Islam is a vital, growing religion in America. However, little is known about the religion except through the biased lens of media reports which brand African American Muslims as "Black Muslims" and portray their communities as places of social protest. "African" "American Islam" challenges these myths by contextualizing the experience and history of African American Islamic life.
This is the first book to investigate the diverse African American Islamic community on its own terms, in its own language and through its own synthesis of Islamic history and philosophy. Aminah Beverly McCloud shows that African American Islamic expressions are movements well within the 1,400-year-old Islamic traditions. She also looks at what "becoming Muslim" means and how African American Muslims negotiate space in the religious landscape of America. The book presents an overview of the history of African American Islamic expressions in the 20th century and examines the diverse philosophies and ideologies which form the foundation of a culturally distinct Islamic thought.

Understanding Islamic law is crucial not only for Muslims, but for non-Muslims who work with Muslims in legal contexts as well as for anyone wanting to understand the role of Islam in the world today. For unlike western legal systems where religious and legal spheres are kept separate, Islamic law is all-encompassing, directing all human actions. Legal scholar Hisham Ramadan brings together articles to give an excellent overview of the formation of Islamic law and its role in contemporary Islamic and Non-Islamic states. Following an overview of Islamic Law, chapters cover Islamic criminal law, International Humanitarian Law, contract law, & family law. A concluding essay offers an explanation of the legal value of Islam and appendices include original Islamic legal documents from Muhammad's time until today.

Understanding Islamic law is crucial not only for Muslims, but for non-Muslims who work with Muslims in legal contexts as well as for anyone wanting to understand the role of Islam in the world today. For unlike western legal systems where religious and legal spheres are kept separate, Islamic law is all-encompassing, directing all human actions. Legal scholar Hisham Ramadan brings together articles to give an excellent overview of the formation of Islamic law and its role in contemporary Islamic and Non-Islamic states. Following an overview of Islamic Law, chapters cover Islamic criminal law, International Humanitarian Law, contract law, & family law. A concluding essay offers an explanation of the legal value of Islam and appendices include original Islamic legal documents from Muhammad's time until today.

Once a year Muslims from around the world-representing a vast range of ethnicities, incomes, ages, and attitudes-perform the Hajj (pilgrimage) and converge in the holy city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia. Now, the global diversity of Muslims at the Hajj is almost repliacted in the United States: new immigrants, Muslims whose families have been here for generations, and converts are coming together, seeing what unites them and what issues they face together. Project MAPS (Muslims in the American Public Square) began in 1999 to provide much-needed information on this understudied and immensely diverse group of six million Americans. This first volume emerging from the project, Muslims' Place in the American Public Square, shows where the American Muslim community fits into the American religious and civic landscape both before and after 9/11. Renowned scholars contribute theoretical, legal, historical, and sociological perspectives on how Muslims function in both their own institutions and others. For classes in religion or the social sciences, or for anyone interested in this increasingly significant community, Muslims' Place in the American Public Square provides a current, balanced introduction.