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Abstract
This paper will examine the complexities of the struggles faced by young Muslim women within the American Muslim community. Data are part of a study aimed at understanding the ways in which the gendered religious identities of Muslim women are constructed in the United States. This work seeks to address the dearth of research on the lives of Muslim women, and to identify and enhance an understanding of the issues and challenges they face during the process. Participants include 15 women, 18–22 years old, who graduated from an Islamic school in the mid-Atlantic region of America (ISA). Two phenomenological interviews were conducted with each participant. Data were analyzed using critical discourse and content analysis techniques. Findings point towards conflicts within, including those related to the rich racial and ethnic diversity in the community, and to the patriarchal norms that still prevail. Some of these norms along with the perceptions and experiences of American Muslim women guiding their lives will be shared, and will be located within a larger discussion on how the obstacles towards their contribution to this diverse social setting can be dealt with.
Notes
1 Saba Mahmood, “Feminist Theory, Agency, and the Liberatory Subject”, in On Shifting Ground: Muslim Women in the Global Era, ed. F. Nouraine-Simone, New York: The Feminist Press, 2005, pp. 111–154.
2 Ibid., p. 124.
3 Leila Ahmed, “The Veil Debate Again: A View From America in the Early Twenty-First Century”, in On Shifting Ground: Muslim Women in the Global Era, ed. F. Nouraine-Simone, New York: The Feminist Press, 2005, pp. 151–171.
4 Syed Ali, “Why Here, Why Now? Young Muslim Women Wearing Hijab”, The Muslim world, Vol. 95, 2005, pp. 515–530.
5 Ibid., p. 522.
6 Rhys H. Williams and Gira Vashi, ““Hijab” and American Muslim Women: Creating the Space for Autonomous Selves”, Sociology of Religion, Vol. 68, No. 3, Fall, 2007, pp. 269–287.
7 Ashraf Zahedi, “Muslim American Women in the Post-9/11 September Era: Challenges and Opportunities”, International Feminist Journal of Politics, Vol. 13, No. 2, 2011, pp. 183–203.
8 Jameelah Medina, “This Battlefield Called my Body: Warring Over the Muslim Female”, Religions, Vol. 5, No. 3, 2014, pp. 876–885.
9 Rachel Anderson Droogsma, “Redefining Hijab: American Muslim Women’s Standpoints on Veiling”, Journal of Applied Communication Research, Vol. 35, No. 3, 2007, pp. 294–319.
10 Jamillah A. Karim, “To Be Black, Female, and Muslim: A Candid Conversation About Race in the American Ummah”, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs, Vol. 26, No. 2, 2006, pp. 225–233.
11 Ibid., p. 228.
12 Zareena A. Grewal, “Marriage in Color: Race, Religion, and Spouse Selection in Four American Mosques”, Ethnic and Racial Studies, Vol. 32, No. 2, 2009, pp. 323–345.
13 Karim, “To Be Black, Female, and Muslim”, op. cit., p.148.
14 Jamillah A. Karim, American Muslim Women: Negotiating Race, Class, and Gender within the Ummah, New York: NYU Press, 2008.
15 Ibid., p. 29.
16 Pierre Bourdieu and Jean-Claude Passeron, Reproduction in Education, Society and Culture, London: Sage, 1998.
17 “The Last Sermon (Khutabul Wada) of Prophet Muhammad,” Sound Vision, https://www.soundvision.com/article/the-last-sermon-khutabul-wada-of-prophet-muhammad/ (accessed 11 February 2017).
18 A. Barlas, “Globalizing Equality: Muslim Women, Theology, And Feminism”, in On Shifting Ground: Muslim Women in the Global Era, ed. Fereshteh Nouraie-Simone, New York: The Feminist Press, 2005.
19 Ibid., p. 100.
20 Ahmed, “The Veil Debate Again”, op. cit., p. 233.
21 Karim, “To Be Black, Female, and Muslim”, op. cit., p. 227.
22 Grewal, “Marriage in Color”, op. cit., p. 342.
23 Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative, Muslim ARC, http://www.muslimarc.org/ (accessed 13 July 2017).
24 Ibid.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Uzma Rashid
Uzma Rashid currently serves as Assistant Professor and Chair at the Department of Sociology, and Associate Dean for Research, School of Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of Management and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan. Prior to joining UMT, Dr Rashid completed her PhD as a Fulbright scholar from the Language, Literacy, and Culture program at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.