Asma Gull Hasan, born in Chicago to Pakistani immigrants and raised in Pueblo, CO, she is a self-described Muslim feminist cowgirl and an award-winning writer. Author of 3 books, she’s written for newspapers and has been interviewed frequently on cable news, including FOX and MSNBC.

This book had been previously published as “Why I Am a Muslim.” Two of the many words of praise for this book follow: From Rabbi Irwin Kula (author of Yearnings: Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life): “Red, White and Muslim is a must read for anyone who wants to be inspired by the beauty and wisdom of Islam. With insight, integrity, passion, and eloquence, Asma Gull Hasan shares her personal journey as a proud American Muslim and in doing so breaks our stereotypes, melts our fears, nurtures our hopes, and enlightens our minds and hearts. Hasan opens a window into Islam in its American forms and offers us a glimpse of the opportunity and power of Muslim Americans to shape the future of Islam and our world.” From Jack Miles (author of God: A Biography – book 100): “Each of the world’s religions that are at home in the United States has generated a distinct synthesis of its own values and those of American democracy. In each case, the synthesis has eventually had world importance. Islam – old as a religious tradition but relatively new to the United States – is early in this creative process, but the lively and authentic ring of Asma Gull Hasan’s personal synthesis proves that the process is definitely under way. At a dark hour, this book is a piece of bright and cheering news.” I found these two quoted words of praise to convey “the big picture” of Muslims who were born in America.

Born in the U.S. of immigrant parents makes one an amalgam of our American culture and that of the parents. During my many years I have personally known a few such persons and have read about several such, but they were mainly European, Asian, and South American. I’ve known personally one such American Muslim woman, who kept a low profile, as did her parents. So this autobiography of an outspoken Muslim woman was very informative. I believe being a woman feminist as a Muslim would be especially hard to do, but Asma Gull Hasan has done so quite well while maintaining her faith in Islam. In her Note to the Reader, she says, “I have never been ashamed to be Muslim, not even after 9/11, and not now. I know that many non-Muslims do not understand Islam but want to learn more. I also know that some Muslims carry out violent acts in Islam’s name to justify many non-Islamic things.” … “I know you are an intelligent person and also curious. Otherwise you would not be reading this book. Do you want to have the knowledge to understand Islam? Do you want to be able to say, ‘Muslims are not the enemy’? If you think of Muslims as the enemy, eventually they will become the enemy. You have the choice not to predetermine your thoughts. This book will give you the tools if you want to use them.” … “What Islam is really about is so different from the many misconceptions – about women, about other religions, about even the concept of jihad. Islam does not preach violent aggression against one’s ‘enemies.’ I would not be a Muslim if that were true. In fact, the Qur’an and the core values of American society are strikingly similar. I wrote this book so that the non-Muslims will know the things about Islam that only Muslims know – the things that keep me and over a billion people in the world Muslim. My hope is that by the end of my story you will understand why, as an American woman, I proudly am – and choose to be – a Muslim.”

Asma Gull Hasan tells her story in simple words in seven chapters. Ch 1 is Born Muslim; Ch 2 is A Direct Relationship with God; Ch 3 is Sufism: A Rich Mystical Tradition; Ch 4 is We Are All Imperfect; Ch 5 is The Diversity of Islam; Ch 6 is A Woman’s Religion; Ch 7 is Being Muslim Makes Me a Better American (and Being American Makes me a Better Muslim). Of these, Ch 6 and Ch 7 were especially informative for me. I highly recommend this book to everybody, especially those who know little about Muslims. As Jack Mules said, “At a dark hour, this book is a piece of bright and cheering news.” But I fear that those whose ignorance and misconceptions about Islam have set their minds in concrete in regard to Muslims – that is those who most need to read this book – will be the least likely to do so, unfortunately.