About this item
A searing portrait of Muslim life in the West, this "profound and intimate" memoir captures one mans struggle to forge an American Muslim identity (Washington Post) . Haroon Moghul was thrust into the spotlight after 9/11, becoming an undergraduate leader at New York Universitys Islamic Center forced into appearances everywhere: on TV, before interfaith audiences, in print. Moghul was becoming a prominent voice for American Muslims even as he struggled with his relationship to Islam. In high school he was barely a believer and entirely convinced he was going to hell. He sometimes drank. He didnt pray regularly. All he wanted was a girlfriend.. But as he discovered, it wasnt so easy to leave religion behind. To be true to himself, he needed to forge a unique American Muslim identity that reflected his beliefs and personality. How to Be a Muslim reveals a young man coping with the crushing pressure of a world that fears Muslims, struggling with his faith and searching for intellectual forebears, and suffering the onset of bipolar disorder. This is the story of the second-generation immigrant, of what its like to lose yourself between cultures and how to pick up the pieces.
About the Author
Haroon Moghul builds Muslim-Jewish engagement at the Shalom Hartman Institute. He's written for the Washington Post, the Guardian, Time, Foreign Policy, Haaretz, and CNN. A popular public speaker and frequent television commentator, Haroon has appeared on all major media networks. He works on diversity initiatives at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art, is allergic to almost everything, and still doesn't know why he left Brooklyn.Author photo: Rick Bern
