Desert Gathering to Explore American Muslim Experience

Taking a cue from Native American tribes, hundreds of American-born Muslims are gathering in the high desert of New Mexico for a powwow this weekend to explore the unique challenges of being Muslim in America.

Besides horseback riding, practicing tai chi and singing devotional songs around the campfire, the 400 participants in the second annual North American Muslim Powwow will tackle some serious subjects, many of them dealing with the pressures Muslims feel in a culture that often perceives them as religious fanatics.

The gathering at Dar-al-Islam, a Muslim retreat center and mosque in the town of Abiquiu, will include sessions devoted to religious intolerance and reconciling the values of the MTV generation with the Muslim precept of submission to Allah. The gathering also will pose difficult questions about what it means to be a Muslim man or woman in a society whose gender roles are constantly in flux.

Of the estimated 4 million to 6 million Muslims in America, most have emigrated here from South Asia or the Middle East. But according to conference organizer Hakim Archuletta, the American Muslim community is at a demographic turning point.

“The increasing numbers of African American converts to Islam and the numbers of immigrants whose children were born here are bringing us into a new era,” said Archuletta. “American-born Muslims are beginning to outnumber the immigrants.”