Taking Back Islam: American Muslims Reclaim Their Faith

by Michael Wolfe (editor), Producers of Beliefnet (Editor)

Now Available in Paperback!

Leading authorities discuss the past, present and future of Islam.

Islam, the least understood of the world's great religions, is balanced on a precipice between the past and the future, between fanatical fundamentalists and progressives advocating peace. Noted Islamic authority Michael Wolfe moderates 35 expert speakers, writers and leaders, including Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) and Karen Armstrong, the best-selling author of A History of God and Islam. They discuss the future of Islam, tear down false stereotypes, review the historical realities that have shaped the religion, and examine paradoxes and schisms within the faith.

At a time when every Muslim is forced to defend his faith and Americans are curious about Islam's basic tenets, this book answers many questions at the same time that it ponders both the danger and promise of the future.

Genres: Islam, Religion, Nonfiction, Middle East

240 pages, Paperback

First published November 16, 2002

About the author

Michael Wolfe (born 3 April 1945) is a Muslim American poet, author, and the President and Executive Producer of Unity Productions Foundation. He is a frequent lecturer on Islamic issues at universities across the United States including Harvard, Georgetown, Stanford, SUNY Buffalo, and Princeton. He holds a degree in Classics from Wesleyan University.

Reviews

[Matthew Moes · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book will go nicely on your coffee table to fill those waiting moments or spark conversation with your guests. Composed of over 40 brief entries written by or about Muslims on a variety of subjects pertaining to the Islamic experience in America, it offers views and insights that will challenge the prevailing notions of both Muslim and non-Muslim readers. While I wrestled with some essays that seemed to throw caution to the wind on controversial issues, I could still see the overall benefit in essays that provoke the re-examination of common assumptions. I especially enjoyed the sections on culture, "Vibrant" Islam, and "Why I Love Being Muslim".

The premise of the book is that the silent majority of "moderate" Muslims need to speak up and define themselves, in contrast to the distorted characterization Islam has suffered in the American media since 9/11. One very significant point this book illustrates is that Islam is not a monolith, and while Muslims are able to unite (for the most part) side-by-side in the same mosques for prayer, there are many issues that Muslims hold a variety of opinions on. In fact, in some ways I am afraid this book fails to fully capture the breadth of Muslim opinion. But if it is widely read, it will certainly provoke discussion and important questions for Muslims to consider. For example, I am sure many Muslims will take issue with the new "Progressive Muslim" movement's undertones in a few chapters, though I must reiterate, the questions provoked by Progressives need to be taken seriously. American Muslim youth will certainly ask them and will probably not be satisfied with the "this is what we found our father's doing" type of answers. Instead we need answers that balance our traditions against the continuous need for renewal.

Also, the issue of interfaith acceptance is theologically oversimplified, characterized by a perennial approach to religion. For example, Shaykh Kabir Helminski offers a novel universal reading to the Quranic verses about Islam, stating that properly understood, islam, with a small i, means submission to God, thus being widely applicable to those seeking a state of submission in general. Regardless of the theological debate, the section of essays on this subject do provide excellent examples of the degree of tolerance and allowance in Islam for peaceful co-existence with other faiths.

Similarly, the two separate sections on violence and democracy helped to provide an accurate portrait of the Islamic stance on these two issues - a stance that is strikingly in consonance with American ideals: War becomes morally necessary in defense of justice; Democracy, or rule by consensus, is intrinsic to good government. Yet again, I think many Muslims would take issue with the indictments in this book against Muslims or Muslim groups whose responsibility for the 9-11 attacks were fed to the public by the media and became the unsubstantiated pretext for the way the Bush government responded in Afghanistan and Iraq. These issues were not necessarily within the scope of the book. But I think it is unfortunate that in order to be politically correct, Muslims are indulging in blanket criticisms that gel with the prevailing notions of the day without engaging a more responsible academic inquiry into the conditions and circumstances of groups such as so-called "Wahhabis", the Taliban, or even Al-Qaeda. This is not to say we must endorse them, any more than we must endorse so-called "Progressives". But it is important that we learn from our condition rather than simply go with the crowd in condemning it.

In spite of the above, I think the benefit in this volume definitely lies in the discussion it generates and far outweighs the cautions I offered above. If not taken as a monolithic "progressive" stance, it represents a worthwhile cross-section of American Islam. It should be read and discussed for this reason. I will pinpoint some of my personal highlights:

Among the first chapters is Ingrid Matteson's essay on the special obligation of American Muslims in the world. She discusses some of the ways we need to live up to this obligation better. But certainly, as much as the brain drain has adversely affected Muslim countries that have lost their best-educated and skillful citizens, America has reaped the benefits. America can boast the most highly educated and wealthiest (by average) Muslims in the world. So it is without doubt that American Muslims must uphold their Islamic social values and work against injustice with both foreign and domestic interests in mind.

Karen Armstrong makes at least three different contributions throughout the book, tackling some issues in the opening section, but also addressing the questions of violence and democracy in Islam. She is well known for her contributions to the body of interfaith literature and her writings here lend well in this respect. Shaykh Ahmed Abdur Rashid `s debunking of six common myths about Islam was also insightful. He discussed common misconceptions about Muslims being monolithic, puritanical, evangelical, premodern, militant, and religiously intolerant. It is as important that these false impressions be corrected in both Muslim and non-Muslim arenas.

Speaking of militancy, Khaled Abou El Fadl provides an analysis of comparative views in Islamic jurisprudence on Jihad that is a good primer for much needed discussion on the appropriate place of war in Islam. Unfortunately, the subject has become taboo for Muslims to discuss due to ongoing random cases of trumped-up legal indictments against Muslims who are well known in their communities to have been decent law abiding Americans. This is unfortunate since the best way to prevent extremism is to be able to discuss the issue of Jihad and its rightful place in Islam in an open free-speech environment of academic honesty. Post-9/11 apologetics will not uproot the boiling resentment that tragically festers into attempts at vigilante justice.

I found the interview with Farid Esack to offer a balanced multidimensional view of the politics behind the global tensions we are faced with today. I especially enjoyed his analogy of the older brother used in the last part of the interview to discuss some of the problems Americans have in perceiving themselves in the modern world. Islam aside, the most important question 9/11 should have elicited amongst Americans is - Why do other countries have so much resentment against the US? It is a sad commentary when silly superficial slogans like "They hate us because we are free", pacify our conscience enough that we stop troubling our intellect for meaningful eye opening answers.

Alexander Kronemer's piece on democracy in Muslim countries provokes an even more troubling paradox: If the United States wants democracy to flourish in Muslim lands (or even other struggling nations), then why has/does our government consistently back(ed) authoritarian regimes? Can Americans really be so blind to the fact that it is not just Muslim nations that struggle under dictatorships? Or is it really plausible to believe that there are whole nations of people who do not want freedom or political participation for themselves and their loved ones? And why is it so easy for us to be duped into thinking that religion is to blame when wealth and control of resources has almost always been the root cause of war and human bloodshed?

While these issues are helpful for Americans to better understand Muslims, what I found most relevant were the pieces that help Muslims to better understand themselves, especially as believers in America. Miriam Udel-Lambert's interviews with American Muslim women offered anti-stereotypical vignettes while tackling pertinent issues. Saraji Umm Zaid's further discussion on women in Muslim communities was also notable.

I also enjoyed Precious Rasheeda Muhammad's writing on the African-American contribution to Islam in the US. Unfortunately, this contribution is typically overlooked and Islam in America tends to be defined by immigrant Muslims. This is not something that can be blamed on the media either, since as she shows, the Islamic ideal of racial equality has not been fully achieved. Immigrant Muslims are defining Islam in the US through their own efforts in ignorance of or at least independently of the groundwork laid by African-American Muslim forerunners.

Yahya Emerick also offers insights on competing interpretations of Islam within the Muslim community. Largely oversimplified, perhaps it provides archetypes rather than definitive categories from which American Muslims can reflect and better understand themselves and the competing entities with the mosque.

My favorite part of the book was the section on culture. It is my contention that Puritanism amongst Muslim movements in the past century has seriously eroded the potential of Muslims to contribute culturally to the degree that Islamic civilization did in the past. Art, literature, poetry, and even music have a place in Islam that needs to be rediscovered. Yusuf Islam (formerly Cat Stevens) discusses his own struggle with the music taboo, while Daniel Abdal-Hayy Moore offers perhaps my favorite essay in the book about poetry and literature. The key, I think is toward the development of a new distinct American Islamic culture. As Islam offered something to every other culture it visited in the world, it is exciting to be living in the pioneer stages when Islam's influence on American culture is being forged.

Shaykh Kabir Helminski offers several nice pieces throughout the book. His section on Rumi helps to show how the cultural merge has already begun. I especially liked his reflection on Ramadan and how fasting forces us away from the security blanket that our consumptive habits provide and force us to deal squarely with our spiritual selves. The reflections on Muslim worship continue with Michael Wolfe recounting his Hajj experience. He contributes several writings throughout the book and serves as the editor. I really enjoyed another of his reflections about a Qari (one who recites the Quran) who he met and heard at a home in Chicago. He painted a beautiful image of this tradition being carried on here in the United States, just as it has been in the Muslim civilization for centuries.

This book visits some famous athletes too, like Hakim Olajuwon and Muhammad Ali. These chapters reminded me of an older similar book by Steven Barboza called "American Jihad". That book was published in the early 1990s and offered a diverse range of personal accounts by American Muslims. Barboza offers his own account here in this volume on his "Odyssey to Islam". The last chapter by Ali Asadullah explores the influence of Islam in rap music, a relatively new genre that finds an audience among many Muslim youth. The bulk of this essay discusses one prominent Muslim rapper, Mos Def and the prevailing social message of his music. In this I found an instructive comparison. As the author points out Mos Def's unique positive message in a genre dominated by "the triumvirate of sex, violence, and materialism", so too should American Muslims stand out in a society being overrun with the same false gods. If there is any question about what Muslims can offer to America, it is certainly answered in this example. It is the universal message of all the Prophets and Messengers to turn people away from falsehood and restore them to their natural and elevated alliance with the Creator and Sustainer.

In closing it is important to acknowledge that much of the anti-America rhetoric that so freely echoed from the pulpits of American mosques before 9/11 revolved around a critical error in judgment about shared values. While America ails with and struggles against the encroachment of sex, violence, and materialism these are not the ideals held up by anyone. This is where I think the next volume must begin: discussing and identifying what is right between Islam and America. It is in these shared values that American Muslim will find their identity and their purpose in the generations ahead.

MM May 11, 2005

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

AN EXCELLENT, POST-9/11 COLLECTION OF ESSAYS BY “PROGRESSIVES”

Editor Michael Wolfe wrote in the Introduction to this 2002 book, “In the months after September 11, American Muslims heard the familiar, high-pitched grating sounds of Islam being defined for us by others… We heard anti-American fanatics quotes the Qur’an to justify mass murder, and we heard anti-Muslim bigots quote it back---both sides using bad translations and phrases out of context… Publicly, we tried to counter these distortions… we have sought to replace them with a truer interpretation: that Islam is a peaceful, progressive, inherently forgiving and compassionate religion… Privately, in our mosques and homes… We talked about our leadership---and how dissatisfied we were with aspects of it… We talked about the role of women…We talked about violence---and how painful it was to accept that Islam… has been pressed into service by militant causes so often that, in many Western minds, it has become synonymous with violence. We… talked about… how things ought to be… In the year since September 11, American Muslims began to do something extraordinary. We began to take back Islam… [This book] is a book by progressive, mostly American, Muslims… A sometimes-painful struggle of a faith in search of its soul informs this book.”

An essay by Ingrid Mattson notes, “American Muslims, in particular, have a great responsibility to speak out. The freedom, stability, and strong moral foundation of the United States are great blessings for all Americans, particularly for Muslims. Moreover, we do not have cultural restrictions that Muslims in some other countries have. In America, Muslim women have found the support and freedom to reclaim their proper place in the life of their religious community.” (Pg. 2)

The essay by Ali Minai states, “While most Muslims believe in a benign---even benevolent---faith, it is an unfortunate historical fact that those charged with religious leadership among Muslims have often veered toward more exclusivist and austere interpretations. This is a propensity long recognized within Muslim societies and is notably evident in the classical literary traditions of Persian of Urdu.” (Pg. 8)

Omid Safi says, “Far too long, we have sat silently---I have sat silently---when someone gets up in our Islamic centers, our mosques, and vents poison. How many foaming-at-the-mouth, hate-filled speeches about ‘the Jews’ and the ‘corruption of women’ and the immorality of ‘the West’ have I heard in our sacred spaces? Enough is enough. No more shall we divert attention from abusive situations, class warfare, and institutional injustice by directing our wrath at various other enemies. It is time for Muslims to be true to our destiny, bringing justice, peace, and compassion to that one race to which we all belong: humanity.” (Pg. 69)

Samer Hathoyt observes, “Women in the United States often face gender-based discrimination… American Muslim women face these and many additional hurdles. For instance, a woman who wears hijab, the traditional head-covering, is often taunted at work and on the street, and the careers of these women are jeopardized. Women who wear hijab in the United States are targets---they are obviously Muslim to others and thus bear the brunt of the ignorance about Islam. They face sexual harassment, and often their physical safety is at risk.” (Pg. 111)

Asma Gull Hasan says of Muslim men dating non-Muslim women, “a Muslim man can date freely without risking his standing in the community, while a Muslim woman with the same dating pattern would not only acquire a bad reputation but also risk losing a good arranged marriage proposal. This double standard and poor treatment of women is not endorsed by Islam but by a general patriarchy that pervades many world cultures, including America.” (Pg. 119)

Mas’ood Cajee argues, “Since Ariel Sharon ignited the al-Aqsa intifada on September 28, 2000, Muslims attending their own jum’a congregation prayers every Friday have also been subjected to the same vitriol from our imans and … preachers. The Jews are cursed; the Jews are cunning. No peace is possible when you base your very theology against it… judging from their rhetoric, rabbis and imams share an eerie symmetry in their pulpit demagoguery.” (Pg. 167-168)

Yashiya Emerick points out, “The paradox is that it’s the modernists who make Americans less afraid of Islam, and they are also the ones who usually make the mainstream aware of our holidays and similarities with them. The last group is the Sufis… There are ‘Popcorn’ Sufis, usually white Americans who want to experiment with this mysterious and cool-sounding thing called Sufism. All they do is the chanting and dancing that they think is Sufism.” (Pg. 201)

Arsalan Tariq Ifrikhar suggests, “In Islam, a woman receives a monetary dowry from her husband, of which he has no legal claim. A woman is not obligated to change her maiden name. CNN happily broadcast women being oppressed by the Taliban regime. Islam abhors the oppression of women. The Taliban said women were not allowed to work, yet the Prophet’s wife, Khadija, was one of the most successful merchants in all of Arabia. Should we base our belief on a bunch of tribal warlords or the teachings of our Prophet?” (Pg. 226)

This is a very stimulating and diverse collection, that will be “must reading” for all who wish to know more about the “non-extremist” practitioners of the Islamic faith.

[Fadillah · Rating 5 out of 5]

In it's own simplicity, from the topic of democracy to women's rights, it spoke directly to me. All the listed prominent american muslims contributed their piece of mind into making this book. As to why it was produced, it is to redefine and reclaim back the islam and muslim interpretation that has been tainted by the media and government itself due to the deathly event of 9/11. I am not American but that doesn't mean I can't relate to this book. In fact, it did help me in seeing the way of becoming progressive and moderate muslim. It discussed heavily on muslims and their role to become more active in ummah, how to integrate islam in the current democracy and women's freedom in the aspect of Islam.

[Bill · Rating 3 out of 5]

A

Disclaimer: I am not a Muslim, nor do I intend to convert. My review should be read with this fact in mind

The Good: This is a great collection from Muslim writers that works toward encouraging moderate Muslim voices to speak up. Currently, there is strong anti-Islamic sentiment in the world. As per the book, this means that it is increasingly important for the moderate voices within the Islamic community to speak up. This can show the rest of the world that there is more to Islam than what people see on the news.

The Bad: Not being a Muslim (and not actually knowing that much about Islam), I felt that a lot of this book spoke past me. I'm sure that if a Muslim read this book, they would get a lot more out of it than I did, but for me, this book did very little. Also, a lot of the book was geared toward what Muslims in the United States could do rather than what Muslims in general could do.

Overall: An interesting book for Muslims and non-Muslims alike, although non-Muslims may not engage with it as much.

4/5 Stars

[s.l.j. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just spent sooo long trying to find this book that my uncle loaned me to read as a kid (although I definitely barely understood most of it),, googling and searching book directories because I thought that I surely never logged it on Goodreads with how long ago it was..... of course to find it marked as "read" on here already askfknonasfnossfkonf.
And just to reference it in a paper briefly lol I am so unhinged and now a bit crazy after finding out it was logged on here the whole time.

[James]

Well, I enjoyed the very small portion I was able to read, but someone decided that they needed it more than me. They apparently thought they were getting a computer. I hope they enjoyed this and journals they got instead.

[Chadijah Mastura]

I believe this would be an important book to read for the progressive Muslims.

[Timothy]

So far very interesting. I was struck by the influence of American Muslims on the global experience of the Ummah.

[Foxglove · Rating 4 out of 5]

Decent book, but overly centered on Israeli-Palestine and didn't address the problems Muslims face worldwide.

[Foxglove · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mixed bag of essays, self selecting.