In Muslims in Motion, Nazli Kibria provides a comparative look at Bangladeshi Muslims in different global contexts--including Britain, the U.S., the Middle East, and Malaysia. Kibria examines international migrant flows from Bangladesh, and considers how such migrations continue to shape Islamization in these areas. Having conducted more than 200 in-depth interviews, she explores how, in societies as different as these, migrant Muslims, in their everyday lives, strive to achieve economic gains, sustain community and family life, and realize a sense of dignity and honor. Muslims in Motion offers fresh insights into the prominence of Islam in these communities, especially an Islam defined by fundamentalist movements and ideologies. Kibria also focuses on the complex significance of nationality--with rich analyses of the diaspora, the role of gender and class, and the multiple identities of the migrants, she shows how nationality can be both a critical source of support and also of difficulty for many in their efforts to attain lives of dignity. By bringing to life a vast range of experiences, this book challenges prevailing stereotypes of Muslims.

This book is an interview of Elijah Muhammad explaining his initial encounter with his teacher, Master Fard Muhammad and how his messengership came about. The subjects discussed are Master Fard Muhammad's whereabouts, the races and what makes a devil and satan. He answers questions dealing the concept of divine and how ideas are perfected. More basic subjects include Malcolm X, Noble Drew Ali, C. Eric Lincoln, Udom, and a comprehensive range of information.

Jamaat-e-Islami Hind is the most influential Islamist organization in India today. Founded in 1941 by Syed Abul Ala Maududi with the aim of spreading Islamic values in the subcontinent, Jamaat and its young offshoot, the Student Islamic Movement of India or SIMI, have been watched closely by Indian security services since September 11. In particular, SIMI has been accused of being behind terrorist bombings. This book is the first in-depth examination of India's Jamaat-e-Islami and SIMI, exploring political Islam's complex relationship with democracy and providing a rare window into the Islamist trajectory in a Muslim-minority context. Irfan Ahmad conducted extensive ethnographic fieldwork at a school in the town of Aligarh, among student activists at Aligarh Muslim University, at a madrasa in Azamgarh, and during Jamaat's participation in elections in 2002. He deftly traces Jamaat's changing position in relation to India's secular democracy and the group's gradual ideological shift toward religious pluralism and tolerance. Ahmad demonstrates how the rise of militant Hindu nationalism since the 1980s--evident in the destruction of the Babri mosque and widespread violence against Muslims--led to SIMI's radicalization, its rejection of pluralism, and its call for jihad. Islamism and Democracy in India argues that when secular democracy is responsive to the traditions and aspirations of its Muslim citizens, Muslims in turn embrace pluralism and democracy. But when democracy becomes majoritarian and exclusionary, Muslims turn radical.

A letter printed in the pages of The New York times in 2007 acknowledged differences between Christianity and Islam but contended that "righteousness and good works" should be the only areas in which the two compete. That letter and a collaborative Christian response appear in this volume, which includes subsequent dialogue between Muslim and Christian scholars.

This is more than a book; it is a manifesto. It advocates a project through which participants will launch an American renaissance movement inspired by a new, revitalized, and uniquely American expression of Islam. This book is the product of more than twenty years of extensive research and interaction with communities across America. That background preparation has given the author, Dr. Souheil Ghannouchi, a deep understanding of Islam, of history, and of the reality in which all Americans (including Muslim Americans) live. Additionally, the text benefits from Dr. Ghannouchis careful study and observation of world events, and from his comprehension of the universal rules that govern the rise and fall of both nations and movements. This volume was originally meant to be the intellectual foundation for a renaissance movement for all Americans, and it was to be aimed at reviving the American Dream and restoring Americas fundamental values based on the founding fathers vision. The idea of recruiting all Americans to the task was inspired by serious concerns about Americas current situation and future risks, and by a firm belief that America can and should be the worlds foremost champion for compassion, peace, justice, and prosperity. At the same time, the book was intended to spearhead the renaissance of the Muslim American community so that it would begin to play a meaningful role in making the needed change in America. However, even though both the entire country and, more specifically, the Muslim community are in dire need of fundamental change, it became clear to the author that the two objectives could not be adequately advocated with one publication. Thus, this book focuses mainly on Muslim Americans, and it constitutes a manifesto for a renaissance in the American Muslim community and a blueprint for our full integration into the greater American society. Stemming from the authors firm conviction that both our nation and our community are experiencing a severe crisis, this book is prompted by his grave concern for the future as well as his unshakable resolve to significantly contribute towards the fundamental change that is needed right now within our society. His concerns and his resolve are shared by other Muslim Americans who will join in launching this project. We invite all Americans to participate. Even though Islam and Muslims have been present in the U.S. in one form or another for a long time, the Muslim American community is still regarded as a newcomer. One reason is that the connections with the greater American society have been weak and complicated. The Nation of Islam, which is largely comprised of United States-born African American Muslims, is widely viewed as a Black nationalist movement rather than an Islamic phenomenon. And even though immigrant Muslims began to establish Islamic centers as early as the beginning of the 20th century and also despite the establishment of the first chapter of the Muslim Student Association (MSA) in 1963 the organized presence of orthodox Islam did not truly emerge in America until the 1970s. The real proliferation of mosques, schools, and Islamic organizations took place as recently as the 80s and 90s. Furthermore, the integration of the Muslim American community into the greater American society stalled because of some typical factors that were exacerbated by religious and political issues and by some domestic and global events. As a result, the Muslim community was plunged into a deep crisis and became, for other Americans, a puzzle and a source of major challenge, especially after the 9/11 catastrophe. A huge divide was established between the community and American society at large, and a vicious action-reaction cycle is only reinforcing the divide and widening the gap. Moreover, the attempts at healing undertaken by both sides are not really improving the situation because the efforts made are too few and too i

In the ruins of a medieval palace in Delhi, a unique phenomenon occurs: Indians of all castes and creeds meet to socialize and ask the spirits for help. The spirits they entreat are Islamic jinns, and they write out requests as if petitioning the state. At a time when a Hindu right wing government in India is committed to normalizing a view of the past that paints Muslims as oppressors, Anand Vivek Taneja's Jinnealogy provides a fresh vision of religion, identity, and sacrality that runs counter to state-sanctioned history. The ruin, Firoz Shah Kotla, is an unusually democratic religious space, characterized by freewheeling theological conversations, DIY rituals, and the sanctification of animals. Taneja observes the visitors, who come mainly from the Muslim and Dalit neighborhoods of Delhi, and uses their conversations and letters to the jinns as an archive of voices so often silenced. He finds that their veneration of the jinns recalls pre-modern religious traditions in which spiritual experience was inextricably tied to ecological surroundings. In this enchanted space, Taneja encounters a form of popular Islam that is not a relic of bygone days, but a vibrant form of resistance to state repression and post-colonial visions of India.

Explores the stories of African Muslim slaves in the New World. The author argues that although Islam as brought by the Africans did not outlive the last slaves, "what they wrote on the sands of the plantations is a successful story of strength, resilience, courage, pride, and dignity." She discusses Christian Europeans, African Muslims, the Atlantic slave trade, literacy, revolts, and the Muslim legacy. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR