Hippocrene Books, Inc.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                               

Q and A with Linda Brandi Cateura

author of Voices of American Muslims

Hippocrene Books: Why did you write Voices of American Muslims?

Linda Brandi Cateura: After 9/11, the anger and prejudice that began to express itself against Muslim Americans across the U.S. reminded me of what my family had experienced during World War II. As Italian Americans, we were subject to suspicion on the part of civic authorities because America and Italy were at war. Owning short-wave radios was prohibited for Italians, and in my childhood being deprived of a radio was like being deprived of TV now. I remember my father and older brother going into our cellar and digging out a radio they had hidden behind the coal bin to listen to music and hear local news. When my brother was drafted into the army, the radio was still hidden. And I remember our mortification and our sense of isolation. Today, what is happening to loyal Muslim Americans in retaliation for 9/11 was one motivation in doing the book.

HB: What were the American Muslims you met like?

LBC: I found them to be a truly likeable group of people who, when convinced of your own sincerity, are open and warm. It was no problem questioning them; they were willing to talk on any subject, personal and otherwise, pertaining to their lives as Muslim Americans. Only two who were interviewed had second thoughts. After granting an interview, a storekeeper withdrew his approval. I think he worried that some of his answers might upset others in his community and cause business to suffer. The second person, a convert, decided she wanted to write her own book.

HB: What kinds of interview subjects were you looking for, and how did you reach them?

LBC: I wanted a cross-section of American Muslims, ranging from the top ranks, like Dr. Elias Zerhouni, director of the National Institutes of Health, and Imam Feisal Rauf, probably America’s leading Islamic cleric, through the professions and different levels of society. I talked to an Islamic school principal in the Midwest, a nurse, doctors, writers, converts, students, a housewife, a cabdriver, a conflict resolutionist, a feminist, and a policeman. I found them by contacting Muslim organizations, businesses, hospitals, and the Armed Forces, and by attending public meetings. I sought suggestions and then followed up. I made a point of finding people all over the U.S., including Alaska.

HB:  How long did it take you to put the book together, starting from the very beginning?

LBC: About two-and-a-half to three years. That includes time spent contacting subjects and pursuing them—one interviewee kept me waiting a year! It includes research, reading about Islam and becoming acquainted with the Koran itself. I attended a mosque, respectfully wearing a headscarf and skirt just below the knees, and a dinner during Ramadan. I visited Muslim neighborhoods, restaurants and bookstores; attending and then writing and editing.

HB: What did you yourself get from writing the book?

LBC: I had one of the most extraordinary experiences of my life. I met and intimately shared the lives of twenty-three American Muslims. They introduced me to a religion and culture—Islam—of extraordinary interest and humanity. I was someone to whom Islam and the Koran were words of little or no meaning, and I grew to know a little about a world of people, one billion strong worldwide, who occupy major areas of the earth.

HB: Who is your favorite interviewee?

LBC: Everyone in the book. Perhaps the one whose life moved me most is Sharmin Ahmad, who describes growing up in Bangladesh as the daughter of a man who was elected Prime Minister and then imprisoned and shot to death by the opposition party. In addition to its pathos, her narrative typifies the violence of politics and religion in the Middle East and South Asia, and the freedom and opportunity a survivor can find in America.

HB: How did you conduct your interviews?

LBC: All the interviews were conducted in person or on the telephone, with the aid of a tape recorder. Post-interview clarification, when needed, took place on the telephone or by email. No interviews were conducted by email or paper mail.

HB: Did working on this book help you see the connections between terrorism and Islam?

LBC: I do not equate terrorism with Islam. There are segments in the Koran that specifically advise humanity to love one another, and say that God made people of different colors and races so that, in effect, they may know and respect one another’s differences. To my understanding, the Koran forbids any attack on a human being, and makes war impossible for Muslims unless the enemy makes the first attack.

HB: Do some Muslims feel that the U.S. has some responsibility for 9/11?

LBC: From some interviewees, I got the sense that they felt that U.S. support of Israel and relative disregard for the Palestinian situation, with its thousands of refugees, have angered the lunatic fringe of Islamic believers. It is that lunatic fringe that perpetrated the catastrophe of 9/11.

HB: I’ve heard that Islam is the world’s fastest-growing religion. Why do you think that’s the case?

LBC: One thing that may contribute is conversion. Of the twenty-three Muslims in this book, four (or 17%) are converts. I didn’t pick them because they were converts, but as Muslims who turned out to be converts. Many converts become Muslim by proselytization; others through their own self-seeking and spiritual search. Also, Americans are more exposed to Islam than ever before. They are beginning to be made aware of it through  TV and in the schools, where the growing number of Islamic children attests to an increase. Colleges and universities are beginning to lure teachers in Islam, and four American universities have begun granting doctorates in Islam.

HB: Thank you so much for answering a few questions. And for asking so many good questions in the book!

LBC: It’s a pleasure.