scholarly journals Muslim women’s evolving leadership roles: A case study of women leaders in an immigrant Muslim community in post-9/11 America

2017 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 424-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuting Wang
Keyword(s):  
Women Leaders ◽  
Muslim Women ◽  
The United States ◽  
Women's Leadership ◽  
Leadership Roles ◽  
Muslim Community ◽  
Traditional Gender Roles ◽  
American Muslim ◽  
Midwestern City

Based on three years of ethnographic fieldwork in a multi-ethnic immigrant Muslim congregation in a Midwestern city in the United States, this article scrutinizes the intricate process through which women use traditional gender roles and expectations to legitimate and operationalize women’s leadership. This study found that de facto congregationalism has made it possible for Muslim women to translate their ‘traditional’ responsibilities for food preparation and socializing children into greater visibility and voice in both the mosque and broader society. This study provides an in-depth examination of the nuanced processes of women’s empowerment in American Muslim congregations.

Muslim Women in the United States

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kathleen M. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Muslim Women ◽  
The United States ◽  
Women's Leadership ◽  
Gender And Sexuality ◽  
Muslim Community ◽  
Academic Field ◽  
American Muslim ◽  
Gender Constructions ◽  
Western Values ◽  
Online Activism

This essay is about how the academic field of North American Islam has turned to questions of gender and sexuality and how American Muslim women have dealt with the reality of gender constructions and localized dynamics in the American context. Widespread perceptions that Muslim women are oppressed by their religion make it difficult for them to tackle gender disparities in their own communities. If, for instance, a woman pushes to end practices in mosques that require her to pray separately from the men, as some women do, then anti-Muslim activists latch onto their complaints to discredit the Muslim community as a whole. At the same time, these women may be criticized by some within the Muslim community for imposing “western values” on Muslims or undermining the community with their feminist ideas. The influences of anti-Islam populism and intra-Muslim community pressures have shaped contemporary debates about women’s status in Islam and American women’s rights. Contested post-9/11 discourses, women’s leadership in public organizations, mosque participation, online activism, and law are examined.

The Impact of Religion and Culture on Leadership Styles of Women Policy-Makers in the Education Industry

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-26
Author(s):  
Shadiya Mohamad Saleh Baqutayan ◽  
Fauziah Raji
Keyword(s):  
Leadership Styles ◽  
Women Leaders ◽  
Women's Leadership ◽  
Leadership Roles ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Individual Interviews ◽  
Gender Culture ◽  
Education Industry ◽  
Public And Private Sector ◽  
The Impact

This qualitative study is purposive in sampling and explored a small number of women leaders in the education industry who are policymakers of Malay Muslim origin of their experiences in leadership positions. Policymaking here involved policies at the micro-level, which related more to their institutions and organizations. The researcher examined the women's leadership styles and the factors that influenced how they lead explicitly. Likewise, the researcher focused on how gender, culture, and religion may relate to women's experiences. Basic interpretive and descriptive qualitative research methods were employed. Data were collected through in-depth individual interviews. Participants interviewed included nine women leaders in the public and private sector who were either teachers/lecturers or administrators in the education industry. These women held positions within the top echelon of their organization or institution. The finding of this research indicated that gender, religion, and culture play an important role in women's leadership experiences, therefore, themes emerged around influences on the women's approaches to leadership, with particular emphasis on the role of the larger environment in impacting women's leadership behaviors. To further focus on the impact of culture and religion on women's leadership styles, the researcher conducted a focused discussion group on the second group of Malay Muslim women leaders. This group of women leaders compromised mainly of women leaders who are department and section heads but still involved in policymaking decisions albeit within their department or sections. This study can provide insight into the landscape of women‘s leadership roles and how to support these leaders.

scholarly journals Building Pathways: Nurturing a Female Generation of School Leaders in China

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Lixia Qin ◽  
Mario Torres ◽  
Jean Madsen
Keyword(s):  
Educational Leadership ◽  
Leadership Preparation ◽  
Women's Leadership ◽  
Leadership Roles ◽  
Leadership Positions ◽  
Educational Management ◽  
Traditional Gender Roles ◽  
Changing Practice ◽  
Dominant Society ◽  
Feminist Perspectives

International feminist perspectives recognize the continuing inequalities of power between men and women across all classes (Adler & Israeli, 1988; Alston, 2000; De la Rey, 2005). In China’s male-dominant society, for example, women often have been inhibited from pursuing leadership positions (Wiseman, Obiakor & Bakken, 2009). Further, women’s access to leadership positions is constrained within many social sectors (Cooke, 2005). In school settings, there is no doubt that women have greatly contributed to the changing practice of educational management in China since 1980s ( Zhong & Ehrich, 2010). However, despite recent changes, women are still vastly underrepresented in educational leadership positions due to a variety of reasons, such as their adherence to traditional gender roles (Coleman, Qiang & Li, 1998). One particular reason that has been drawing increasing attention across the world is the lack of appropriate training and guidance in young women’s leadership (Su, Adams & Miniberg, 2000; Cooke, 2003; Barnett, 2004; Chen, 2005). This paper probes in greater depth one of the most important, yet largely overlooked aspects in the educational leadership of China – women’s leadership roles in education and young women’s leadership preparation.

scholarly journals Muslim Community of the Present-Day USA: Looking for SelfIdentity in the Multicultural Society

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-202
Author(s):  
M. H. Abdullaev
Keyword(s):  
The United States ◽  
Muslim Americans ◽  
Muslim Community ◽  
Political Processes ◽  
Black Muslims ◽  
Religious Worldview ◽  
Political Events ◽  
American Muslim ◽  
The Face ◽  
American Society

This article is devoted to the current socio- political processes experienced by the Muslim community in the United States of America. The author studies the process of harmonious integration by Muslim Americans into American society, the search for possible correlations between the religious and secular parts of society, and the requirements of Islam in the face of demo cratic values. The author pays special attention to the issues of self-determination for Islam adherents, including their political search, and attempts to gain a powerful voice in the most important political events. The article analyzes such aspects of American Muslims life as, interaction with representatives of other faiths, discrimination and Islamophobia, and the Islamic religious worldview of black Muslims. The author focuses on problematic discourse. Using methods of analysis, deduction, as well as methods of included observation, the author shows a modern picture of American Muslim life, and also makes important conclusions and predictions regarding their future in a rapidly changing multicultural American society.

scholarly journals “Being Wholly Muslim and Wholly American”: Exploring One Islamic School's Efforts to Educate against Extremism

2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (6) ◽  
pp. 1-32
Author(s):  
Melanie C. Brooks ◽  
Miriam D. Ezzani
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Qualitative Case Study ◽  
The United States ◽  
Islamic State ◽  
Formal Schooling ◽  
Muslim Identity ◽  
Islamic School ◽  
Religious Extremism ◽  
American Muslim

Background/Context Current estimates show 2,500 Islamic State (IS) jihadists are from the United States, Australia, and Western Europe. How and in what ways formal schooling influences the radicalization process and the development of extremist worldviews is yet to be fully understood. There is little research that explores how religious schooling educates against radical thought and behavior and this article reports findings from a qualitative case study of an Islamic school in the United States that counters religious extremism through the promotion and development of an American Muslim identity in its students, an ideology that advances the idea that an individual can be wholly American and wholly Muslim without any incongruity. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of the Study The purpose of this research was to explore one American Islamic school's efforts to counter religious extremism through the promotion and development of an American Muslim identity in its students. Two research questions guided this inquiry: (a) How does one American Islamic school attempt to develop and promote anti-extremist beliefs and behaviors through their development of an American Muslim identity in its students? (b) How is this reflective of Davies’ Critical Idealism XvX Model? Research Design For this qualitative case study, data were gathered and analyzed using Lynn Davies’ Critical Idealism XvX Model, which contrasts formal education that teaches anti-extremism to education that may teach extremist worldviews. Findings/Results The findings suggested that this Islamic school's focus on American Muslim identity reflected the components and values put forth in Davies’ framework that supported anti-extremist education and thereby thwarted extremist ideologies of single-truths, silencing, obedience, utopian excellence, political ignorance, and pure identities. Establishing a “good fit” for teachers, parents, and students were essential and parents with extremist or fundamentalist ideologies tended to disenroll their children. This study also suggested that Davies’ Critical Idealism XvX Model may be a useful framework for exploring religious education. Conclusions/Recommendations The school's administrators believed in the need to re-envision the American Muslim community—moderate in outlook, resonant with American values, participative with community, and supportive and welcoming of diversity. In doing so, the school delivered an anti-extremist education that promoted social integration, democratic values, and acceptance of diversity. This moderate outlook is counter to prevailing stereotypes and thus it is imperative that research continues to explore the role formal schooling plays in educating for or against extremism.

Mosques in the United States

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ihsan Bagby
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Civic Engagement ◽  
The United States ◽  
Nation Of Islam ◽  
Historical Overview ◽  
Muslim Community ◽  
Community Centers ◽  
American Muslim ◽  
The 1960S

In the Muslim world, mosques function as places of worship rather than “congregations” or community centers. Muslims pray in any mosque that is convenient, since they are not considered members of a particular mosque but of the ummah (global community of Muslims). In America, however, Muslims attached to specific mosques have always followed congregational patterns. They transform mosques into community centers aimed at serving the needs of Muslims and use them as the primary vehicle for the collective expression of Islam in the American Muslim community. This chapter provides a historical overview of mosques in America. It also looks at the conversion of African Americans into mainstream Islam starting in the 1960s, the transformation of the Nation of Islam into a mainstream Muslim group, and the growth of mosques in America. In addition, it describes mosque participants, mosque activities, mosque structures, and mosque finances as well as the American mosque’s embrace of civic engagement and the role of women in the American mosque. Finally, the chapter examines the mosque leaders’ approach to Islam.

Looming Threats to the Intimate Bond in Hospice Care? Economic and Organizational Pressures in the Case Study of a Hospice

2007 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-18 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elijah G. Ward ◽  
Audrey K. Gordon
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Hospice Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ethnographic Case Study ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Client Care ◽  
Client Relationship ◽  
Midwestern City

Hospice organizations are assailed by stiff competition, ever-rising costs, limited funding, and policy changes. Do such pressures stifle the high quality of care these organizations strive to provide? As a case-in-point, we draw from the mid-1990s accounts of caregivers at a nonprofit hospice in a Midwestern city in the United States. We maintain that economic pressures drive organizational restructuring, which then weakens working conditions and, thereby, weakens the staff-client relationship. We discuss effects upon worker behaviors, the worker-client relationship, and client care. This ethnographic case study signals the need to closely examine the threats that current economic and organizational pressures in the United States may pose to the quality of hospice care.

scholarly journals Woman and the Masjid between Two Extremes

2006 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 136-141
Author(s):  
Louay Safi
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Muslim Women ◽  
The Other ◽  
Social Programs ◽  
Muslim Community ◽  
Political Activities ◽  
American Muslim

The masjid, better known in North America as the Islamic center, is the centerof spiritual, social, educational, and, most recently, political activities ofthe American Muslim community. The masjid is also the place whereMuslims of diverse cultural and ideological backgrounds meet and interact.The diversity of interpretations of Islamic sources and practices has createdtensions, particularly in Islamic centers where the tendency is to imposestrict interpretations about the appropriate place and role of Muslim womenin the masjid and the community.An increasing number of young Muslim women complain of restrictivearrangements and practices, impeding their ability to fully participate in educationaland social programs. Many masjids today restrict the main prayerhall to men and assign women to secluded quarters. Women are asking outloud: “Is this the place Islam assigns for us, or is it the imposition of culturaltraditions?” Some have even gone to the other extreme of rejecting all traditionsand discarding all limits ...

scholarly journals Bridging the Divide?

2006 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 144-147
Author(s):  
Fiaz Shuayb
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Arab World ◽  
The United States ◽  
Washington Dc ◽  
Muslim Community ◽  
Islamic World ◽  
Near Eastern ◽  
American Muslim ◽  
Islamic Terrorism ◽  
Policy Communities

On January 9, 2006, in Washington, DC, the Saban Center for Middle EastPolicy at the Brookings Institution hosted the highest level meeting betweenthe Bush administration and the American Muslim community. Entitled “Bridging the Divide?” and organized by the Brookings Project on USPolicy toward the Islamic World, representatives of various Muslim organizationwere granted the opportunity to interface with C. David Welch, theAssistant Secretary of the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs. The conference,a follow-up to previous initiatives on “Bridging the Divide” theme, soughtto bring together key leaders and specialists “to explore the potential spacefor the American Muslim community to assist and advance US policytowards the Islamic world and capabilities within the community that mightbe better tapped.” In attendance were representatives from the Americangovernment, officials from a variety of American Muslim organizations,American Muslim foreign policy experts, others from the Washington thinktankand policy communities, and students.In the opening speech, Welch acknowledged several unique characteristicsabout the American Muslim community: its integration into Americancivic life; being Americans as well as Muslims; and, despite post-9/11 tensions,steering a moderate course while confronting extremist Islamist tendencies.As evidence, he cited the Fiqh Council of North America’s recentfatwa against Islamic terrorism that was endorsed by major Muslim organizations.He recognized that American Muslims can play an exceptional rolein explaining the American position, given their cultural, linguistic, and ethnicties with the Islamic world, and acknowledged the history of conflictbetween the United States and the Muslim world. In addition, he condemnedthe seeming “civilizational strife” between Islam and the West as a pointless“jihad/crusade.” He stated that he was more comfortable with the relationshipof the United States with the Muslim – especially Arab – world as beingdefined by a dialog stressing the commonalities of belief in God, virtue,family life, and socioeconomic justice ...

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