree than at any time since World War II. For American Muslims, the deep shock and anger over this humanitarian tragedy were compound by a rush by some to blame Muslims collectively for the attacks. Muslims in USA were suddenly confronted with the double pain of mourning an attack on their country and simultaneously having to defend themselves, their families, and their stature as Americans. Of course, this situation made 8 million American Muslims redefine themselves their identity and change their way of thinking `who am I ?` American Muslims find themselves in a country where identification is defined politically, linguistically, culturally, and ethnically. An American Muslim is first of all, a U.S. citizen carrying an American passport that distinguishes him from nationals of other fellow Muslims in the Muslim countries. He is also looked on by his fellow Americans as a member of a racial group and is further classified culturally and religiously as a member of one of multiple minority groups of America. In this circumstances, since 9.11 event, an remarkable identification changes of American Muslims has been surveyed even though the level is varied among generation, ethnic groups, and occupation. The common things are that more Muslims have strong tendencies to harmonize between American society and Islamic value which has been regarded more or less not combined. Related to this is the fact that the trends in interreligious relations in America and the Muslim world could affect not only the image of Muslims in U.S., but also their self-perception in American society. The future of Muslim survival in American society is inextricably linked to the future of religious pluralism in America.