Review by Choice Review
The focus of this work is Hamtramck, MI, a small city in the Detroit metropolitan area, which has the highest concentration of Muslims of any municipality in the US. Making up 40 percent of the population, the Muslims are from more than 30 nations. In Hamtramck, Muslims navigate notions of identity, community building, a sense of belonging, and civic citizenship while confronting the restrictions and opportunities of religious and secular life. In addition, each ethnic sub-community faces tensions and integration issues within the broader Muslim community and within non-Muslim communities. Analyzing this milieu, Perkins (comparative religion, Western Michigan Univ.) lays out the demographic history of the city and delves into gender among American Muslims generally before exploring aspects of Bangladeshi and Yemeni women in Hamtramck. Finally, she wades into municipal issues affecting Muslims, specifically controversies over the broadcast of the call to prayer and LGBTQ rights. The topical coverage of this work is unique, and readers may wish to supplement it with Sally Howell's Old Islam in Detroit: Rediscovering the Muslim American Past (CH, Jan'15, 52-2736), which discusses earlier waves of Muslim immigration and settlement in the Detroit area, leading directly to the creation of the communities Perkins covers. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; general readers. --Brent D. Singleton, California State University--San Bernardino
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review
