This is the compelling true story of how the Women's Institute pulled Britain through the war with pots of jam and a spirit of make-do-and-mend.
#1489649 in Books I B Tauris Company 2015-05-31Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.75 x 1.00 x 5.50l; .60 #File Name: 1848855990192 pagesI B Tauris Company
Review
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful. A great deal of information about an American group now undergoing deep suspicion.By lyndonbrechtNot a book I "love" but a very good; informative account of Islam in America; worth the five stars. I'm puzzled at the lack of reviews; perhaps the publisher is not well known. The topic is important; and with the recent rise (at the time this is being written) in concern about radical Islamic jihad; this rather objective account is a good one to read for information. One important aspect is that many American Muslims are nor Arab and many American Arabs are not Muslims (for example; many Lebanese Arab Christians migrated to the US early in the 1900s). American Muslims come from more than 60 countries; but particularly Iran; India; Pakistan; Egypt and Lebanon. Curiel estimates 30;000 Americans each year convert to Islam; and many of those are African American (prisons are a major site of conversions; which the book discusses in fascinating detail).We do not know how many Muslims live in the US. Estimates range from 1 to 9 million. What is clear is that the American Islamic community in total is very diverse; and Curiel says it is the most diverse in the world. The book discusses the Americanization of Islam; an important topic--recall that American Judaism has been thoroughly Americanized; with intermarriage frequent and the religion reduced to a cultural heritage for a sizable portion of American Jews. Curiel interviewed a number of American Muslims and found a wide range of views; from very traditional to quite relaxed. He also found concern about the rising tide of Islamiphobia. He cites surveys that found that 18% of American Muslims never attend mosque services and 16% rarely attend. He also found a fairly strong current of Islamic feminism.One point usually forgotten about is that a substantial fraction of slaves were in origin Muslims. It is not clear how many remained Muslim; because they would have been under heavy pressure to become Christian; but it is clear that aspects of Islamic culture persisted in such things as foodways and folk tales. Curiel notes a moderate interest in Islam in the 1800s by people such as Emerson; and an interest by African Americans in Islam that goes back almost a century--one of the best discussions in the book concerns groups such as the Nation of Islam and people like Mohammed X.
