Islamic Thoughts

• ANALYSES
• 1 Behavior code of Muslims toward non-Muslims
• 2 September 11 (2001) attacks on America not compatible with Islam
• 3 Ways To Defuse Religious Tensions
• 4 The Value Of The Ten Commandments
• 5 Bright Spot Of The Us Constitution: Religious Freedom
• 6 Lessons from the prophet's hudaibiah treaty.
• 7 Rulers' roles in promotion of christianity.
• 8 Exploring a model definition of 'religion'
• 9 Where islam stands as a civilized religion?
• 10 Proving god's existence through experimental science.
• 11 Roles of man as necessary & God as sufficient condition.
• 12 Human kindness is a shadow of god's kindness.
• 13 Why islam is the best choice for the Africans?
• 14 In Old Age, All Roads Lead To Death.
• 15 No Creations Are Without Purposes & Uses.
• 16 Prayer Prevents People From Bad Actions.
• 17 When Haram May Be Excusable: Five-Step Conditions.
• 18 Islamization Of Some Un-Islamic Cultures.
• 19 Greater The Faith, Tougher The Test.
• 20 How Science Can Make A Difference For Muslims?
• 21 The Time Gap Reality Between Sin & Punishment.
• 22 Good & Bad Days Alternate In Cyclic Order.
• 23 Let Moon-Sighting Unite & Not Divide The Muslims.
• 24 Faith Crisis Among Some Intellectuals.
• 25 Islamic Policy Toward Animals.
• 26 Improving The Muslim Performance (Aamal) Standard.
• ARGUMENTS
• 27 How Middle Course Better Than Conservative And Liberal Extremes?
• 28 Why God Is The Best One To Be Worshipped?
• 29 Costs And Benefits Of Belief In The Afterlife
• 30 Bible Is Similar To Hadith But Different From Quran
• 31 Defaming Islam: Freedom Of Speech Or Violation Of Rights?
• 32 How Islam Compares With Democracy?
• 33 Who Is Responsible For '0' Small Pox Since 1980?
• 34 Timeliness Is The Leading Condition For Prayer.
• 35 Ten Arguments For Women's Education.
• 36 Why Physical Fitness Matters For The Muslims?
• 37 Homosexuality Vs Adultery: Which Is Worse And How?
• 38 Countering Abortionist Argument
• 39 Which Is Better: Open Or Secret Prayer?
• 40 Small Or Large Recitation: Which Is Better In Prayer?
• 41 Personal Or Social Suffering: Which Is More Painful & Why?
• 42 Cultural Slavery Vs Cultural Diffusion.
• 43 Why Should America Ban Religious Defamation?
• ASSORTMENTS
• 44 Visible Action Of Invisible God: From Author's Diary.
• 45 Optional Good Deeds Are Like Bodyguards For Compulsory Ones.
• 46 The Gravitation Law Of Performance (Not One Of Newton).
• 47 The Theory Of Relativity (Not That Of Einstein).
• 48 In Good Deeds
• 49 "Rob Peter to pay Paul" is not for islam
• 50 Muslims Cannot Be "Penny Wise And Pound Foolish".
• 51 Islam Endorses Salad Bowl & Not Melting Pot Theory.
• 52 100% Homosexuality Means Prospect Of 'O' World Population.
• 53 Sinning In Teens To 40's & Suffering From 50's To Death.
• 54 Revenge May Be Lower But Not Greater Than Harm.
• 55 Why Karl Marx Is Irrelevant Forever?
• 56 Is God The Same One For All Religions?
• 57 How God Controls Economy And Livelihood?
• 58 How Muslim Repression In Myanmar Violates Buddhist Principles?
• MISCELLANEOUS
• 59 Grim Reality of Death: Unfailing Lesson for Everyone

51: ISLAM ENDORSES SALAD BOWL (& NOT MELTING POT) THEORY

The economic success of the northern hemisphere during last few centuries attracted millions of immigrants from the less developed nations. This gave rise to two conflicting theories on how the immigrants should deal with the cultures of the host countries. One is the melting pot theory that suggests that the immigrants will completely adopt the cultures of their new countries and in this process their original cultures will melt down beyond recognition in the pot of mainstream new cultures. The nationalistic trend of America and Europe favorite this idea of cultural assimilation. Another theory rivaling this is the Salad Bowl theory which supports the interest of the immigrants who choose to keep their home cultures intact in their adopted lands. In a mix of diverse peoples in new country, they want to be easily identifiable with their own cultures in a way the component vegetables remain unmixed in a bowl of salad.
Ideologically, Islam remains diametrically opposed to the melting pot theory for some basic reasons.

(i) Islam has high value cultures (ex: avoiding alcohol) that will simply go down in quality if mixed with other cultures and such blending will help neither party.

(ii) There is strict ruling against blending of Islamic cultures with those of others. The Prophet insisted that you show your distinct identity in every possible ways such as the way you dress yourself, the type of food you eat, the way you observe fasting or celebrate your festivals and so on.

(iii) If you absorb a non-Muslim culture, ultimately you are at risk of losing your Muslim identity. For example, if you as Muslims are engaged in large scale intermarriage with other communities without following Islamic marriage code, then some of your future generations may slip out of Muslim population. It is noteworthy that the following of the three millennia old religion Zoroastrianism is fast approaching vanishing point mainly due to intermarriage.

(iv) Islam takes a stand against melting pot theory but not against migration. Instead it encourages Muslim migration to foreign lands (following tradition of Prophet's great migration) and good behavior with peace-loving people over there. For host countries like USA, such multiculturalism due to Salad Bowl theory is a symbol of beauty like a mosaic and it is also a source of strength as diverse peoples can mutually learn about cultures from others.