Assimilation, though on the decline, remains key for new Americans
In New York and Michigan, three Arab-American mayors won election: Zohran Mamdani in New York City, Adam Alharbi in Hamtramck, and Abdullah Hammoud in Dearborn. Two are first-generation Arabic Muslims. Mamdani is a naturalized citizen of Indian descent who was born in Uganda. All are examples of the growing influence of Muslim citizens on politics, specifically Democratic Party politics in cities with large Middle Eastern populations.
Between the 1870s and 1924, the United States saw large migrations of Arabic people. They came from the Ottoman Province of Syria, which encompassed Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Palestine. Most of them arrived on the East Coast, initially settling in New York and New Jersey, many of the latter settling in Paterson with that town’s large Irish population. Mostly Christian, they were fleeing persecution and seeking religious freedom and job opportunities like the immigrants of early America. But the difference between Middle Eastern and south Asian immigrants then and now is assimilation.
The first wave of immigrants readily became part of the communities in which they lived, absorbing the values and customs of their new country. But Paterson also is an example of how things can change in 100 years.
Located about 30 miles from New York City, Paterson’s industries attracted the first influx of immigrants from the Middle East in the late 1800s and turn of the century. Those who emigrated were leaving their troubles behind. Once here they connected, usually with Irish Catholic communities in the northeast and integrated into the community and workforce.
They mostly attended Catholic churches, sent their children to Catholic schools and urged them toward higher education and many sons served in WWII.
The entrepreneurial Syrians and Lebanese opened small businesses and grocery stores and posted outdoor signs in English. They stayed, became “Americanized,” and achieved the American Dream, as they said. Today, their grandchildren own and operate much larger Middle Eastern food stores on the same sites occupied by their ancestors in south Paterson.
Paterson is the third largest city in New Jersey, following Newark and Jersey City. It has an estimated population of around 157,683 and a Muslim population estimated to be 25,000 to 30,000, many living in South Paterson, home to the largest Muslim community in the U.S.
The current mayor of Paterson is Democrat Andre Sayegh, born in Paterson in 1974, the son of a Syrian mother and Lebanese father. He attended DePaul Catholic High School, and Columbia and Seton Hall universities. He is a practicing Catholic married to a Muslim woman.
A councilman for several years, Sayegh now is in his second term as mayor. The first generation American is a popular, enthusiastic, business-oriented Democrat seeking a third term, but not to Congress, as he was urged to do.
While he has widespread support, the Arabic and Muslim communities have his ear. Among the changes in policy under Sayegh’s tenure was permitting the Muslim prayer to be recited and broadcast publicly five times a day in South Paterson, closing all schools on two Muslim holidays, and declaring Paterson the “capital of Palestine in America.” Paterson also has entered into a sister-city relationship with Ramallah, a Palestinian city on the West Bank. And at least one Paterson policeman attached a Palestinian-flag patch on his bulletproof vest with the permission of the city fathers.
In addition, the name of Main Street in South Paterson was changed to “Palestine Way,” much to the chagrin of the silent old-timers, whose story includes a planned emigration in search of opportunity in a free country, while the other part of their story is assimilation — and the American way of life.
What we see today is assimilation into the political world and a growing voting bloc based on religion and support for Muslim-oriented policies. The Muslim community influences public policy, as amply seen in Paterson and some other communities with large Arabic or Muslim populations.
First- and second-generation Arab-Americans are flocking to the Democratic Party in blue cities, championing the cause of Muslim advocates. They are agents of change and weak on assimilation — or so it seems. By emphasizing their ethnic and religious backgrounds over their ties to the Democrats, these communities are inspiring Muslim blocs to achieve a connection with the political party of choice, hopefully resulting in political clout.
Some younger Muslims living in Paterson, or nearby, have carried the mantle for the beleaguered Palestinians, some joining protests on college campuses and on the street. But when a group of immigrants, or the sons and daughters of immigrants, take up the cause of the enemies of the U.S, a place where they live in freedom, it is beyond disheartening. Yes, we have that right, they say, but is it “right?”
Assimilation seems to be somewhat lacking today. For more than two hundred years, generations from countries all over the world melded into a diverse land of liberty getting involved in the process and becoming“Americanized.” Notably, becoming an American is not the loss of your history or the faith of your fathers.
One hopes the immigrants who stay here would want assimilation into our free society and not see themselves as separate entities with a foreign cause. Everyone has something to add to our society and anyone who came here for freedom and liberty came to the right place. Let’s keep it that way.
Pat Wandling hosts Speak Your Piece weekdays at noon on WBCB 1490.
