86 MUSLIMS IN THE UNITED STATES
former, the experiment failed because the Muslim community of Chicago, an
amalgamate of several ethnically diverse groups, was never consulted or taken
into confidence. In the later case, despite initial misgivings, East-West Univer-
sity aspired to and remained a part of the Muslim community of Chicago. Not
only are the members of its governing board some of the influential Muslim
elites of Chicago, the university is a member of the prestigious Islamic Council
of Greater Chicago. Most importantly, the university is, for all practical pur-
poses, part of the African American neighborhood from where it draws most
of its students and staff. Being in close vicinity to the loop, the university is
able to recruit professionals as teachers for very economical salaries. There is
little doubt that East-West University reflects ingenuity, hard work, and
resourcefulness of the Muslims of Chicago.
Lately, two other institutions started functioning. One of them the Ameri-
can Islamic University is already offering off-campus correspondence
courses. Located near Detroit, Michigan, the university is like any other
church-sponsored school with a secular program. A glance at the courses being
offered shows that the university is simultaneously aiming at Americanizing
new Muslim citizens while exposing them to the essentials of Islam.
Another school, located in Queens, New York, offers computer-generated
teaching presently limited to Arabic language and understanding of fundamen-
tals of Islam. Both are relatively new institutions, not unlike many church-
related schools of nineteenth-century America. Their success or failure is still
too soon to predict. What is important is that both are deeply couched in and
dependent upon the larger Muslim community in the United States.
THE MUSLIM COMMUNITY IN POLITICS
  Dear Professor, we got to go for a brunch today,  so informed Arshad. He
thought we had to be there at 10:30, but Sabri Nihari was still closed on that
hot Sunday morning when he parked his car along the curb. The occasion was
a reception given to Jan Schakowsky, a congresswoman from the ninth district
in Illinois.
Tip O Neill, a very well-known former speaker of the U.S. House of Repre-
sentatives, once observed that all politics is local politics. As mentioned ear-
lier, the Muslim community is not an exception to this rule. Political
commentaries, partisan debates, and frequent discussions written or other-
wise are as common in the Muslim community as they are in any community
in the United States. Hailing mostly from countries where democracy is more
talk than reality, most immigrant Muslims are, nonetheless, slowly but surely
learning the tricks of American political trade. The following advice a Muslim
gave to his brothers and sisters in Islam makes this clear:
  Do not be ethnically offensive, always remain open for a compromise, support
Jan in her bid for re-election and Jan would support your cause as a community!
The very fact that she agreed to come means that she knows you are worth her
distended belly after consuming hot Sabri spices. A gift of a few thousand