Arab and Muslims in North America-Part Two Hasan Yahya, Ph.D In 1982, during the twentieth annual convention of the MSA, a new name, the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), was announced to integrate Muslim efforts under the organization (Al-Ummah, 1981). ISNA has the following project extensions: the North American Islamic Trust (NAIT), a financial institution; the American Trust Publication (ATP); the Islamic Book Service (IBS); the International Graphics Printing Services (IGPS); and the Islamic Teaching Center (ITC). ISNA also has three professional associations: the Islamic Medical Association (IMA), the Association of Muslim Social Scientists (AMSS), and the Association of Muslim Scientists and Engineers (AMSE) (MSA, 1980). The increasing number of students sent by oil-producing Arab countries to the United States and the English language used by ISNA created the need for a new organization, the Muslim Arab Youth Association (MAYA). Announced in 1977, this association uses the Arabic language. Leaders of MAYA deny the claim of nationalism in their association by using the Arabic language and explain that language is Islamic, not nationalistic, because it is the language of the Qur’an, and membership in the associations open to any individual (Arab or non-Arab) who wishes to join (Rabitatu-Asshabab Al-Muslim Al-Arabi, n.d). On the international organizational level, the Muslim World League (MLA) was established in Saudi Arabia in May 1962. The league has several objectives> Its main purpose is “the defense of Islam against those who seek to destroy it, and the support and development of Muslim communities around the world.” To achieve its goals, the league has established several offices in many nations and in 1974 became a nongovernmental representative of the United Nations. The influence of the MLA on Muslim minorities around the world has been sound (Haddad, 1983). Although no reliable statistics exist on the number of Muslims living in North America, estimates range from one-half million to six million, depending on the source and purpose for which the number is used (Lovell, 1973). In 1975 the consensus among Muslim leaders was that approximately three million Muslims were living in America (Haddad, 1983). Because there are more than 400 mosques and Islamic associations in the United States, it is likely that this population estimate is reliable, particularly if nonresident students and visitors are included in the figure. (p.25) In these days Muslims are much more than that figure, a Muslim authority have estimated the number of Muslims in North America (the United States and Canada) as more than ten millions, where the number of Mosques increased to pass the one thousand figure. (423 words)
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