The Columbia Sourcebook of Muslims in the United States » (New Edition)

Edward E. Curtis IV is Millennium Scholar of the Liberal Arts and associate professor of religious studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). He is the author of Muslims in America and Black Muslim Religion in the Nation of Islam, 1960-1975.

Edward E. Curtis "finds Islam" in the American experience through an unusually personal selection of essays and documents. Sampling from speeches, interviews, editorials, stories, song lyrics, articles, autobiographies, blogs, and other sources, Curtis creates a patchwork narrative of Muslims from diverse ethnic and class backgrounds, religious orientations, and political affiliations. He begins with a history of Muslims in the United States, featuring the voices of an enslaved African Muslim, a Syrian Muslim sodbuster, a South Asian mystic-musician, and Malcolm X. Then he explores contemporary issues concerning Islam and gender, the involvement of Muslims in American politics, and emerging forms of Islamic spirituality.

In constructing his history, Curtis draws on the work of Muslim feminists, social conservatives, interfaith activists, missionaries, and politicians, as well as Muslim rappers and legal experts. He also includes records from the large-scale migrations of the 1880s; racial, ethnic, and religious trends of the 1960s; writings from second-generation and African American Muslims; and discussions of Islam in the public square. Intimate and highly informed, this sourcebook not only provides a crucial corrective to the rhetoric of suspicion and fear surrounding current discussions of Muslims in the United States, but it also emphasizes the continuing impact of Muslims on American society and culture.

Introduction to an American Muslim Panorama XI

1 Whispers and Echoes: American Muslims Before World War I 1

1 The Autobiography of Omar ibn Sayyid (1831) Omar ibn Sayyid 5

2 Islam in America (1893) Mohammed Alexander Russell Webb 9

3 "Islam in the Western Soudan" (1902) Edward Wilmot Blyden 18

4 The Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (1903, revised 1916) George L. Root 22

5 WPA Interviews with Mary Juma and Mike Abdallah (1939) 29

2 Contact and Divergence: Immigrant and African American Muslims from World War I to 1965 40

1 "America: 1910-1912" (c. 1925) Pir Inayat Khan 46

2 "I Am a Moslem" (1921), "True Salvation of the 'American Negroes': The Real Solution of the Negro Question" (1923), "Crescent or Cross: A Negro May Aspire to Any Position Under Islam Without Discrimination" (1923), and "Living Flora-And Dead" (1924) Moslem Sunrise 53

3 The Holy Koran of the Moorish Science Temple (1927) Noble Drew Ali 59

4 Al-Islam: The Religion of Humanity (1950) Shaikh Daoud Ahmed Faisal 64

5 "Our Prophet, Muhammad" (1959) Imam Vehby Isma'il 72

6 The Arab Moslems in the United States (1966) Abdo Elkholy 76

7 "God, Ain't You for Everybody?" from Down These Mean Streets (1967) Piri Thomas 85

8 "What the Muslims Want" and "What the Muslims Believe," from Message to the Blackman in America (1965) Elijah Muhammad 92

9 Interview with Al-Muslimoon (1965) Malcolm X 96

3 American Islam After 1965: Racial, Ethnic, and Religious Diversities 105

1 "The Inner Qur'an," from Islam and World Peace (1987) Muhammad Raheem Bawa Muhaiyaddeen 111

2 "Historic Atlanta Address" (1978) W. D. Mohammed 116

3 Nation of Gods and Earths,"What We Teach," "Allah," and "Supreme Mathematics" (1992) 120

4 Prologue to Spiritual Discourse: learning with an Islamic Master (1993) Frances Trix 126

5 "Million Man March Address" (1995) Minister Louis Farrakhan 130

6 Struggling to Surrender: Some Impressions of an American Convert to Islam (1995) Jeffrey Lang 139

7 "Finding the Straight Path: A Conversation with Mohsen and Lila Amen About Faith, Life, and Family in Dearborn," in Arab Detroit: From Margin to Mainstream (2000) Sally Howell 148

8 "Our Stories: A Leap of Faith," in Latina Magazine (2004) Damarys Ocana 158

9 Islamic Horizons, "Matrimonials" (2005) 166

10 Standing Alone in Mecca: An American Woman's Struggle for the Soul of Islam (2005) Asra Q. Nomani 169

4 Women, Gender, and Sexuality in American Islam 179

1 "From Abu Dhabi to America," in A Border Passage: From Cairo to America-A Woman's Journey (2000) Leila Ahmed 183

2 Daughters of Another Path: Experiences of American Women Choosing Islam (1996) Carol L. Anway 188

3 Interview in American Jihad: Islam After Malcolm X (1993) Tarajee Abdur-Rahim 198

4 American Muslims: The New Generation (2000) Asma Gull Hasan 207

5 "An Introduction to Muslim Women's Rights," in Windows of Faith: Muslim Women Scholar-Activists in North America (2002) Azizah al-Hibri 215

6 Qur'an and Woman: Rereading the Sacred Text from a Woman's Perspective (1999) Amina Wadud 223

7 "On the Edge of Belonging," in Living Islam Outloud: American Muslim Women Speak (2005) Khalida Saed 231

8 "An Examination of the Issue of Female Prayer Leadership" (2005) Imam Zaid Shakir 239

9 "Islamic Jurisprudence, 'Civil' Disobedience, and Woman-Led Prayer" (2005) Laury Silvers 246

10 "Can a Woman Be an Imam? Debating Form and Function in Muslim Women's Leadership" (2005) Ingrid Mattson 252

5 American Muslim Politics and Civic Engagement After 9/11 264

1 Council of American-Islamic Relations, "The Status of Muslim Civil Rights in the United States" (2005) 268

2 "American Muslim Charities: Easy Targets in the War on Terror," in Pace Law Review (2005) Laila Al-Marayati 275

3 United States of America v. Earnest James Ujaama (2002) 287

4 Fiqh Council of North America, "Fatwa Against Terrorism" (2005) 293

5 "Being Muslim, Being American After 9/11," in Taking Back Islam: American Muslims Reclaim Their Faith (2002) Omid Safi 296

6 "Yaphett El-Amin for [Missouri] Senate District 4" (2006) 303

7 "Islam and the Challenge of Democracy" (2003) Khaled Abou El Fadl 306

8 "Islamic Movement in America-Why?" in Muslims and Islamization in North America: Problems and Prospects (1999) Shamim A. Siddiqui 315

9 American Islamic Congress, "A New Guide to Muslim Interfaith Dialogue" (2006) 322

10 "Challenges of Resettlement and Adaptation of Muslim Refugees," in Muslim Refugees in the United States: A Guide for Service Providers (2003) Patricia S. Maloof Fariyal Ross-Sherriff 329

6 American Muslim Spirituality and Religious Life 336

1 "Hajj in a Wheelchair," Azizah Magazine (2002) Betty Hasan Amin 339

2 "Who Is God?" in Qur'an for Children (1995) Abdul Rauf 346

3 Women Called to the Path of Rumi: The Way of the Whirling Dervish (2001) Shakina Reinhertz 348

4 "The Daily Prayer (Du'a) of Shi'a Isma'ili Muslims" (2001) Tazim R. Kassam 358

5 A Question of Faith for Muslim Inmates (1999) Aminah McCloud Frederick Thaufeer al-Deen 368

6 Online Advice About Muslim Youth (2004 and 2005) Suhail Mulla 378

7 Islamic Medical Association of North America (IMANA), "Islamic Medical Ethics: The IMANA Perspective" (2005) 384

8 "Introduction to Lariba Financing" (1998) Yahia Abdul-Rahman Abdullah S. Tug 395

9 Capital D, "Culture of Terrorism," from Insomnia (2004) 402

10 Introduction to Purification of the Heart (2004) Hamza Yusuf 405

Acknowledgments 413

Glossary of Islamic Terms 421

Further Reading 433

Index 437