Islam has been part of the increasingly complex American religious scene for well over a century, and was brought into more dramatic focus by the attacks of September 11, 2001. American Islam is practiced by a unique blend of immigrants and American-born Muslims. The immigrants have come from all corners of the world; they include rich and poor, well-educated and illiterate, those from upper and lower classes as well as economic and political refugees. The community's diversity has been enhanced by the conversion of African Americans, Latina/os, and others, making it the most heterogeneous Muslim community in the world.
With an up-to-the-minute analysis by thirty of the top scholars in the field, this handbook covers the growth of Islam in America from the earliest Muslims to set foot on American soil to the current wave of Islamophobia. Topics covered include the development of African American Islam; pre- and post-WWII immigrants; Sunni, Shi'ite, sectarian and Sufi movements in America; the role and status of women, marriage, and family; and the Americanization of Islamic culture.
Throughout these chapters the contributors explore the meaning of religious identity in the context of race, ethnicity, gender, and politics, both within the American Islamic community and in relation to international Islam.

Designed as a useful reference tool to help students, educators, and diplomats maneuver through scholarly literature as well as primary sources published in English between 1989 and 1994, this work seeks to help the researcher make sense of the explosion of literature on this often contentious topic. In addition to surveying the literature on Islamic revival worldwide, it provides commentary on literature pertaining to important topics such as the role of women in Islam, Islamic economics, and the migration of Muslims to western Europe and North America. This work is a continuation of the first edition published by Greenwood in 1991, DEGREESIThe Contemporary Islamic Revival DEGREESR.

Governments, policymakers, and experts around the world are debating whether contemporary Islamic revival, in particular Islamic Fundamentalism, is a diverse and multifaceted phenomenon or a uniformly clear and present danger to be consistently and persistently repressed or eradicated. Some propose that there are means of cooperation, collaboration, or co-optation with those who adhere to it, while others see it as a menace, warning of a clash of civilizations, and of an Islamic population explosion which poses a demographic threat to national security and world peace.

As the U.S. Muslim population continues to grow, Islamic schools are springing up across the American landscape. Especially since the events of 9/11, many have become concerned about what kind of teaching is going on behind the walls of these schools, and whether it might serve to foster the seditious purposes of Islamist extremism. The essays collected in this volume look behind those walls and discover both efforts to provide excellent instruction following national educational standards and attempts to inculcate Islamic values and protect students from what are seen as the dangers of secularism and the compromising values of American culture. Also considered here are other dimensions of American Islamic education, including: new forms of institutions for youth and college-age Muslims; home-schooling; the impact of educational media on young children; and the kind of training being offered by Muslim chaplains in universities, hospitals, prisons, and other such settings. Finally the authors look at the ways in which Muslims are rising to the task of educating the American public about Islam in the face of increasing hostility and prejudice. This timely volume is the first dedicated entirely to the neglected topic of Islamic education.