scholarly journals Competing Visions of Islam in the United States

1998 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 136-139
Author(s):  
Ahmed Hussain
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
The United States ◽  
Muslim Identity ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
American Muslim ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Muslim Communities

Barring the initial works of a handful of scholars over the last 50 years,Muslim communities and their understanding of Islam in America have gonerelatively unstudied in relation to other religious groups. The lacuna now, however,has been partially filled by the work of Kambiz GhaneaBassiri in a concisebut complete in-way-of-issues-mentioned manner. Primarily a secondarysource, it relies heavily on the initial works produced by scholars such asYvonne Haddad, Adair T. Lummis, Earle Waugh. Aminah McCloud, and AtifWasfi. The book is the first of a second generation of work on the subjectUsing a purely sociological method and lens, the book analyzes the findings ofthe works that came before it, coupling a case study of the views, opinions, andattitudes of different constituents of the Muslim populace of Los Angeles withthe more cross-sectional approach used by the aforementioned scholars. Thework raises fundamental questions regarding the validity of studying sociologicallythe American Muslim condition; whether a truly American Muslim conditionexists; and (if it does) its characteristic features. Nevertheless, KambizGhaneaBassiri's work indexes, in a cartographic manner, the competing visionsof Islam in the United States.Within the introduction of his work, the author outlines the purpose andmethodology of his study. Departing from the writings and approach of Haddad,Lummis, Waugh, McCloud, and Wasfi, he makes his intention clear: to use surveysto examine the religious identity of Muslims in the United States by determininghow they define their role as American citizens. His already enigmaticdefinition of a religious identity, however, being an amalgam of one's "desires,""needs," "cultural and ethnic background" and "level of religious understanding,"missed certain key elements. The roles of intention and volitional acts­the main components of the textual definition of Muslim identity-outlinedwithin the Qur'an and Sunnah, more than the categories used in the study, defineMuslim identity. The lack of a clear definition of Muslim identity and the inabilityof the study to operationalize it are the work's two main weaknesses.Nowhere in the work is it scientifically illustrated or articulated that a case study ...

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.

scholarly journals Loneliness in the United States: A 2018 National Panel Survey of Demographic, Structural, Cognitive, and Behavioral Characteristics

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 1123-1133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liana DesHarnais Bruce ◽  
Joshua S. Wu ◽  
Stuart L. Lustig ◽  
Daniel W. Russell ◽  
Douglas A. Nemecek
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Support ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Social Anxiety ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Health Behavior Intervention

Purpose: To inform health behavior intervention design, we sought to quantify loneliness and its correlates, including social media use, among adults in the United States. Design: Cross-sectional research panel questionnaire. Setting: Responses were gathered from individuals in all 50 states surveyed via Internet from February 2018 to March 2018. Participants: A total of 20 096 US panel respondents aged 18+. Measures: The University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale (theoretical score range = 20-80) was administered along with demographic, structural, cognitive, and behavioral items. Analysis: After calibrating the sample to population norms, we conducted multivariable linear regression analysis. Results: The overall mean survey-weighted loneliness score was 44.03 (standard error = 0.09). Social support (standardized β [sβ] = −0.19) and meaningful daily interactions (sβ = −0.14) had the strongest associations with lower loneliness, along with reporting good relationships, family life, physical and mental health, friendships, greater age, being in a couple, and balancing one’s daily time. Social anxiety was most strongly associated with greater loneliness (sβ = +0.20), followed by self-reported social media overuse (sβ = +0.05) and daily use of text-based social media (sβ = +0.03). Conclusion: Our findings confirm that loneliness decreases with age, and that being in a relationship as well as everyday behavioral factors in people’s control are most strongly related to loneliness. Population health promotion efforts to reduce loneliness should focus on improving social support, decreasing social anxiety, and promoting healthy daily behaviors.

Reformist Muslims in Contemporary America

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serhan Tanriverdi
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Thought Reform ◽  
Islamic Tradition ◽  
American Muslim ◽  
Muslim Intellectuals ◽  
And Gender ◽  
American Society ◽  
Muslim Communities ◽  
Muhammad Rashid Rida

In the last two centuries, Muslims have made efforts to reform Islamic tradition and thought. Reform attempts have often focused on the advancement of the Islamic tradition and reconfiguration of Muslim thought and practices in light of changing sociopolitical circumstances and human knowledge. Reforming Islam has been a particularly central focus since Muslims’ direct encounters with modernity in the early 20th century. Jamal al-Din al-Afghani (b. 1838–d. 1897), Muhammad Abduh (b. 1849–d. 1905), Muhammad Rashid Rida (b. 1865–d. 1935), and Fazlur Rahman (b. 1919–d. 1988) are the prominent figures of the reformist trend in recent history. Since the 1990s, an increasing number of Muslims have migrated to the United States, and rising Muslim populations have led to the emergence of reformist Muslim intellectuals there. Many of these reformists are professors or public intellectuals working at American institutions, and they come from different ethnic, racial, and cultural backgrounds. Reformist American Muslim intellectuals should not be considered as an entirely and internally homogenous group; instead, it should be seen as an umbrella term covering various critical reconstructivist approaches to the Islamic tradition and modernity in the context of the United States and globalization in the last three decades. These thinkers call themselves “reformists,” “progressives,” or “critical Muslims” in their works. Referring to them as “reformist American Muslim intellectuals” was preferred for this article because they live and work in the United States and want change, but they are not advocating for revolution or radical social upheaval. Instead, reformist Muslims mainly focus on building democratic, pluralist, and ethical theories or practices from a Muslim perspective while prioritizing the development of indigenous Islamic arguments for their agendas and ideas. Thus, their intellectual projects often simultaneously challenge (a) apologetic, exclusivist, premodern socio-legalistic thoughts, and epistemologies promoted by Muslim fundamentalists, Islamists, and traditionalists; and (b) Western-centric, secularized, reductionist views found in some popular Western discourses. Ultimately, reformists attempt to deconstruct the hegemonic assumptions of (neo)orientalist perspectives and dogmatic discourses about Muslims in order to reconstruct democratic, pluralists, and just interpretations of the Islamic tradition for the sake of contemporary Muslims. The themes of reformists’ writings reveal a correspondence to the sociopolitical issues of contemporary Muslims in the West and the global scene. For example, reformist Muslims’ writings have focused on themes such as the critique of traditional Islam in the aftermath of 11 September 2001 and the resurgence of radical groups, extremist ideas, and authoritarianism in Muslim communities. Thus, reformist Muslims often focus on debates about Islam’s compatibility with modernity and democracy, the role of religion in public life, human rights, religious freedom, pluralism, and gender justice. As a result, reformist Muslims in the United States can be seen as a continuation of Islamic modernism that started in the 19th century in the Islamic world but has been significantly shaped by the conditions of the modern American society and circumstances of Muslims. In other words, it is reasonable to say that reformist Muslim discourses do not emerge or exist in a vacuum. Thus, their writings can be seen as the production of a dialectical engagement between Islamic tradition and modernity at large.

Shifting Landscapes and a Missing Map

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Juliane Hammer
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Domestic Violence ◽  
The United States ◽  
Textual Interpretation ◽  
The People ◽  
American Muslim ◽  
The World ◽  
Complex Landscape ◽  
Muslim Communities

This introductory chapter provides an overview of American Muslim organizations working against domestic violence in Muslim communities. The central goal of these organizations is simple: the eradication of domestic violence, a scourge that affects too many individuals, families, and communities in the United States and all over the world. Their work, however, is complicated, ongoing, and challenging. This book is about the people who carry out anti-domestic violence work in Muslim communities in the United States. It chronicles their efforts, their motivations, and their engagement with gender dynamics, textual interpretation, and religious authority. The chapter then lays out the framework for the following chapters, including the sources and methods employed in the study and the complex landscape of secondary literature on domestic violence.

Pathways to Druidry: A Case Study of ÁÁr nDraííocht Fééin

2009 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 40-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael T. Cooper
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Religious Identity ◽  
Field Data ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
The United States ◽  
Religious Movement ◽  
Religious Expression ◽  
European Origin

Contemporary Druidry is a religious expression that claims ties to the ancient Druids of Indo-European origin. These ties are not necessarily historical as much as they are ideological. As one expression of this form of Druidry, ÁÁr nDraííocht Fééin (ADF) represents a vital and growing new religious movement in the United States and Western Europe. The question arises as to how people encounter ADF and what leads them to become adherents. This article analyzes field data to build a framework for understanding the various pathways to ADF. Utilizing the Lofland-Stark model of conversion, the article discusses conversion theory in light of the testimonies of adherents to ADF. The article concludes by suggesting that religious deprivation, religious identity, and religious legitimacy are factors that contribute to conversion and should be a focus of study in conversion theory.

scholarly journals Usage of humor to Overshadow Islamophobia in the World

2018 ◽  
Vol 02 (02) ◽  
Author(s):  
Farzana Kausar ◽  
Dr. Wajid Zulqarnain
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
The United States ◽  
Word Count ◽  
Muslim Identity ◽  
American Muslim ◽  
The World ◽  
Linguistic Inquiry ◽  
The Impact

After the 9/11 incident in the United States, a hatred gap arose between the Americans and Americans Muslims. Many Muslim stand-up comedians started their efforts to decrease this tension through humorous performances and comic screenplays. Also, Muslim comedians are neutralizing negative social discrimination between Muslims and another world to reduce the impact of Islamophobia in the world. The purpose of the study is to examine the part of Muslim comedians and the sentiments of the listeners about their stand-up humor videos. This study is the qualitative content analysis of comments on videos of two American Muslim comedians Negin Farsad and Obeidallah Dean. For data analysis, Linguistic Inquiry & Word Count (LIWC) used to analyses the positive emotions, negative emotions, and emotional tone. Findings exhibit that Muslim comedians are playing a critical part to assist the Muslim community handle with the effect of Islamophobia. The study also investigated that Muslim stand-up comedians are contributing to lessen the stereotyping discernments and disliked comments about Muslim identity globally. It is concluded that comedy has also helped in comforting the audiences that Arab and Muslims are not unpatriotic and adversarial to the United States or to another world.

scholarly journals From Civil Religion to Presidential Public Theology—A Re-evaluation of the American Civil Religion Phenomenon. The Case of George H. W. Bush

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 155
Author(s):  
Kjell O. Lejon
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Civil Religion ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Theology ◽  
American Presidency ◽  
American Civil Religion ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
Public Papers ◽  
Empirical Material

Since the inauguration of the civil religion debate in the United States in 1967, it has been argued that the religious dimension of American presidency should be understood as a kind of civil religion, normally based upon the definition of Jean Jacque Rousseau, or variations of this his definition. However, in this article the author argues, based upon the empirical material presented in Public Papers of the President and elsewhere, that a more accurate description of the religion dimension of some modern presidencies is public theology. He uses the presidency of George H. W. Bush as a case study.

Looking Back and the Road Ahead

2019 ◽  
pp. 225-238
Author(s):  
Juliane Hammer
Keyword(s):  
Domestic Violence ◽  
The United States ◽  
Gender Based Violence ◽  
Muslim Identity ◽  
The Road ◽  
American Values ◽  
American Muslim ◽  
Gender Based ◽  
American Society ◽  
Muslim Communities

This concluding chapter summarizes the central arguments developed throughout this book. American Muslim efforts against domestic violence (DV) demonstrate powerfully that Muslim communities in the United States are indeed American, both in their affirmation of American values and in their resistance against oppressive and exclusionary laws and practices. In other words, critiques of anti-Muslim hostility, racism, and marginalization through cultural and religious domination are as much an expression of Americanness as the necessary engagement with American structures, institutions, and levels of government. Thus, one conclusion from this project is that Muslim advocates against domestic violence are no more than a specific example for American advocacy against DV. However, they are also set apart by their reference to their Muslim identity—and construction of Islam—as a powerful resource for this struggle to end DV in Muslim communities and American society. The chapter then describes an event at which the Muslim anti-DV movement was analyzed by its Muslim participants while pointing to larger frameworks of gender-based violence, anti-Muslim hostility, and racism.

scholarly journals Role of a Japanese Market for New Japanese Migrants in the United States

2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Aki Yamada
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
The United States ◽  
Japanese Market ◽  
Multiple Generations ◽  
Japanese Immigrants ◽  
Main Component

<p><em>This research paper seeks to provide a clearer understanding of contemporary Japanese migration to the United States through a case study examining the role of one Japanese market, Nijiya Market, in Sawtelle, Los Angeles. This study identifies the main roles that this particular market serves, as evidenced by oral interviews and intensive site observation fieldwork. The findings reveal that the ethnic market is very important to the creation and maintenance of ethnic identity across multiple generations of new Japanese immigrants and migrants living in the United States. Furthermore, as a main component of many Japanese communities, the ethnic market enables Japanese to maintain aspects of their homeland lifestyle and culture, even while living abroad. Perhaps most importantly, they provide these Japanese with a way to extend a bridge between their lives in the United States and their lives in Japan. </em><em></em></p>

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