Assimilation refers to the process of adjusting or embracing the culture of a state, group, or nation (Desmond 31). Trump and individuals who think like him believe that Muslims are not able to assimilate in America because of the strict Sharia laws that they uphold as well as the notion that Islam is hostile to Western cultures. Such perspectives are not true because Muslims have been able to integrate successfully in various parts of the world, including Canada and the United States. Such success stories suggest that Muslims can assimilate in Western nations and America. Muslims do not assimilate well in societies that have laws and attitudes that are hostile to Muslim culture (Desmond 87). For example, antagonizing Muslims with offensive remarks and cartoons as well as banning Muslim garbs makes it relatively difficult for Muslims to assimilate in a particular place or society. Specifically, such actions make them feel unwelcome and unwanted. It is possible for Muslims to assimilate successfully into Western cultures especially when they feel welcomed and appreciated.
In the United States vs. Bhagat Singh Thind (1923) the court decided that Singh was not eligible for naturalized citizenship in America (Desmond 47). He had identified himself as an Indian of high caste. The 1906 Naturalization Act allowed persons of African descent and free whites to become naturalized U.S. citizens. In Ozawa vs. United States (1922), the U.S. Supreme Court found a Japanese American by the name Takao Ozawa ineligible for citizenship through naturalization even though he had lived in America for about 20years. The case was filed under the 1906 Naturalization Act. Justice Sutherland sanctioned the perception that the phrase “free white persons” refer to persons of Caucasian race (Desmond 45). The rulings of the two cases had deleterious impacts on Asian Americans while reaffirming and strengthening racist policies of American naturalization and immigration laws.
The internment of Japanese Americans was based on military justifications because it occurred during the Second World War. They were incarcerated because their ethnicity and racism seemed to have played a role in the internment decisions.
Race, citizenship, and assimilation are issues that draw mixed reactions in contemporary American public discourse. While some people are calling for liberty and freedom for all races, others support race-based exclusionary policies. A multicultural country like the U.S., which has numerous Muslim immigrants, should also be willing to embrace them and to help them integrate seamlessly into American society.
Work Cited
Desmond, Matthew. Race in America. New York: Prentice Hall, 2015. Print.
