The Imam: A Novel

Religious leaders and prophets of all faiths have forever struggled with their own humanity in the context of divine circumstance. Centuries ago a long familial line of intellectual and sacred authorities of Shia Islam, the twelve Imams, endured fierce scrutiny and staggering personal sacrifice.

The Imam, a bold, epic tale of the fictionalized life of the twelfth Imam colorfully probes the human hearts of Muslim leaders while exploring Islamic thought. Set in modern Mecca, Lahore, Teheran, and New York, The Imam is a tale of love, hope, tyranny, and betrayal. Two of Islam’s holiest men – one of them the next Imam, who is taken to the United States at birth and kept in hiding there – the second, his open and visible representative, who remains in the Middle East. Two opposite worlds are straddled in a vain attempt to fulfill a divine prophecy, which calls for the holy expansion of Islam into the Western world.

Brought to life by author, Harvey Havel in the context of the modern day and Western world, this religious shocker introduces an Imam who must make sense of his life through a schizophrenic lens. Says Havel, “Through the medium of illness, the Imam attempts to establish his ideal view of the world by using his illness as a tool. He finds a way towards Allah that eschews reality but closely resembles it.”

Harvey Havel was born in Pakistan and educated since early childhood in the United States. He has traveled to Mecca, Saudi Arabia and has studied both Islam and schizophrenia for the past decade. Havel is also the author of Noble McCloud, A Novel.