this is about 20 minutes. >> and now joining us on booktv is professor yvonne haddad, and she is the author of this book, "becoming american?: the forging of arab and muslim identity in pluralist america." this is published by baylor university press. professor haddad, when did muslims start coming to the u.s.? >> it depends. some people think they were here before columbus. some people think that at least one of them came with columbus, but major, concentrated group started coming in the 1870s. >> why? >> most from lebanon because there was famine, and the young people were looking for work. they were in lebanon engaged in raising silkworms for the silk industry, and there was a blight and the mulberry trees died, and so they couldn't raise any more silkworms. but the other thing that happened is that japanese silk begin to compete. and so the industry fell apart. so they started coming. >> what was the reaction in 1870s when arabs and muslims for started coming to the u.s.? >> well, they came as peddlers. they weren't really part of the sort of main trade and industry. but they bega