Black pilgrimage to Islam
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Black pilgrimage to Islam
Oxford University Press, 2002
Available at 6 libraries
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. [293]-310) and index
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Islam has become an increasingly attractive option for many African-Americans. This book offers the first comprehensive ethnographic study of this phenomenon. Robert Dannin set out to discover why black Americans would fashion themselves into a "double minority" by converting to Islam. What attractoion does the holy Qur'an hold for them? What does Islamic worship accomplish relative to the worship-styles of the many denominations of black churches? How does the rigid Islamic lifestyle accomodate mainstream American values? Drawing on hundreds of interviews conducted over a period of several years, Dannin provides an unprecedented look inside the fascinating and little understood world of the black Muslims. He discovers that the well-known and cult-like Nation of Islam represents only a small part of the picture. Many more African-Americans are drawn to Islamic orthodoxy, with its strict adherence to the Qur'an. Dannin takes us to the First Cleveland Mosque, the oldest continuing Muslim institution in America, and then to a permanent Muslim village in Buffalo, founded by four steelworkers during the Great Depression.
He looks at the aftermath of the assassination of Malcolm X, and the ongoing warfare between the Nation of Islam abd orthodox Muslims. He goes inside New York's maximum-security prisons and hears testimony of the powerful attraction of Islam for individuals in desperate situations. He examines the conflicts between Islam and Western values, especially in the area of gender equality - the greatest source of controversy among African-American Muslims. Other conflicts emerge between African-Americans and foreign-born Muslim immigrants, who have different ideas about appropriate Islamic goals. These conflicts, Dannin finds, often manifest themselves in ethnic and racial terms, and raise important questions about the future of Islam not only in the U.S. but throughout the Islamic disapora. Accessibly written, filled with gripping first-hand testimony, and featuring superb illustrations by photographer Jolie Stahl, this book will be the best available guide to the beliefs and culture of the black Muslims of America.
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