American identity
Who gets to define American Muslim identity?
Muslims have become a totem in the culture war. But we have our own ideas.
by Eboo Patel
The Vietnam War was worse than just a tragic miscalculation
Why are Americans always cast as the well-meaning innocents and others as the bad actors?
The search for an American divine
In his recent biography of Billy Graham, Grant Wacker nicknamed the Baptist preacher “America’s pastor.” Owing to a prolific career that began in 1949 and has now spanned nearly 70 years, which saw him as the spiritual advisor to multiple U.S. presidents, the moniker is arguably fitting.
Graham began his career at a pivotal time in American history, as Cold War anxieties pitted American piety against “godless communists.”
Two accounts of what it means to be an American
One of the characteristic idiosyncrasies of Americans is that they are always fretting about their identity. They are a people constantly asking themselves, what does it mean to be a “real American”?
There are certain literary figures we can instantly associate with the issue of American identity.
Baptizing empire
Matthew McCullough argues that the Spanish-American War signaled a crucial turning point in American self-understanding and self-justification.
Hyphenated life: Mixed loyalties in family and faith
As the imam spoke, it struck me that a whole generation of Muslim Americans would grow up feeling the weight of self-consciousness.
by Joyce Shin