American Muslim 2019
Distributed by The Video Project, 145 - 9th St., Suite 102, San Francisco, CA 94103; 800-475-2638
Produced by Adam Zucker
Directed by Adam Zucker
Streaming, 82 mins
High School - General Adult
Islam; Muslims; Politics
Date Entered: 04/03/2020
Reviewed by Lara Fountaine, Student Success & Engagement Librarian, NC State University LibrariesThis film follows five American Muslims living in New York City during the Age of Trump. Most notably chronicling their experiences after the Muslim Ban was enacted. The stories of these people show them supporting their communities, fighting against the Muslim Ban, and increasing inter-faith coalitions.
American Muslim does an excellent job of highlighting the struggles Muslim Americans have had to face, not just recently, but over the last 20 years. It critically examines the attitude shift that has happened among Muslims from 9/11 to today. They are fighting for justice but are still living with this pressure to prove their "American-ness." This film also does a great job of explaining the differences between culture and religion and addresses the misconception that strict gendered policies, in countries like Saudi Arabia, are informed by Islam. It also highlights the confusion that commonly occurs about Muslims and Arabs, which is that all Muslims are Arab and all Arabs are Muslims. The five Muslims in this film all come from different countries and regions, Algeria, Yemen, Palestine, Algeria, South Asia, and Indonesia.
This film critically chronicles and examines the lived experiences of Muslims living in America. I highly recommend this film for any high school or academic library as well as alongside any U.S. Government curricula.