Bermudian businessman and political activist Khalid Wasi has released a new book detailing the history of the local Muslim community and arguing for a more naturalist perspective of the faith.

A Muted Imam: Narrative of a Naturalist Imam’s Message, published by Strategic Book Publishing & Rights Agency, is the result of ten years of work by the former political candidate.

Speaking yesterday, Mr Wasi said he was inspired to write the book in 2004 while attending a conference at the Fairmont Southampton.

“They had a pamphlet celebrating the pioneers in Bermuda and I recognised it was misleading,” he said.

“I realised that if I didn’t write the history of the development of the Muslim community and Islam in Bermuda, it would be left to pamphlets like that.

“The other thing I wanted to do was recognise that a lot of what happened in the Islamic community in Bermuda was reflective of issues faced by the broader community.”

He said the book details what he views as the struggle between the fundamentalist perspective of the faith held by some and a more naturalised approach held by those including Mr Wasi.

“I was most active as a local Muslim leader, so it engages in lots of history, political activism and the diverse struggles I was engaged in during those periods,” he said.

“It talks about the breakdown of the Nation of Islam, how it happened and about the struggle with Islamic fundamentalism which was emerging during the mid-to-late seventies.

“We chronicled the development of the community and the genesis of the various splits which led to several groups, but in the process we take in the local issues of the time; the riots of 1977, the hangings, the Pitt Report and the development of Dockyard.”

One key issue he said is the concept of Islam coming naturally from the environment rather than being “parachuted in”, allowing it to reflect the local community rather than the culture of others.

“One of the things about Bermuda is as a small country everything is imported,” he said.

“Everything we have even in the form of organisations has come to Bermuda.

“What I wanted to do was bring out the right of Bermudians to originate. We have originality and the right to create.”

• A Muted Imam: Narrative of a Naturalist Imam’s Message is available now from online booksellers such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble, and details the history and struggles of the Muslim community in Bermuda.