Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam »

Akbar Ahmed is the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University in Washington, D.C. He is also the first Distinguished Chair of Middle East and Islamic Studies at the U.S. Naval Academy, a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, and former Pakistani high commissioner to the United Kingdom.

In 2007, the Brookings Institution Press published Journey into Islam: The Crisis of Globalization. In that critically acclaimed book, Akbar Ahmed led a group of U.S. university students on a listening tour of the Islamic world, seeking to understand the experiences and perceptions of ordinary Muslims and their attitudes toward the West. Ahmed follows up that classic analysis with Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam, a fascinating travelogue that presents a thoughtful and reflective examination of American identity, the Muslim experience in America, and how each has affected the other.

In Journey into America, Ahmed and his cohorts travel throughout the United States, much as they traveled through the Middle East and South Asia for the previous book.They speak to ordinary citizens, Muslims and non-Muslims alike, trying to discern exactly what is American identity? How do Muslims fit into that picture, and how has the U.S. Muslim experience changed over the years, particularly in the wake of September 11? And how is the picture changing today? Ahmed paints a mixed picture but still sees the largely pluralist society hopefully anticipated by Thomas Jefferson.

"I have not read a work as insightful, erudite, and innovative on the challenge of American identity since Alexis de Tocqueville's Democracy in America. Akbar Ahmed sets a new paradigm in the ongoing debate on defining American identity."
-- Melody Fox, Berkley Center at Georgetown University

"One of the most exciting and readable accounts not only of Muslim life in the U.S. but of the context of American history more broadly. I have learned a great deal about my own country through Akbar Ahmed's eyes."-- Lawrence Rosen, Princeton University

List of Contents
1. Muslim Odyssey
2. Defining American Identity
3. Searching for American Identity
4. First Muslims: "Christian by Day, Muslim by Night"
5. Muslim Converts: Seeking God in the Land of Plenty
6. Immigrant Muslims: Living the American Dream/American Nightmare
7. The Jews as Champions of American Pluralism
8. Mormons and Muslims
9. Shame and Honor in a Time of Excess
10. The Importance of Being America

Praise for Journey into Islam (2007)
"A fascinating account of how [Ahmed] and his students braved danger to build mutual understanding." -- Publishers Weekly

Publishers Weekly

Ahmed, a professor of Islamic Studies at American University and a well-respected scholar of Islam, endeavors in this exhaustively-researched text to examine what it means to be Muslim in modern America, post-9/11. In an effort to reach a meaningful analysis, Ahmed interviews a wide variety of people about what it means to be American. Questions such as "What is the sum of American identity?" and "What do the Founding Fathers mean to you?" would themselves constitute a lengthy book independent of Islam's role in the nation, but taken through this lens, they provide some eye-opening answers. Ahmed contends that America needs to rediscover the intentions of the Founding Fathers, but his many interviews illustrate a problem: no one is entirely certain of the right interpretation of their intentions. Ahmed's research is superb, but his questions are often leading and can create a sense of meandering confusion. However, readers unfamiliar with Islam will walk away with a much firmer grasp of its nuances, and everyone will likely learn a great deal about American self-perception. (July)

Chapter 1: Muslim Odyssey

PART 1: AMERICAN IDENTITY

Chapter 2: Searching for American Identity

Chapter 3: Defining American Identity

PART 2: ISLAM IN AMERICA

Chapter 4: African Americans as First Muslims

Chapter 5: Immigrant Muslims: Living the American Dream/American Nightmare

Chapter 6: Muslim Converts: Shame and Honor in a Time of Excess

PART 3: ADJUSTING AND ADAPTING

Chapter 7: Jews and Muslims: Bridging a Great Divide

Chapter 8: Mormons and Muslims: Getting to Know You

Chapter 9: The Importance of Being America