“A Muslim Leader in Brooklyn, Reconciling 2 Worlds,” written by Andrea Elliott, tells the microcosmic story of Sheik Reda Shata, an imam originally from Egypt, now leading a mosque in Brooklyn. In reporting Shata’s life story and struggles as an American imam, Elliott sheds light on the macrocosmic issue of what it is like for Muslims all throughout the United States, and how two worlds need “reconciling.”
Elliott’s piece reveals itself to be a feature article in the very first sentence. “The imam begins his trek before dawn, his long robe billowing like a ghost…” Elliott’s rich descriptions and creative passages tell Shata’s story in a unique way. For example, she describes Shata as an “Islamic judge and nursery school principal, a matchmaker and marriage counselor, a 24-hour hot line on all things Islamic.” Descriptive passages like the opening lede and this description of Shata show this is anything but a news story.
Despite Elliott’s strong writing, a reader might think her reporting is lacking, in that Shata’s voice is the main driving force behind this piece. And since this is a conflict story, she should have more people weighing in. However, this is hardly the case. Shata is the conflict in this story. He is one of the few who can see into two worlds—the Muslim religion in America and the stricter Muslim religion originating overseas. His job involves on blending these two worlds and making things work. If an important claim is made by Shata or Elliott, Elliott appropriately backs up the claim with quotes from experts. The voices of another imam, a Muslim activist, a retired police officer, a woman from an anecdotal story, a counselor, and a psychiatrist are all included in this piece, making it very well reported.
A Muslim Leader in Brooklyn
In the article, “A Muslim Leader in Brooklyn, Reconciling 2 Worlds, ” the writer develops conflict subtly by getting into the world of mosque, imam, and congregation.
The article is a feature and not a news story because of the vision it produces and the background it provides. The writer begins with the “imam begins his trek before dawn” and references an “Egyptian farming village.” The detailed lede brings the leader to a place whereas news stories answer more W’s in the lede. The writer descipes the imam as “boyishly charming between prayers” and that his stories “left his vistors silent, their coffee cold.” This is feature writing language. The writer includes a historical background to frame the characterization of the imam in the section: An Invitation to Islam. A news story could not afford that much background and it would be treated in fewer sentences.
The writer developed conflict by showing details but did not spell out exactly who opposed the imam. She compared the worldliness in the first paragraph of the lede to the R train that rattled “beneath a littered stretch of sidewalk” and the huddled Mexican workers in the second paragraph of the lede. She said that the challenge for the imam was leading a mosque in America. The writer mentioned that the imam had to go from “rigidity” to “flexibility.” She even reveals conflict in the subtle detail of the two words written on the mosque, “one in Arabic and another in English.”
As far as representing sides, it is difficult to really distinguish what the opposing side is for the imam. Is it the psychological issues faced by his congregation? American problems involving business and diet? Is it that people think he is not rigid enough? Perhaps the conflict is that the people struggle and the imam struggles?
Some insight into what the core of the conflict may be is, again, subtle. The writer mentioned that “some of his [Mr. Shata] views would offend conservative Muslims.” The imam said that at times he found his colleagues were too literal in interpreting the Koran. The writer said that the imam “craved greater independence” at one point, showing his personal struggle. The writer was able to get into the nitty gritty of the problems the imam’s struggles, addressed with overwhelming questions about divorce, pornography, and bacon.
I suppose it is best that the conflict is so subtle. It shows that the writer did not intend to advocate for the imam or for the congregation. Instead of praising the imam for being able to handle all of these issues, she laid out all that he had to struggle with.