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Light without Fire: The Making of America's First Muslim College
The story of America’s first Muslim institution of higher education, Zaytuna College
In the fall of 2010, anti-Muslim furor in the United States reached a breaking point, capping a decade in which such sentiment had surged. Loud, angry crowds gathered near New York’s Ground Zero to protest plans to build an Islamic cultural center, while a small-time Florida minister appeared on national television almost nightly promising to celebrate the anniversary of 9/11 with the burning of Korans. At the same time, fifteen devout Muslims quietly gathered in a basement in Berkeley, California, to execute a plan that had been coming together for over a to found Zaytuna College, “Where Islam Meets America.” It would be the nation’s first four-year Muslim liberal arts college, its mission to establish a thoroughly American, academically rigorous, and traditional indigenous Islam.
In Light without Fire , Scott Korb tells the story of the school’s founders, Sheikh Hamza Yusuf and Imam Zaid Shakir, arguably the two most influential leaders in American Islam, “rock stars” who, tellingly, are little known outside their community. Korb also introduces us to Zaytuna’s students, young American Muslims of all stripes who admire—indeed, love—their teachers in ways college students typically don’t and whose stories, told for the first time, signal the future of Islam in this country.
From a heady theology classroom to a vibrant storefront mosque, from the run-down streets Oakland to grand ballrooms echoing with America’s most powerful Muslim voices, Korb follows Zaytuna’s students and teachers as they find their place and their voice. He ultimately creates an intimate portrait of the school and provides a new introduction to Islam as it is being lived and re-envisioned in America. It’s no exaggeration to say that here, at Zaytuna, are tomorrow’s Muslim leaders.
In the fall of 2010, anti-Muslim furor in the United States reached a breaking point, capping a decade in which such sentiment had surged. Loud, angry crowds gathered near New York’s Ground Zero to protest plans to build an Islamic cultural center, while a small-time Florida minister appeared on national television almost nightly promising to celebrate the anniversary of 9/11 with the burning of Korans. At the same time, fifteen devout Muslims quietly gathered in a basement in Berkeley, California, to execute a plan that had been coming together for over a to found Zaytuna College, “Where Islam Meets America.” It would be the nation’s first four-year Muslim liberal arts college, its mission to establish a thoroughly American, academically rigorous, and traditional indigenous Islam.
In Light without Fire , Scott Korb tells the story of the school’s founders, Sheikh Hamza Yusuf and Imam Zaid Shakir, arguably the two most influential leaders in American Islam, “rock stars” who, tellingly, are little known outside their community. Korb also introduces us to Zaytuna’s students, young American Muslims of all stripes who admire—indeed, love—their teachers in ways college students typically don’t and whose stories, told for the first time, signal the future of Islam in this country.
From a heady theology classroom to a vibrant storefront mosque, from the run-down streets Oakland to grand ballrooms echoing with America’s most powerful Muslim voices, Korb follows Zaytuna’s students and teachers as they find their place and their voice. He ultimately creates an intimate portrait of the school and provides a new introduction to Islam as it is being lived and re-envisioned in America. It’s no exaggeration to say that here, at Zaytuna, are tomorrow’s Muslim leaders.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 12, 2014
In Light without Fire: The Making of America's First Muslim College by Scott Korb, we get a very compassionate, empathetic, alternating questioning-vs.-cheerleading take on the development of Zaytuna College in the San Francisco Bay Area. Korb receives inside access from the college's leadership to follow them and students around during the college's development. During this time, Korb clearly develops at attachment to both people and place. Yet he still remains detached enough to not lose all independent perspective.
Readers should note that this book is not a formal history. If you are looking for anything cited or scholarly, this isn't it; you'll have to research and write that yourself. This is more of a creative non-fiction approach, like a NYT Magazine feature on steroids. I have no objection to that approach, but it's something to know going in.
Light without Fire is short in pages but can feel a bit long at times due to the author's tendency to be a little to pleased with his own writing and ideas. Even though the college in very young, it feels like a lot of the material is filler and that more could be said. Korb makes it seem like an interesting story and place, so you want to hear more about it. It would have been nice to get that.
The most interesting aspect of the book has nothing to do with the development of the college and everything to do with the voices of young Muslim-Americans as they explain what their lives are like in today's America. That is where Korb truly captivates the reader.
It's an imperfect book. I wouldn't reread it, but it wasn't a waste of time, either. It was good for what it was.
(I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)
Readers should note that this book is not a formal history. If you are looking for anything cited or scholarly, this isn't it; you'll have to research and write that yourself. This is more of a creative non-fiction approach, like a NYT Magazine feature on steroids. I have no objection to that approach, but it's something to know going in.
Light without Fire is short in pages but can feel a bit long at times due to the author's tendency to be a little to pleased with his own writing and ideas. Even though the college in very young, it feels like a lot of the material is filler and that more could be said. Korb makes it seem like an interesting story and place, so you want to hear more about it. It would have been nice to get that.
The most interesting aspect of the book has nothing to do with the development of the college and everything to do with the voices of young Muslim-Americans as they explain what their lives are like in today's America. That is where Korb truly captivates the reader.
It's an imperfect book. I wouldn't reread it, but it wasn't a waste of time, either. It was good for what it was.
(I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)
June 19, 2014
Some books call out to you to share them with others. Recently I read Scott Korb’s book Light Without Fire about the first year at Zaytuna College, America’s first Muslim liberal arts college, and while reading it and since completing it, I can’t stop talking about it with others.
There are so many things to appreciate and admire about this book. To begin, it is rare to encounter an author who is able to talk about Islam/Muslims with honesty and sensitivity. In Light without Fire, the author’s admiration, warmth and connection with the people he meets shines from every page, and you get the sense that he is not a journalist simply watching Zaytuna from the sidelines, but someone who participates in the life of the community. When he visits the Lighthouse Mosque in Oakland for Friday prayers for instance, he lines up shoulder to shoulder with others in prayer. When he attends the mawlids (a celebration of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him), at Zaytuna or in the broader community, over time he becomes familiar with the poetry and sacred music that is recited.
His curiosity and engagement makes the book a very readable, thoughtful, interesting, important read, and one that rewards its reader generously for their time and attention. It makes the book a light, a book of beautiful writing, subtle humour, and humanity, that helps the reader see and understand Zaytuna College more clearly.
“Always carry a little notebook around with you. Whatever inspires you, or rings true for you, was meant for you. So make sure you write it down.” Faced with what Faatimah called “the obvious way” that the Zaytuna classroom – or really any classroom – was not like the rest of the world, and vice versa, every moment deserved the attention of a notetaker. Though the Zaytuna classroom might be structured with the books and schedules and tests that are the trappings of any classroom, what’s “out here” is no less important, structured as it is, she said “so much more by the divine.” The whole world is the classroom. She saw in it signs and proofs of Allah.” ~ (Light without Fire, p.110)
In the spirit of this advice to be a notetaker (given by Shaykh Yahya Rhodus), below are a few thoughts from my read.
The rest of the review can be found on my blog here: http://seriouslyplanning.wordpress.co...
There are so many things to appreciate and admire about this book. To begin, it is rare to encounter an author who is able to talk about Islam/Muslims with honesty and sensitivity. In Light without Fire, the author’s admiration, warmth and connection with the people he meets shines from every page, and you get the sense that he is not a journalist simply watching Zaytuna from the sidelines, but someone who participates in the life of the community. When he visits the Lighthouse Mosque in Oakland for Friday prayers for instance, he lines up shoulder to shoulder with others in prayer. When he attends the mawlids (a celebration of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him), at Zaytuna or in the broader community, over time he becomes familiar with the poetry and sacred music that is recited.
His curiosity and engagement makes the book a very readable, thoughtful, interesting, important read, and one that rewards its reader generously for their time and attention. It makes the book a light, a book of beautiful writing, subtle humour, and humanity, that helps the reader see and understand Zaytuna College more clearly.
“Always carry a little notebook around with you. Whatever inspires you, or rings true for you, was meant for you. So make sure you write it down.” Faced with what Faatimah called “the obvious way” that the Zaytuna classroom – or really any classroom – was not like the rest of the world, and vice versa, every moment deserved the attention of a notetaker. Though the Zaytuna classroom might be structured with the books and schedules and tests that are the trappings of any classroom, what’s “out here” is no less important, structured as it is, she said “so much more by the divine.” The whole world is the classroom. She saw in it signs and proofs of Allah.” ~ (Light without Fire, p.110)
In the spirit of this advice to be a notetaker (given by Shaykh Yahya Rhodus), below are a few thoughts from my read.
The rest of the review can be found on my blog here: http://seriouslyplanning.wordpress.co...
July 12, 2019
it's a good read if you want to be introduced to what the muslim-american experience is like and how muslim-american education could look like, but this book leaves much to be desired when it comes to the depth of its reflections.
April 15, 2025
My favorite part of this book was both the curiosity and critique of Zaytuna and the people who lead it, particularly Hamza Yusuf. I appreciated the contradiction of his vision, on the one hand he appreciates America for some of the freedoms it affords us, and thinks if Muslims hate it they should leave. But on the other hand he won't send his children to public school and thinks parts of America are facing moral decay. It also shows Yusuf's shortcomings when it comes to addressing the moral failings of America. Yusuf blames the private sphere of the home over looking more at the imapct of late stage capitalism of western soceities and the complex factors that lead people into a 'sinful life.' I think the idea of sinful behaviors is villified, when it needs compassion and needs to be viewed through a more dimensional lens. The purpose of the school is to blend Muslims into the fabric of American life, but yet he falls short of accepting any real diversity amongst Muslims, as seen with his homophobia and belief it is pathogenic. It is in contrast to the aims of the school which is critical thinking and engaging in a more pluralistic, diverse society. I loved how the book ended, which I won't give away, but it does make me think about the power of a charismatic leader and when that power will end. I think Korb balanced his viewpoints by not being overly critical of Yusuf, but just enough to probe the reader. It left me asking---how will Muslim consciousness change Zaytuna in the future and what will that mean for Yusuf?
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews