Includes bibliographical references (p. [195]-230) and index.

Four out of ten Americans say they dislike Muslims, according to a Gallup poll. "Muslims," a blogger wrote on www.freerepublic.com, "don't belong in America." In a lively, funny, and revealing riposte to these sentiments, journalist Jonathan Curiel offers a tour through the little-known Islamic past, and present, of American culture. From highbrow to pop, from lighthearted to profound, this book reveals the Islamic and Arab influences before our eyes, under our noses, and ringing in our ears. Curiel demonstrates that many of America's most celebrated places retain vestiges of Arab and Islamic culture. Likewise, some of America's most recognizable music is indebted to Arab music. And some of America's leading historical figures, from Ralph Waldo Emerson to Elvis Presley, relied on Arab or Muslim culture for intellectual sustenance. Part travelogue, part cultural history, this book confirms a continuous pattern of give-and-take between America and the Arab-Muslim world.--From publisher description.

Preface: Irony of 9/11 -- Acknowledgments -- 1: Seeds of Islam in America: from Columbus to the Alamo -- 2: Slavery and Islam: the roots of American blues music -- 3: Emerson and Persian poetry: the transcendentalists find their reflection in Southern Iran -- 4: PT Barnum and the Taj Mahal: the spread of Muslim art from one continent to another -- 5: Language and names: the Arabic origins of "giraffe" and "coffee"- and what about "Mecca, USA"? -- 6: Arabs and the ice-cream cone: the joy of eating (and drinking), from Damascus to St Louis, Missouri -- 7: Height of Orientalism: when US Presidents donned fezzes and said "salaam aleikum" -- 8: Lasting appeal of the Arabian Nights and the bearded mullah from Turkey -- 9: Trippy sounds of the '60s: how Dick Dale, The Doors, and even Dylan swayed to Arab music -- 10: East meets West in Memphis: Elvis and the poet from Lebanon -- 11: Islam and the World Trade Center: Minoru Yamasaki plants a dream for peace in New York -- 12: Fashion, tattoos, and Arabic calligraphy: the nexus of style, design, and Angelina Jolie -- 13: Arabs and Muslims in the United States: today and tomorrow -- Notes -- Index.