A Muslim in Victorian America

In this first-ever biography of Alexander Russell Webb Umar F. Abd-Allah examines Webb''s life and uses it as a window through which to explore the early history of Islam in America. Except for his adopted faith every aspect of Webb''s life was as Abd-Allah shows quintessentially characteristic of his place and time. It was because he was so typically American that he was able to serve as Islam''s ambassador to America (and vice versa). As America''s Muslim community grows and becomes more visible Webb''s life and the virtues he championed - pluralism liberalism universal humanity and a sense of civic and political responsibility - exemplify what it means to be an American Muslim.