REVIEWS
"Muslim Cool brilliantly spotlights how Black Muslim youth construct and perform identities that embody indigenous forms of Black cultural production. Equally important, the text shows how these constructions are used to reimagine, reshape, and resist hegemonic and often anti-Black conceptions of Muslim identity. With masterful ethnographic detail, Abdul Khabeer offers a subtle and rich analysis of the complex relationships between race, religion, and state power. This book is a desperately needed intervention within Anthropology, Africana Studies, and Islamic Studies."
– Marc Lamont Hill,
Distinguished Professor of Africana Studies, Morehouse College, author of “Beats, Rhymes, and Classroom Life: Hip-Hop Pedagogy and the Politics of Identity”
“A much-needed, rigorous analysis backed by rich, ethnographic detail to present a nuanced and intriguing story that is central to understanding current U.S. racial, religious, and political landscapes… Muslim Cool is, as dead prez once rapped, bigger than hip hop—it is a must-read for anyone interested in race, religion and culture in contemporary America.”
—H. Samy Alim,
author of Roc the Mic Right: The Language of Hip Hop Culture
"An intense and novel anthropological approach to the development of the relationship between African American Muslims--the original American face of Islam--and immigrant Muslims and their children. An absolute must-read."
—Aminah Beverly McCloud,
DePaul University
"Offers an account of how Muslims in Chicago feel, think, and act. Fashionistas,
hip-hop heads, and activists will recognize this scholarly work as chronicling the edginess of a possible future. Imagine Black Power meets twenty-first century faith-based social justice and cultural organizing. A must read for all those who didn’t know, and even those who do!"
—Junaid Rana,
author of Terrifying Muslims: Race and Class in the South Asian Diaspora
“Drawing on over two years of ethnographic research. Prof. Abdul Khabeer's rigorous analysis is a very nuanced and intriguing story, on that is central to understanding current racial, religious, and political landscapes in the U.S.”
Islamic Horizons // March / April Issue
“Khabeer, a scholar, activist and artist, has spent much of her career writing about African-American Muslim identities; her latest book continues the conversation by focusing solely on youth. A skilled ethnographer, the author combine her poet's ear and thorough research in prose that flips the script on anti-Black, anti-Muslim sentiment.”
WRITE THE POWER! - Ebony Magazine // Dec.Jan '17