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Even Angels Ask: A Journey to Islam in America
Books: Text Books: Islam: Item 5
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Even Angels Ask: A Journey to Islam in Americaby Jeffrey Lang
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28 of 31 people found the following review helpful: Honest reflections on Islam in America, March 13, 2002 Reviewer:Umber76 (Brookline, MA, USA) - Dr. Lang bravely bares his soul for the benefit of American Muslims. His journey through various spiritual stages is inspiring - especially the difficulties he faced as a convert to Islam. He tackles many of the challenges/obstacles/controversies that face Islam in America: how to separate Islam from culture, tradition, and politics. He is not afraid to expose what he believes to be the shortcomings of the Muslim ummah. But he turns the same sharply critical eye on his past and admits to his own mistakes. His criticism though, is meant to show where American Muslims need to progress and grow. Though I do not agree entirely with Dr. Lang's practice of Islam (since he places a great deal of emphasis on the Quran but is less heedful of Hadith/Sunnah), he inarguably has some very important things to say. His book will appeal to young American Muslims because Dr. Lang explains the basis of his faith in a very logical, realistic, and *American* way. And certainly this book is a very important resource for new Muslims who may be feeling lost in a new world. Dr. Lang uses very clear, simple language to express himself so the book is very easy reading. I am not sure this book would be comprehensible to a non-Muslim who is unfamiliar with the internal dynamics of Muslim communities (not knowing the differences between sects, nationalities, cultures, age groups, political inclinations, etc). If one has a new or casual interest in Islam, this book is too focused to be a good starting point. It might be interesting reading for someone with a core knowledge/understanding of Islam and the Muslim world.
Book Description
In Even Angels Ask: A Journey to Islam in America, the author attempting to share the American convert's experience of discovering Islam. During his fifteen years of being a university professor on college campuses across the United States, he has met many young Americans of Muslim heritage who avoid or even reject Islam, being unable to reconcile their inherited faith with their acquired Western outlook. One of the principle assumptions behind this book is that even though the American culture has alienated these young people from the faith of their parents, they will be able to relate to what other Americans, of non-Muslim origin, have discovered in Islam. Talking with converts, like himself Dr. Lang found a shared common experience that approximates a characteristic path to the faith.
This book takes the reader along this path by discussing conflicts between faith and reason, difficulties associated with the decision to convert to Islam, obstructions to conversion erected by Muslims themselves, the indispensable experience of Islamic rituals, extremism within the Muslim community, and what the future may hold for American Muslims.
About The Author
Dr. Jeffrey Lang is currently an associate professor in the Department of Mathematics at the University of Kansas. He converted to Islam in the early 1980s.
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