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What's Right with Islam Is What's Right With America: A New Vision for Muslims and the West
An American imam offers answers for today's toughest questions about Islam, and a vision for a reconciliation between Islam and the West. One of the pressing questions of our time is what went wrong in the relationship between Muslims and the West. Continuing global violence in the name of Islam reflects the deepest fears by certain Muslim factions of Western political, cultural, and economic encroachment. The solution to the current antagonism requires finding common ground upon which to build mutual respect and understanding. Who better to offer such an analysis than an American imam, someone with a foot in each world and the tools to examine the common roots of both Western and Muslim cultures; someone to explain to the non-Islamic West not just what went wrong with Islam, but what's right with Islam. Focused on finding solutions, not on determining fault, this is ultimately a hopeful, inspiring book. What's Right with Islam systematically lays out the reasons for the current dissonance between these cultures and offers a foundation and plan for improved relations. Wide-ranging in scope, What's Right with Islam elaborates in satisfying detail a vision for a Muslim world that can eventually embrace its own distinctive forms of democracy and capitalism, aspiring to a new Cordoba - a time when Jews, Christians, Muslims, and all other faith traditions will live together in peace and prosperity.
336 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
18 people are currently reading
452 people want to read
About the author
Feisal Abdul Rauf
10 books26 followersImam Feisal is Chairman of the Cordoba Initiative, an organization that brings together leaders across the Muslim-West divide to speak out for innovative, proactive, and positive solutions to shared challenges. In this capacity, Cordoba Initiative can provide novel solutions to those areas where conflict between Islamic and Western communities undermine local and global security.
In 1997, Imam Feisal also co- founded the American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA); the first Muslim organization committed to building bridges between Muslims and the American public by elevating the discourse on Islam through educational outreach, interfaith collaboration, culture and arts.
Background: Born of Egyptian parentage and educated in England, Egypt, and Malaysia, Imam Feisal holds a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Columbia University in New York and a Master of Science in Plasma Physics from Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey.
Published Work: What’s Right with Islam Is What’s Right with America (HarperCollins, 2005); Islam: A Sacred Law (Threshold Books, 2000); Islam: A Search for Meaning (Mazda Publishers,1996); “What is Islamic Law?” Mercer Law Review (2006); “Justification & Theory of Sharia Law: How the American Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights and Constitution are Consistent with Islamic Jurisprudence” University of St. Thomas Law (2010); and Moving the Mountain: Beyond Ground Zero to a New Vision of Islam in America (Free Press, 2012).
In 1997, Imam Feisal also co- founded the American Society for Muslim Advancement (ASMA); the first Muslim organization committed to building bridges between Muslims and the American public by elevating the discourse on Islam through educational outreach, interfaith collaboration, culture and arts.
Background: Born of Egyptian parentage and educated in England, Egypt, and Malaysia, Imam Feisal holds a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Columbia University in New York and a Master of Science in Plasma Physics from Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey.
Published Work: What’s Right with Islam Is What’s Right with America (HarperCollins, 2005); Islam: A Sacred Law (Threshold Books, 2000); Islam: A Search for Meaning (Mazda Publishers,1996); “What is Islamic Law?” Mercer Law Review (2006); “Justification & Theory of Sharia Law: How the American Declaration of Independence, Bill of Rights and Constitution are Consistent with Islamic Jurisprudence” University of St. Thomas Law (2010); and Moving the Mountain: Beyond Ground Zero to a New Vision of Islam in America (Free Press, 2012).
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
July 20, 2007
To moderate muslims, the idea generated by Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf is not exactly new. The fact that the US constitution and Al-Quran have similar values are something familiar to those who cares enough to find out what goes wrong in the practice of both values so the world now recognize the US as Islam's greatest nemesis and vice versa. However, this book is so well researched it might also encourage those the non-believers of the possibility that Islam and the US will one day reach a peace settlement to side track.
August 20, 2010
I give this 4 stars not because the book is especially well written or insightful in itself but because it helps to understand the thinking of the main sponsor of the controversial Islamic Center in Lower Manhattan. Imam Rauf presents the views of a man passionately committed to dialog between America and the Muslim world. He is idealistic (some might say naive), but it's hard to question the sincerity of his commitment.
One issue I have is that on the one hand he emphasizes that the Abrahamic faiths share core values, values that are also part of American life. But that leaves open the place of Buddhists and Hindus and of secular humanists. Rauf in some places emphasizes the Abrahamic faiths and at other times includes the values of non-monotheistic religions. He less often includes the values of nontheists, and it's not clear what place he accords them in the grand dialog that he has in mind.
One issue I have is that on the one hand he emphasizes that the Abrahamic faiths share core values, values that are also part of American life. But that leaves open the place of Buddhists and Hindus and of secular humanists. Rauf in some places emphasizes the Abrahamic faiths and at other times includes the values of non-monotheistic religions. He less often includes the values of nontheists, and it's not clear what place he accords them in the grand dialog that he has in mind.
November 12, 2010
Imam Rauf is the main person behind Park51, formerly known as the Cordoba House, and erroneously known as the mosque at Ground Zero. He has come under fire for his supposed support of terrorism. Those who hold this view as well as anyone interested in what one Muslim leader has to say about Islam and the West, should read this book. I liked the book so much I bought it and I plan to refer to it when I write posts for my blog and as I grow as a Muslim. Rauf is an intelligent and thoughtful writer and well worth listening to. I highly recommend this book.
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June 13, 2012Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, an American citizen and a native of Egypt, shared clearly his perspective on what he believes is right with Islam and what is wright with America.
A good contribution to interfaith dialogue and the on going conversation on America, Islam and the West.
I recommend it to all those interested in this area.
A good contribution to interfaith dialogue and the on going conversation on America, Islam and the West.
I recommend it to all those interested in this area.
March 6, 2007
I learned about God & America & how democratic capitalism fulfills the Abrahamic ethic to love one's neighbor as oneself.
April 26, 2011
What's Right with Islam is an interesting and important book, but is also a book which unfortunately suffers from its attempts to cover a lot of different aspects of the relationship between Islam and the West (and, more specifically sometimes, Islam and secularized modernity), sacrificing depth in favor of breadth.
Feisal Abdul Rauf's book is arguably three separate books rolled into one:
1. An apologetics for Islam.
2. An argument for the compatibility of Islam with the other Abrahamic faiths and with the West (and, particularly, with the United States).
3. A roadmap for closing the schism between the Muslim world and the West.
Admittedly, Imam Rauf has to tread some difficult ground here, at least with regards to this book's American audience. His apologetics is based on a fairly conservative, literal interpretation of Islam and the other Abrahamic faiths and should, in theory at least, be appealing to conservative theologians and evangelical Christians in the United States. His calls for bringing the Muslim world and the West closer together, however, rest on assumptions and attitudes about America's foreign policy and standing in the world that is likely to sit much more comfortably with liberals than with conservatives. His argument for the compatibility of Islam with the West, in turn, straddles the political spectrum - while conservatives may accept (and liberal secularists may reject) his arguments for the compatibility of religion with modern liberal democracy, his support for certain particulars of the full acceptance of Islam in the West (such as the use of sharia law in some cases as a form of arbitration) are likely to be rejected by conservatives (and likely to receive a warmer welcome from liberal multiculturalists).
The book's primary weakness, however, is that while it covers a lot of ground, it often does not deal with any particular stretch of ground with any significant depth or intellectual rigor. This is not to say that this is by any means a stupid book. There are plenty of moments where Imam Rauf's wisdom and erudition peek through. Rather, it is just that the book frequently raises issues and questions that one wishes were more thoroughly and rigorously explored. For example, while one can't help but admire Rauf's optimism and his insistence that we must approach the relationship between the Muslim world and the West with a positive attitude that focuses on all that we have in common, no attempt has been made to address more intractable issues such as how to deal with bad actors who will continue to plague both sides of any attempt at moving toward reconciliation and peace.
Despite its flaws, however, this book will be of at least some interest to people who are interested in the relationship between Islam and the West, and also to people interested in the "God wars" and the role of religion and faith in the modern world.
Feisal Abdul Rauf's book is arguably three separate books rolled into one:
1. An apologetics for Islam.
2. An argument for the compatibility of Islam with the other Abrahamic faiths and with the West (and, particularly, with the United States).
3. A roadmap for closing the schism between the Muslim world and the West.
Admittedly, Imam Rauf has to tread some difficult ground here, at least with regards to this book's American audience. His apologetics is based on a fairly conservative, literal interpretation of Islam and the other Abrahamic faiths and should, in theory at least, be appealing to conservative theologians and evangelical Christians in the United States. His calls for bringing the Muslim world and the West closer together, however, rest on assumptions and attitudes about America's foreign policy and standing in the world that is likely to sit much more comfortably with liberals than with conservatives. His argument for the compatibility of Islam with the West, in turn, straddles the political spectrum - while conservatives may accept (and liberal secularists may reject) his arguments for the compatibility of religion with modern liberal democracy, his support for certain particulars of the full acceptance of Islam in the West (such as the use of sharia law in some cases as a form of arbitration) are likely to be rejected by conservatives (and likely to receive a warmer welcome from liberal multiculturalists).
The book's primary weakness, however, is that while it covers a lot of ground, it often does not deal with any particular stretch of ground with any significant depth or intellectual rigor. This is not to say that this is by any means a stupid book. There are plenty of moments where Imam Rauf's wisdom and erudition peek through. Rather, it is just that the book frequently raises issues and questions that one wishes were more thoroughly and rigorously explored. For example, while one can't help but admire Rauf's optimism and his insistence that we must approach the relationship between the Muslim world and the West with a positive attitude that focuses on all that we have in common, no attempt has been made to address more intractable issues such as how to deal with bad actors who will continue to plague both sides of any attempt at moving toward reconciliation and peace.
Despite its flaws, however, this book will be of at least some interest to people who are interested in the relationship between Islam and the West, and also to people interested in the "God wars" and the role of religion and faith in the modern world.
December 28, 2008
Another reviewer called this book "fluffy" and he is correct as it is a little too feel good. I am impressed with the individualism of Rauf but his brand of Islam is tending towards the relativist and seems to make Islam into nothing more than a form of gnosticism.
His stated principles of openness, inter-Faith, and re-assertion of the ethic of want for your neighbor what you want for yourself are a part and parcel of the Islamic tradition but must be pursued without diluting the differences and distinctions.
I do believe he makes compelling points that for any faithful reader of both civilizations are obvious about the convergence between Democratic principles and Islamic principles. I understand the scope of this book was limited but it should call for a new "We" as Tariq Ramadan says in which we understand the crisis is not just amongst Muslims but Westerners as well. His call for constitutional monarchy in Saudia Arabia is naive and wrong headed as what's needed there is not monarchy in any form and constitutional monarchy is a Western phenomenon in my opinion that will not be accepted in the Muslim world.
His stated principles of openness, inter-Faith, and re-assertion of the ethic of want for your neighbor what you want for yourself are a part and parcel of the Islamic tradition but must be pursued without diluting the differences and distinctions.
I do believe he makes compelling points that for any faithful reader of both civilizations are obvious about the convergence between Democratic principles and Islamic principles. I understand the scope of this book was limited but it should call for a new "We" as Tariq Ramadan says in which we understand the crisis is not just amongst Muslims but Westerners as well. His call for constitutional monarchy in Saudia Arabia is naive and wrong headed as what's needed there is not monarchy in any form and constitutional monarchy is a Western phenomenon in my opinion that will not be accepted in the Muslim world.
July 15, 2013
Terrific, and just as relevant (unfortunately) in 2013 as in 2005 when it was published, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf presents his faithful understanding of Islam and the best of American traditions and promises. His recommendations for action seeking understanding, building peace, and honoring our different gifts is particularly excellent, for their practicability and because they summarize well his imagining and solutions that would create a more tolerant and peaceful world. Recommended for small group study.
October 6, 2010
Written by the Imam of the controversial Cordoba House (aka "Ground Zero Mosque") the book pleads for Jews, Christians and Muslims to put aside their differences and work together, as members of the Abrahamic faith, to make the world a better place.
I started this book to better understand Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf's ideology. This book and his moderate views make me even more passionate about our need to reach out to America's moderate Muslims.
I started this book to better understand Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf's ideology. This book and his moderate views make me even more passionate about our need to reach out to America's moderate Muslims.
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June 11, 2011I live in a community where many of my neighbors are Muslim. I'm also very curious about different religions and what commonalities they share. This book provides an excellent explanation of the how Islam, Christian and Judaism intersect.It also answered a lot of questions I had about Islam, too, in regards to women. Rauf does an excellent job at explaining what originated from the Quaran and what originated from an area's culture.
August 25, 2011
A great discussion and analysis of what Islam is and what it is not. Islam is so closely aligned to to our Western religions--belief in one God and unbending love of that God and do not do to others what you would not have them do to you. Democracy, good deeds, and religious tolerence. Islam is not an alien religion. We have just made it alien because the bad guys have co-opted Islam for their own use. Resist.
June 8, 2016
I thought this book was good at laying out some of the reasons for culture clash between Muslims and non-Muslims in America, but I could not agree with some of his policy suggestions. I'd recommend it for someone who does not know much about Islam and is interested in learning more.
March 1, 2008
A little dissappointing. Perhaps this is a better book for those who are new to Islam or interested in learning more, but I felt it was a little too 'fluffy'.
October 28, 2008
Buku keren... aku dapat versi Bahasa Indonesianya...dan lumayan dapet juga tanda tangan imam feisalnya langsung
September 8, 2014
A look at the ways that Islam and American democracy meet philosophically.
May 9, 2009
Written to answer popular demand after 9/11, a New York-based Islamic Imam compares cultures and religions: Indo-Europeans are "nouns" and Arabs are "verbs."
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August 25, 2010Current events
Read
February 28, 2010Current events
May 16, 2010
Rauf is an imam in the US. He gives the average American reader an education in Muslim/Islamic and American history and how the histories of the US and Middle East converge.
Read
April 26, 2012A must read for anyone interested in bridging the gap between Jews, Christians, Muslims and other people of faith.
June 17, 2012
His account of western history is awful, but who cares? The underlying message is not thereby diminished. This would have been better if a shorter work could have offered comparable prestige.
October 20, 2014
A Good Book..trying to give a clear defination of Islam especially in America.
May 2, 2017
Very interesting.
March 12, 2016
An excellent analysis of major issues in the world today and ideas on possible peaceful solutions.
June 6, 2024
PROPOSALS FOR BRIDGING THE CHASM BETWEEN AMERICA AND ISLAM
Feisal Abdul Rauf (born 1948) is an American Sufi imam, author, and activist who served as Imam of Masjid al-Farah, a mosque located twelve blocks from for former World Trade Center. In 2010, Rauf was involved in plans to build Park 51, an Islamic Community Center, two blocks from Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan.
He wrote in the Preface to this 2004 book, “All the questions in this book were among those asked during my post-September 11 lectures, and I’m grateful to all the questioners who especially delighted in asking the tough ones… Since September 11, a religion I love… has become broadly perceived in the United States as a national security threat, while America, a land whose values I cherish, has aroused broad antagonism and anguish in much of the Muslim world. Today American Muslims bear the pain of witnessing this growing divide, and my fellow Americans have challenged me to offer some urgently needed fresh ideas on how to bridge this yawning chasm… how DO we heal the relationship between the Muslim world and the West? This is the critical question of our time, and as an American Muslim fulfilling the obligations of an imam, I am compelled to attempt an answer.” (Pg. xviii-xix)
He suggests, “Muslims must dismiss neither the West nor their own tradition but instead study and understand both, in order to value what can be admired and discard what is not relevant and to demonstrate and debate our position in simple and clear language… There is much in the Muslim experience that is as valuable to itself as it can be to the West, as there is much in the Western experience that is valuable to Muslims. Muslims today are in need of a revival of the religious sciences that speaks as profoundly to the eternal as to the contemporary human condition, and most of all, Muslims must do this with honesty, attention to truth, and beauty of character.” (Pg. 77)
He states, “The American way of life as expressed in the Declaration and Constitution is itself an essential part---although not all---of what Muslims include in their notion of religion and religious law. If we accept that this American Creed manifests its own religious quality, then we can begin to understand the Muslim position that religion and state can never be truly separate.” (Pg. 103)
He argues, “The origins of so-called Islamic violence lie not in religion but in the politics and economics of the Muslim world. Without greater participation in governance and a healthy economy, scenes of unrelenting poverty and extreme frustration will continue to characterize much of the Middle East. This combination of conditions creates a fertile breeding ground for extremist philosophies and terrorism.” (Pg. 151)
He comments, “Many hope that with a genuine peace between Israel and Palestine… mutual respect will sprout once again. Because many Muslims in the Muslim world no longer grow up with and know personally any Jews, is it any wonder that the tension between the faith communities has become increasingly violent?” (Pg. 170)
He laments, “The Salafiyyah movement aimed to restore the original Islam in the modern context, which as we know is the eternal challenge all religions face… Today, the movement is no longer in operation. Its ideas have unfortunately been overshadowed by fundamentalist reactions, and the term … is applied inaccurately (in terms of its original intent) to groups who believe in applying Islamic law rigidly rather than adapting it to modern times.” (Pg. 203)
He concludes, “The United States has a greater destiny than to be perceived as the schoolyard bully of the twenty-first century. We have a higher spiritual calling than self-centered unilateralism. Throughout its history, America has been a beacon of hope for so many around the world. Its role as keeper and bringer of hope has left no doubt about what is right with America. This heritage is why the world wants to like us; and this is the true, good role to which we should always aspire, even when the path is steep and the misunderstanding that divides us from other cultures is profound. We have two profound tools with which to bridge the chasm separating the United States from the Muslim world: faith in the basic goodness of humanity and trust in the power of sincerity and dialogue to overcome differences with our fellow human beings.” (Pg. 282)
This is a very thought-provoking book, that will be of great interest to those concerned with American/Islamic relations, and with Muslims in America.
Feisal Abdul Rauf (born 1948) is an American Sufi imam, author, and activist who served as Imam of Masjid al-Farah, a mosque located twelve blocks from for former World Trade Center. In 2010, Rauf was involved in plans to build Park 51, an Islamic Community Center, two blocks from Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan.
He wrote in the Preface to this 2004 book, “All the questions in this book were among those asked during my post-September 11 lectures, and I’m grateful to all the questioners who especially delighted in asking the tough ones… Since September 11, a religion I love… has become broadly perceived in the United States as a national security threat, while America, a land whose values I cherish, has aroused broad antagonism and anguish in much of the Muslim world. Today American Muslims bear the pain of witnessing this growing divide, and my fellow Americans have challenged me to offer some urgently needed fresh ideas on how to bridge this yawning chasm… how DO we heal the relationship between the Muslim world and the West? This is the critical question of our time, and as an American Muslim fulfilling the obligations of an imam, I am compelled to attempt an answer.” (Pg. xviii-xix)
He suggests, “Muslims must dismiss neither the West nor their own tradition but instead study and understand both, in order to value what can be admired and discard what is not relevant and to demonstrate and debate our position in simple and clear language… There is much in the Muslim experience that is as valuable to itself as it can be to the West, as there is much in the Western experience that is valuable to Muslims. Muslims today are in need of a revival of the religious sciences that speaks as profoundly to the eternal as to the contemporary human condition, and most of all, Muslims must do this with honesty, attention to truth, and beauty of character.” (Pg. 77)
He states, “The American way of life as expressed in the Declaration and Constitution is itself an essential part---although not all---of what Muslims include in their notion of religion and religious law. If we accept that this American Creed manifests its own religious quality, then we can begin to understand the Muslim position that religion and state can never be truly separate.” (Pg. 103)
He argues, “The origins of so-called Islamic violence lie not in religion but in the politics and economics of the Muslim world. Without greater participation in governance and a healthy economy, scenes of unrelenting poverty and extreme frustration will continue to characterize much of the Middle East. This combination of conditions creates a fertile breeding ground for extremist philosophies and terrorism.” (Pg. 151)
He comments, “Many hope that with a genuine peace between Israel and Palestine… mutual respect will sprout once again. Because many Muslims in the Muslim world no longer grow up with and know personally any Jews, is it any wonder that the tension between the faith communities has become increasingly violent?” (Pg. 170)
He laments, “The Salafiyyah movement aimed to restore the original Islam in the modern context, which as we know is the eternal challenge all religions face… Today, the movement is no longer in operation. Its ideas have unfortunately been overshadowed by fundamentalist reactions, and the term … is applied inaccurately (in terms of its original intent) to groups who believe in applying Islamic law rigidly rather than adapting it to modern times.” (Pg. 203)
He concludes, “The United States has a greater destiny than to be perceived as the schoolyard bully of the twenty-first century. We have a higher spiritual calling than self-centered unilateralism. Throughout its history, America has been a beacon of hope for so many around the world. Its role as keeper and bringer of hope has left no doubt about what is right with America. This heritage is why the world wants to like us; and this is the true, good role to which we should always aspire, even when the path is steep and the misunderstanding that divides us from other cultures is profound. We have two profound tools with which to bridge the chasm separating the United States from the Muslim world: faith in the basic goodness of humanity and trust in the power of sincerity and dialogue to overcome differences with our fellow human beings.” (Pg. 282)
This is a very thought-provoking book, that will be of great interest to those concerned with American/Islamic relations, and with Muslims in America.
November 18, 2023
Very interesting
July 14, 2018
This book is an amazingly insightful explanation of what Islam is really about to the majority of Muslims and how so many Americans uphold American values in large part due to their Muslim faith--because the values of Islam and America are the same in so many very important ways.
August 23, 2007
Baik utk meluruskan persepsi negatif tentang Islam
July 9, 2011
Very good book, well written. Touched on some similarities between Islam and Christianity.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews