May 5, 2012

“This is a great read for American Muslims and for those wanting to learn more about Islam…”
Publishers Weekly

Moving the Mountain: Beyond Ground Zero to a New Vision of Islam in America

Feisal Abdul Rauf. Free Press, $24 (240p) ISBN 978-1-4516-5600-8

Rauf, longtime imam of a lower downtown Manhattan mosque and a Sufi American Muslim, became famous for his organization’s plans for a mosque near ground zero in 2010. While Rauf could have devoted this book entirely to defending his plans, he rises above such pettiness and writes a book that is enjoyable and accessible. Describing the controversial community center as a Muslim version of New York’s 92nd Street Y, which has Jewish roots and values, Rauf has impressive clarity in the face of the various hyperbolic reactions to his plan. Rauf calls himself an “orthodox Muslim,” meaning that he follows the “authentic mainstream, moderate, nonviolent” faith followed by a majority of the world’s Muslims. This book, while covering the same territory as his previous ones, is more personal than his others. He begins by describing how he developed his own understanding of Islam, apart from his imam father’s, during the free love era of the 1960s America to which he immigrated, and how he came to be an imam, or Muslim minister. This is a great read for American Muslims and for those wanting to learn more about Islam or update themselves on the controversies American Muslims have faced. Agent: Wendy Strothman. (May)

http://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/book-news/religion/article/51245-religion-in-review.html

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