The New York City Muslim World Day Parade fits right into our previous discussion of both the festivals of Mexican Americans for Our Lady of Guadalupe and the Italian Americans for Our Lady of Mt. Caramel. It is an Islamic festival, although run principally by South Asians (see the picture below), to express their ideas as a community, or to “show their communities’ strength” according to organizers.
I found it interesting when Slyomovics stated that “Muslims in New York City, in order to gain political and economic power, are reconfiguring religion into ethnicity to gain advantage of the discourse of ethnicity.” I questioned this statement at first, believing from the rest of the text, that it was solely about exhibiting Islam. However, I then realized that lines still exist very much among different ethnic peoples who are Muslim; for example, Muslims of African American descent are still not on the same wavelength as the South Asians. Slyomovics says that, “…parade organizers…must negotiate the paradoxical task of reconciling their pan-Islamic aspirations…and the need to distance themselves from the stigmatized race of African Americans.” This is reminiscent of the discussion we had yesterday, on the prejudices that exist everywhere; this is a perfect example. On a different note, the political aspect of the parade pointed to reminds me how the Mexicans sought to gain political rights and recognition as Mexican-Americans through the demonstration of the Stations of the Cross. In both cases, “many ethnic parades insist that Americanness resides in dual identification: to be a member of a specific ethnic subgroup is to be an American” (Schneider as qtd. by Slyomovics).
Also like the Italians with the statue of the Madonna and the Mexicans with the man dressed up as Jesus, the Muslims incorporate signs into the parade. Banners are commonly held, with important sayings of the Koran or representing different Islamic organizations throughout New York. A float has also been presented once at the parade, making a very grand statement as the giant Kaaba (a sacred shrine in Mecca) made it’s way through the streets.
This parade interests me because it isn’t as clear cut as the one I have attended in the summers. The Italian American fair is very apparently both religious and ethnic, a display and celebration for Italian Catholics to honor the Madonna. However, this NYC Muslim World Day can be interpreted a variety of ways: as a religious gathering for Muslims, an ethnic statement for South Asians or a political call for attention as Americans. Which do you consider it to be?
