Does the inclusion of Muslims in Midwestern history change our ideas about what it means to be a Midwesterner? Dispelling the misconception that Muslims are new arrivals in Ohio and the Midwest, Edward Curtis tells the story of African American, Arab American, and South Asian Americans who established Muslim communities in Akron, Cleveland, Dayton, and Toledo in the middle twentieth century. Their history, Curtis argues, helps us rethink fundamental myths about the heartland.

Edward Curtis is Millennium Chair of the Liberal Arts and Professor of Religious Studies at the Indiana University School of Liberal Arts. His work focuses on the often-forgotten histories of Muslim Americans, African Americans, and Arab Americans. In addition to his academic scholarship, Curtis is a deeply engaged public scholar, writing articles for the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post, National Public Radio, and the Associated Press. He is also the Emmy award-winning producer and writer of Arab Indianapolis: A Hidden History.

He is author or editor of 16 books, including Muslims of the Heartland: How Syrian Immigrants Made a Home in the American Midwest and is the co-founder and editor of the Journal of Africana Religions. Curtis is the recipient of Carnegie, Fulbright, Mellon, and National Endowment for the Humanities fellowships.