Burqas, Baseball, and Apple Pie: Being Muslim in America
Some Americans see being Muslim and American as self-contradictory, and the 9/11 tragedy only served to reinforce stereotypes. However, Muslim contributions to the U.S. have existed since the first Muslims came--or were brought--here, much before the American Revolution. This book chronicles the issues and incidents that moderate American Muslims—Idliby’s family, in particular—deal with on an everyday basis. Sometimes the issue is defending the compatibility of Islam and American culture, sometimes it’s correcting flawed stereotypes, but the through-line is always being true American Muslims, proud of both identities. In some ways, this is reminiscent of El Fadl’s The Search for Beauty in Islam (2005), though El Fadl approaches Muslim beliefs from an academic perspective, while Idliby, offering a shorter, more easily read book, approaches them from a practical, lived point of view. This is for readers looking for more insight into the lives of contemporary Muslim Americans and for moderate Muslims interested in exploring how one family deals with dual identity. --Muhammed Hassanali