Muslims of the Heartland - by Edward E Curtis IV

About the Book

"This book rejects the stereotype of the Midwest as bleached-out Christian country. It unearths a surprising and intimate history of the first two generations of Syrian Muslims in the Midwest who, in spite of discrimination, created a life that was Arab, American, and Muslim all at the same time"--

Book Synopsis

Winner of the 2023 Evelyn Shakir Non-Fiction Book Award from the Arab American National Museum
Choice Outstanding Academic Title 2023

Uncovers the surprising history of Muslim life in the early American Midwest

The American Midwest is often thought of as uniformly white, and shaped exclusively by Christian values. However, this view of the region as an unvarying landscape fails to consider a significant community at its very heart. Muslims of the Heartland uncovers the long history of Muslims in a part of the country where many readers would not expect to find them.

Edward E. Curtis IV, a descendant of Syrian Midwesterners, vividly portrays the intrepid men and women who busted sod on the short-grass prairies of the Dakotas, peddled needles and lace on the streets of Cedar Rapids, and worked in the railroad car factories of Michigan City. This intimate portrait follows the stories of individuals such as farmer Mary Juma, pacifist Kassem Rameden, poet Aliya Hassen, and bookmaker Kamel Osman from the early 1900s through World War I, the Roaring 20s, the Great Depression, and World War II. Its story-driven approach places Syrian Americans at the center of key American institutions like the assembly line, the family farm, the dance hall, and the public school, showing how the first two generations of Midwestern Syrians created a life that was Arab, Muslim, and American, all at the same time.

Muslims of the Heartland recreates what the Syrian Muslim Midwest looked, sounded, felt, and smelled like--from the allspice-seasoned lamb and rice shared in mosque basements to the sound of the trains on the Rock Island Line rolling past the dry goods store. It recovers a multicultural history of the American Midwest that cannot be ignored.

Review Quotes

"Curtis weaves together vivid portraits of the deep roots that Arab Muslim immigrants have in the Midwest, dating back to the beginning of the twentieth century."-- "American Journal of Islam and Society"

"Providing an accurate portrait of how the travails of discrimination coexisted with social harmonization--and the role religion played in that process--is a significant challenge, but Curtis is a skilled guide."--J. A. Schillinger "The Christian Century"

"Scrupulously researched and annotated, this book is written with a broad audience in mind despite being published by an academic press. Focusing on the life stories of 15 real men and women, it is a very intimate and easy read."--B. D. Singleton, California State University--San Bernardino "Choice"

"A fascinating and highly readable history of Syrian Muslims in the Midwest in the first half of the twentieth century. With its detailed stories that importantly illuminate US racial politics, Curtis challenges the idea that Arab Muslims are newcomers to the rural Midwest and helps us imagine the Arab Muslim heartland for the first time."--Evelyn Alsultany, author of Arabs and Muslims in the Media: Race and Representation after 9/11

"A wonderful book, casting invaluable light on our own eventful and complicated times in America, as well as on the history which Edward Curtis so richly and rivetingly explores."--Leila Ahmed, Victor S. Thomas Research Professor of Divinity, The Divinity School, Harvard University

"As charming as it is serious, Edward Curtis's Muslims of the Heartland reveals vibrant human dimensions of Syrian Muslim immigrant life in the modern American Midwest, from North Dakota and Iowa to Detroit. Deftly weaving quantitative records, newspaper sources, and fascinating oral interviews into intimate family histories, Curtis has crafted a vivid history of immigrants too long ignored, and in America's least-studied region."--Jon Butler, author of God in Gotham: The Miracle of Religion in Modern Manhattan

"Draws on rich archival sources to create a vivid portrait of Syrian communities in the Midwest from 1900 to the 1950s ... A fresh portrayal of American history and identity."-- "Kirkus Reviews"

"Edward Curtis IV has long been one of our surest guides to the lived experience of American Muslims, his work so crucial in challenging enduring, often dangerous stereotypes. Muslims of the Heartland introduces readers to an even broader story: the rich worlds of diverse Syrian communities with deep roots in the American Midwest. Beautifully written, Curtis's book deepens our appreciation of the complex human history of the American Midwest."--Edward T. Linenthal, Former Editor, Journal of American History

"This book would make an excellent addition to an undergraduate course on Arab American Studies or American Studies syllabi and will serve as a poignant reminder to contemporary Muslims that Islam has been a key part of America's religious landscape throughout the twentieth century."-- "Mashriq & Mahjar: Journal of Middle East and North African Migration Studies"

About the Author

Edward E. Curtis IV is Professor of World Languages and Cultures, William M. and Gail M. Plater Chair of the Liberal Arts, and Director of Arabic Studies at Indiana University, Indianapolis. He is the author/editor of 15 books, including our Muslims of the Heartland: How Syrian Immigrants Made a Home in the American Midwest and Muslim American Politics and the Future of US Democracy.