There are now more Muslims in America than in Kuwait, Qatar, and Libya combined. It is the second largest religion in France and the third in Britain, Germany, and North America. Leaving aside immigration and conversion, birth rate alone ensures that in the first part of the twenty-first century Islam will replace Judaism as the second largest religion in the United States.

Like all religious and ethnic minorities in America, Muslims must confront a host of difficult questions. Can they become part of a pluralistic American society without sacrificing their identity? Can Muslims be Muslims in a state that is not governed by Islamic law? Will the American legal system protect Muslim religious and cultural differences? Is there a contradiction between demanding equal rights and insisting on maintaining a distinctively separate identity? In this wide-ranging volume, fourteen distinguished scholars take an in-depth look at these issues and examine the varied responses and opinions of the Muslim community.