Muslims on the Americanization Path?

by Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad (Editor), John L. Esposito (Editor)

Overview

Islam is the fastest growing religion in the United States. There are more Muslims in America than in Kuwait, Qatar, and Libya together. Leaving aside immigration and conversion, birthrate alone ensures that in the first part of the twenty-first century Islam will replace Judaism as the nation's second largest religion. Like all religious minorities in America, Muslims must confront a host of difficult questions concerning faith and national identity. Can they become part of a pluralistic American society without sacrificing their identity? Can Muslims be Muslims in a state that is not governed by Islamic law? Will the American legal system protect Muslim religious and cultural differences? Is there a contradiction between demanding equal rights and insisting on maintaining a distinctively separate identity? Will the secular and/or Judeo-Christian values of American society inhibit the Muslim practice of religious faith? While the Muslims of America are indeed on the path to Americanization, what that means and what that will yield remains uncertain. In this thoughtful and wide-ranging volume, fourteen distinguished scholars take an in-depth look at these issues and examine the varied responses and opinions of the Muslim community.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198030928
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	05/11/2000
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad is Professor of History, Islam, and Christian-Muslim Relations at the Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University. John L. Esposito is Professor of Religion and International Affairs and Director of the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University.

Table of Contents

	Contributors	vii
	Introduction: Muslims in America or American Muslims	3
Part I	The American Path Option: Between Tradition and Reality
1	The Dynamics of Islamic Identity in North America	19
2	Striking a Balance: Islamic Legal Discourses on Muslim Minorities	47
3	The Fiqh Councilor in North America	65
4	Muslims and Identity Politics in America	87
Part II	North American Pluralism and the Challenge of the Veil
5	The Hijab and Religious Liberty: Anti-Discrimination Law and Muslim Women in the United States	105
6	Muslim Women in Canada: Their Role and Status as Revealed in the Hijab Controversy	129
7	American Women Choosing Islam	145
Part III	Americans on the Islamization Path? The African-American Experience
8	Identity and Destiny: The Formative Views of the Moorish Science Temple and the Nation of Islam	163
9	African-American Muslims and the Question of Identity: Between Traditional Islam, African Heritage, and the American Way	215
10	Understanding the Multi-Ethnic Dilemma of African-American Muslims	263
Part IV	Americanization and the Preservation of Cultural Identity
11	Muslims and the American Press	285
12	Economic Security and Muslim Identity: A Study of the Immigrant Community in Durham, North Carolina	301
13	Approaches to Mosque Design in North America	317
	Selected Bibliography	335

Editorial Reviews

Islam is the fastest growing religion in America and Europe. There are more Muslims in America than in Kuwait, Qatar, and Libya. Even if Muslim immigration and conversion were not to grow, birth rate alone ensures that in the first part of the 21st century, Islam will replace Judaism as the second largest religion in the US. This collection of essays tackles areas such as anti-discrimination law and Muslim women in the US, African-American Muslims and questions of identity, and approaches to mosque design in North America. No index. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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