As the religious leader of the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn, Michigan, Imam Hassan Qazwini serves the largest Muslim congregation in the United States. His recent book, released October 9, 2007, is American Crescent: A Muslim Cleric on the Power of His Faith, the Struggle Against Prejudice, and the Future of Islam and America. The book recounts his dramatic journey that began in 1971, when his father’s anti-Baathist views forced his family to flee from Saddam’s Iraq to Kuwait and then to war-torn Iran. Then, in 1992, he left for the United States, where his children could grow up in peace.

After 9/11, Qazwini writes, Osama bin Laden gave him “a new full-time job.”
American Crescent describes Qazwini’s efforts to show Americans how those who destroyed the World Trade Center had hijacked Islam as well, and that most Muslims were appalled by their actions. Yet he also criticizes the Bush administration for the prejudicial aspects of the Patriot Act and for the high toll of the Iraq War. Throughout the book, Qazwini offers insights into the tenets and history of Islam, defending it as a faith of peace and diversity, and challenging stereotypes and misconceptions promulgated by the media.

For more information about Imam Qazwini, please visit the Islamic Center of America or see his expert profile.

Posted February 25, 2008