10 Native American Heritage Month books on American Muslims.
November is Native American Heritage Month in the United States. contributions made by Native Americans are honored in this month.. Here is a compilation of 10 Islamic Books you may like to read for Native American Heritage Month
Native American Heritage Month books on American Muslims.
Also read : Book reviews
1. American Islam: The Struggle for the Soul of a Religion
There is perhaps no religion that raises more controversy in American society today than Islam. As a result of the events of 9/11, the entire religion of Islam has been tainted with images of fundamentalism,
After the 9-11 attacks, journalist Paul Barrett set out to understand American Muslims and their reaction to the attacks. He interviews seven Muslims, none of whom fall under the typical stereotypes. From diverse backgrounds and professions, their only common bond is their religion and the criticism they endured from both their Muslim and American cultures.
The book is an eye-opener to the lives and struggles of American Muslims.
American Islam is a book that is full of explanations and examples. It captivates the reader through its variety of points of views.
you can get the physical copy( amazon)
2. Islam in Focus by Hammudah Abdal Ati
This popular book is an attempt to respond to the needs of both Muslims and non-Muslims in North America. Its purpose is simply to acquaint the average reader with the basic teachings of Islam; not intended to present the depth or breadth of Islam. It guides Muslims to the median way in all matters of life, rejects fanaticism and narrow mindedness. It provides truth about Islam, a spiritual insight and a moral approach to the human condition. The author hopes that “it will make them responsible citizens of their respective countries, honorable members of the human race, and above all else, God-minded people”.
physical copy (amazon link)
3. The Muslim Next Door: The Qur’an, the Media, and That Veil Thing
In this book, Author Sumbul Ali-Karamali’s vivid anecdotes about growing up Muslim and female in the West, along with her sensitive, scholarly overview of Islam, combine for a uniquely insightful look at the world’s fastest growing religion.It is written from the point of view of an American Muslim, the book addresses what readers in the Western world are most curious about, beginning with the basics of Islam and how Muslims practice their religion before easing into more complicated issues like jihad, Islamic fundamentalism, and the status of women in Islam.
The author, Sumbul Ali-Karamali is a Muslim American who grew up in California, answering questions on Islam ever since she can remember. After becoming a corporate lawyer, she earned an additional degree in Islamic law.
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4. Threading My Prayer Rug: One Woman’s Journey from Pakistani Muslim to American Muslim
Beginning with a sweetly funny, moving account of her arranged marriage, the author undercuts stereotypes and offers the refreshing view of an American life through Muslim eyes.This enthralling story of the making of an American is a timely meditation on being Muslim in America today.
Threading My Prayer Rugis a richly textured reflection. It is also the luminous story of many journeys: from Pakistan to the United States in an arranged marriage that becomes a love match lasting forty-five years; from secular Muslim in an Islamic society to devout Muslim in a society ignorant of Islam, and from liberal to conservative to American Muslim; from bride to mother; and from an immigrant intending to stay two years to an American citizen, business executive, grandmother, and tireless advocate for interfaith understanding.
“Threading My Prayer Rugis a beautifully written memoir of a cosmopolitan and faithful Pakistani-American Muslim woman. It’s recommended for all who want to have a sense of how the tapestry of American Islam is shaped by the contributions of a variety of Muslims, including those from South Asia.” —Omid Safi, Director, Duke Islamic Studies Center
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5. American Muslim: An Immigrant’s Journey
American Muslim: An Immigrant’s Journeyis a gripping account of one woman’s search for home and belonging in the United States of America.
Saima Adil Sitwat emigrated to the United States of America from Pakistan, in 2003. Her immigrant experience was defined, not only by learning the nuances of the American language and culture but also that of the American Muslims. A Muslim by birth, Saima would struggle to find her place within the American as well as the American Muslim community. Along the way, she would become a mother and a community leader.
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6. A Muslim American Slave: The Life of Omar Ibn Said (Wisconsin Studies in Autobiography)
Born to a wealthy family in West Africa around 1770, Omar Ibn Said was abducted and sold into slavery in the United States, where he came to the attention of a prominent North Carolina family after filling “the walls of his room with piteous petitions to be released, all written in the Arabic language,” as one local newspaper reported. Ibn Said soon became a local celebrity, and in 1831 he was asked to write his life story, producing the only known surviving American slave narrative written in Arabic.
This edition presents the English translation on pages facing facsimile pages of Ibn Said’s Arabic narrative, augmented by Alryyes’s comprehensive introduction, contextual essays and historical commentary by leading literary critics and scholars of Islam and the African diaspora, photographs, maps, and other writings by Omar Ibn Said. The result is an invaluable addition to our understanding of writings by enslaved Americans and a timely reminder that “Islam” and “America” are not mutually exclusive terms.
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7. Muslim American Women on Campus: Undergraduate Social Life and Identity
Muslim American Women on Campusilluminates the processes by which a group of ethnically diverse American college women, all identifying as Muslim and all raised in the United States, construct their identities during one of the most formative times in their lives.
Mir, an anthropologist of education, focuses on key leisure practices–drinking, dating, and fashion–to probe how Muslim American students adapt to campus life and build social networks that are seamlessly American, Muslim, and youthful.
In this lively and highly accessible book, we hear the women’s own often poignant voices as they articulate how they find spaces within campus culture as well as their Muslim student communities to grow and assert themselves as individuals, women, and Americans. Mir concludes, however, that institutions of higher learning continue to have much to learn about fostering religious diversity on campus.
The author, Shabana Mir is Associate Professor of Anthropology at American Islamic College, Chicago where she teaches Islamic Studies, Gender Studies, and Research Methods. She is the author of the award-winning book “Muslim American Women on Campus: Undergraduate Social Life and Identity,” published by the University of North Carolina Press (2014). The book has received the Outstanding Book Award from the National Association for Ethnic Studies and the Critics’ Choice Award from the American Educational Studies Association (2014).
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8. Muslim Americans in the Military: Centuries of Service
InMuslim Americans in the Military: Centuries of Service, Edward E. Curtis IV illuminates the long history of Muslim service members who have defended their country and struggled to practice their faith. Profiling soldiers, Marines, airmen, and sailors, Curtis showcases the real stories of Muslim Americans, from Omer Otmen, who fought fiercely against German forces during World War I, to Captain Humayun Khan, who gave his life in Iraq in 2004. These true stories contradict the narratives of hate and fear that have dominated recent headlines, revealing the contributions and sacrifices that these soldiers have made to the United States.
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9. Muslims in American History: A Forgotten Legacy
Muslims and Moriscos sailed with Columbus and were part of many of the Spanish explorations of the New World. Muslims comprised a significant percentage of the enslaved Africans who were brought to the Americas, and many Islamic residuals have found their way into contemporary African-American life and culture. At least one Muslim fought for American independence during the Revolutionary War, and many other Muslims were prepared to fight to keep American independence during the War of 1812.
Another prominent Muslim was part of the taming! of the Wild West. Beginning in the late 19th century, successive waves of Muslim immigrants enriched America, and the phenomenon of Americans converting to Islam became increasingly widespread. In reviewing this history, the author presents a series of brief biographies of individual Muslims to illustrate the Muslim presence at each stage in American history. These biographies provide valuable role models with which Muslim youth in America can identify as they search for their identities as both Americans and Muslims.
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10. Black Crescent: The Experience and Legacy of African Muslims in the Americas Illustrated Edition
Beginning with Latin America in the fifteenth century, this book comprises a social history of the experiences of African Muslims and their descendants throughout the Americas, including the Caribbean. The years under slavery are examined, as well as the post-slavery period.
The study also analyzes Muslim revolts in Brazil–especially in 1835. The second part of the book traces the emergence of Islam among U.S. African descendants in the twentieth century, featuring chapters on Noble Drew Ali, Elijah Muhammad, and Malcolm X to explain how orthodoxy arose from varied unorthodox roots. Currently Professor of History and Middle Eastern Studies at NYU, Michael Gomez has research interests that include Islam in West Africa, the African diaspora and African culture in North America. He has been involved with the launching of a new academic organization, the Association for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora (ASWAD), and has published widely in the field.
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