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First, however,  I thought I would digress just a little about Muslims that I have known personally.  The first people of that faith that I ever met came to the U. S. in the 70's from Iran when the Shah was deposed by the Ayatollah.
Many Iranians left the country at that time and came to the United States. This couple were educators who were hired at the university in my home town. Â They became good friends with my cousin and her husband, who also taught at the university.
One of the interesting things she told me about them years later was that their relatives used to send them shoe boxes full of cash. Â Evidently getting their wealth out of the country before the government seized it.
In the 80's a young Muslim pediatrician who had taken his residency at St. Jude's in Memphis moved to Clinton. Â I took the girls to him several times. Â He was the only pediatrician who ever successfully kept Holly's asthma in check. Â That quickly made me a fan of his medical abilities. Â I liked him personally as well.
When I lived in Dallas caring for Little Buddy, there were two Muslim families who lived on their street. Â They also had their mothers living with them. Â The younger generation and their children were quite Americanized in their dress and their social habits while the older women wore the traditional long wrap-around in bright colors; but I never saw them with their heads covered.
Little Buddy and Big Sis played with their children just as they did others on the street.
Personally, I have never seen any indication from any Muslim I knew of animosity or hatred toward Americans. Â In fact, they were always very friendly, visiting in their yards with their neighbors just like everyone else. The older women were quieter and more reserved; I'm not absolutely certain if they could speak English, as I would only see them outside on rare occasions.
It might surprise some to know that, according to the Pew Institute  a large percentage, about 37 per cent of those who practice the Islam faith in the U.S. are actually white. Â
In fact, those of the Muslim faith are the most ethnically diverse of all religions in the states. Tomorrow, more on the numbers of Muslims in the U.S., where they came from and how long they have been here.
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