In his latest book, America at the Crossroads: Race, Islam and Leadership (Beacon Books and Media Ltd, 2025), Mitchell Institute International Advisory Board Member Ambassador Akbar Ahmed draws on decades of research and firsthand experience to present a groundbreaking framework for understanding American identity: the primordial, pluralist, and predator models.  These three archetypes, shaped by centuries of conflict and coexistence, are reflected in leaders from Thomas Jefferson and Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama, Joe Biden, and Donald Trump.

At the core of the book is the evolving, often fraught relationship between America and its Muslim citizens.  From the surveillance state and post-9/11 suspicion to landmark achievements like the election of Muslim congresspeople and judges, Ahmed captures the tension—and potential—of a nation in flux.  Through ethnographic insight and compassionate narrative, he gives voice to those caught in the storm of race, religion, and leadership and invites readers to rethink the American story in the context of the vision of the US Founding Fathers and imagine a more inclusive future.

Ambassador Akbar Ahmed

 Akbar Ahmed is Distinguished Professor and the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies, School of International Service, American University, Washington, DC, and Wilson Center Global Fellow.  He is a member of the International Advisory Board for the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice.  He was described as the “world’s leading authority on contemporary Islam” by the BBC.  Among his many books are his quartet of studies examining the relationship between the West and Islamic world published by Brookings Institution Press: Journey into Islam (2007), Journey into America (2010), The Thistle and the Drone (2013), and Journey into Europe (2018).