American Islam: The Struggle for the Soul of a Religion

Vivid dramatic portraits of Muslims in America in the years after as they define themselves in a religious subculture torn between moderation and extremismThere 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 usFrom 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 fathers 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 American Islam is an intimate and vivid group portrait of American Muslims in a time of turmoil and promise.