Red, White, and Muslim
My Story of Belief
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5.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
For Asma Hasan, being a Muslim is not merely a matter of birth, but also of choice and faith. Based on her understanding of the Qur’an and her upbringing as an American Muslim, she presents a vision of Islam that is ethnically diverse, tolerant of others, and supportive of the rights of women.
Hasan, a journalist and lawyer, argues that Islam is not a misogynistic, oppressive belief system, as it has often been portrayed, but rather a faith tradition that has as many varied interpretations as Christianity. Part memoir and part cultural analysis, Red, White, and Muslim looks at the side of Islam that is left out of the daily news.
Asma Gull Hasan was born in Chicago to Pakistani immigrant parents and grew up in Colorado. As a Glamour magazine blogger, a contributor to the New York Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The Denver Post and the author of the acclaimed book American Muslims, she has become internationally recognized as an articulate and persuasive Islamic American voice. Hasan is a frequent guest on national cable news networks, including Fox News and MSNBC. She is in demand around the world as a speaker on a variety of topics. She is a graduate of Wellesley College and the New York University School of Law.
“Asma Hasan will rock your stereotypes about Islam in this refreshing book. Here is a young woman who embraces Islam, modernity, America, her family, and her friends – all with enthusiasm and commitment. She sees no contradictions between them and, after you have read this book, neither will you.” - Fareed Zakaria, Editor, Newsweek International, and author of The Future of Freedom
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Americans looking for a strong, moderate Muslim voice that publicly condemns terrorism and the second-class status of women should consider it done not once and for all, but nonetheless consistently and fiercely. Hasan, an American Muslim woman whose efforts to inform others about the Islam that she practices and to correct narrow-minded extremists have earned her regular appearances on Fox News and MSNBC, has revised Why I Am a Muslim (2004), adding fresh material. Its arguments, based in Hasan's personal experience and religious knowledge, are as relevant now as they were five years ago. The book is directed primarily at non-Muslim Americans to show them Qur'anic texts and Islamic beliefs and practices that challenge unfavorable stereotypes. But Hasan also takes on her fellow Muslims, urging them to distinguish cultural mores from religious orthodoxy, especially concerning the treatment of women. That she continues to face such oppressive interpretations of Islam by other Muslims undermines her arguments that Islam is "not like that." But readers will wish that she and others continue with such courageous correctives.
