I need recommendations for two books about Islam and Muslim-Americans?

Question

First, I need to know the best, most comprehensive and authoritative book about the history of Islam.

Secondly, I need an excellent nonfiction book about the lives of Muslim-Americans in this country, preferably pre-and post-9-11.

Thank you.

Answer 1

For a history of Islam, there is no one better qualified to compile an anthology than Esposito:

"The Oxford History of Islam (Hardcover)
by John L. Esposito"

From Publishers Weekly
A good introduction to Islamic history is hard to find, and readers interested in the world's second-largest religion can rejoice at finding this one. Esposito, professor of religious studies at Georgetown University, has brought together a fine cadre of scholars for this anthology. Fifteen articles cover almost every subject that might interest a novice in the field: philosophy, science, art, architecture and histories of Islamic empires and civilizations. The art (100 b&w photos and 200 four-color illustrations) comes fast and thick, adding a great deal to the text. A particular virtue of the book is its extension of Islamic history into the present day, with articles focusing on colonialism, American and European Muslims and 20th-century Islamic revivalism. The book is not perfect, of course, and some of its faults are serious. Only one contribution is dedicated to religious belief and practice as such, and it is one of the weaker articles in the collection. Also, although Sufism is of paramount importance in Islamic history, there is no essay dedicated to the mystical branch of Islam, and the activities of Sufi orders form only a part of several of the historical articles. That said, this valuable and near-comprehensive tome would be a welcome addition to many libraries' shelves. (Nov.)

A review:

"Esposito produces an excellent readable history of Islam and its powerful impacts on Western Civilization. Espositio gathered a large number of scholars, each to produce a different chapter covering issues like math, philosophy, politics, etc. While no single volume could cover so vast a subject, the reader is left with what is almost certainly the best introduction to Islam.
While many people, unfortunately, have bought Karen Armstrong's Short History of Islam, this text is far superior in almost every way. Not only is it more thorough and better written, it also deals with Islam from within as well as from without. Islamic culture is examined not from the perspective of an outsider with rose colored glasses, but from several distinguished and Muslim and non-Muslim scholars with a firm background in the subject.
There is not doubt that no single volume could do all of Islamic history justice. However, this book with its rich photographs and strong prose, is probably as good an introduction as you could get under a single cover."

For the second book, I'd suggest:

1.Mecca and Main Street: Muslim Life in America after 9/11 (Hardcover)
by Geneive Abdo
"From The Washington Post's Book World/washingtonpost.com
Homegrown, radicalized Islamists have set off bombs in Madrid and London; could it happen here? Given rising anxiety about the possible alienation of American Muslims, a readable book offering a responsible yet sympathetic profile of that community should be welcomed. Five years after 9/11, Geneive Abdo, who has reported skillfully on Islamism in Egypt and Iran, has produced just such a book.
Her reporting shows that Muslim immigrants have much in common with Americans from other lands and cultures. Traditional Muslims arriving from the Middle East and South Asia fear that their children will succumb to the allure of big-city life and abandon the faith. Such newcomers are embracing the same strategies adopted by Jewish immigrants a century ago: setting up religious schools, charities and houses of worship that double as community centers.

Yet Muslim settlement in America has had its own patterns, of which Abdo offers a brief but lucid history. The first to arrive were slaves from West Africa who were converted to Christianity. The subsequent "prairie" generation, which arrived in the mid-19th century, homesteaded in the Midwest but proved too isolated to flourish. A new wave of Muslim immigrants followed the liberalization of U.S. immigration laws in 1965 -- and set out not merely to survive but to thrive. Muslim Americans, Abdo writes, are now amply represented in white-collar professions and enjoy a median income slightly above that of the overall population.

Abdo's description of the neo-traditionalism of this community is fascinating. She depicts a typical "enclave culture," a religious community that sees itself as beleaguered and is therefore preoccupied by boundaries -- between us and them, male and female, real Muslim and impostor. Defections as well as intrusions fuel the community's sense of danger, as do the glittering vulgarity and the "anything goes" gusto of American society. Jarringly, Abdo at times seems less a reporter than an advocate of a cloistered worldview, as when she puts down Irshad Manji, a Muslim dissenter, as a self-promoting phony. Nonetheless, Abdo's account of the struggles within Muslim organizations on college campuses suggests how the community as a whole may resolve its intramural conflict: by finding a middle way between traditionalist hardliners and those who want to preserve their Muslim identity without isolating themselves, much as modern Orthodox Jews and evangelical Protestants have done in secular universities.

Abdo shows how 9/11 shook the world of American Muslims. Suddenly, they were seen by their neighbors -- and their government -- in the global context of Islamist terror. A combination of aggressive law enforcement, indiscriminate use of immigration laws and hyped-up prosecutions left Muslims in doubt about their place in society. Those who reacted by keeping their heads down (or veiled) to avoid attracting attention only exposed themselves to accusations of indifference to the tragedy -- or worse.

The net result, Abdo concludes, is a community increasingly inclined to separatism. Elsewhere, this has provided fertile ground for radicals such as Osama bin Laden. The United States is scarcely on a slippery slope to Europe's fate, but the security of our society, Abdo shows, now depends on a spirit of inclusiveness and generosity. In Washington, that means appointing more Muslims to government jobs, preserving civil liberties, being more attentive to their foreign policy concerns and making adjustments consistent with U.S. strategic interests. In our neighborhoods, that means an awareness that when we talk about Muslims, we are talking not about the enemy but about the person next door -- someone whose family, like those of other immigrants, came here to escape harsh and uncertain lives.

Reviewed by Steven Simon
Copyright 2006, The Washington Post. All Rights Reserved."

Answer 2

On the first, I'd say look for a translation of a book called AL-Bidaya wa Al-Nihaya (The Beginning and the End). You can't get more comprehensive than that.

For the second try "How Does It Feel to Be a Problem?: Being Young and Arab in America" by Moustafa Bayoumi.