Chicago Muslims and the Transformation of American Islam

Immigrants, African Americans, and the Building of the American Ummah

S. Kaazim Naqvi

Through the Hart-Celler Act of 1965, Islam in America underwent a dramatic transformation. In the city of Chicago, African American and immigrant Muslims increasingly came into contact and collaboration with each other. Aided by shifts in American foreign and domestic policies, and the increasing interconnectivity of Arab states with American Muslims, the character and scope of community development and religious practice changed under the leadership of a new generation of American Muslims. Envisioning themselves as part of a single “ummah,” leaders of various Muslim communities worked to build understanding, consolidate organizations, and share time and space with their co-religionists. Through their actions, racial, cultural, linguistic, and ideological barriers were no longer be irreconcilable differences. Utilizing documents from groups like the MCC, MSA, and NOI, this book emphasizes the on-the-ground actions of Chicago-based Muslims in reimagining and building the ummah in America. In doing so, Chicago Muslims and the Transformation of American Islam offers a new approach to understanding the complex and oft-disparate stories of American Muslim life during this era.

Lexington Books

Pages: 204 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9

978-1-4985-4876-2 • Hardback • June 2019 • $117.00 • (£90.00)

978-1-4985-4877-9 • eBook • June 2019 • $111.00 • (£85.00)

Subjects: Social Science / Islamic Studies, History / United States / State & Local / Midwest (IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI), Religion / Islam / History, Social Science / Discrimination & Race Relations, Political Science / American Foreign Policy

Chicago Muslims and the Transformation of American Islam

Immigrants, African Americans, and the Building of the American Ummah

Hardback

eBook

Summary

Through the Hart-Celler Act of 1965, Islam in America underwent a dramatic transformation. In the city of Chicago, African American and immigrant Muslims increasingly came into contact and collaboration with each other. Aided by shifts in American foreign and domestic policies, and the increasing interconnectivity of Arab states with American Muslims, the character and scope of community development and religious practice changed under the leadership of a new generation of American Muslims. Envisioning themselves as part of a single “ummah,” leaders of various Muslim communities worked to build understanding, consolidate organizations, and share time and space with their co-religionists. Through their actions, racial, cultural, linguistic, and ideological barriers were no longer be irreconcilable differences. Utilizing documents from groups like the MCC, MSA, and NOI, this book emphasizes the on-the-ground actions of Chicago-based Muslims in reimagining and building the ummah in America. In doing so, Chicago Muslims and the Transformation of American Islam offers a new approach to understanding the complex and oft-disparate stories of American Muslim life during this era.

Details

Lexington Books

Pages: 204 • Trim: 6⅜ x 9

978-1-4985-4876-2 • Hardback • June 2019 • $117.00 • (£90.00)

978-1-4985-4877-9 • eBook • June 2019 • $111.00 • (£85.00)

Subjects: Social Science / Islamic Studies, History / United States / State & Local / Midwest (IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, MO, ND, NE, OH, SD, WI), Religion / Islam / History, Social Science / Discrimination & Race Relations, Political Science / American Foreign Policy

Author

S. Kaazim Naqvi is senior lecturer of American studies at the University of Texas at Dallas.

Table of Contents

1. Acknowledgments
2. Introduction: The Dream of a Unified Islamic Chicago
3. Chapter 1: Coming to Chicago: Islam’s American Mecca, 1900–1965
4. Chapter 2: The Transformation of Islamic Chicago, 1965–1978
5. Chapter 3: Arab Money: Islamic Chicago and Transnational Connections
6. Chapter 4: Islamic Chicago and the US Government
7. Chapter 5: Islamic Life in Chicago: Building an Urban Ummah
8. Chapter 6: Chicago’s Muslims: Unity and Fragmentation
9. Conclusion: Islamic Chicago: The Urban Ummah Entering a New Era
10. Bibliography
11. About the Author