Muslims in a Mormon World: A Look at the Assimilation of Utah’s Muslim Population

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Philip Sonntag Hurst

In the summer of 1847, Latter-day Saint pioneers entered the Salt Lake Valley. Escaping persecution, these pioneers came by wagon and foot leaving possessions, homes and even family in pursuit of a new life. The desire to live and worship freely drove thousands of pioneers through the Rocky Mountains to what is now Utah.

Today the Salt Lake Valley is a thriving community thanks to those early pioneers and the efforts of many who came after. Monuments throughout the valley celebrate their lives and heritage. However, the Latterday Saint pioneers are not the only people that have migrated to the Salt Lake Valley. Utah is home to a growing Muslim population. Often overlooked, Utah’s Muslim community consists of diverse individuals from around the world.

The United States is accustomed to people from different backgrounds. In fact, the United States is a country that prides itself on its diverse populations. However, this does not mean that there is an absence of cultural misunderstandings, bias and even discrimination. For example, following the events of September 11, 2001, discrimination and violence against Muslims, or those believed to be Muslim, increased 1,700 percent (Bayoumi 2008, 3). Most of this persecution is because of general ignorance of Islam. Ignorance and discrimination make it difficult for minorities to feel welcome and assimilate. As a result, Muslim youth from first and second-generation immigrant families are much more likely to embrace radical Islam (Berlinski 2006, 41). It is important that small cultural and social differences are understood so they do not become rifts that tear society apart. This paper looks at the history and demographics of Utah’s Muslim community and analyzes how its unique characteristics impact assimilation.

Muslims represent one of the most diverse minorities in America. Sixty-five percent of the estimated 2.35 million Muslims in the United States are first generation immigrants (PewResearchCenter 2007, 1) and they hail from sixty-eight nations (Barrett 2007,76). Utah is no exception to this trend. The foreign born population in the state has increased 296.1% from 1990 to 2008 (MPI 2011). This study identified Muslim immigrants from over twenty countries and four continents (see Appendix 1). While the majority of Muslims in Utah come from West and Central Asia or the Balkans there is a noticeable lack from Southeast Asia.

The first Muslims came to Utah as students. In 1958, Tariq Kargi left his home in Iraq to begin his studies at Utah State University. His experience was so positive that after graduation he decided to stay. Today, he is Utah’s longest continual Muslim resident. While many students left Utah after their studies, others took a liking to their new home. Kargi and other current residents cite Utah’s conservative atmosphere, family friendly focus and landscape reminiscent of the Middle East as reasons to stay. The increase of faithful Muslims led to the need and ability to establish a permanent place of worship. The little home on 600 East 748 North in Logan became Utah’s first mosque.

Today there are ten mosques in Utah including one planned for Orem. Additionally, there are rooms dedicated to daily prayers at universities around the state. This large increase in mosques over the past fifty years is a testament to the growth of Utah’s Muslim population. According to the Islamic Society of Greater Salt Lake, there are an estimated 15,000-20,000 Muslims in the state. The actual amount is hard to determine as the Census is prohibited from asking religious affiliation and local Islamic organizations are only able to keep track of those that regularly attend mosque. Regardless of the exact number the fact remains that Utah’s Muslim population is increasing.

While Utah’s first Muslims arrived as exchange students, the population really began to grow with the arrival of refugees. Utah has large Bosnian and Somali refugee populations. In 1990, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) opened an office in Salt Lake City to assist the growing number of refugees. In regards to resettlement, IRC offices help refugees establish themselves in a new community or assists in reuniting them with family members already in the United States. As refugees have established roots in the valley, the IRC office in Salt Lake City now spends equal time reuniting as it does resettling refugees. This change in the IRC’s Salt Lake City refugee resettlement process is a testament to the number of refugees that decide to remain in Utah.

Utah’s large increase in Muslims over the past fifty years is due, in part, to the many similarities between Muslims and members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. While there are major theological differences between Latter-day Saints (LDS) and Muslims, both religions have a belief in prophets, dietary restrictions, unique scriptural texts and are accustomed to persecution. These similarities have made it easy for Muslims to coexist with their LDS neighbors. In fact, most Muslims embrace life in Utah. A reoccurring theme among Utah Muslims is that Utah is the perfect place for raising a family. Indeed, it is easy to understand why LDS beliefs regarding the use of alcohol, conservative appearance and moral conduct have made Utah a comfortable place for Muslims to raise children and call home.

Although Utah’s Muslim population has effectively adapted to life in the Beehive State, it is not appropriate to conclude that it has assimilated. While the definition of assimilation is used in many different ways, for the purposes of this research it was defined as “integration into the civic mainstream” (Barrett 2007, 79). Clearly other definitions that classify assimilation as a complete acceptance of American popular culture– including secularism, extra-marital sex and use of alcohol– would make it impossible for Muslims, and even Latter-day Saints, from fully assimilating.

The primary reason Utah’s Muslim community has not assimilated is because there is little engagement outside of their community. The tightly knit natures of both the Muslim and LDS communities allow both religions to live harmoniously side by side with little interaction with the other. In fact, this is actually encouraged. Imam Muhammed Shoayb Mehtar, the Imam of Utah’s largest mosque, is vocal in his teachings that Mormons are not Ahl al-Kitab or People of the Book. This classification limits the way devout Muslims may interact with Latter-day Saints. Regardless of the theological accuracy of this teaching, it perpetuates the existing barrier that exists between these two communities. Equally insulated, Utah’s Latter-day Saints have historically and in many ways continue to isolate themselves from others. The common perception among non-Latter-day Saints is that the best way to integrate is to become LDS (Ahmed, 2010, 423). The introverted natures of both the Muslim and LDS communities have retarded assimilation in Utah.

While Utah’s Muslim and LDS communities remain separated this does not signify that there is no interaction. Established in 1999, the Salt Lake Interfaith Roundtable seeks to promote understanding, respect and dialogue between Utah’s many religious organizations (2009). This outreach is exemplified by the LDS church’s donations of $25,000 to the construction of a Utah Islamic Center mosque, Hindu temple and other places of worship (Ahmed, 2010, 415). While culturally separate, both Muslims and Latter-day Saints engage with each other, as well as other faiths, through an extensive interfaith outreach program.

In 1993, Samuel Huntington’s book, The Clash of Civilizations, predicted that cultural differences would be the greatest cause of future conflicts. Since then, the numerous conflicts between the Western and Islamic Civilizations have proven his predictions. The rise of radical violent jihadist organizations in the Islamic world and the political opposition toward mosques, minarets and niqabs in the West show that the cultural misunderstanding and hatred is mutual. However, in an American state that is practically unheard of abroad, Muslims have established a thriving community. In Utah, Muslims and Latter-day Saints have put aside their many differences to embrace their shared values. Living side-by-side, they are proof that Huntington’s views are more prediction than prophecy. While assimilation remains a complicated process in Utah, as elsewhere, both the state and its growing Muslim community deserve attention for the way they coexist in the desert.

Works Cited

  • Ahmed, Akbar. Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam. Washington, DC: Brookings Instiution Press, 2010.
  • Barrett, Paul M. “From American Muslims and the Question of Assimilation” in Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Muslim Integration: Challenging Conventional Wisdom in Europe and the United States, Washington, DC: CSIS, 2007.
  • Bayoumi, Moustafa. How Does It Feel to be a Problem. New York: Penguin Press, 2008.
  • Berlinski, Claire. Menace in Europe: Why the Continent’s Crisis is America’s, too. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2006.
  • MPI. Migration Policy Institute’s Data Hub. Utah: Social & Demographic Characteristics. http://www.migrationinformation.org/datahub/state.cfm?ID=UT (accessed December 1, 2010).
  • PewResearchCenter. Muslim Americans: Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream. New York: PewResearchCenter, 2007.
  • Salt Lake City Interfaith Roundtable. Goals & Objectives. http://interfaithroundtable.org/goals.htm (accessed December 10, 2010).