CSID Monthly Lecture Series
Speaker: Paul M. Barrett
The Center for the Study of Islam & Democracy (CSID) hosted a Brown Bag Lecture Series: AMERICAN ISLAM: THE STRUGGLE FOR THE SOUL OF A RELIGION on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2007 at CSID, 1625 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Suite 601 Washington DC, 20036.
Summary:
Near the end of this fascinating and carefully researched portrait of Islam in contemporary America, a California mosque experiences a surprisingly heated internal debate about whether to host a fireworks celebration on the Fourth of July. Somehow, the “canopies of red, white, and blue that for a moment illuminated the minaret and dome” of the mosque crystallize many of the tensions that Barrett describes, particularly how so many individuals struggle to be faithful Muslims and patriotic citizens during troubled times. One great contribution of the book is the diverse portrait it offers of Islam in America today, but as Barrett shows, such ideological and racial diversity haven’t been easy: Pakistani immigrants are sometimes at odds with African-American converts and (mostly white) Sufi spiritualists; feminists draw angry fire as they strive for greater equality; and self-proclaimed progressive Muslims feel at odds as American mosques become increasingly conservative and strident. Barrett is an engaging writer who puts a human face on all of these issues. The book is remarkably evenhanded, but Barrett can also be critical at times, whether analyzing the shortcomings of the Patriot Act or pointing to the inconsistency of a self-starting New York imam who works for justice but also praises Muslim extremists. Balanced and insightful, this grassroots journalistic account mines the complexity and depth of American Islam.(Jan.)
About the Speaker:
Paul M. Barrett is an Assistant Managing Editor at BusinessWeek, a position he assumed in September 2005. He is responsible for overseeing investigative projects. Prior to joining BusinessWeek, Mr. Barrett was the legal affairs reporter for The Wall Street Journal. He also held the positions of Supreme Court correspondent, page one special projects editor, and page one news editor at the Journal. Prior to that, he was a staff writer and editor for The Washington Monthly. Mr. Barrett is the author of American Islam: The Struggle for the Soul of a Religion (Farrar, Straus & Giroux), which is scheduled to be released in January 2007. He is also the author of The Good Black: A True Story of Race in America (Dutton, 1999; Plume, 2000). He is a graduate of Harvard Law School and Harvard College. He lives in New York with his wife, Julie Cohen, a television producer with Dateline/NBC.
Space is limited, please RSVP asap, to: Sherif@islam-democracy.org
This event will be available for viewing LIVE on the internet. If you would like to watch the lecture, use the link:
http://www.sit.com.tn/GA/main/0000009b87f60000011034aa586c8005
