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.

Exploring the mainstream American Muslim community up close, this guide briefly traces the history of Islam in the US and Canada, while it offers a fascinating and informative introduction to Islamic values and institutions. It assesses such issues as American Muslims' perception of themselves, their differences from and similarities to Muslims in Islamic countries, and how they have adapted to life and work in the secular societies of the US and Canada. This book also depicts the responses of Muslim media organizations, charities and community support structures in the wake of 9/11.
Packed with data designed to serve researchers and Muslims alike, this unique resource includes useful tables and analyses of population statistics, immigration, and participation in the political process as well as an extensive directory of more than 130 pages that lists both websites and local contact details for the organizations that support today's mainstream US and Canadian Muslim community.