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.