How to be a Muslim, Solar Eclipsomania

How to Be a Muslim: An American Story Guest: Haroon Moghul, Fellow in Jewish-Muslim Relations, Shalom Hartman Institute Author of “How to Be a Muslim: An American Story” Haroon Moghul’s new memoir is called “How to Be a Muslim,” but it’s not a how-to manual. It’s an exploration of Moghul’s struggle to find an identity as an American Muslim, the son of immigrants from Pakistan whose strict ideas about proper behavior and worship chafed him. As a teenager, he toyed with becoming an atheist, a Catholic, even a Mormon. But he came back to Islam, led a thriving Islamic Center for students at New York University, until the 9-11 terror attacks, and Americans developed a fear of Islam overnight.  Haroon Moghul found himself thrust into the role of “professional Muslim,” expected to speak for – and justify – his faith at every turn. This memoir is, in some ways, an answer to that. Get Ready for Eclipsomania Guests: Tyler Nordgren, PhD, Professor of Physics and Astronomy, University of Redlands, Author of “Sun, Moon, Earth: The History of Solar Eclipses from Omens of Doom to Einstein and Exoplanets”; Mike Joner, PhD, Research Professor of Physics and Astronomy, Brigham Young University; Patrick Wiggins, NASA Solar System Ambassador I’m sure you’ve heard by now that a total eclipse of the sun will be visible from the United States on Monday, Aug. 21. A chance like this only comes around once or twice in a lifetime, unless you’re one of those people who actually chases solar eclipses and travels to wherever the best view will be in the world.  We’re going to talk to a couple of those people this hour to understand what the fuss is all about. By the end, you just might be making plans to high-tail it to the “zone of totality” which stretches diagonally across the US from Salem, Oregon to Charleston, South Carolina.