Blue-eyed devil a road odyssey through Islamic America
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Michael Muhammad Knight embarks on a quest for an indigenous American Islam in a series of interstate odysseys. Traveling 20,000 miles by Greyhound in sixty days, he squats in run-down mosques, pursues Muslim romance, is detained at the U.S.-Canadian border with a trunkload of Shia literature, crashes Islamic Society of North America conventions, stink-palms Cat Stevens, and limps across Chicago to find the grave of Noble Drew Ali, filling dozens of notebooks along the way. The result is this semi-autobiographical book, with multiple histories of Fard and the landscape of American Islam woven.
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Young white American convert to Islam with a punk sensibility travels all over the US visiting Islamic landmarks, puzzling over the identity of WD Fard, and meeting girls. He mostly rides Greyhound and often sleeps outside or in lobbies. At one point he compares himself to a wandering holy man who carries no money. The landmarks he visits are often related to Nation of Islam, and although there are plenty of traditional Muslims in his circle, his heart seems to be with NOI through Malcolm X.
I wanted to like this book, but I just didn't. There was a lot to be interested in in it, but the meandering way it is put together made it seem like a young guy's travel diary got published without editing out the self-indulgence. It went on too long, and the meet ups in various towns with girls who were lying to their parents were annoying.
Sorry, I don't recommend.
