Taking Back Islam: American Muslims Reclaim Their Faith FROM THE PUBLISHER
In the Months After September 11... American Muslims heard the familiar tenets of Islam being defined by others. From the Capitol to the pulpit, on televison and in the classroom, commentators, politicians, and scholars were busy telling Muslims the "real meaning" of Islam. Western Muslims knew something had to be done or Islam might be tarnished, even corrupted. They gathered informally to discuss the past, the present, and how things ought to be. Over time, they began to conceive, voice, and finally put to paper ideas about how they might define Islam in this century. In the years since September 11, American Muslims began to do something extraordinary. They began to reclaim the core values of Islam. Taking Back Islam is a bold collection of voices -- from Karen Armstrong, Hakeem Olajuwon, and Ingrid Mattson to Kabir Helminski, Michael Wolfe, and Arsalan Tariq Iftikhar -- in the vanguard of the faith. These men and women remain devout and utterly convinced of Islam's power to help create a just, ordered, and beautiful world but are also unafraid to be critical of those who would distort Islam for violent or political ends. Many of these writers are American Muslims who benefit from a commitment to democratic pluralism as well as to Islam. The unique nature and strength of these voices, fueled by a strong desire to tap the best traditions within Islam, offer hope for rescuing a faith that has been injured from within by extremists and demonized from without by Western culture.
FROM THE CRITICS
Publishers Weekly
This intelligent, thoughtful collection of writings from dozens of contributors is the thinking person's guide to Islam in a post-9/11 America. It is only fitting that a major world religion be represented by multiple voices. Wolfe (One Thousand Roads to Mecca) gathers excerpts from postings to the Beliefnet Web site, as well as brief essays from established authorities such as Karen Armstrong, practitioners like Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens) and new voices such as Asma Hasan and Aasma Khan. Some writers describe specific organizations they have founded to foster interfaith communication and human rights. With only a few exceptions, they do not write as apologists, but willingly grapple with the complexities and paradoxes of Islam. The book works well for both Muslim and non-Muslim readers. It is both an exploration of contemporary Islam (Has it been hijacked by extremists? Is it violent? Can Islamic states be democratic?) and a call for Muslims to reclaim their faith by mobilizing the moderate, seemingly silent, majority. There are also short personal essays about various aspects of Muslim life (art, humor, conversion, pilgrimage and more) that stand as small windows into daily practice. These American Muslims and Islamic scholars are devoted to the faith, but passionate about finding ways for Islam to divest itself of its associations with violent terrorism and sexism. It is an eye-opening survey of the minds and passions of progressive Muslims in the United States and offers hope for greater interfaith understanding. (Nov. 13) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
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