Muslim civic engagement in metropolitan Detroit: motivating forces and challenges

ABSTRACT

Muslims in the U.S. have a long history of being active in their communities, but September 11th marked a turning point for involvement due to backlash against Islam. While we know that Muslim civic engagement increased after the tragedy, we know little about why it increased or why some Muslims avoid civic activities altogether. Using a case study on Detroit area Muslims, I find four factors that drive civic engagement as well as three factors that hinder engagement. Findings suggest that social work practitioners and educators can act to support civic engagement and address the challenges that hinder community involvement.

KEYWORDS:

• Muslims
• civic engagement
• Islamophobia
• social justice
• community action
• religion

Acknowledgments

Thank you to all of the study participants who shared their time, experiences, and knowledge, and to Jo Reger for her guidance and support.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the University Research Committee, Oakland University [23666].