Old Islam in Detroit

With a few exceptions, many of the narratives that have come to define what we know about American Islam have often brushed over the foundational contributions and interrelations of early Muslims. This has resulted in a lacuna for readers interested in a more in-depth and holistic explanation of how earlier generations grappled with establishing a place for themselves in the American religious landscape. Sally Howell’s Old Islam in Detroit: Rediscovering the American Past is a well-researched, explorative, and thoughtful historical account that offers a much-needed contribution to the study of American Islam. Employing Detroit as a research site to explore common narratives, availing herself of archival resources, and interviewing Muslims connected to that earlier period, Howell unpacks the ‘tactical amnesias, persistent discontinuities, and narrative breaks’ that enable us to reevaluate current assumptions about the history of Islam in America (pp. 3-4). For example, Howell, in her introductory chapter, recounts how these early mosques and the communities that built them sought to found ‘Islam as an American religious tradition’ (p. 17) despite the conclusion that they were ‘failed institutions’ as purported by contemporary narratives.