An American Muslim Memoir Part I: The journey begins
Book Details
Author(s)Mark Dougherty
PublisherMark Dougherty
ISBN / ASINB00DTNUXFM
ISBN-13978B00DTNUXF2
Sales Rank1,574,376
MarketplaceUnited States 🇺🇸
Description
Islamic non-fiction (suitable for young adults)
"An American Muslim Memoir" is a four-part narrative suitable for young adults that follows Mark Dougherty’s youthful spiritual quest as a practicing but sometimes lapsed Catholic, his acceptance of Islam at age 33, and his subsequent 23-year spiritual journey as a Muslim in America before and after 9/11. The four-part book is the account of his personal struggle to communicate the seldom acknowledged beauty of Islam. By the end of the series, the author articulates respectfully the injustice done to society when harmful stereotypes are cast without consideration of the consequences.
The author, Mark ‘Hamza’ Dougherty, is an American Muslim convert residing in Alabama. He is an Associate Professor of Biosystems Engineering (formerly Agricultural Engineering) at Auburn University. While living with a Turkish roommate during engineering studies in the late 1980’s, he learned first-hand about Islam. Upon departing, his roommate Barbaros gifted him with a Qur’an. Within one year, Mr. Dougherty, a former Catholic Christian, had become a Muslim. Mr. Dougherty has worked as a certified auto mechanic, a surveyor’s helper, an assistant to the deaf, a design engineer, and a technical writer. He has edited and co-authored several educational books published by Cornell University's Cooperative Extension program. His book “An American Muslim Memoir†is independently published and was written 23 years after he accepted Islam.
The intended audience for the series is Christian and Muslim. Part I relates the conversion story of a not-so-unique Baby Boomer who came of age in the 1960’s and 70’s at the end of the divisive Vietnam War. Written initially for the author’s immediate family, Part I provides spiritual insights into two often disparate faith groups. In Part II, the author recounts how he learned to practice Islam over a seven-year period and how a mid-life crisis provided renewed emotional strength for his subsequent pilgrimage. In Part III, the author shares a long letter to his old roommate Barbaros recounting his 1997 once-in-a-lifetime journey to haj in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. What follows the haj is a whirlwind period of readjustment back in the States including marriage, post-graduate education, professional employment, and child-rearing. With life coming quickly the author discovers in Islam a family lesson that in retrospect was life-saving. In Part IV, pre- and post-9/11 America are contrasted; and parallels are offered between the unsuccessful Vietnam War and the current 12-year undeclared war on terror. Drawing from numerous contemporary writers and outspoken social justice advocates such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and President Jimmy Carter, a way forward is offered for America.
This spiritual memoir is unlike others in that it crosses boundaries between two faith traditions – Christianity and Islam – offering a singular perspective for each into the sincerely-held beliefs of the other. The main message of "An American Muslim Memoir" is simple – whether a believer in God or not, we as brothers and sisters of the human family have no real choice but to accept one another by respecting our differences and celebrating our many more commonalities.
"An American Muslim Memoir" is a four-part narrative suitable for young adults that follows Mark Dougherty’s youthful spiritual quest as a practicing but sometimes lapsed Catholic, his acceptance of Islam at age 33, and his subsequent 23-year spiritual journey as a Muslim in America before and after 9/11. The four-part book is the account of his personal struggle to communicate the seldom acknowledged beauty of Islam. By the end of the series, the author articulates respectfully the injustice done to society when harmful stereotypes are cast without consideration of the consequences.
The author, Mark ‘Hamza’ Dougherty, is an American Muslim convert residing in Alabama. He is an Associate Professor of Biosystems Engineering (formerly Agricultural Engineering) at Auburn University. While living with a Turkish roommate during engineering studies in the late 1980’s, he learned first-hand about Islam. Upon departing, his roommate Barbaros gifted him with a Qur’an. Within one year, Mr. Dougherty, a former Catholic Christian, had become a Muslim. Mr. Dougherty has worked as a certified auto mechanic, a surveyor’s helper, an assistant to the deaf, a design engineer, and a technical writer. He has edited and co-authored several educational books published by Cornell University's Cooperative Extension program. His book “An American Muslim Memoir†is independently published and was written 23 years after he accepted Islam.
The intended audience for the series is Christian and Muslim. Part I relates the conversion story of a not-so-unique Baby Boomer who came of age in the 1960’s and 70’s at the end of the divisive Vietnam War. Written initially for the author’s immediate family, Part I provides spiritual insights into two often disparate faith groups. In Part II, the author recounts how he learned to practice Islam over a seven-year period and how a mid-life crisis provided renewed emotional strength for his subsequent pilgrimage. In Part III, the author shares a long letter to his old roommate Barbaros recounting his 1997 once-in-a-lifetime journey to haj in Makkah, Saudi Arabia. What follows the haj is a whirlwind period of readjustment back in the States including marriage, post-graduate education, professional employment, and child-rearing. With life coming quickly the author discovers in Islam a family lesson that in retrospect was life-saving. In Part IV, pre- and post-9/11 America are contrasted; and parallels are offered between the unsuccessful Vietnam War and the current 12-year undeclared war on terror. Drawing from numerous contemporary writers and outspoken social justice advocates such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and President Jimmy Carter, a way forward is offered for America.
This spiritual memoir is unlike others in that it crosses boundaries between two faith traditions – Christianity and Islam – offering a singular perspective for each into the sincerely-held beliefs of the other. The main message of "An American Muslim Memoir" is simple – whether a believer in God or not, we as brothers and sisters of the human family have no real choice but to accept one another by respecting our differences and celebrating our many more commonalities.
