American Caliph
The True Story of a Muslim Mystic, a Hollywood Epic, and the 1977 Siege of Washington, DC
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4.6 • 7 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
American Caliph: The Riveting True Story of America's First Homegrown Muslim Terror Attack
American Caliph is the gripping account of the 1977 Hanafi siege of Washington, DC—the largest hostage-taking on American soil. On March 9, 1977, seven men stormed the headquarters of B'nai B'rith International, taking over a hundred employees hostage. Simultaneously, three more men entered the Islamic Center of Washington, seizing control of the country's most important mosque. Two others infiltrated the District Building, where a reporter was killed and future mayor Marion Barry was shot.
The attackers belonged to the Hanafi movement, led by former jazz drummer Hamaas Abdul Khaalis. Khaalis demanded the surrender of those responsible for the 1973 murder of seven of his family members and followers, as well as the cancellation of the American premiere of Mohammad: Messenger of God.
Meticulously researched and drawing from hundreds of declassified FBI files, American Caliph chronicles the battle for control of American Islam, the international politics of religion and oil, and the hour-by-hour drama of a city under siege. Shahan Mufti's riveting true-crime narrative sheds new light on the turbulent 1970s and its enduring consequences.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
In this gripping, meticulously researched history, journalist Mufti (The Faithful Scribe) recounts the March 1977 siege of three buildings in Washington, D.C., by Hamaas Abdul Khaalis and his Sunni Muslim group, the Hanafis. Khaalis, a jazz drummer and a former leader of the Nation of Islam, orchestrated the attack, in which 12 heavily armed Hanafi members took nearly 150 hostages and, among other demands, threatened to start beheading people if the New York City premiere of a film about the life of the Prophet Muhammad wasn't canceled. Mufti vividly captures the 39-hour crisis and the delicate in-person negotiations between Khaalis and ambassadors to the U.S. from Iran, Pakistan, and Egypt that resulted in the hostages' release. Also explored are Khaalis's bitter feud with the Nation of Islam's leader, Elijah Muhammad, whose followers massacred seven of Khaalis's family members and disciples in 1973; the "geopolitical drama" caused by Moustapha Akkad's ambitious movie, Mohammad: Messenger of God, which was bankrolled by Libyan leader Muammar Gadhafi; violent tensions between Israel and its Middle East neighbors; and NBA star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's loyal, deep-pocketed support of the Hanifis. Expertly drawn from FBI files, wiretap transcripts, and interviews, this captivating history fascinates.
