Charlie Wilson, Islam in America, Indian-Americans

Indian-Americans make up more than 2.5 million of the U.S. population, and most of us welcome the culturally and religious diversity they add to the American mosaic. That sense of appreciation appears to be lost on Joel Stein, a frequent contributor to Time magazine. Stein recently wrote an article entitled “My Own Private India” in the publication, and in it attempted to offer a few witty observations about his childhood growing up among Indian-Americans. He instead succeeded at insulting and disrespecting their culture. Dr. Rahul Parikh, a pediatrician and writer on health and medical issues, responded to Stein’s article on CNN.com, and discusses his reaction with us.

We continue our “Religion Week” series with a look at the world’s second largest religion, and—at least in America—possibly the most controversial: Islam. There are just over 1 billion Muslims around the world, with 7 million practicing here in the United States. Dawud Walid, assistant Imam of Masjid Wali Muhammad in Detroit and executive director of the Michigan office of the Council on American Islamic Relations, joins us to talk about the Islamic faith and the Muslim community in the United States.

Tulsa, Okla. native Charlie Wilson gained national prominence as lead singer for the late 1970′s and 1980′s funk group The Gap Band. Once riding high with such hit songs as “Outstanding,” “You Dropped a Bomb on Me,” and “Early in the Morning,” Wilson was grounded by substance abuse and ended up homeless on the streets of Los Angeles for three years. Now he’s back on the music scene in a major way with the critically acclaimed CDs Charlie Last Name Wilson in 2005 and Uncle Charlie in 2008, which received two Grammy nominations. Wilson stops by in advance of headlining Cincinnatti’s Macy’s Music Festival to talk about the road there and back.

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