Nearly seven million Muslims live in the United States today, and their relations with non-Muslims are strained. Many Americans associate Islam with figures such as Osama bin Laden, and they worry about "homegrown terrorists." To shed light on this increasingly important religious group and counter mutual distrust, renowned scholar Akbar Ahmed conducted the most comprehensive study to date of the American Muslim community. Journey into America explores and documents how Muslims are fitting into U.S. society, placing their experience within the larger context of American identity. This eye-opening book also offers a fresh and insightful perspective on American history and society. Following up on his critically acclaimed Journey into Islam: The Crisis of Globalization (Brookings, 2007), Ahmed and his team of young researchers traveled for a year through more than seventyfive cities across the United States -from New York City to Salt Lake City; from Las Vegas to Miami; from the large Muslim enclave in Dearborn, Michigan, to small, predominantly white towns like Arab, Alabama. They visited homes, schools, and over one hundred mosques to discover what Muslims are thinking and how they are living every day in America. In this unprecedented exploration of American Muslim communities, Ahmed asked challenging questions: Can we expect an increase in homegrown terrorism? How do American Muslims of Arab descent differ from those of other origins (for example, Somalia or South Asia)? Why are so many white women converting to Islam? How can a Muslim become accepted fully as an "American," and what does that mean? He also delves into the potentially sticky area of relations with other religions. For example, is there truly a deep divide between Muslims and Jews in America? And how well do Muslims get along with other religious groups, such as Mormons in Utah? Journey into America is equal parts anthropological research, listening tour, and travelogue. Whereas Ahmed's previous book took the reader into homes, schools, and mosques in the Muslim world, his new quest takes us into the heart of America and its Muslim communities. It is absolutely essential reading for anyone trying to make sense of America today.
Akbar Ahmed is currently the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at the American University in Washington, D.C., the First Distinguished Chair of Middle East and Islamic Studies at the U.S. Naval Academy, and a nonresident senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. He has taught at Princeton, Harvard, and Cambridge Universities and has been called "the world's leading authority on contemporary Islam" by the BBC. He is a frequent media contributor, the author of several books (including Journey into Islam and Polity Press's Islam under Siege), a playwright ("Noor" and "The Trial of Dara Shikoh"), and a published poet.
"Ahmed is an engaging and perceptive tour guide who interviews Muslims from all walks of life: imams, rappers, businessmen and women, doctors, engineers, and refugees...[He] has written an important account that could help non-Muslims and Muslims create a more tolerant and welcoming nation." -Karl Helicher, http://www.forewordreviews.com/reviews/journey-into-america-the-challenge-of-islam/, ForeWord Magazine |"A brilliant follow-up to Journey into Islam. Ahmed's insights should be required reading for anyone grappling with national security, national identity, and national cohesion in today's complex era." -Colonel David Kilcullen, author of The Accidental Guerrilla |"An absolutely riveting journey into an America most Americans have no idea about. As the U.S. faces up to the tensions within its own Muslim communities, it could not be more timely." -Christina Lamb, Washington Bureau Chief, Sunday Times |"My friend Professor Ahmed came to America in the great tradition of Alexis de Tocqueville: a perceptive foreigner affectionately looking at America and American identity. This important new book advances his heroic, even dangerous, 'five minutes to midnight' effort to save us from our foolish mutual animosities. Pray his efforts are not too late." -Tony Blankley, Washington Times and Heritage Foundation |"A timely and stimulating contribution to a critically important issue: the West's (and especially America's) relationship to Islam." -Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Adviser |"What a wonderful, wonderful work! This book presents great insight into the diversity and vibrancy of American Islam and its potential to help achieve the American promise." -Eboo Patel, Founder and Executive Director of Interfaith Youth Core |"In the tradition of Alexis de Tocqueville, Akbar Ahmed has had a conversation with and about America which illuminates an important part of our national identity." -Ambassador Carol Moseley Braun, former United States Senator and presidential candidate |" Journey into America is an essential pillar in the effort to build the interfaith bridge of understanding. It will inform, provoke, and inspire Americans of all colors, cultures, and faiths." -U.S. Representative Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) |"In his latest book and documentary, Journey Into America: The Challenge of Islam, Ahmed clearly shows how American ignorance of Islam causes us to unjustly malign a faith that more than a billion people hold dear....Ahmed's Journey Into America is well worth reading." -Joyce Davis, Harrisburg Patriot-News |"He's a very wonderful man...it's such an interesting study...it's a great study and it completely drives home the incredible diversity of something that I think, in our eyes, we view as a monolith and anything that lends that, obviously, is very helpful." -Jon Stewart, The Daily Show |"He is the author of Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam. It's a great book. Details so much--the struggles we are in right now in dealing with all these things around the world. Terrific read." -John Roberts, CNN "American Morning" |"A wonderful book...its so comprehensive, it's great." -Alisyn Camerota, Fox News |"Believe me, its a monumental, fascinating, wonderfully readable and engaging book." -Maureen Fiedler, Interfaith Voices/NPR |"Dr. Akbar Ahmed has written a landmark work that must be read by every American if our nation is to re-affirm its commitment to the principles of American Democracy and its gift of sustaining religious plurality. Muslims in America are once again under the cultural microscope of a nation that has yet to recover emotionally from the horrors of 9/11. Driven by fear of the "other" and a lack of understanding about Islam and Muslims, America is at a crossroads. Can we live into the high ideals of America's founding fathers who cherished religious diversity? Or are we as a nation going to be influenced by another America, an America fueled by ignorance and religious xenophobia?" -The Rt. Rev. John Bryson Chane, D.D., Episcopal Bishop of Washington |"Dr Akbar Ahmed's latest book Journey into America: the Challenge of Islam is timely, important and audacious. It is a remarkably perceptive account of the Muslim experience in post-9/11 America." -Maleeha Lodi, International News |"Rarely have I read a book that is as timely, informative and engaging as Journey into America: the Challenge of Islam by Dr. Akbar Ahmed, considered one of the foremost Islamic scholars in the world." -Maureen Fiedler, http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/journey-america-challenge-islam, National Catholic Reporter |"Ahmed's research is superb...readers unfamiliar with Islam will walk away with a much firmer grasp of its nuances, and everyone will likely learn a great deal about American self-perception." - Publishers Weekly |"Akbar Ahmed's Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam is a timely, important, and profoundly engaging study of the tensions that exist within the American identity." -Ilhan Niaz, http://southasia-online.com/book-reviews/613-value-of-freedom.html, South Asia |"A truly remarkable book." -Byron Borger, http://www.heartsandmindsbooks.com/booknotes/journey_into_america_the_chall/?utm_source=twitterfeed& utm_medium=twitter, Hearts and Minds Bookstore |"Dr. Akbar Ahmed, a renowned Islamic Scholar, in his latest book Journey into America clearly outlines that it's not the heart and minds of the global Muslim world Obama needs to win, but the hearts and minds of American Muslims." -Amra Tareen, Allvoices |"[A] unique and ground breaking book." -Nicole Queen, Queen of Islam blog |"Rarely have I read a book that is as timely, informative and engaging as Journey into America: the Challenge of Islam by Dr. Akbar Ahmed, considered one of the foremost Islamic scholars in the world." -Maureen Fiedler, National Catholic Reporter, Maureen Fiedler's blog |"[A] much-needed exercise in bridge-building... a remarkable academic exercise." -Karamatullah K. Ghori, DAWN (Pakistan |"Ultimately, we end up as either part of the solution or part of the problem...We can't bridge the understanding gap without knowledge. Journey into America is a major contribution in that regard." -John Milewski, Huffington Post
