September 11, 2001 brought Al Qaeda and the rest of the Muslim world into the headlines. Americans came to associate the terrible attacks and the seething anger against the United States with the attackers’ religion — Islam.

The religion that Muslim-American writer Asma Hasan practices, however, promotes equality and open-mindedness. In her new book “Why I Am a Muslim: An American Odyssey,” she describes an Islam whose values are essentially those of American society.

Click the “Listen” link to hear a conversation with Muslim-American writer Asma Hasan who looks beyond the blood and hatred to explain why she loves her faith.

Guests:

Asma Hasan, her new book is “Why I Am a Muslim: An American Odyssey”

Leila Ahmed, professor of religion at the Harvard Divinity School. She is the author of “A Border Passage: From Cairo to America – A Woman’s Journey” and “Women and Gender in Islam: The Historical Roots of a Modern Debate.”