Oh, the comments gave me the laughs I needed to keep awake for fajr. And I get your situation, ya Tuan Blog, since my own father is a convert; Chinese-Malaysian, and married to a Malay Muslim. He doesn’t fashion a beard, though he wears the kufi rather liberally, and the kain pelikat sarong is his second skin. In many ways, I suppose, ‘masuk Melayu’ (’becoming’ Malay) was his way of gaining an in into the Muslim community, mostly Malay in ethnicity. And I bet mother’s dishes helped the process.

Somehow I feel your views on being a white American Muslim may be somewhat influenced by being a white American Muslim in Malaysia. I mean, being white still means something to post-colonial Malaya - you get away with a lot more. I’m not saying that it reflects on you, but on the social mentality. Race is still very much an issue back home (I have an ocean between me and Malaysia). My father goes to religious classes regularly, and my mother grumbles at the occasional racial jibe some of the teachers thoughtlessly insert in their sermons. They treat the idea that ‘Malay = Muslim, thus Muslim = Malay’ as a given.

Have these experiences made my father less Chinese? I wouldn’t think so. He still drags us to every second cousin, thrice removed he can locate during Chinese New Year, and he speaks barely-legit Bahasa while maintaining 7 different Chinese dialects. But his ‘race-defying’ children have grown up ethnically diluted. On one hand, we have license to blame our flaws on racial-genetic anomalies. On the other, we have no idea what to call ourselves. We’re constitutionally Malay (which is another debate), and we’re not quite Chinese, but we don’t exactly fit into your typical Malay box either. Identity crisis? Averted when our parents became more religious - ‘Aiyoh, we are Muslim, enough already kan?’ But it’s never far from the back of my mind when my Australian Muslim friends ask me what, exactly, I identify myself as.

Beauty of being Muslim, though - you’re brothers and sisters no matter how you eat. Unless you’re Turkish, in which case eating with hands is strictly frowned upon

I certainly agree. I sometimes am asked if I have \”masuk melayu\” or it is assumed that I have. Now, I\’m happy with and comfortable in malay culture, but it is vital for Islam in Malaysia that there be a distinction made between being a Malay and being a Muslim. I even think allowing Lina Joy and her ilk to leave the fold would be helpful in that context.

Yusef -

I agree that you and I have as little in common by virtue of skin color as a Zanzibarian and a Jamaican do. But I don\’t think embracing a tribal concept of self is a necessary consequence of entering Islam. I\’m not sure that just because Allah tells us in Holy Quran that He created us into nations and tribes, that it means these are inheritable, intrinsic or unchangeable aspects of ourselves. Nabi Muhammad (saws) said the Arab is the one who speaks Arabic. That is a very mutable category. You can be as Celtic or Zanzibari as you want to be - nothing wrong there - but I would contest the notion that you have been created with some sort of essential Celtic or Zanzibari disposition by virtue of blood or birth. I\’m not sure if that was your position so apologies in advance if I\’m misreading you.

I think part of the issue is when we understand Allah\’s creation to be a one-time, start-and-finish activity, which in my humble opinion does not befit His Majesty. Allah created the land and the sea, but that does not mean that continents do not shift, move, arise and disappear. Allah created the plants and the animals, but that does not mean that species do not evolve, grow, change, recombine, and differentiate, all by His will. Allah created us into nations and tribes, but that doesn\’t mean that these nations and tribes cannot merge, blend, die out and emerge, or that we as individuals cannot move around within and between these groups as well.

For the record, I think the number of white Americans identifying with \”tribe\” or ethnic origin is pretty low. White Americans do have a penchant for keeping track of their fractions - 1/4 italian, 1/2 Irish and so on - but I would say on the whole it is a very distant marker of identity.

Raym -

That\’s awful that you\’ve had that reaction from people. I agree that for us muslims in the US anyway, Islam should allow us, if not to escape from these categories altogether, at least to make them a far less important part of who we are.

Thanks to all for your comments,