THE REFORMATION ROLLS ON:

Part travelogue, part memoir, this cultural history of Islam in the Western Hemisphere follows Mouallem's travels to dozens of mosques, discovering Muslim communities worshipping from the Arctic Circle to the edge of the Amazon. Through meeting indigenous Mayan Muslims in southern Mexico and congregants at a 170-year-old mosque in Trinidad, Praying to the West traces the pasts, present, and futures of diverse Muslim communities throughout the Americas.  [...]

What do we gain when we put these diverse Muslim communities in conversation with one other?

"One of the most unique things about greater American Islam, and maybe its defining feature, is just how diverse it is. Here in Calgary, there are probably 30 mosques and probably 12 different branches with decently sized communities. That's just one typical Western city. You don't necessarily find that kind of denominational diversity in African, Middle Eastern, South Asian cities where there is a large Muslim population.

And you certainly don't find that kind of ethnic diversity -- Muslima are the most ethnically diverse religious group in the US, and you probably extrapolate that to the rest of North America. When you put these groups in conversation, you see how even Muslims who subscribe to the same branch developed in culturally different ways. 

You can actually capture quite a bit of the 1500-year history of Islam, I think, by looking at one city in the Americas and examining its different denominations, Sufi inflections and mosques. I don't think you can do that in Beirut or Cairo, and certainly not Mecca. It's maybe a provocative thing to say. But I think if you were to do a deep dive into all the mosques of a city like Houston versus a city like Mecca, you'll walk away with a much better understanding of Islam." [...]

How did working on this project reshape your personal faith and identity?

"What surprised me is it started to feel that, whether or not we hold firm to the exact same beliefs, we have a lot in common -- going to mosques, spending Eid with a community, relating to people. We have a shared experience. Over the past few years I'd been experiencing more racism, and I realized that whether or not I call myself Muslim, people assume I am. And there are certain values, traditions and rituals that I still cherish. 

So I started to wonder if there was a place for someone like me. That became a challenge, a test -- if there is, where would I find it and what would it look like? I felt like reclaiming my Muslim identity on my own terms and in claiming a spot in it felt like a just to do. 

Everywhere I went, I met Muslim people who were called illegitimate -- people who were very observant, very pious, extremely faithful, sometimes dogmatic. And there was always someone else who was telling them, "You're not a real Muslim." Something that challenged me was meeting people from the Moorish Science Temple and recognising some judgment within myself, where I was questioning whether they are legitimate Muslims. And then I was like, "Well, why not?"

Going to their conferences, I saw efforts to wrestle with the original text and syncretise it with more orthodox Muslim traditions. They have a lot in common with other Muslim communities because of their beliefs. They see themselves as Muslims. So why aren't they a part of the ummah?"

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