The American Muslim Teenager's Handbook [Paperback]

Dilara Hafiz (Author), Imran Hafiz (Author), Yasmine Hafiz (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 10, 2009

How do you reconcile being a teenager in America with being a Muslim? It’s not as difficult as you think! The American Muslim Teenager’s Handbook is a positive, fun, informative guide to being a Muslim teenager in America today. Covering everything from basic Islamic history and reading the Quran to drinking and dating, and filled with thoughts and opinions from Muslim teenagers across the country, this is an indispensable primer, for Muslims and non-Muslims alike, to learning about and finding one’s place in American Islamic culture.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Are all Muslims terrorists? Does Muslim culture clash with American culture? Can Muslim teens go to the prom? Casual, colloquial, joking, contemporary, and passionate, this interactive handbook by two Arizona teens and their mom talks about their faith, about what it is like to be both proud Americans and proud Muslims, and about misunderstandings and stereotypes. Originally self-published in 2007, this revised paperback edition has a new afterword, updated coverage of social issues, and new chapters on interfaith discussion and Muslim fundamentalism and extremism. The design, which encourages browsing, includes occasional photos and lots of colored screens with questions and answers, as well as survival tips for dealing with stereotypes in a post-9/11 world. There are also step-by-step guides on how to pray, how to read the Qur’an, and how to fast at Ramadan. Muslim and non-Muslim teens alike will be caught by the candor, the humor, and the call for interfaith dialogue and tolerance. Great for group discussion. Grades 7-12. --Hazel Rochman

Review

"This is a terrific, personable, and useful book for young Muslims and for people of all ages and faiths, including the secular, who are still trying to figure out the difference between a great majority of actual American Muslims...and the crazed stereotypes generated by war headlines thousands of miles away." -- Michael Wolfe, author of The Hadj and Taking Back Islam

"The slender volume aspires to nothing less than bridging a cultural chasm.... Amid its witty asides and tongue-in-cheek answers to multiple-choice questions, the handbook clearly stakes out a position for a moderate, flexible version of Islam, one that places a higher premium on moral intent than reflexive observance of every rule." -- New York Times

"The first book of its kind.... The handbook exudes an American perspective, upbeat and non-judgmental. It encourages teens...to make their own responsible choices about their faith practices." -- Christian Science Monitor

“Accessible, pitch-perfect for teens, and even fun, this handbook debunks myths and demystifies facts about Islam, the second-largest religion in the world and ‘the most misunderstood religion in America’…. This is an illuminating book that parents, teachers, faith leaders, mentors and youth workers will want to share with youth.”—Youth Today

"An essential addition to all high school and public library YA shelves."--School Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers; Original edition (February 10, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416985786
• ISBN-13: 978-1416985785
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #267,979 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #2 in Books > Teens > Religion & Spirituality > Islam

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The American Muslim Teenager's Handbook is for all of us, September 9, 2007

By 

Carol P. Chapelli - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The American Muslim Teenager's Handbook (Paperback)

One of the great things about this book is that, although it targets the American Muslim teenage audience, it is enlightening and informative for anyone. As a teacher, mother and Episcopalian, I found this book informative on so many levels. It educated me on quite a few details of Islamic trditions and history that I'm embarrassed to admit I never understood. It also approaches conformity to the religion with an open, accepting and forgiving tone that is bound to appeal to any Muslim teenager trying to figure out how to harmonize his/her faith with the demands of American teenage culture. This open-eyed, practical and modern analysis is filled with realistic and funny wit, providing an easy way for anyone out there to understand moreabout a religion that, in this post 9/11 world, has been so stereopyped and feared. To borrow a descriptive used by the authors themselves, it is "deliciously different!"

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars must read for non muslim teenager!!!, September 16, 2007

By 

Georgine Ahmad (Bethesda, MD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The American Muslim Teenager's Handbook (Paperback)

In my opinion this handbook is an even a more important read for the non-Muslim teenager as it will finally give some answers, guidance and clarity to the mysteries and misconceptions Christian and Jewish American teenagers often have about this religion. It is a book any teenager will reach for in the bookstore: because it has been written by teenagers, has an attractive paper back cover, carries clear concise and often witty language, with a colorful layout, fun pictures and quizzes, and it is not too long... something teenagers will appreciate in their often to-fit-it-all-in lives!! I hope this book will become available in every library and at every middle and high school in the USA. As a non American but living in USA, I also urge the writers to eventually edit this book in order to make it suitable for a world wide teenage audience... there will certainly be a need for it.

16 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Mixed Bag, February 22, 2008

By 

Montedor44 - See all my reviews

This review is from: The American Muslim Teenager's Handbook (Paperback)

This book takes a lively look at some of the questions that Muslim teens in America need answers to. The style of writing and the layout is engaging and accommodates readers afflicted or blessed with short attention span.

While the book is sprinkled with frequent quotations from the Quran, clearly it is not meant to be an in-depth treatise on Islam, either in the personal sphere or as an adequate source of history and facts with which the reader can maintain serious discussion with non-Muslims, or even with other Muslims. To its credit, the book encourages its young readers to learn more about their religion, but it doesn't guide them or warn them of things that they will discover.

Considering the large number of subjects covered, it is inevitable that this slender book leaves the reader short here and there. On the question for example of whether Muslim girls should wear hijab, one who does, says, "My religion tells me to - I have to wear one if I'm a Muslim.", and one who doesn't, says, "I don't feel that my religion requires it." While earlier in the book it is stated that most of the Quran is clear in meaning, and at the beginning of this section appears a quote (33:59) that suggests that women should "draw their wraps a little over them", the question is by no means cleared up. The naive Muslim girl is not prepared to defend herself in conversation with other Muslims, such as her parents, who may claim to know the correct answer, and can force the issue.

On larger issues - political aspects of Islam - page 90 shows a street rally poster reading "ISLAM MEANS PEACE". If a Muslim teen reader goes no further, he will not be prepared to hold his own in a discussion where someone informs him that "Islam" means "submission". And that someone could be a Muslim - say, a Jihadic recruiter - as well as non-Muslim. When confronted by the kinds of posters that sometimes appear in pro-Muslim rallies, such as "BEHEAD THOSE WHO MOCK ISLAM" or "ISLAM WILL DOMINATE", the teen will be helpless - not only uninformed, but misinformed, and he may realize that this book has let him down.

In summary, this book is about preparing Muslim teens to be able to make their way in America, to assimilate, and yet to retain their Islamic identity. It accomplishes parts of the task nicely, but sometimes it falls short of protecting its young readers and warning them of the dangers and complexities that they will face, from other Muslims in America as well as non-Muslims. Put aside all of the personal questions about dating - hamburgers (hold the bacon!), clothing, making friends, etc.; the essence of being an American involves the freedom to educate oneself, to question everything - including and especially authority - to speak, write, criticize freely and in safety, to pursue happiness and to choose representatives to express ones' political inclinations.

I rate this book 3 stars to balance its high intentions and accomplishments with its limitations and consequent dangers.