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T he last light of the setting sun washes over an expansive, domed hall dotted with people. Some sit, silent and cross- legged, beside the great pillars that sustain the ceiling; others are bowed down with their foreheads pressed against the ornate car- pet; and still others chat softly and laugh together along the periph- ery and in the rear of the great room. Speaking in Arabic, a bearded man offers a casual greeting to a newcomer who removes his shoes at the entrance and deposits them in a cubby on the back wall. Dressed in an austere, floor-length robe and a scarf tightly wrapped around her head, a mother bearing an infant moves toward the back where a group of women has converged. She exchanges greetings and kisses with the others. Then, cradling her child in her arms, she faces for- ward, lips moving in silent prayer, and begins to bend and bow. The crowd, scattered about, produces a soft murmur, punctuated by the occasional cough or laugh, which echoes in the hall. Then, cutting the silence, a voice sounds over the loudspeaker in Arabic, and the hap- hazard crowd forms into neat rows—men in the front, women What Americans Know About Islam

Opposite: Muslims in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, gather outside their mosque after Sunday prayers. The Muslim community in Cedar Rapids dates to the early 20th century.

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