BROADCASTS.com

PBS invites viewers to buckle up for a cross-country journey along historic Route 66 in THE GREAT MUSLIM AMERICAN ROAD TRIP. The new three-part documentary series follows a young Muslim American couple — rapper-activist Mona Haydar and her husband Sebastian Robins — as they explore America’s “Mother Road” and its surrounding Muslim communities on a 2,500-mile drive from Chicago to Los Angeles.

Although they are practicing Muslims — Mona is Syrian American and Sebastian converted after meeting Mona — the couple, like most Americans, are unfamiliar with Islam’s deeps roots in America. This road trip is an opportunity for them not only to experience the breathtaking panoramas and iconic roadside attractions that have made Route 66 famous, but also to learn more about the history of their faith and what it means to be Muslim in America today. Making more than a dozen stops, Mona and Sebastian meet authors, entrepreneurs, students and others, including Muhammad Ali’s daughter Maryam Ali in Chicago; Bosnian immigrants and restaurant owners Sulejman and Emmina Grbic in St. Louis; jazz musician Leon Rollerson in Tulsa; and award-winning actor and writer Amir Abdullah in Pasadena. Their conversations uncover the deep roots and impact of Islam and Muslims in American history and culture. By the time they reach the West Coast, the couple have a better understanding of themselves, their relationship and the centuries-long Muslim experience in America.