CPD University Fellow Rob Asghar in Christian Science Monitor

CPD University Fellow Rob Asghar published an article on July 4th in the Christian Science Monitor titled "The 'America Effect': How immigrants fall crazy in love". Reflecting on the experience of his family, originally from Pakistan, Asghar traces through the ways in which an American experience forever shapes the lives of immigrants who come to the nation: "Once you’re crazy in love with America, you begin to see life in a cockeyed manner, even if you try to resist it. You begin to believe you can pen the script of your own life, instead of allowing your family or your culture to write it for you," he says.

He also notes that the religious freedoms underscoring America's value system are in part helping to moderate latter-day Islam, citing recent polls of Muslim-Americans. In his own family, Asghar describes a "happy and productive tension" between traditional Pakistani values and American individualism. Ultimately, he says, "they will find that America changed their approach to life, just as it has changed everything else it has touched. They will see that America gave their traditions the slack they needed to adapt to a new era."

Read the full article here.

To read Rob's pieces on the CPD Blog, please follow this link.