Muslims on the Americanization Path?

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.

Table of Contents:
John L. Esposito: Introduction: Muslims in America or American Muslims Part I: The American Path Option: Between Tradition and Reality 1: Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad: The Dynamics of Islamic Identity in North America 2: Khaled Abou El Fadl: Striking a Balance: Islamic Legal Discourses on Muslim Minorities 3: Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo: The Fiqh Councilor in North America 4: Mohommed A. Muqtedar Khan: Muslims and Identity Politics in America Part II: North American Pluralism and the Challenge of the Veil 5: Kathleen Moore: The Hijab and Religious Liberty: Anti-Discrimination Law and Muslim Women in the United States 6: Esmail Shakeri: Muslim Women in Canada: Their Role and Status as Revealed in the Hijab Controversy 7: American Women Choosing Islam Part III: Americans on the Islamization Path? The African American Experience 8: Ernest Allen, Jr.: Identity and Destiny: The Formative Views of the Moorish Science Temple and the Nation of Islam 9: Yusuf Nuruddin: African-American Muslims and the Question of Identity: Between Traditional Islam, African Heritage, and the American Way 10: Robert Dannin: Understanding the Multi-Ethnic Dilemma of African-American Muslims Part IV: Americanization and the Preservation of Cultural Identity 11: Greg Noakes: Muslims and the American Press 12: Elise Goldwasser: Economic Security and Muslim Identity: A Study of the Immigrant Community in Durham, North Carolina 13: Omar Khalidi: Approaches to Mosque Design in North America

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.