Al' America: Travels Through America's Arab and Islamic Roots

By Jonathan Curiel

Book Overview

Four out of ten Americans say they dislike Muslims, according to a Gallup poll. "Muslims," a blogger wrote on the Web site Free Republic, "don't belong in America." In a lively, funny, and revealing riposte to these sentiments, journalist Jonathan Curiel offers a fascinating tour through the little-known Islamic past, and present, of American culture.

From highbrow to pop, from lighthearted to profound, Al' America reveals the Islamic and Arab influences before our eyes, under our noses, and ringing in our ears. Curiel demonstrates that many of America's most celebrated places--including the Alamo in San Antonio, the French Quarter of New Orleans, and the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina--retain vestiges of Arab and Islamic culture. Likewise, some of America's most recognizable music--the Delta Blues, the surf sounds of Dick Dale, the rock and psychedelia of Jim Morrison and the Doors--is indebted to Arab music. And some of America's leading historical figures, from Ralph Waldo Emerson to Elvis Presley, relied on Arab or Muslim culture for intellectual sustenance.

Part travelogue, part cultural history, Al' America confirms a continuous pattern of give-and-take between America and the Arab Muslim world.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1595583521
• ISBN13: 9781595583529
• Release Date: December 2008
• Publisher: New Press
• Length: 246 Pages
• Weight: 0.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.6" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

A vivid and fascinating overview of cultural exchange; somewhat lacking in insight

This much-needed book from The New Press highlights Arabic influences on American culture in impressively varied areas- from architecture to language to fashion. After touching on the unfortunate displays of anti-Arab and anti-Islamic sentiment in the US in the wake of 9/11, Curiel sets out to demonstrate that Arab and Islamic culture isn't fundamentally incompatible with American culture, as some pundits would have you believe. On the contrary, elements of Arab culture can be found woven into the facades of buildings inspired by Moorish architecture (notably the Twin Towers) and in the background of the lives of some of our country's most famous icons (again demonstrating remarkable variety, those famous icons include both Ralph Waldo Emerson and Elvis.) After all, isn't that what the melting pot is all about? The prose is easy to read, and although the text is sprinkled with a handful of typos, the work is comprehensive, very well researched, and extensively footnoted. My only real complaint about the book is that it fails to reach just a little further. This is somewhat unfair of me, since the book perfectly achieves exactly what its subheading proclaims it to be: "Travels Through America's Arab and Islamic Roots." However, I found myself occasionally wishing that the author would curtail some of the detailed history in order to squeeze in more analysis or discussion of American sentiments about these cultural elements. It does me no good to know that there are buildings in the US with Islamic style arches if I don't know whether Americans tend to love or hate them. It's hard to see how half a chapter devoted to the storied history of coffee (fascinating as it may be, and eloquently as it may be related) does much to promote the author's ostensible goal of convincing American readers that they should welcome Arabic culture with open arms. The author attempts the difficult task of showing rather than telling, and on occasion he fails when the text seems to wander in this direction, giving detailed history without relating much of it back to the impact on contemporary American culture. However, when he succeeds, the book becomes a fantastic and eye-opening tour of important cultural history. It is at its best when it surprises us- more than once I felt my jaw drop ("No way the best-selling poet in America is a Persian cleric!") or resisted the urge to smack myself on the forehead ("I can't believe I never realized that song has Arabic influences!"). It is even better when it draws a human face over its research- for example, describing the young white man from a small town in Pennsylvania who speaks fluent Arabic and defends his Arabic calligraphy tattoo to skeptical Americans who confront him about it. In those moments, the book's message gracefully transcends its examples- not that varied cultures share a few details, but that they share a common humanity.

Informative, enjoyable and enlightening read on a topic of great interest

It's hard for many of us to come up with anything positive to say about Islam and Muslims. Most of what we hear and read about them in the news relate to murder, mayhem and misogyny, making it easy to fall into dichotomous thinking ("us" versus "them"). This is why books like Al' America are crucial in helping to develop a more balanced view. Jonathan Curiel culls together information that has long been scattered in various sources about all kinds of American things that have their roots in Arabic or Islamic culture, ranging from jazz and surf music to tattoos, America's favorite poet and Elvis Presley's favorite book. Some of these cultural staples you may know about already. Others may surprise you. The book helps the reader realize how much "we" are influenced by "them". Given the global reach of American ideas, it is crucial to understand how cultures influence each other. For example, Hollywood influences millions around the world in terms of film, music, fashion, values and more. But other cultures have their effects on America as well, even when "we" don't realize it and "they" don't have the power to advertise it. This book sheds light on this in relation to Arabic and Islamic culture. Al' America is written in an engaging and lively manner. It is also well-researched, with most of the information footnoted. This book is a critical addition to the library of anyone interested in current events, cultural studies, globalization and a broader and more balanced understanding of Islam and Muslims.

My Father Would Have Loved This Book

WHILE MY father was alive, no matter what the situation or the topic, he would invariably tell us with a great sense of pride, "You know, that came from the Arabs." As a child I was amazed how little the West had contributed to the development of mankind. My generation is now more fortunate than my father's when it comes to telling our children about the gifts Arabs and Muslims have given this country, because of San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Jonathan Curiel's wonderful new book, Al' America: Travel Through America's Arab and Islamic Roots. Curiel's discoveries are equally important for the average American, as demonstrated by a recent Gallup poll finding that four out of ten Americans say they dislike Muslims--even though 60 percent say they have never even meet a Muslim. Despite this fact, Curiel illustrates how Arab and Muslim culture have played a part in what we know as America. "It's not `their' culture," he writes, "but `ours.'...The culture of America." According to Curiel the influence of Arab culture is as American as apple pie--or, more specifically, as an ice cream cone. When the World's Fair came to St. Louis in 1904, Abe Doumar was there as well. He had come from Syria to sell holy water from the land of Christ. Next to Doumar's booth was Ernest Hamwi's stand. Hamwi was a fellow Syrian who was selling zalabia, a flat waffle-like sweet, which was and still is very popular in the city of Damascus. As fate would have it, the fair's ice cream vendors served their product in dishes which had to be returned and washed for the next customers. The demand for ice cream was so great that soon there were not enough dishes. Doumar came up with the brilliant idea of forming the zalabia into a cone shape and filling it with ice cream. And with that the ice cream cone was born. But the Arab/Muslim connection with America goes back even further. Christopher Columbus, who lived most of his adult life in Spain, spoke the Arabized Spanish of his time. When signing any document he gave himself the title of "Almirate," which in Spanish means commander, its root being the Arabic word "al-emir," the prince. Columbus gave credit where credit was due for his navigational skills: "The Jews and the Moors have influenced me for the better." When he landed on what is now Cuba, he wrote that he'd discovered a beautiful hilltop that would be a wonderful place to build a "mezquita," a mosque. As Spanish explorers conquered the new world and colonized the land, they brought along parts of the Muslim culture that had dominated their country for almost 700 years, especially the architecture. A striking example of Islamic inspiration is the doorway of the Alamo mission in San Antonio, Texas, built like the doorway of a mosque. Many of the African slaves forcefully transported to this country brought aspects of Islam with them as well. Curiel tells of a slave, Omer Ibn Said, who came from West Africa, laboring as someone else's property for five decad

A lively blend of history and racial insight

AL' AMERICA: TRAVELS THROUGH AMERICA'S ARAB AND ISLAMIC ROOTS reveals the Islamic and Arab influences within American culture, considering places, names, and the many examples of Islamic culture which permeate American roots from rock and blues music to leading historical figures who relied on Arab or Muslim culture for intellectual stimulation. Libraries strong in American culture and social issues will find this a lively blend of history and racial insight. Diane C. Donovan California Bookwatch

An outstanding cultural bridge

Jonathan paints a beautiful cultural picture of the Arabic/Islamic influence on American culture. From the Coffee we drink that originated in Yemen, to the Ice-Cream cone invented by a Syrian, to the Islamic design of the Alamo, to the influence on the Blues and Rock and Roll music.... He proves the point that cultures are not a stand alone islands, where we give and take from each others. This book helps balance the views that focus on the bad side ignoring the goodness in them.