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| Concept by Patrick D. Bowen. Art by Everett Johnston (contact: everboba@yahoo.com) |
In the second half of the 1800s, a small number of educated and very liberal white Americans and Britons came to the conclusion that world peace could only be achieved if Westerners embraced in brotherhood the people and religion considered to be their greatest enemies: Muslims and Islam. A variety of little-known organizations began to be established for this purpose, and members started emphasizing symbols that represented this reconciliation between people of different religious and non-religious perspectives. The above image is a modern artist's rendering of one of those symbols.
Despite the fact that some of the figures leading this movement were motivated by self-interest, their efforts nevertheless sparked off a cultural transformation that went far beyond what they could personally profit from. After joining organizations that embraced non-Christian religions, some of these white liberals came to believe that the religions they encountered were in fact superior to both Christianity and pure materialism--and thus was born the first significant modern movement of Western conversions to "Orient"-focused religions: modern esotericism, Buddhism, Hinduism, the Baha'i faith, and, of course, Islam.
In my forthcoming book, "A History of Conversion to Islam in the United States, Volume 1: White American Muslims before 1975" (official website; Amazon), I bring to light not only this important element in the pre-history of the modern non-Christian religious movements, but also many previously ignored details related to how such movements eventually developed on American soil. It will include, among other things, new insights into the specific circumstances that led to the formation of some of the first Theosophical lodges in the US; a discussion of the forgotten occult organization that played a significant role in the early spread of the Baha'i faith; and the long lost story of the original emergence of organized non-Islamic Sufism in the 1880s--and its connections with the Theosophical Society, Paschal Beverly Randolph, Ghulam Ahmad (the founder of the Ahmadiyya Movement), Alexander Webb, and Inayat Khan. In addition, attention will be paid to the converts from the early 19th century as well as the manifold esoteric roots and branches of Islam in the modern West.
Readers interested in twentieth-century Islamic movements may also find of value my discussion of various white American-led Islamic organizations formed between 1928 and 1975; the important relationships between white converts and African American Muslims in the '40s; recently-discovered international ties of early U.S. Muslims; and the spread of Islamic Sufism from the late '40s through the early '70s. Many of the groups, figures, and movements discussed here have never been even mentioned -- let alone discussed at length -- in the existing literature on Muslims in the United States. Their inclusion in this book is the result of several years of research and the chasing down of numerous clues and rare items in U.S. and European libraries, museum archives, recently declassified government documents, private collections, and little-known Islamic periodicals. It is my hope that the stories of these early Muslim converts put into new perspective the development of the broader American Muslim community.
With that being said, I am pleased to announce two things. First, that the book now has a scheduled release date of September 14, 2015. Second, that pre-orders for the book are available from Amazon.com as well as the publisher's official website. Ask your librarian to pre-order a copy.
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