"traces the historical diversity of black American Islamic movements from the late 1800s to the present including groups as distinct as the Moorish Science Temple, the Ahmadiyyah Movement, the Nation of Islam, the Islamic Party of North America, the Ansaruallah Nubian Islamic Hebrews, and the World Community of Islam.... An especially informative section considers Islam in the lives of black women, drawing from personal interviews and oral accounts. This very readable text will be an indispensible resource for anyone interested in African American Religion.."

--Religious Studies Review

"...an important contribution to the understanding of the contemporary life of African-American Muslims."

--Journal of Ecumenical Studies

Routledge Web Site, May, 2000

Islam is a vital, growing religion in America. However, little is known about the religion except through the biased lens of media reports which brand African American Muslims as "Black Muslims" and portray their communities as places of social protest. African American Islam challenges these myths by contextualizing the experience and history of African American Islamic life.

This is the first book to investigate the diverse African American Islamic community on its own terms, in its own language and through its own synthesis of Islamic history and philosophy. Aminah Beverly McCloud shows that African American Islamic expressions are movements well within the 1,400-year-old Islamic traditions. She also looks at what "becoming Muslim" means and how African American Muslims negotiate space in the religious landscape of America. The book presents an overview of the history of African American Islamic expressions in the 20th century and examines the diverse philosophies and ideologies which form the foundation of a culturally distinct Islamic thought.