Muslims in America A Short History

Muslims in America is the first single-authored book to treat the history of Muslims in America from the colonial era to the present day, a surprising gap in the literature. It describes the racial and religious strands of American Islam and describes Muslims' presence and practice in Americasince they first came to the United States, setting American Islam in the context of larger events such as slavery, the Cold War, and feminism. Curtis argues that American Islam is a transnational phenomenon, and explains how anti-Muslim prejudice, domestic racism, and U.S. foreign policy in Africa and Asia have encouraged the rise of a political Islam in the United States. Curtis also shows how most Muslims in the U.S. are overwhelminglyinvested in ideas of democracy and peaceful social change. Even more, this work highlights Muslims who want nothing to do with politics, choosing to focus on spiritual enlightenment, their family's financial success, and other goals. In so doing, the book also reveals the richness of Sunni, Shi'i,Sufi and other forms of Islamic theology, ethics, and rituals in the United States.

Edward E. Curtis IV is Millennium Chair of the Liberal Arts and Professor of Religious Studies at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). The author or editor of four books on Muslim American and African American religious history, Curtis is general editor of the largest scholarly encyclopedia ever produced on the experience of Muslims in the United States.