The Economist Asia Edition – July 27, 2019

The EconomistJuly 27th 2019 Books & arts 65

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W

henjohnlockebuilta caseforreli-

gious toleration in 1689, he had a few

caveats. Atheists were out—they could not

be trusted—as was anyone whose faith

threatenedthesocialorder.Alsoexcluded

werebelieverswho“deliverthemselvesup

totheprotectionand serviceofanother

prince”ina foreignland—suchasa “Ma-

hometan” with “blind obedience to the

MuftiofConstantinople”.Thiscategoryin-

cludedCatholics(duetotheirfealtytothe

pope)aswellasMuslims.Dividedloyalties,

Lockereasoned,madedangeroussubjects.

Inhernewbookonthefragilestatusof

America’sroughly3.5mMuslimsafterthe

attacksofSeptember11th2001,AsmaUddin

identifiesa similarprejudice.It maysound

likea “crazyfact”,MsUddinwrites,buta

centralthreadofIslamophobiaintheUn-

itedStatesisthepreposterousnotionthat

Islamisnot,properlyspeaking,a religion.

MichaelFlynn,brieflyDonaldTrump’sna-

tionalsecurityadviser,saidin 2016 thatIs-

lamisa “politicalideology”that“hidesbe-

hindthenotionofbeinga religion”.When

SebastianGorka,formerlyanadvisertoMr

Trump,wasaskedifthepresidentbelieved

Islamisa religion,hedemurred.“Wearen’t

goingtogetintotheologicaldebates,”Mr

Gorkasaid.

MsUddinfoldsbitsoftheology,andher

own experience as a Muslim in America,

into her legal and political narrative. “Is-

lam” means “peaceful submission”, she

writes in response to a claim to the con-

trary from Steve Bannon, Mr Trump’s erst-

while strategist. Islamic law is more flexi-

ble than is commonly believed: sharia may

be God’s “divine blueprint”, but “the rules

we derive from it”, or fiqh, are subject to re-

interpretation. Some American Muslim

scholars, for example, now say the Koran

permits gay and lesbian Muslims to “wor-

ship and engage meaningfully in the com-

munity”. For Ms Uddin’s part, after con-

cluding that the hijab was “hopelessly

politicised” and hazardous to her safety, in

2006 shestoppedwearinghersinpublic.

Perilforwomenwearingreligiousgarb

isonlyoneexampleofanti-Muslimdis-

criminationinAmerica.Theauthoralso

adducesxenophobicanti-sharialawsand

resistancetoMuslimbuildings.Afterar-

soniststargetedthesiteofa newIslamic

centreinTennesseein2010,a candidatefor

Congress said that the building would

“fracturethemoralandpoliticalfounda-

tion”oftheregion;thestate’slieutenant-

governordeclaredIslama “violentpolitical

philosophy”.Themosqueopenedin2012,

butfiveyearslatervandalswrappedbacon

onthedoorhandlesandscrawled“FuckAl-

lah”onthewall.

MsUddinwantstoforgestrongerlinks

withopponentsofMrTrump’srestrictions

onimmigrationandontravelfromMuslim

countries.BothMuslimsandlgbtqpeo-

ple,shesays,are“fightingfortheircivil

rights”andshould“supporteachother’s

causes”.Neverthelesstheauthordefends

Christianconservativeswhoresistlawsre-

quiringbusinessestoservecustomersof

allsexualandgenderidentities.Asa lawyer

atBecket,a non-profitfirm,MsUddinrep-

resentedHobbyLobby,a textileshop,when

its religious proprietors demanded an ex-

emption from the Obamacare rule that

companies must provide contraceptive

coverage for employees. Her firm also sid-

ed with a group of nuns who complained

that an accommodation releasing them

from the contraceptive mandate was itself

a violation of their conscience.

This is a fraught political stance. Ms Ud-

din wants to ally with liberals and begin a

“conversation” with conservatives. But

many on the left oppose religious exemp-

tions that impede the rights of women and

minorities, while many on the right—as

this book disturbingly documents—deny

that Islam is even worth protecting. 7

Islam in America

Taking liberties

When Islam is Not a Religion: Inside

America’s Fight for Religious Freedom. By

Asma Uddin. Pegasus Books; 336 pages;

$27.95

Keeping the faith

“K

im”,rudyardkipling’staleofan

Anglo-Irish boy’s journey through

British India (published in 1901), recalls an-

other literary odyssey. Huckleberry Finn

floats down the Mississippi river with Jim,

a runaway slave seeking his freedom. Kim

treks over the Grand Trunk Road with the

Teshoo Lama, a holy man searching for

spiritual liberation. Both defy prejudices to

help their companions, even as their au-

thors deal in ugly racial stereotypes.

As Christopher Benfey observes in “If”,

his sensitive study of Kipling’s sojourn in

America, Kim’s resemblance to Huck is not

coincidental. It was Mark Twain who first

attracted Kipling to the United States in

1889, when the young Indian-born English-

man made a pilgrimage to Elmira, New

York, to meet his literary hero. Twain was

dazzled by the unknown writer’s elo-

quence. He compared Kipling’s language to

footprints, “so strong and definite was the

impression which it left behind”.

“If”, which takes its title from Kipling’s

celebrated poem, charts the decisive influ-

ence of his time in America on his life and

writing. In 1892 he married Carrie Balestier,

the sister of his late literary agent, and the

couple settled in her home town of Brattle-

boro, Vermont. There, in a hillside house

with a view of the Connecticut river, he la-

boured “to turn himself into a specifically

Americanwriter”. Indeed, Kipling believed

that, as a perceptive foreigner devoted to

his adopted country, he alone was capable

of producing The Great American Novel.

He came close, Mr Benfey argues, with

“The Jungle Book”. Far from the forests of

Literary influences

Huck meets Kim

If: The Untold Story of Kipling’s American

Years. By Christopher Benfey. Penguin

Press; 256 pages; $28