American Islam: The Struggle for the Soul of a Religion

by Paul M. Barrett

Book Overview

There are as many as six million Muslims living in the United States, and in American Islam , Paul M. Barrett takes us into their homes, mosques, and private gatherings, from West Virginia to Los... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0374104239
• ISBN13: 9780374104238
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.4" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Islam in America

Paul Barrett takes us inside Islam in a number of places--Dearborn, Michigan, Los Angeles, California, and Knoxville, Tennessee, among others, but, more importantly, he takes us inside Islamists. He takes us where most of us have never been. Like Bob Woodward, Barrett is a thorough, persistent reporter who earns his interviews, gains the confidence of interviewees by being fair-minded and even-tempered. Barrett's special gift is in personalizing Islam, giving it a face, an American face, that leads us to important discoveries. Among others, we meet Osama Siblani, a volatile Michigan publisher; the remarkable Grace Song, the ivy-league MBA; Siraj Wahhaj, an Islamic holy man; and my favorite, Osra Nomani, a 21st Century woman in a West Virginia city suffused with an earlier time. The importance of American Islam should be self-evident. History is studded with the strengths and weaknesses of religious faiths. The ideological spectrum of all faiths is wide, and gaining an understanding of that spectrum is requisite to survival. The 12th Century Crusades wrought widespread misery, but their counterpart in our Century, whether Christian, Islamic or other, invites nuclear winter. So pick up this book. It's beautifully written, factual, revealing and enlightening. And, obviously, it's topical. Barrett helps us see that--if the Abrahamic faiths are to converge around their common core--they must come to a common understanding. To do less would violate in the deepest way the essential truth of each.

Vital Education, Perfectly Articulated

Since 9/11, but surely long before as well, I have understood as much as I suppose most Americans understand about Islam in America: very little. I have, of course, been inundated by the constant message of generalization about Muslims. The current administration's profiling of Muslims has only added to the distressingly large chance of misunderstanding. Paul Barrett's book is an amazing and powerful view of American Islam. By introducing us to real, individual people, of different backgrounds and experiences, Mr. Barrett helps break down some of these walls of generalization. As in any "category" of people, some espouse opinions most people might not like, some come across well and some do not, some show the courage of freedom and some show the cowardice of hate. But we are able to learn that we are people, and even in the words of the Quran it seems we are here to get to know each other better. "American Islam" should be required reading in current American civics classes--not to mention all levels and branches of government right now, today. American Muslims live in America, obviously; and this book gives us all a chance to stop seeing a category called "them" and start forging an understanding that will finally let us be an "us," regardless of religion or nation of origin.

Excellent book

I can't say enough about how much books like this are needed today. It shows us things that we definitly need to know about Muslims. The chapter that showed the majority of Muslims in America are intelligent college level people was refreshing. I learned alot when he talked about the Nation of Islam and how it gave people a negative image of Islam. I recommend people who want to learn more about the Nation and it's twisted ideas to read The autobigraphy of Malcolm X. It is time for books to published that show Islam in a better way than it is currently portrayed. I hope the author comes out with another book like it. Also check out Good Muslim, Bad Muslim: America, the Cold War, and the Roots of Terror.

An Honest and Insightful Look at American Muslims

As an American Muslim, I have found books published on Islam and Muslims, particularly since 9/11, unsatisfying. Those writing from outside the faith are prone to generalizations, distortions and condescension. Muslims authors, in contrast, are often either apologetic or strident or too beholden to the past to make their narrative compelling. It is not easy to tread a path between these two perspectives, which is why I am very happy to recommend Paul Barrett's book to the general reader and specialist alike. By focusing on American Muslims from diverse backgrounds (Publisher, Scholar, Imam, Feminist, Mystics, Webmaster, Activist), Barrett conveys the idea, more than any other writer I have come across, that Muslims are not a monolith, that like adherents of other faiths, they too can sustain conflicts and contradictions within and between themselves and yet are able to lead pious and caring lives. It takes insight and a feel for truth and humanity beneath the façade to write a book like this. Mr. Barrett does not gloss over the difficulties he encounters in trying to understand his subjects but neither is he quick to judgment or generalizations. He is after facts, not abstractions, and he never overstates his case. By subtly creating a context in which the Muslims are free to express their innermost thoughts, a remarkable feat by any definition, he draws out their stories in all their nuances and complexities. What these Muslims say about extreme jihadists and misguided clerics and how to defeat them are alone worth the price of the book. This is an engaging book on a difficult topic written in lucid language that I can honestly say I found deeply satisfying.

Fascinating insights about the diverse American Muslim community

This is a very interesting and well written book about an almost mysterious subject: American Muslims. During this time of "clash of civilizations" and "War on terror" what are the several millions of Muslims that live among ourselves like? Not so unexpectedly, they are incredibly diverse. Their faith, behavior, and profile are very fragmented as underlined in the subtitle of the book "The Struggle for the Soul of a Religion." The author has interviewed and profiled many of them. They make for fascinating subjects. As can be expected, they are not supportive of the White House Administration foreign policy since 9/11. However, on the whole they seem surprisingly Americanized. As a group, they are very well educated as 59% of them have college degrees vs only 28% for the average American. Also, their average income is significantly higher than average. In other words, Muslims are very well integrated and successful American citizen unlike their counterparts in Europe. The author analyzes well why American Muslims are well integrated while European ones are not. U.S. unemployment benefits are modest and short in duration. On the other hand, job and business opportunities for anyone with smarts and entrepreneurship are relatively plentiful. Outright discrimination against Muslims, even if prevalent, is not an insurmountable obstacle towards success. Just the reverse is true in Europe. Unemployment benefits are extremely generous and permanent. Meanwhile, tacit discrimination in the workplace is rampant and makes it nearly impossible for Muslims to get descent jobs in Europe. As a result, European Muslims are marginalized , frustrated, and unsuccessful. They in turn more readily join radical local groups. The author covers the many different Muslims subcultures within the U.S. The Iranians in Southern California are very different from the Arabs in Michigan. Also, the black Muslim community has a unique cultural flavor of its own with one of the longest lineage. Undeniably some pockets are associated with a certain level of threatening religious fundamentalism. But, on the whole you sense that the Muslim community is certainly much less beligerent towards America within our borders than without. Paul Barrett does a good job of educating us on what the Muslims who live among ourselves are like. This should moderate the level of prejudice one may have vs this community. If you are interested in this subject I also recommend the book "While Europe Slept" and the movie "The Hamburg Cell." Both show a much dire picture of the lack of integration of the Muslim community within the European continent. After reading these different books and seeing the mentioned movie, it makes you glad to live in the U.S. maybe even if you are a Muslim.