Taking Back Islam: American Muslims Reclaim Their Faith

Great book, edited by Michael Wolfe. Highly recommended in this post 9/11 world. Contains a chapter by the great Khaled Abou El Fadl. Pushes a pluralistic moderate Islam.

This small collection of essays by various ethnic Muslims reads easy and fast. Most of the stuff they talked about is nothing new. What I did find interesting was the essays relating to black Muslims, which I rarely hear anything about. I recommend this book for non-Muslims who what to read a different side of stories.

All of the essays in the book inspire one to read and learn more - they encourage the reader to follow the turns of his/her mind, like water in a curving stream bed, rather than to hammer home a point or two. With elegant use of facts and figures, the reader finds him/herself dipping into the possibility that there is hope for the future - despite the current terrorism.In short, these essays bring to us, out of one of history's darkest moments, an extended love song to the world we still have. Sometimes grave, occasionally reflective, and ultimately informative, Taking Back Islam is a hopeful examination of the people Muslims are and what they might yet make of themselves.

"Taking Back Islam: American Muslims Reclaim Their Faith" is an anthology edited by Michael Wolfe and the producers of the Internet site "beliefnet." Altogether there are more than 40 short essays contained in this 240-plus-xiv page book. The introduction by Wolfe notes that the contributors are "progressive, mostly American, Muslims."The essays are thematically grouped into a number of larger sections: "Violence," "Democracy," "Women and Islam," "The African-American Experience," and more. As a whole this is an absolutely fascinating and illuminating collection of voices. Among the many topics covered are Quranic interpretation, Muslim humor, the roles played by mosques in America, fasting, Sufism, the impact of the 9/11 attacks, and sectarianism within Islam. It's not a sanitized book--the essays cover some difficult and controversial material.There are some real standout pieces in this anthology. Mas'ood Cajee's "'Mom Raised Me as a Zionist'" is a funny and touching account of growing up in both South Africa and the U.S. and of his encounters with the Jewish community. Arsalan Tariq Iftikhar's "I Believe in Allah and America" is a genuinely stirring piece in which the author declares, "I am a Muslim and I am an American. I am proud of both and will compromise neither."This is a thought provoking and valuable book which I especially recommend to Americans regardless of their religious beliefs. It's a book suitable for both classroom use and individual reading.

American Muslims reclaim their faith and pride in Islamic roots in Taking Back Islam, a unique compilation which gathers American voices from the vanguard of Muslim faith. Here devout believers talk of their religion, Islam's basic beliefs, and messages of tolerance and peace in the Qur'an which are central to their beliefs.