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American Islam: The Struggle for the Soul of a Religion
Vivid, dramatic portraits of Muslims in America in the years after 9/11, as they define themselves in a religious subculture torn between moderation and extremism
There are as many as six million Muslims in the United States today. Islam (together with Christianity and Judaism) is now an American faith, and the challenges Muslims face as they reconcile their intense and demanding faith with our chaotic and permissive society are recognizable to all of us.
From West Virginia to northern Idaho, American Islam takes readers into Muslim homes, mosques, and private gatherings to introduce a population of striking variety. The central characters range from a charismatic black imam schooled in the militancy of the Nation of Islam to the daughter of an Indian immigrant family whose feminist views divided her father’s mosque in West Virginia. Here are lives in conflict, reflecting in different ways the turmoil affecting the religion worldwide. An intricate mixture of ideologies and cultures, American Muslims include immigrants and native born, black and white converts, those who are well integrated into the larger society and those who are alienated and extreme in their political views. Even as many American Muslims succeed in material terms and enrich our society, Islam is enmeshed in controversy in the United States, as thousands of American Muslims have been investigated and interrogated in the wake of 9/11.
American Islam is an intimate and vivid group portrait of American Muslims in a time of turmoil and promise.
There are as many as six million Muslims in the United States today. Islam (together with Christianity and Judaism) is now an American faith, and the challenges Muslims face as they reconcile their intense and demanding faith with our chaotic and permissive society are recognizable to all of us.
From West Virginia to northern Idaho, American Islam takes readers into Muslim homes, mosques, and private gatherings to introduce a population of striking variety. The central characters range from a charismatic black imam schooled in the militancy of the Nation of Islam to the daughter of an Indian immigrant family whose feminist views divided her father’s mosque in West Virginia. Here are lives in conflict, reflecting in different ways the turmoil affecting the religion worldwide. An intricate mixture of ideologies and cultures, American Muslims include immigrants and native born, black and white converts, those who are well integrated into the larger society and those who are alienated and extreme in their political views. Even as many American Muslims succeed in material terms and enrich our society, Islam is enmeshed in controversy in the United States, as thousands of American Muslims have been investigated and interrogated in the wake of 9/11.
American Islam is an intimate and vivid group portrait of American Muslims in a time of turmoil and promise.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
7 people are currently reading
248 people want to read
About the author
Paul M. Barrett
10 books20 followersPAUL M. BARRETT I'm an assistant managing editor and senior feature writer at Bloomberg Businessweek. I've written two other books: American Islam: The Struggle for the Soul of a Religion and The Good Black: A True Story of Race in America. I'm currently writing my 4th book about the fascinating legal battle in Ecuador pitting big oil against indigenous people and campesinos, not to mention a one of a kind American plaintiffs lawyer. Coming from Crown in winter 2014.
I live in Brooklyn with my wife Julie and our excellent dachshund Beau.
I live in Brooklyn with my wife Julie and our excellent dachshund Beau.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
June 1, 2012
This book focuses on 7 people who are Muslim and live in America. But the book goes beyond these 7 people and explains the different perspectives of people.
When I began the book I probably had views similar to most Americans albeit a more moderate position. I knew a little bit about Islam, and of course understood that not all terrorists are Muslim, and vice versa. What struck me about the book was all the different interpretations people have of Islam and the Qur’an.
Abou El Fadl, or the scholar had a more liberal view of the Qur’an. I was really surprised to find out that actually liberal interpretation of the Qur’an stretched back for quite some time and only recently with Wahhabism that the liberal view is dying out. An example is that the Prophet Muhammad despite having several wives, treated them all equally and fairly and did not raise an arm against them. Which is odd given how some husbands treat their wives.
Another part of the book, which surprised me, was the story about Asra Nomani. She is a Muslim feminist. I was first surprised when I found out there were Muslim feminist, as my original view was that Islam was that males dominated females. Her actions were really surprising, as a protest she stood and prayed in the mosque among the men. Muslim states the reason women are segregated are that males would be distracted. Nomani raised up a point that in Mecca males and females worship together. Mecca is a holy site for Muslims, and if in Mecca males and females they could worship together why not in a normal mosque.
From reading this book I learned a lot more about the Islam religion, and how my preconceptions were wrong, and mostly followed the Wahhabism movement from Saudi Arabia. Although there are extremists, Muslim people do not deserve to be profiled at airports or discriminated against. Many aren’t even followers of Wahhabism, they just follow Islam to lead a good life. Which is the case of Victor Krambo as well as many others.
When I began the book I probably had views similar to most Americans albeit a more moderate position. I knew a little bit about Islam, and of course understood that not all terrorists are Muslim, and vice versa. What struck me about the book was all the different interpretations people have of Islam and the Qur’an.
Abou El Fadl, or the scholar had a more liberal view of the Qur’an. I was really surprised to find out that actually liberal interpretation of the Qur’an stretched back for quite some time and only recently with Wahhabism that the liberal view is dying out. An example is that the Prophet Muhammad despite having several wives, treated them all equally and fairly and did not raise an arm against them. Which is odd given how some husbands treat their wives.
Another part of the book, which surprised me, was the story about Asra Nomani. She is a Muslim feminist. I was first surprised when I found out there were Muslim feminist, as my original view was that Islam was that males dominated females. Her actions were really surprising, as a protest she stood and prayed in the mosque among the men. Muslim states the reason women are segregated are that males would be distracted. Nomani raised up a point that in Mecca males and females worship together. Mecca is a holy site for Muslims, and if in Mecca males and females they could worship together why not in a normal mosque.
From reading this book I learned a lot more about the Islam religion, and how my preconceptions were wrong, and mostly followed the Wahhabism movement from Saudi Arabia. Although there are extremists, Muslim people do not deserve to be profiled at airports or discriminated against. Many aren’t even followers of Wahhabism, they just follow Islam to lead a good life. Which is the case of Victor Krambo as well as many others.
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September 2, 2014American Islam is a book that is full of explanations and examples. It captivates the reader through its variety of points of views. As a female, the chapter I enjoyed the most was the Feminist. Asra Nomani is a Muslim woman who takes it upon herself to change the etiquette in American mosques. She introduces the idea of mixed prayers and promotes equalization of women's rights in the Muslim community. Her critiques walk all over her and try to break her down yet, she doesn't stop supporting the cause. She gets banned from multiple mosques and gatherings. Soon however, her parents begin to voice their support for her. Her father, an esteemed man, is able to attract attention and eventually Nomani's opinion gains supporters. She changes the way women are viewed in Islam through her persistence.
November 5, 2009
I liked the structure of this book, with each chapter centered on a different Muslim in the U.S. -- some converts, some immigrants -- all of different stripes. It is a nice showcase of the variety within Islam as well as the debates going on among Muslims, especially around issues of gender and extremism.
May 9, 2012
American Islam, and/or books like it, is an important read. There are only six million Muslims among three hundred million Americans, so most of us don’t have the opportunity to meet American Muslims; fewer still have the opportunity for substantive conversations. Thus, Paul M. Barrett’s profiles (with extensive sociological/historical background) of seven contemporary U.S. Muslims provides an opportunity to get behind cartoonish media depictions.
Before I read the book, a friend posed an interesting question to me: Is it possible to be a good Muslim as well as a good American? My snap answer was “of course.” I took the question as parallel to the challenge many issued during JFK’s candidacy: A good Catholic couldn’t be a good American because his first allegiance would be to the Vatican. I’ve now concluded that the question makes more sense than I thought; the answer is complex; we have a right to be nervous. Barrett’s analysis invites trust because it doesn’t blink at the ugly, but he refuses to allow the few to condemn the many.
A PEW research poll Barrett quotes in his afterword found, contrary to what many believe, that only 8 per cent of America’s six million resident (not necessarily permanent or citizen) Muslims consider it right under any circumstances at all to bomb or kill civilians. The poll doesn’t ask about what those justified circumstances might be, and it’s likely that many of the responders were thinking of certain situations in Lebanon, Palestine, etc. rather than in America. Furthermore, the question was asked in the abstract, and there’s no counting 1) how many might be willing to commit such an act even if they might condone it, or 2) how many might have the resources to do so even if willing. Thus, we might assume that only a tiny handful of the responders would consider something like 9/11 a rightful act. Of course, terrorism is a business of small numbers, and 8 per cent (or whatever per cent of the 8 per cent might actually cause harm) is a large small number; unlike many people, I suspect, I was surprised there would be so many. I always knew it was important that our FBI keep vigilant and keep thwarting bombers, but this reinforces the urgency. However, we mustn’t forget how important it is to recognize that the other 92+ per cent circulate among us peacefully, and comprise but one of a legion of the minorities that will soon become the majority of the American population.
I’ve known (albeit superficially) a few Muslim families, primarily in my roles as teacher and principal, and never found the slightest cause to suspect that they were other than good citizens as well as faithful to their faith. Beyond their devotion to their children’s education and their lack of open hostility to American culture, I admit I had no basis for judging the quality of their citizenship; similarly, beyond the hijab and the occasional reluctance of women to shake hands with non-family men, I had no basis for judging the quality of their religiosity. I was disturbed by the lack of concern on the part of some families that their female children pursue post-high school studies; however, I encountered the same attitude among orthodox Jews, so had no reason to suspect I was encountering anything other than a cultural oddity. I know plenty of Jewish families who pursue education for everyone with fervor. I took it for granted that there are Muslims with similar attitudes. Besides, a university education isn’t a criterion for being a good American.
American Islam, though, brought me face to face with the fact that huge numbers of American Mosques are peopled with devotees of the virulent form of Saudi-based-and-promoted Wahhabism whose doctrines resulted in 9/11. I won’t go into the history of this strain of Islam because Barrett does an excellent job of it, except to say that it’s an early 20th century revival of an 8th century code (much of it outside the Koran), that Saudi oil money has been able to spread world wide, particularly over the last half-century. It promotes all the hideous doctrines personified by Al Quaeda and the Taliban. Since Muslim immigration into the U.S. is constant, every Mosque contains a generous share of foreign born, many of whom bring such ideas with them; and it is a mission of these Wahhabi zealots to conquer all other religions worldwide. Thus, every American Muslim of whatever faith or temperament must struggle with these individuals and their ideas as well as with the assumption widespread among the rest of us that all of them follow the Wahhabi perversions. Still, it’s worth noting that none of the 9/11 hijackers developed any contacts or relationships with American Muslims during their time in the U.S. and that no Americans--naturalized or native born took part in the planning or execution.
Another remarkable thing I learned. Their numbers may be few, but you’re liable to find Muslims anywhere: East, west, midwest, south. Michigan is big. Florida, too. There’s even a generous portion of the book devoted to Islamic events in Yuba City, a small town in Northern California not far from where I grew up. Pakistanis came to the Sacramento Valley as rice growers in the fifties, and we accepted them as part of the landscape, but we never heard about Mosques or any of this other stuff which has grown up since.
And still another remarkable thing. I’d heard about Sufi Islam, knew the famous whirling dervishes were part of this branch of the faith. However, I didn’t know they were such a target of other Muslims because of their philosophy of acceptance and tolerance.
And there’s a bunch of other stuff also. Make your own discoveries. But read this, or something like it. Barrett is a Jew, by the way (a fact he sneaks in very surreptitiously toward the end), but he still got all these people to talk to him at length. Tells you something about the situation right there, doesn’t it?
Before I read the book, a friend posed an interesting question to me: Is it possible to be a good Muslim as well as a good American? My snap answer was “of course.” I took the question as parallel to the challenge many issued during JFK’s candidacy: A good Catholic couldn’t be a good American because his first allegiance would be to the Vatican. I’ve now concluded that the question makes more sense than I thought; the answer is complex; we have a right to be nervous. Barrett’s analysis invites trust because it doesn’t blink at the ugly, but he refuses to allow the few to condemn the many.
A PEW research poll Barrett quotes in his afterword found, contrary to what many believe, that only 8 per cent of America’s six million resident (not necessarily permanent or citizen) Muslims consider it right under any circumstances at all to bomb or kill civilians. The poll doesn’t ask about what those justified circumstances might be, and it’s likely that many of the responders were thinking of certain situations in Lebanon, Palestine, etc. rather than in America. Furthermore, the question was asked in the abstract, and there’s no counting 1) how many might be willing to commit such an act even if they might condone it, or 2) how many might have the resources to do so even if willing. Thus, we might assume that only a tiny handful of the responders would consider something like 9/11 a rightful act. Of course, terrorism is a business of small numbers, and 8 per cent (or whatever per cent of the 8 per cent might actually cause harm) is a large small number; unlike many people, I suspect, I was surprised there would be so many. I always knew it was important that our FBI keep vigilant and keep thwarting bombers, but this reinforces the urgency. However, we mustn’t forget how important it is to recognize that the other 92+ per cent circulate among us peacefully, and comprise but one of a legion of the minorities that will soon become the majority of the American population.
I’ve known (albeit superficially) a few Muslim families, primarily in my roles as teacher and principal, and never found the slightest cause to suspect that they were other than good citizens as well as faithful to their faith. Beyond their devotion to their children’s education and their lack of open hostility to American culture, I admit I had no basis for judging the quality of their citizenship; similarly, beyond the hijab and the occasional reluctance of women to shake hands with non-family men, I had no basis for judging the quality of their religiosity. I was disturbed by the lack of concern on the part of some families that their female children pursue post-high school studies; however, I encountered the same attitude among orthodox Jews, so had no reason to suspect I was encountering anything other than a cultural oddity. I know plenty of Jewish families who pursue education for everyone with fervor. I took it for granted that there are Muslims with similar attitudes. Besides, a university education isn’t a criterion for being a good American.
American Islam, though, brought me face to face with the fact that huge numbers of American Mosques are peopled with devotees of the virulent form of Saudi-based-and-promoted Wahhabism whose doctrines resulted in 9/11. I won’t go into the history of this strain of Islam because Barrett does an excellent job of it, except to say that it’s an early 20th century revival of an 8th century code (much of it outside the Koran), that Saudi oil money has been able to spread world wide, particularly over the last half-century. It promotes all the hideous doctrines personified by Al Quaeda and the Taliban. Since Muslim immigration into the U.S. is constant, every Mosque contains a generous share of foreign born, many of whom bring such ideas with them; and it is a mission of these Wahhabi zealots to conquer all other religions worldwide. Thus, every American Muslim of whatever faith or temperament must struggle with these individuals and their ideas as well as with the assumption widespread among the rest of us that all of them follow the Wahhabi perversions. Still, it’s worth noting that none of the 9/11 hijackers developed any contacts or relationships with American Muslims during their time in the U.S. and that no Americans--naturalized or native born took part in the planning or execution.
Another remarkable thing I learned. Their numbers may be few, but you’re liable to find Muslims anywhere: East, west, midwest, south. Michigan is big. Florida, too. There’s even a generous portion of the book devoted to Islamic events in Yuba City, a small town in Northern California not far from where I grew up. Pakistanis came to the Sacramento Valley as rice growers in the fifties, and we accepted them as part of the landscape, but we never heard about Mosques or any of this other stuff which has grown up since.
And still another remarkable thing. I’d heard about Sufi Islam, knew the famous whirling dervishes were part of this branch of the faith. However, I didn’t know they were such a target of other Muslims because of their philosophy of acceptance and tolerance.
And there’s a bunch of other stuff also. Make your own discoveries. But read this, or something like it. Barrett is a Jew, by the way (a fact he sneaks in very surreptitiously toward the end), but he still got all these people to talk to him at length. Tells you something about the situation right there, doesn’t it?
January 26, 2025
this book was pretty informative and i learned a lot about the different corners in which islam lives in this country but ngl got kinda slow so i lost interest towards the end. but i learned a lot about the challenges rn muslims face here.
April 24, 2007
This book is set up as profiles of seven American Muslims, and he really gets a fascinating cross-section, divided into types of "characters". While there aren't any rabid fundamentalists, he covers Asian and Middle-Eastern Muslims, as well as white ex-hippie Muslims and an African-American imam (fascinating! It's amazing how much I didn't know about that!). One thing that really impressed me was that as much as Barrett obviously admires the Muslims who are trying to push and/or modernize their religion, he always resists the temptation to idealize them. For example, "The Feminist" is Asra Nomani, who's written a number of books and tends to be highly praised in other profiles I've read of her. Barrett isn't afraid to make her weaknesses as plain as her strengths, without being too judgmental when she's just shooting herself in the foot. It's the most balanced profile I've ever read of her.
From "The Scholar": The Quaran contains a number of broad sounding admonitions favoring freedom from strife. "If your enemy inclines toward peace, then you should seek peace and trust in God," according to one revelation, which, like the more militant ones, came during the Medinian period (8:16). "These discussions of peace would not make sense," according to Abou El Fadl, "if Muslims were in a permanent state of war with nonbelievers, and if nonbelievers were a permanent enemy and always a legitimate target."
From "The Imam": In January 1987 a local landlord, a Palestinian Muslim, came to Wahhaj, seeking help in evicting crack dealers occupying an apartment in a nearby building. The police had been of no use, the landlord said. The imam gathered a group of followers and marched over. They banged on the door, the imam announcing loudly, "It's the Muslims. We're here to recover the property." Inside, he could hear someone say, "It's the Muslims. Don't do anything stupid."
From "The Scholar": The Quaran contains a number of broad sounding admonitions favoring freedom from strife. "If your enemy inclines toward peace, then you should seek peace and trust in God," according to one revelation, which, like the more militant ones, came during the Medinian period (8:16). "These discussions of peace would not make sense," according to Abou El Fadl, "if Muslims were in a permanent state of war with nonbelievers, and if nonbelievers were a permanent enemy and always a legitimate target."
From "The Imam": In January 1987 a local landlord, a Palestinian Muslim, came to Wahhaj, seeking help in evicting crack dealers occupying an apartment in a nearby building. The police had been of no use, the landlord said. The imam gathered a group of followers and marched over. They banged on the door, the imam announcing loudly, "It's the Muslims. We're here to recover the property." Inside, he could hear someone say, "It's the Muslims. Don't do anything stupid."
March 4, 2009
The Sub-title says it all. The book is about religious controversy within Islam. On the book cover are pictures eight people, but you meet more than them in this work. The eight are used as the core of each of the chapters but others are brought in as there relationships are explored. They are used to introduce other individuals and the issues that they address. There is a wide spectrum one meets. There is the scholar who calls for a more modern, rational interpretation of the Koran and Hadith. We also meet the feminist who advocates for women’s rights within Islam and confronts discrimination in the mosque her father helped build. There are the mystics who see God everywhere. We read about the publisher who understands the different views of Arab-America and is a political power in his own right. One chapter is on one an individual deported for being a webmaster who helped maintain anti-American websites fostering a combatant Islam. We also find the African American Imam who drove drug pushers away from a section of New York City, reminiscent of what some churches have done. The last chapter is on the activist who was for a brief time an extremist but has since developed a website to oppose the “ultraconservative Muslim agenda.
The book is a very easy, quick read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and feel it is a useful work for the study of Islam and, in comparison, the study of religion in general.
The book is a very easy, quick read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and feel it is a useful work for the study of Islam and, in comparison, the study of religion in general.
August 16, 2012
This book is bit dated (postscript in 2007), but is still probably accurate. The author, a former Wall Street Journal reporter, offers seven profiles on Islamic Americans in various walks of life. He features a newpaper publisher in Michigan, a feminist in West Virginia, a Nation of Islam convert in NYC, a Sufi, a grad student tried and found not guilty for supporting terrorism and a former activist. Immediately, the reader sees that Islam is not monolithic. People fall along an entire spectrum in their political views and the degree of their religious observance. It is helpful to put faces and facts to an emotional issue.
June 22, 2014
After the 9-11 attacks, journalist Paul Barrett set out to understand American Muslims and their reaction to the attacks. He interviews seven Muslims, none of whom fall under the typical stereotypes. From diverse backgrounds and professions, their only common bond is their religion and the criticism they endured from both their Muslim and American cultures.
The book is an eye-opener to the lives and struggles of American Muslims. What we find is their struggle for an identity has been prevalent long before the 9-11 attacks. An excellent and honest book, mainly because Barrett delays his personal opinions of his subjects until after introducing their stories to the reader.
The book is an eye-opener to the lives and struggles of American Muslims. What we find is their struggle for an identity has been prevalent long before the 9-11 attacks. An excellent and honest book, mainly because Barrett delays his personal opinions of his subjects until after introducing their stories to the reader.
February 16, 2008
As a Muslim, I was surprised to find this book informative and interesting. The author was not biased, to my relief, and did his research. A nice but short portrait on the various colors of Islam in America.
December 12, 2009
Unbiased, honest and very revealing. Barret shares his interviews of several different immigrants and Americans, men and women of the Islam faith. Unbiased at least til the concluding chapter then I wanted to throw it! lol
March 15, 2014
A very vivid view of how Islam is perceived and live by American Moslem post 9/11 which is also honest, and unbiased to see their identity as believer in which they have also to struggle to speak out that Islam is the faith bringing us to peace !
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July 25, 2007It was kinda dumb and not very engaging. I never got past page 40. I guess I'll never know...
August 27, 2007
A great survey. Even-handed, generous, well-researched.
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March 13, 2008This book was great. It gave a realistic and varied perspective on contemporary issues regarding Islam and Muslims in the United States, as well as global issues. I loved and appreciated it.
January 24, 2011
Kalo liat dari ringkasannya, buku ini sepertinya memang buku yang cukup menarik, tapi sayangnya terjemahannya g enak banget, jadi aga males lanjutin euy :p
October 11, 2015
This book was just at the library and I ran out of time. Lol
January 21, 2009
I think I'm tiring of books about Islam.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews