By Imam Zaid Shakir [Zaytuna Institute, 186pp., 2005]

Imam zaid shakir’s journey began as a disenchanted youth living in the housing projects of America; places where dreams are dispelled, hearts exhausted and lives fragmented. Instead, from these seeds, Imam Shakir developed an unshakable desire for social justice and common good, culminating into one of the most important voices for Islam in the Western world.

This biographical account is the first essay in Scattered Pictures, a compilation of essays and articles by the Berkeley-born Imam. “The Making of a Muslim”, the opening essay, sheds light on what gave him hope and purpose, reveals his own personal struggles and doubts, and discusses what led him to reconsider his beliefs of God. He describes the questions and quandaries he faced and unflinchingly admits his own misconceptions in his path to Islam and even within it, to a faith that brought back tradition, balance and humanity.