The Influence of Religion on the Leisure Behavior of Immigrant Muslims in the United States

Abstract

Using the concepts of ethnic resilience and selective acculturation as a theoretical foundation, this study analyzes the effect of religion on the leisure behavior of Muslim immigrants to the U.S. The research project was based on 24 interviews that were conducted in the spring and summer of 2002 with immigrants from Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Turkey, Pakistan, India, Korea, and Mexico. The results of the study show that the effect of Islam on leisure behavior manifests itself through the emphasis on strong family ties and on family oriented leisure among Muslims; the need to teach and supervise children and to pass traditional moral values to subsequent generations; the requirement of modesty in dress, speech and everyday behavior; as well as the restrictions on mix-gender interactions, dating, food and alcohol. The finding of this study suggest that leisure researchers need to pay more attention to the effects of religion on leisure behavior and should strive to incorporate the religious beliefs as part of the cultural heritage of minorities.

KEYWORDS:

• Religion
• Islam
• Muslim
• leisure
• immigration
• ethnicity
• post 9–11