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Islam in Urban America: Sunni Muslims in Chicago, by Garbi Schmidt. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, 2004. 242 pp. $64.50 cloth. ISBN: 1-59213-223-5. $22.95 paper. ISBN: 1-59213-224-3.
In a post 9/11 world that is casting closer scrutiny on both recent immigrants to the United States, and Muslims generally, Garbi Schmidt's descriptive ethnographic account of Sunni Muslims in Chicago is informative and useful. Schmidt frames her research around two basic questions: first, can Islam now be considered an American religion; and second, can Muslims in the United States be considered a unified community? Given that Muslims are in the United States in increasing numbers (however, the common estimate of 6 million is probably 30-50% too high), and that the "Muslim community" is comprised of dozens of ethnic, national, and racial groups, these are pertinent questions for American society and for Muslims themselves.
After a brief overview of Islam in the United States and Muslims in Chicago, Schmidt organizes her study around three types of institutions created by American Muslims, basically divided by age: schools for children and adolescents, Muslim Student Associations (MSAs) in colleges, and mosques and "paramosques" (Schmidt's term for grassroots religious institutions that are either alternatives or supplements to established mosques). In each of these settings, she examines the...