Muslim Enclaves, Founding Values, and Assimilation

Let’s talk truth. America is about assimilation, “e pluribus unum,” or “from many, one.”  Without it, we fail. Maine is not Michigan, which has 241,000 Muslims and sees regular outbursts, assertions, and counters on Sharia Law. Maine has only 5000 Muslims, but assimilation is still vital.

So, consider five facts: 

First, Maine and the United States were founded by Christians. Those Christian values fortified the Mayflower pilgrims, a historical fact worth discussing at Thanksgiving. Those values fortified George Washington, Valley Forge to Yorktown, and his men – barefoot in snow – to take Trenton.

The courageous signers of our Declaration of Independence, the framers of our Constitution, and Americans from that time to the present have adhered to Christian values; our Republic is founded on principles such as individual liberty, limited government, respect for others, faith, charity, and love.

Wrote John Adams: “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” By religious, he meant conscience-centered, liberty-loving, and – while tolerant of others’ beliefs – historically Christian or Judeo-Christian.  

Second, our 1^st Amendment honors the sanctity of mind and heart, what Christians and Jews call “free will,” meaning we are invited to accept Biblical truths and a loving God, but we are never compelled to do so. Under no circumstances does coercion, forced worship, fit with America.

The wording of our Constitution’s 1^st Amendment is this: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof …” While much litigated, the goal: Government cannot force a specific brand of Biblical (or non-Biblical) learning on any citizen. Fearing government control by the Church of England, our Founders wanted “free exercise.”

Interestingly, however, “free exercise” and “free will” did not extend – nor has it in centuries of litigation – to any “religion” that mistreats others, involves abuse, forces itself on the unwilling, or masquerades as a faith but is in fact about dominion, domination, conscription, or compulsion.

Third, America was not only designed for a “moral people,” but was designed to absorb immigrants at a slow pace, not all at once, not in a way that undermined the moral or legal foundations of the Republic. Immigration required integration and assimilation, driven home through naturalization.

Fourth, perpetuation of the Republic required not just a slow pace for immigration, but acculturation or assimilation, appreciation for our language, values, history, civic institutions, and Constitution. The goal was never to superimpose other cultures on ours, nor to replace them.

To accept mass immigration from any culture tends to undermine assimilation, inviting enclaves which are not fully integrated into the nation – and conflict. To do so with religions or ideologies often at war with American values and allies is self-defeating, never part of the Founders’ intent.

Just the reverse: They envisioned a nation inviting and generous, but selective. They wanted – and we should – aspiring patriots, beholders of the American Dream, fighters for individual liberty, limited government, not those disrespecting our values. We want workers grateful for the miracle.

Fifth, our Constitution is not negotiable, cannot be made second to any culture, religion, or set of laws that down-values or seeks to replace the Christian values on which the Republic was founded.

This is not cultural prejudice, not ethnocentrism, nor disrespect for other nations, just a fundamental fact: The American culture is unique, free, and pluralistic., We love the world’s “tired, poor, huddled, and yearning.”  But those coming must love America and our values.

So, what does all this have to do with Muslim enclaves? Only this:  The missing piece is insufficient assimilation, full appreciation for American history, the Dream, our founding values, and how they work. Needed is not just paced immigration, but robust love for the Republic’s values. We are a generous people, but those who come here must love America – and abide by our founding values.

Theodore Roosevelt expressed it best: “We have room for but one flag, the American flag. We have room for but one language here, and this is the English language. We have room for but one sole loyalty, and that is a loyalty to America.

Robert Charles is a former Assistant Secretary of State under Colin Powell, former Reagan and Bush 41 White House staffer, Maine attorney, ten-year naval intelligence officer (USNR), and 25-year businessman. He wrote “Narcotics and Terrorism” (2003), “Eagles and Evergreens” (North Country Press, 2018), and “Cherish America: Stories of Courage, Character, and Kindness” (Tower Publishing, 2024). He is the National Spokesman for AMAC. Today, he is running to be Maine’s next Governor (please visit BobbyforMaine.com to learn more)!