Muslims in America

Abstract

To date, most of the literature on Muslims in the United States has discussedthe formation and growth of this population from a national perspective.Few studies, however, examine the dynamics of specific Muslim communitiesfrom a local, city-specific context. Mbaye Lo attempts to fill this gapthrough his research on the history of Muslims in Cleveland, Ohio, in hisbook Muslims in America: Race, Politics, and Community Building. Thisbook aims to present a “comprehensive historical assessment of Muslimcommunities in Cleveland” by providing a detailed examination of “theirhistory, their faith and the challenges they face as they establish mosques,develop Islamic centers, and create a multiethnic community” (p. 2). Using various sources of data, such as oral histories of influential figures in theCleveland area and local and national surveys conducted on Muslims in theUnited States, Lo discovers that “the history of Islam in Cleveland is a localphenomenon with both national and global derivations” (p. 3).American immigration policies, the civil rights movement, and newinterpretations of Islam are some of the factors that affected the growth ofMuslim populations throughout the nation and in Cleveland. Lo traces thegenesis of the Muslim community to Ahmadi missionaries who arrived inthe city from India in the early 1900s. Shortly after their arrival, Ahmadisfound great success in inviting African Americans to convert to Islam, creatingthe foundation for what was to become a burgeoning Muslim community.In the latter half of the twentieth century, the arrival of immigrantMuslims and members of the Nation of Islam to Cleveland helped the communityexpand, while also introducing new versions of Islam to the city’sresident Muslims. Ironically, this influx of Muslim outsiders to Clevelandresulted in both the growth and the division of its Muslim population ...