Muslim Communities in North America Edited by Yvonne Haddad and Jane Smith. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994, 545 pp.

Abstract

This book, which is a collection of 22 articles by 25 authors, is appropriate
for undergraduate courses on religion in the United States, religious
minorities, immigrant communities, the history of religion, and the sociology
of Islam and Muslims. The first part contains five articles on religious
communities, the second part has nine articles on the mosaic of Islamic
communities in major American metropolitan centers, and the third part
consists of eight articles on ethnic communities in metropolitan settings.
Each part should have been a separate book, as this would have made the
book less bulky and more accessible to those who are interested in only
one of the areas covered.
Reading this book makes it clear that there is great need for Muslim
scholars to study and analyze their own communities, which have a rich
history and have only been studied recently. Books such as this are an
important contribution to the understanding of Muslims in the West and
also serve to clear up many misconceptions about Muslims, a development
that makes interfaith and intercommunity dialogue easier.
Part 1 begins with an article on the Shi'ah communities in North
America by Abdulaziz Sachedina (professor of religious studies, University ...