Peace be upon them

FOLLOWING the narrow path to spiritual righteousness is tough enough in good times, but try staying on track in a wealth- and status-obsessed society now creaking under the economic weight of its own appetites.

Perhaps surprisingly, experts say being Muslim in America is somewhat easier now than in the days immediately following 9/11. Whether economic concerns have trumped terrorism fears or whether America is once more proving itself a tolerant, accepting collective, many Muslims tell CityLife they increasingly feel they're making headway in a culture that often seems quite alien from those they left to come here. Official figures back up these claims.

Federal, state and local authorities say most hate crimes are down slightly, non-native Muslims here are intermarrying with Americans at increasing rates and, don't forget, voters here just elected a new president while not seeming to care one whit about his Arabic middle name.

Akbar Ahmed, a renowned anthropologist studying what it means to be Muslim in America, takes each of these trends as proof positive that Muslims -- as did the Irish, Germans, Jews and Catholics before them -- are integrating into modern American society as never before.

Ahmed, a professor at American University and the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at its School of International Service, spent some time in Las Vegas last week as part of the yearlong project. In all, he and a small team of student researchers plan to visit more than 30 cities and towns across the country before compiling their findings into a book and a documentary next year.

Despite the continued roadblocks of prejudice and misunderstanding of Islam, Ahmed says many of the social trends he and his team have identified so far are encouraging. Be it Sin City or small-town America, Ahmed says Americans are increasingly accepting Muslims as hard-working, productive members of their communities.

"This is a time of great challenge for Muslims," he says. "Muslims are concerned, there's apprehension. At the same time, it's a period of great opportunity for Muslims. Americans want to know about Islam. I see things in the sense that while there are hurdles to being Muslim in America, this is, simultaneously, a time of great opportunity."

Locally, many Muslims have seized on those opportunities to meld with society. Here in Las Vegas, those efforts often take the form of Muslim-founded, mosque-centered social relief programs. From the mobile medical clinic run by believers at the Masjid As-Sabur mosque in central Las Vegas to the free shelter given to homeless families by leaders at the Mosque of the Islamic Society of Nevada on Desert Inn Road, Muslims in Southern Nevada aren't waiting to be integrated into society, they're carving out places of their own across the valley.

Unlike other populations who were either brought here against their will or hopped a boat to the States to flee political upheaval back home, Ahmed says most Muslims are here by economic choice. Muslims want economic opportunity, too, and the chance to practice their faith as they see fit. These dreams (and concerns), says Ahmed, mean that Muslims here have a vested interest in building successful lives and weaving themselves into the fabric of American society.

"Part of this study means I've also become a scholar of American history. There have been waves upon waves of immigrants here, so each community has a period of adjustment," he says.

Ahmed says he is surprised, however, by the ongoing, internal debate among many American Muslims about how fully a deeply spiritual people should integrate into this modern, post-consumerist society.

"There is a sharpness to the debate on how much should Muslims integrate here," he says. "The other day, I visited Google (in Mountain View, Calif.), and some Muslim employees had a debate about this over lunch. For example, some of them said dressing up as a witch for Halloween is not Islamic, while others said this is just part of the culture here. How far do we want to go to accommodate the culture? Where do we draw the line?"

How far are Muslims willing to integrate into American society? Case in point: Would a Muslim businessman have just one drink at an office mixer? What about two drinks? What about letting their daughters go on dates with American boys? These are all serious issues for Muslim families learning to live in this country.

"This surprised me, that each Muslim had his own ideas," says Ahmed. "Oh, there'll be a happy compromise."

That happy medium, he says, is no doubt tempered by an American foreign policy which, for decades, has supported a slew of military dictators in the Middle East and has led to a new generation of Muslim anger at the United States, at least according to multiple American intelligence officers who testified before the 9/11 commission. It's an anger that typically manifests itself in suicide bombings and insurgent attacks in Iraq and Afghanistan.

But Americans, too, still occasionally show their own anger at Muslims living among them.

"I'll tell you, 9/11 has put pressure on Muslims, and it has changed things. Even now -- and I'm the first Distinguished Chair for Middle East/Islamic Studies at the U.S. Naval Academy, an ambassador - but I'm not sure what will happen each time I go to the airport."

Locally prominent Muslims say they share in both Ahmed's dreams and worries. But they're equally optimistic that society will continue to accept them, even though full integration is, perhaps, still a generation or two away.

"There's one grim reality that all Muslims realize: Each community has paid a price to secure its status here. The Jews did that. So did the Catholics. Things start with a misunderstanding and then slowly work their way up," says Aslam Abdullah, director of the Islamic Society of Nevada and imam (prayer leader) at the eponymous mosque on the east side of town.

"This is the most exciting phase of human history," he says. "The fusion that's taking place will create a better understanding among these various communities ... Every day I see improvement, and it's very encouraging. The American people are open and accepting. They are not a hard-headed people."

Of the handfuls of everyday Muslims who talked to CityLife for this article, each one echoed the belief that acceptance comes with time -- and that it will come for them, too.

The recent presidential election has more to do with those hopes than you might realize, for many area Muslims. Turns out, they're just as hungry for change as the next Las Vegan.

"It's not easy to come to this city and be Muslim," says 44-year-old Fouad Bono on a recent weekday before afternoon prayers. "But the American people are a very, very good people. And we also believe that (President-elect Barack) Obama can fix this country. We believe things will be a lot better with him than with George Bush."