American Islam: Growing up Muslim in America

by Richard Wormser

Today, an estimated four to six million Muslims live in the United States. Yet Islam is still one of the most misunderstood and maligned religions in this country. Nes coverage of recent events such as the World Trade Center bombings and the war in Iraq spread one-sided, negative images of Muslims as terrorists and religious fanatics in America and abroad. In American Islam, Richard Wormser draws on interviews with Muslim teenagers to go beyond the headlines and provides a timely, unbiased look at this important segment of American society. Young Muslims speak out about everyday concerns -- family, school, relationships -- revealing how they maintain their identity and adapt their religious and cultural traditions to fit into America's more permissive society. A historical overview of Islam, an interpretation of the basic tenets of the Quran, and a close look at the growth of Islam in African-American communities rounds out the first-person accounts of dialy life.

Genres: Islam, Young Adult

130 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2002

About the author

There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads data base.

See also: Richard Wormser

Reviews

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A FINE OVERVIEW OF MUSLIMS (PARTICULARLY YOUNG ONES) IN AMERICA

Author Richard Wormser wrote in the first chapter of this book (originally published in 1994, but slightly updated after 9/11), “Even though most Americans and their political and religious leaders condemn attacks on America’s Muslims, Muslims have been subjected to prejudice even before the more recent incidents. In times of crisis, they have been cursed, picketed, threatened, occasionally beaten, and even murdered because they practice the same religion as a relative small number of people who have committed acts of violence… One consequence of this bad publicity is that many Americans believe that Islam is a primitive, violent religion, intolerant of non-Muslims, and demeaning to women.” (Pg. 4)

He continues, “Until the 1960s, most Americans were unaware of the existence of what was then a relatively small Muslim presence in America, But as wars, civil wars, and revolutions erupted throughout the Islamic world, Muslims began to emigrate to the United States… Most of these new arrivals maintained a strong ethnic and religious identity. They lived among their own ethnic groups and tried to re-create their culture in America… They practiced Islam faithfully. But as their children became Americanized, parents sometimes found themselves in conflict with them. Their major concern was whether their children would be able to maintain their religion in America… most were relieved to learn that their children’s faith was strengthened by living in America.” (Pg. 14)

He notes, “A Muslim man is free to marry a non-Muslim, but their children must be brought up Muslim. Islamic law forbids a Muslim woman to marry a non-Muslim, unless he converts. As a result, many non-Muslims who marry Muslim women superficially convert to Islam. They sometimes are called, half jokingly, half contemptuously, ‘cupid’s Muslims.’” (Pg. 64)

Of the assassination of Malcolm X, he recounts, “three men seated in the front row suddenly stood up. Standing in a row like a firing squad, they executed him. The three men were arrested and convicted of the crime. Two of the men, Thomas 15x Johnson and Norman 3X Butler, were members of the Nation of Islam. They had been indicted in January for shooting another defector from the Nation. Elijah Muhammad denied that he had given the order for Malcolm’s assassination. ‘We didn’t want to kill Malcolm and we didn’t try to kill him. They know I didn’t harm Malcolm. They know I loved him. His foolish teaching brought him to his own end.” (Pg. 91-92)

He concludes, “When [terrorist] incidents happen, American Muslims immediately suffer the consequences. They are labeled as ‘terrorists,’ fundamentalists,’ and ‘radicals.’ … Today, Muslims in the United States are increasingly emphasizing their American identity rather than their ethnic background. They are Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives. They wish to prosper, raise families, practice their religion without interference, and contribute to the society in which they live.” (Pg. 120-121)

This is a fine and balanced overview (intended for teenage readers).

[16jaredss · Rating 4 out of 5]

Imagine you are a typical American, walking down a busy city street in the U.S. It is a sunny summer day, and everything looks normal to you. The people, the cars, the buildings, the streets, etc., until you see something unfamiliar to you. The people have their heads covered, and the men and women are walking separately in groups. You wonder: who are they? Why do they do the things they do? Why are they all dressed in loose-fitting clothing? Well, here are your answers! This book is here to answer your questions and cover your stereotypes of American Muslims and Muslims in general! Here it is: American Islam by Richard Wormser!

This book is mostly in the perspective of American Muslims, but also in the perspective of the author, Richard Wormser. It is from the Muslim culture, religion, and the points of views from many young and old Muslim Americans. The setting of the story is in America, and not in Muslim-majority countries in the Middle East. The problem with American Muslims is that they are constantly being stereotyped as terrorists, suicide bombers, and overall nasty people. Muslim Americans have to constantly deal with these names, and stand up to it. After the catastrophe of 9/11, stereotypes on American Muslims skyrocketed. Mosques were graffitied on, Muslim people were tortured in everyday life in the U.S, and assumptions about the Muslim religion were also put into play. These stereotypes spread all over the U.S, and especially since Muslims are a minority in the states, the stereotypes spread quickly. But this book is here to break them. This book explains Muslim rules in the religion, Muslim everyday life, how Muslim teens interact with non-Muslim teens, and Islam in the African-American community and how it impacted it, from the interview answers of American Muslims themselves.

Usually, I don't read multicultural books. But this one was a change for me. It exposed me to a new point of view, and that was very interesting. First, from this book, I learned about the Muslim religion, its rules and customs, Islam's history, Islam's history in America, how Muslim teens in America interact with other non-Muslims, and how Islam impacted the African-American community. Second, this book very much changed my view of American Muslims, and Muslims in general. This book taught me about their religion and culture, and how sometimes people take the rules of Islam to the extreme, and how many Muslims in America do not support it. My opinion on them has changed for the better. Third, in the book, the author interviewed many Muslim Americans, young and old, and used their answers to shape the book. It was an interesting way of structuring it, but I liked it at most times. Fourth, my favorite part of reading this book was the part about the Muslim teenagers going to school with non-Muslim Americans, and how hard it was. For example, Muslim girls are not allowed to touch boys, no matter their religion, so avoiding this type of contact can be very difficult sometimes. Fifth, my least favorite part was the part about the Nation of Islam, or African-American Muslims in America. This last section of the book explained The Nation, its history, famous people in it, and what it is today, the radical teachings The Nation of Islam teaches to its university students, Louis Farakhan, The Nation's current leader, and how it has changed over time. But I think this section kind of goes against the book's point. In one part, it says that The Nation teaches its student that all white people are evil, and that they were created by an evil scientist named Yacub who weakened the genes of a black man to create the white man, which were the teachings of Fard Muhammad, the Nation's founder. It also says all the things Louis Farakhan has said, like how Judaism is a gutter religion, and how Islam is destined for the African-American race. Pretty radical, huh? But there are some good parts to this section. It said The Nation offers classes to young black and Hispanic teens on how to be a good adult, how to manage yourself, how to be a good parent, how to get a job, pay rent, and other things you need to do to live a good life. I thought this was a good part, but overall, this section of the book is unnecessary. Sixth, as I read this book, I was almost never bored. Most of the time, I was intrigued to hear what the Muslim Americans being interviewed had to say. But the format of the book did get a little repetitive. In the book, the style was interview answers, then two or three sentences, and then another interview answer. At times, it got a little boring. Seventh, This book would suit people who are interested in learning about different cultures the most, because this book gives you a good insight on the Muslim American culture. But this book would also be good for anyone curious about Islam and its people. Eighth, something someone could gain from this book is not to judge anyone by the outside. For example, when many Americans see a Muslim walking down the street, they think of them as terrorists and suicide bombers. But if you actually went up to that person and talked to them, chances are they would be someone completely different. Finally, a rating for this book would be a good four stars. Overall, I liked this book, but the Nation of Islam took away that one star. But everything else I thoroughly enjoyed and enjoyed reading and exploring the Muslim religion/culture.

[CHRIS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Recently I've researched Islamic American profiling in our past and modern society. This book provided a different connotation than most of the books for a few reasons. The first thing I noticed in the Introduction is that this book is pre-9/11 which is a interesting view point compared to the post 9/11 violence. Also in my research I never came across interviews of minors in any of my other books and such, which in many cases exposes a larger aspect.
One of the biggest points came across in the interviews of these high school students was their clothing. Part of their beliefs require them to be fully clothed including their head. Qurat Mir, a high school Muslim gets annoyed when people judge her, "Just because we are covered and don't date and sit seperatly from men in the mosque or in class, people say we are oppressed. Thats just not so. Just because women wears sexy clothing, does that make her free spirited? The only true freedom for me is freedom of the mind. Not being trapped by your frees the mind. By being covered the mind shows. People deal with you for what you are, not how you look."(50). I feel this makes a great source to uncover how these teens react and struggle with their beliefs not being accepted in life.
Another of my favorite quotes is from Rania Lawendy as she explains "I don't feel Western women are free. Muslim women had the right to have property and vote long before Western women could. When a woman's was her husbands in the West, Muslim women kept whatever they earned."(51). This is an opposing view and explains the irony in how the American public judges.
All in all, I found this to be a valuable book in my wide ranged research. It proves how Muslim teens go through the self-judicial halls of the public high schools. It helped tie many loose ends of some unanswered questions raised when reading over other references.

[Lana · Rating 3 out of 5]

American Islam is an informative, non-fiction read about the many different aspects of Muslim life in America. This book explains the struggle of Muslim teens living in America in the last decade. It further explores the Muslim rules of dating and marriage, and gives background on the Nation of Islam. It is structured with three sections and many chapters. There are also several pictures throughout the book that describe what the book talks about on that specific page. American Islam is interesting to read, but I found the author repeating himself often. I think the author knows the subject, but, at times, he seems to be biased. In one part, he talks about how Muslims "allegedly" killed Jews, but Jews purposefully killed Muslims. I think the author is good at explaining each point, but he definitely has to work on not repeating himself. I think this book is good for someone who has limited knowledge of the Muslim reality of living in the United States. I would give this book an "okay", because it is overflowing with good context about Islam in America. Even though I found the book to be repeatative, if the author's goal was to help the reader understand and sympathize with the reality of the Muslim situations in America, I believe that the book was succesful.

[Yuanita · Rating 5 out of 5]

American Islam gives a vivid description concerning Islam in such a way that anyone can simply understand about Islam, its basic concepts, and its implementation by Islam believers.Richard Womser has put everything needed to describe Islam nicely and objectively that seems in contradiction with the images of Islam in our nowaday's life. We all know that Islam is so often be the object of misunderstanding whenever any bombs explode or any fights break.Islam seems closely related to terorism, seems akin to all possible bad deeds. In his book, Womser succesfully revealed that actually Islam is not a terrorist's credo, it is a peaceful belief that looks into all human being of equal, of immeasurable.

[Kelly Holmes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Someone told me once that if you want a good introduction to a subject you know nothing about to read a kid's nonfiction book on the subject. My book club will be reading No god but God: The Origins, Evolution, and Future of Islam by Reza Aslan, so I wanted a good introduction to Islam before reading an "adult" book about it. This was an okay read. I was expecting more about how Muslim kids in America have to reconcile their religion with American culture. There was a little bit of that, but I wanted more. About half the book was spent on the history of the Nation of Islam and African-American Muslim culture, which was interesting but not what I expected either.

[Rachael Eggebeen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aside from insisting that women must wear the hijab (which is a topic of debate), this book provides insight into the Muslim American experience. It is now a bit out of date, but provides a good introduction into Islam in American, particularly in the African-American experience.