The Missing Link

March 05, 2006

Muslims: America's New Frontline Minority?

Jonah Goldberg says that 9/11 changed the conversation about minorities in America from a black - white paradign to one in which Muslims are the frontline minority.

Consider an unlikely example. The Chicago Tribune recently recounted the tale of the Universal School's girls' basketball team. The school is a private Muslim institution. The girls on the team may not be seen by any post-pubescent males unless the girls are wearing full-body robes. That means men and teenage boys cannot attend their games. The problem is that the universe of Muslim schools with girls' basketball teams in Illinois is pretty limited. So the girls want to set up some games with secular public and private schools — on the condition that no men attend the games. That means no dads, no brothers, and no male staff members allowed in the bleachers.

Whatever your reaction to this, it's really not comparable to the black experience. These Muslims are asking for segregation — by gender in this case — whereas the black civil-rights movement and its gay and feminist imitators worked against the logic of segregation.

Of course, Muslims also fight against prejudice and stereotyping akin to what other minority groups have faced. I think Goldberg is right, however, that Muslim minorities will raise different sorts of societal questions than past minorities.

Posted by Conor at March 5, 2006 09:21 PM