Competing Visions of Islam in the United States

Barring the initial works of a handful of scholars over the last 50 years,Muslim communities and their understanding of Islam in America have gonerelatively unstudied in relation to other religious groups. The lacuna now, however,has been partially filled by the work of Kambiz GhaneaBassiri in a concisebut complete in-way-of-issues-mentioned manner. Primarily a secondarysource, it relies heavily on the initial works produced by scholars such asYvonne Haddad, Adair T. Lummis, Earle Waugh. Aminah McCloud, and AtifWasfi. The book is the first of a second generation of work on the subjectUsing a purely sociological method and lens, the book analyzes the findings ofthe works that came before it, coupling a case study of the views, opinions, andattitudes of different constituents of the Muslim populace of Los Angeles withthe more cross-sectional approach used by the aforementioned scholars. Thework raises fundamental questions regarding the validity of studying sociologicallythe American Muslim condition; whether a truly American Muslim conditionexists; and (if it does) its characteristic features. Nevertheless, KambizGhaneaBassiri's work indexes, in a cartographic manner, the competing visionsof Islam in the United States.Within the introduction of his work, the author outlines the purpose andmethodology of his study. Departing from the writings and approach of Haddad,Lummis, Waugh, McCloud, and Wasfi, he makes his intention clear: to use surveysto examine the religious identity of Muslims in the United States by determininghow they define their role as American citizens. His already enigmaticdefinition of a religious identity, however, being an amalgam of one's "desires,""needs," "cultural and ethnic background" and "level of religious understanding,"missed certain key elements. The roles of intention and volitional acts­the main components of the textual definition of Muslim identity-outlinedwithin the Qur'an and Sunnah, more than the categories used in the study, defineMuslim identity. The lack of a clear definition of Muslim identity and the inabilityof the study to operationalize it are the work's two main weaknesses.Nowhere in the work is it scientifically illustrated or articulated that a case study ...