Muslims in the United States

Abstract

Karen Leonard’s book, Muslims in the United States: The State of Research, seeks to provide “a useful research tool for exploring” the large body of social science research that exists on Islam and Muslims in the United States (p. ix). As a “non-Muslim secular scholar” and anthropologist (p. xi), she reviews research that examines the lives of all those who self-identify as Muslim, including those generally excluded from such discussions, such as Ahmedis, Five Percenters, and homosexuals. The variety of topics explored in this review promises to draw a broad readership. Topics as diverse as immigration and racialization, international conflicts and intra-Muslim tensions, “un-mosqued” Muslims and extremist ideologues are all covered. Therefore, those interested in sociology, history, religion, and, more specifically, individuals researching Islam and Muslims will benefit from reading Muslims in the United States. The book is divided into three sections. In part 1, “Historical Overview of Muslims in the United States,” Leonard briefly introduces Islam’s basic tenets and proceeds to discuss the historical and political realities that affected the growth of African-American, Arab, and South Asian Muslim populations in this country. She identifies three sets of issues that have historically arisen in research and theory building on Muslims in the United States: legitimacy as it relates to African-American Muslim movements, the problem of religious authority in the smaller national-origin and sectarian communities, and the lack of research on the lives of “un-mosqued,” “invisible,” or secular Muslims ...