February 9, 2010
· Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged Akbar Ahmed, christina lamb, david kilcullen, Eboo Patel, Journey into America, keith ellison, tony blankley
“Professor Akbar Ahmed turns his intrepid approach to cultural dialogue and inter-faith understanding onto American society, in this brilliant follow-up to “Journey into Islam”. His insights should be required reading for anyone grappling with national security, national identity and national cohesion in today’s complex era.” Colonel David Kilcullen, author of Washington Post Bestseller and Economist Book of the Year, The Accidental Guerrilla
“My friend, Professor Ahmed, came to America in the great tradition of Alexis De Tocqueville: a perceptive foreigner affectionately looking at America and American identity. This important new book advances his heroic, even dangerous, ‘five minutes to midnight’ effort to save us from our foolish mutual animosities. Pray his efforts are not too late.” Tony Blankley, The Washington Times and The Heritage Foundation
“What a wonderful, wonderful work! Dr. Akbar Ahmed has written an important book on Islam in the United States today. With the refreshing perspective of both Dr. Ahmed and his bright young traveling companions, this book presents great insight into the diversity and vibrancy of American Islam and its potential to help achieve the American promise.” Eboo Patel, founder and Executive Director of Interfaith Youth Core
“I have not read a work as insightful, erudite, and innovative on the challenge of American identity since Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America. Akbar Ahmed sets a new paradigm in the ongoing debate on defining American identity.” Melody Fox, Berkley Center at Georgetown University
“Journey to America is an essential pillar in the effort to build the interfaith bridge of understanding. It will inform, provoke, and inspire Americans of all colors, cultures, and faiths.” Congressman Keith Ellison
“If one wants to know why the world and not just America needs America to be America; if one wants stirring uplift and insight into the diversity and experience of being Muslim in America; if one wants to appreciate the genius of America’s founding fathers and the significance of their Bill of Rights; if one wants to absorb the experiences of different generations and different religions struggling together to understand the contemporary world; if one wants to understand how the constantly changing identity of the United States throughout the sweep of its history is relevant for today’s challenges; if one wants to appreciate how new useful knowledge can be created by what anthropologists call “participant observation research;” if one wants practical suggestions for building a better world at home and abroad together; then read Journey into America: The Challenge of Islam by Akbar S. Ahmed and his intrepid team.” Dean Louis Goodman, American University, Washington DC
“An absolutely riveting journey into an America most Americans have no idea about – as the US faces up to the tensions within its own Muslim communities it could not be more timely.” Christina Lamb, The Sunday Times Washington Bureau Chief Read the rest of this entry »
February 8, 2010
· Filed under Uncategorized
List of Contents
Chapter 1: Muslim Odyssey
PART 1: AMERICAN IDENTITY
Chapter 2: Defining American Identity
Chapter 3: Searching for American Identity
PART 2: ISLAM IN AMERICA
Chapter 4: African-Americans as First Muslims
Chapter 5: Immigrant Muslims: Living the American Dream/American Nightmare
Chapter 6: Muslim Converts: Shame and Honor in a Time of Excess
PART 3: ADJUSTING AND ADAPTING
Chapter 7: Jews and Muslims: Bridging the Great Divide
Chapter 8: Mormons and Muslims
Chapter 9: The Importance of Being America
February 5, 2010
· Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged Akbar Ahmed, America, founding fathers, history, Islam, Journey into America, Muslim, Religion, united states
The most comprehensive study ever done on the American Muslim community, Journey into America explores and documents how Muslims are fitting into U.S. society, seeking to place the Muslim experience in the U.S. within the larger context of American identity.In doing so, it is a major contribution to the study of American history and culture.
Renowned scholar Akbar Ahmed and his team of young researchers traveled through over seventy-five cities across the United States—from New York City to Salt Lake City; from Las Vegas to Miami; from large enclaves such as Dearborn, Michigan, to small towns like Arab, Alabama. They visited over one hundred mosques and visited homes and schools to discover what Muslims are thinking, what they are reading, and how they are living every day in America. Read the rest of this entry »
December 17, 2009
· Filed under Uncategorized
Come see the film in Port Talbot, South Wales in the UK. The festival is scheduled to run from August 3rd – 7th 2010.
December 9, 2009
· Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged Akbar Ahmed, America, American University, barack obama, hawaii, identity, indonesia, Journey into America, Maya Soetoro-Ng, Muslim, President, Religion
Dr. Maya Soetoro-Ng at Professor Ahmed's class at American University
Like so many of my peers, I set off a couple years ago to college in Washington, DC, looking to save the world, or at least change it, and promptly found that the world is a bit uncooperative. Unfortunately, there seems to be a glut of well-intentioned young people in pursuit of college degrees and world peace at the moment. To be quite honest, I seem to be a good bit more cynical now than ever before. That cynicism held for my last real class of the semester, in which we would have Maya Soetoro-Ng as a speaker. “She’s only coming to speak because she’s President Obama’s sister,” said my inner snark, which may have been right. However, I was to be blown out of my complacency and ennui by Ms. Soetoro-Ng and her message. The course focused on American identity and the American Muslim community and was taught by Ambassador Prof. Akbar Ahmed. In our explorations of what it means to be American, we had played host to many distinguished visitors who eloquently addressed us; Ms. Soetoro-Ng, in my opinion, now tops the list, and I only wish she taught in DC.
Now, follow this closely: Ms. Soetoro-Ng is an Indonesian-American born in Indonesia to a mostly-Unitarian woman from Kansas, and spent parts of her childhood in Hawai’i before falling in love with salsa and meringue and deciding to learn Spanish. She now identifies as Buddhist and is married to a Malaysian-Chinese-Canadian-American. Read the rest of this entry »
December 8, 2009
· Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged Akbar Ahmed, Islam, israel, Journey into America, Judaism, judea pearl, palestine, Religion, washiington post
From Sunday’s Washington Post Magazine:
Five years ago, American University professor Akbar Ahmed and UCLA professor Judea Pearl were traveling the country, “two grandfathers on a stage,” trying to promote understanding between Jews and Muslims.
Their dialogues, which were detailed by Paula Span in a 2004 Magazine story, earned them the 2006 Purpose Prize, a $100,000 award that recognizes social innovators older than 60. The two have since taken a break from the events, but the Daniel Pearl Foundation — named after the slain journalist, who was Judea Pearl’s son — would like to schedule more next year.
Ahmed realized that although getting Jews and Muslims talking in one room was a big step, more needed to be done to understand the Muslim experience in America. Read the rest of this entry »
December 7, 2009
· Filed under Uncategorized · Tagged Akbar Ahmed, council for parliament if worlds religions, cpwr, Islam, journey intoamerica, melody fox, Muslims in America, Religion
Guest blog by: Melody Fox Ahmed
Ambassador Akbar Ahmed’s documentary “Journey into America” was screened this morning at the World Parliament of Religions, the “Olympics of interfaith dialogue” begun in Chicago in 1893 and now held every 4-5 years. There are thousands of people here from around the globe and an incredibly diverse array of beliefs and cultures. The schedule of events is truly overwhelming – the program book is hundreds of pages long – and it is a challenge to get to every session you want to see, with so many interesting programs and speakers scheduled.
Ambassador Ahmed unfortunately wasn’t able to make it Melbourne, but I introduced the film and talked about the project and it’s predecessor, Journey into Islam. The room was nearly full, with a diverse crowd – happily, there were a lot of young people there, something I found missing in other Parliament sessions. The film started and the crowd was totally engaged throughout - laughing at the funny parts, gasping at the stories of discrimination, smiling at the antics of the team, moved and thoughtful. Although we were supposed to leave the room at 11, the film had about 15 more minutes to go, and I invited people to stay if they were able. Nearly the whole room stayed until the end, and clapped enthusiastically at the end.
After the film many people came up to me to say how much they’d enjoyed it (I’m sitting in a cafe now and a young Australian girl just came by to say thank you for showing it and that she was really moved by it). An American here told me it made her homesick.
Some special guests who I met after the film were Prof. Fred Woods, Professor of Religious Understanding at Brigham Young University and his colleague Prof. Daniel Peterson, Professor of Islamic Studies and Arabic at BYU. They met Ambassador Ahmed and team when they were in Utah, and was delighted he’d been able to see the film – he had not been able to make it to the DC screening and we joked that he had to come all the way to Australia to see it! They both appreciated the portrayal of Mormons in the film and do work to promote religious understanding about Mormons – and Muslims – in the US, a not so obvious link to most, and one of the really interesting parts of the film. Prof. Douglas Pratt of the Religious Studies Programme at the University of Waikato in New Zealand also was excited to see the film – he knows Ambassdpr Ahmed through his BBC series, which he uses for his courses – and will be in DC soon, where he hopes to meet the Journey into America team.
Directly following the film, another film started, fittingly on Islam and Muslims in Australia. Ambassador Ahmed’s film is a creative, insightful, engaging, and wise addition to the much needed global discourse on Muslims and Islam that is the hot topic here at the Parliament and around the globe. It was great to see the film brought across the world to start dialogue with a new group of people dedicated to promoting peace and understanding, in this lovely site overlooking the Yarra River in Melbourne, Australia.
Melody Fox Ahmed is the Director of Programs and Operations at the Berkley Center for Religion, Peace, and World Affairs at Georgetown University.
November 24, 2009
· Filed under Uncategorized
Just weeks after Dr. Ahmed Akbar came to American University in August 2001, his life changed.
“I’m teaching one of my first classes when the plane slams into the Pentagon,” he said. From that moment on, he was on a mission.
“Because my subject is Islam, because I am a Muslim, it makes my task even more urgent,” he said. “I’m trying to create bridges of understanding, trying to create bridges of dialogue, on campus and off campus.”
To continue reading the full article on www.diverseeducation.com, click here.
November 16, 2009
· Filed under Uncategorized
Journey Into America
jonathanhayden
Madeeha Hameed
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