Understanding Muslim Political Life in America

Understanding Muslim Political Life in America PDF Author: Brian R. Calfano
Publisher: Temple University Press
ISBN: 9781439917367
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
“Muslim Americans are at a political crossroads,” write editors Brian Calfano and Nazita Lajevardi. Whereas Muslims are now widely incorporated in American public life, there are increasing social and political pressures that disenfranchise them or prevent them from realizing the American Dream. Understanding Muslim Political Life in America brings clarity to the social, religious, and political dynamics that this diverse religious community faces. In this timely volume, leading scholars cover a variety of topics assessing the Muslim American experience in the post-9/11 and pre-Trump era, including law enforcement; identity labels used in Muslim surveys; the role of gender relations; recognition; and how discrimination, tolerance, and politics impact American Muslims. Understanding Muslim Political Life in America offers an update and reappraisal of what we know about Muslims in American political life. The editors and contributors also consider future directions and important methodological questions for research in Muslim American scholarship. Contributors include Matt A. Barreto, Alejandro Beutel, Tony Carey, Youssef Chouhoud, Karam Dana, Oz Dincer, Rachel Gillum, Kerem Ozan Kalkan, Anwar Manje, Valerie Martinez-Ebers, Dani McLaughlan, Melissa R. Michelson, Yusuf Sarfati, Ahmet Tekelioglu, Marianne Marar Yacobian, and the editors.

Understanding Muslim Political Life in America

Understanding Muslim Political Life in America PDF Author: Brian R. Calfano
Publisher: Temple University Press
ISBN: 9781439917367
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book Here

Book Description
“Muslim Americans are at a political crossroads,” write editors Brian Calfano and Nazita Lajevardi. Whereas Muslims are now widely incorporated in American public life, there are increasing social and political pressures that disenfranchise them or prevent them from realizing the American Dream. Understanding Muslim Political Life in America brings clarity to the social, religious, and political dynamics that this diverse religious community faces. In this timely volume, leading scholars cover a variety of topics assessing the Muslim American experience in the post-9/11 and pre-Trump era, including law enforcement; identity labels used in Muslim surveys; the role of gender relations; recognition; and how discrimination, tolerance, and politics impact American Muslims. Understanding Muslim Political Life in America offers an update and reappraisal of what we know about Muslims in American political life. The editors and contributors also consider future directions and important methodological questions for research in Muslim American scholarship. Contributors include Matt A. Barreto, Alejandro Beutel, Tony Carey, Youssef Chouhoud, Karam Dana, Oz Dincer, Rachel Gillum, Kerem Ozan Kalkan, Anwar Manje, Valerie Martinez-Ebers, Dani McLaughlan, Melissa R. Michelson, Yusuf Sarfati, Ahmet Tekelioglu, Marianne Marar Yacobian, and the editors.

The Diversity of Muslims in the United States

The Diversity of Muslims in the United States PDF Author: Qamar-ul Huda
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Muslims
Languages : en
Pages : 20

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Book Description


Muslim American Politics and the Future of US Democracy

Muslim American Politics and the Future of US Democracy PDF Author: Edward E Curtis IV
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 1479861219
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 239

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Book Description
Reveals the important role of Muslim Americans in American politics Since the 1950s, and especially in the post-9/11 era, Muslim Americans have played outsized roles in US politics, sometimes as political dissidents and sometimes as political insiders. However, more than at any other moment in history, Muslim Americans now stand at the symbolic center of US politics and public life. This volume argues that the future of American democracy depends on whether Muslim Americans are able to exercise their political rights as citizens and whether they can find acceptance as social equals. Many believe that, over time, Muslim Americans will be accepted just as other religious minorities have been. Yet Curtis contends that this belief overlooks the real barrier to their full citizenship, which is political rather than cultural. The dominant form of American liberalism has prevented the political assimilation of American Muslims, even while leaders from Eisenhower to Obama have offered rhetorical support for their acceptance. Drawing on examples ranging from the political rhetoric of the Nation of Islam in the 1950s and 1960s to the symbolic use of fallen Muslim American service members in the 2016 election cycle, Curtis shows that the efforts of Muslim Americans to be regarded as full Americans have been going on for decades, yet never with full success. Curtis argues that policies, laws, and political rhetoric concerning Muslim Americans are quintessential American political questions. Debates about freedom of speech and religion, equal justice under law, and the war on terrorism have placed Muslim Americans at the center of public discourse. How Americans decide to view and make policy regarding Muslim Americans will play a large role in what kind of country the United States will become, and whether it will be a country that chooses freedom over fear and justice over prejudice.

Muslim Politics

Muslim Politics PDF Author: Dale F. Eickelman
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691187789
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 256

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Book Description
In this updated paperback edition, Dale Eickelman and James Piscatori explore how the politics of Islam play out in the lives of Muslims throughout the world. They discuss how recent events such as September 11 and the 2003 war in Iraq have contributed to reshaping the political and religious landscape of Muslim-majority countries and Muslim communities elsewhere. As they examine the role of women in public life and Islamic perspectives on modernization and free speech, the authors probe the diversity of the contemporary Islamic experience, suggesting general trends and challenging popular Western notions of Islam as a monolithic movement. In so doing, they clarify concepts such as tradition, authority, ethnicity, pro-test, and symbolic space, notions that are crucial to an in-depth understanding of ongoing political events. This book poses questions about ideological politics in a variety of transnational and regional settings throughout the Muslim world. Europe and North America, for example, have become active Muslim centers, profoundly influencing trends in the Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, and South and Southeast Asia. The authors examine the long-term cultural and political implications of this transnational shift as an emerging generation of Muslims, often the products of secular schooling, begin to reshape politics and society--sometimes in defiance of state authorities. Scholars, mothers, government leaders, and musicians are a few of the protagonists who, invoking shared Islamic symbols, try to reconfigure the boundaries of civic debate and public life. These symbolic politics explain why political actions are recognizably Muslim, and why "Islam" makes a difference in determining the politics of a broad swath of the world.

Muslim American Renaissance Project

Muslim American Renaissance Project PDF Author: Dr. Souheil Ghannouchi
Publisher: Xlibris Corporation
ISBN: 1469158264
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Book Description
This is more than a book; it is a manifesto. It advocates a project through which participants will launch an American renaissance movement inspired by a new, revitalized, and uniquely American expression of Islam. This book is the product of more than twenty years of extensive research and interaction with communities across America. That background preparation has given the author, Dr. Souheil Ghannouchi, a deep understanding of Islam, of history, and of the reality in which all Americans (including Muslim Americans) live. Additionally, the text benefits from Dr. Ghannouchis careful study and observation of world events, and from his comprehension of the universal rules that govern the rise and fall of both nations and movements. This volume was originally meant to be the intellectual foundation for a renaissance movement for all Americans, and it was to be aimed at reviving the American Dream and restoring Americas fundamental values based on the founding fathers vision. The idea of recruiting all Americans to the task was inspired by serious concerns about Americas current situation and future risks, and by a firm belief that America can and should be the worlds foremost champion for compassion, peace, justice, and prosperity. At the same time, the book was intended to spearhead the renaissance of the Muslim American community so that it would begin to play a meaningful role in making the needed change in America. However, even though both the entire country and, more specifically, the Muslim community are in dire need of fundamental change, it became clear to the author that the two objectives could not be adequately advocated with one publication. Thus, this book focuses mainly on Muslim Americans, and it constitutes a manifesto for a renaissance in the American Muslim community and a blueprint for our full integration into the greater American society. Stemming from the authors firm conviction that both our nation and our community are experiencing a severe crisis, this book is prompted by his grave concern for the future as well as his unshakable resolve to significantly contribute towards the fundamental change that is needed right now within our society. His concerns and his resolve are shared by other Muslim Americans who will join in launching this project. We invite all Americans to participate. Even though Islam and Muslims have been present in the U.S. in one form or another for a long time, the Muslim American community is still regarded as a newcomer. One reason is that the connections with the greater American society have been weak and complicated. The Nation of Islam, which is largely comprised of United States-born African American Muslims, is widely viewed as a Black nationalist movement rather than an Islamic phenomenon. And even though immigrant Muslims began to establish Islamic centers as early as the beginning of the 20th century and also despite the establishment of the first chapter of the Muslim Student Association (MSA) in 1963 the organized presence of orthodox Islam did not truly emerge in America until the 1970s. The real proliferation of mosques, schools, and Islamic organizations took place as recently as the 80s and 90s. Furthermore, the integration of the Muslim American community into the greater American society stalled because of some typical factors that were exacerbated by religious and political issues and by some domestic and global events. As a result, the Muslim community was plunged into a deep crisis and became, for other Americans, a puzzle and a source of major challenge, especially after the 9/11 catastrophe. A huge divide was established between the community and American society at large, and a vicious action-reaction cycle is only reinforcing the divide and widening the gap. Moreover, the attempts at healing undertaken by both sides are not really improving the situation because the efforts made are too few and too i

Muslims in America

Muslims in America PDF Author: Craig Considine
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Islam
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
This installment in the critically acclaimed Contemporary Debates series uses evidence-based documentation to provide a full and impartial examination of beliefs and claims made about Muslim individuals, families, and communities in the United States. Muslims in America: Examining the Facts provides an objective overview of the realities and experiences of Muslims in the United States, both historically and in the present day, and of their relationship with their fellow Americans. It surveys the history of American Muslims' settlement and integration into the United States; explores the dominant social, political, cultural, and economic characteristics of American Muslim families and communities; and studies the ways in which their experiences and beliefs intersect with various notions of American national identity. In the process, the book critically examines the more dominant social and political narratives and claims surrounding American Muslims and their religion of Islam, including false or malicious claims about their attitudes toward terrorism and other important issues. Muslims in America: Examining the Facts thus gives readers a clear and accurate understanding of the actual lives, actions, and beliefs of Muslim people in the United States.

Claiming Belonging

Claiming Belonging PDF Author: Emily Cury
Publisher: Cornell University Press
ISBN: 1501753614
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 222

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Book Description
Claiming Belonging dives deep into the lives of Muslim American advocacy groups in the post-9/11 era, asking how they form and function within their broader community in a world marked by Islamophobia. Bias incidents against Muslim Americans reached unprecedented levels a few short years ago, and many groups responded through action—organizing on the national level to become increasingly visible, engaged, and assertive. Emily Cury draws on more than four years of participant observation and interviews to examine how Muslim American organizations have sought to access and influence the public square and, in so doing, forge a political identity. The result is an engaging and unique study, showing that policy advocacy, both foreign and domestic, is best understood as a sphere where Muslim American identity is performed and negotiated. Claiming Belonging offers ever-timely insight into the place of Muslims in American political life and, in the process, sheds light on one of the fastest-growing and most internally dynamic American minority groups.

Muslims and the Making of America

Muslims and the Making of America PDF Author: Amir Hussain
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781481306225
Category : RELIGION
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
There has never been an America without Muslims--so begins Amir Hussain, one of the most important scholars and teachers of Islam in America. Hussain, who is himself an American Muslim, contends that Muslims played an essential role in the creation and cultivation of the United States. Memories of 9/11 and the rise of global terrorism fuel concerns about American Muslims. The fear of American Muslims in part stems from the stereotype that all followers of Islam are violent extremists who want to overturn the American way of life. Inherent to this stereotype is the popular misconception that Islam is a new religion to America. In Muslims and the Making of America Hussain directly addresses both of these stereotypes. Far from undermining America, Islam and American Muslims have been, and continue to be, important threads in the fabric of American life. Hussain chronicles the history of Islam in America to underscore the valuable cultural influence of Muslims on American life. He then rivets attention on music, sports, and culture as key areas in which Muslims have shaped and transformed American identity. America, Hussain concludes, would not exist as it does today without the essential contributions made by its Muslim citizens. --J. Ryan Parker "The Midwest Book Review"

Muslim American City

Muslim American City PDF Author: Alisa Perkins
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 1479892017
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 308

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Book Description
Explores how Muslim Americans test the boundaries of American pluralism In 2004, the al-Islah Islamic Center in Hamtramck, Michigan, set off a contentious controversy when it requested permission to use loudspeakers to broadcast the adhān, or Islamic call to prayer. The issue gained international notoriety when media outlets from around the world flocked to the city to report on what had become a civil battle between religious tolerance and Islamophobic sentiment. The Hamtramck council voted unanimously to allow mosques to broadcast the adhān, making it one of the few US cities to officially permit it through specific legislation. Muslim American City explores how debates over Muslim Americans’ use of both public and political space have challenged and ultimately reshaped the boundaries of urban belonging. Drawing on more than ten years of ethnographic research in Hamtramck, which boasts one of the largest concentrations of Muslim residents of any American city, Alisa Perkins shows how the Muslim American population has grown and asserted itself in public life. She explores, for example, the efforts of Muslim American women to maintain gender norms in neighborhoods, mosques, and schools, as well as Muslim Americans’ efforts to organize public responses to municipal initiatives. Her in-depth fieldwork incorporates the perspectives of both Muslims and non-Muslims, including Polish Catholics, African American Protestants, and other city residents. Drawing particular attention to Muslim American expressions of religious and cultural identity in civil life—particularly in response to discrimination and stereotyping—Perkins questions the popular assumption that the religiosity of Muslim minorities hinders their capacity for full citizenship in secular societies. She shows how Muslims and non-Muslims have, through their negotiations over the issues over the use of space, together invested Muslim practice with new forms of social capital and challenged nationalist and secularist notions of belonging.

What Is an American Muslim?

What Is an American Muslim? PDF Author: ʻAbd Allāh Aḥmad Naʻīm
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199895694
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 234

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Book Description
Abdullah An-na'im offers a pioneering exploration of American Muslim citizenship and identity, arguing against the prevalent emphasis on majority-minority politics and instead promoting a shared citizenship that both accommodates and transcends religious identity. Many scholars and community leaders have called on American Muslims to engage with or integrate into mainstream American culture. Such calls tend to assume that there is a distinctive, monolithic, minority religious identity for American Muslims. Rejecting the closed categories that determine the minority status of a particular group and that, in turn, impede active, engaged citizenship, An-na'im draws attention to the relational nature of identity, emphasizing a common base of national membership and advancing a legal approach to a public recognition of a person's status as citizen. Rather than perceive themselves or accept being perceived by others as a monolithic minority, he argues, American Muslims should view themselves as American citizens who happen to be Muslims. As American citizens, they share a vast array of identities with other American citizens, whether ethnic, political, or socio-economic. But none of these identities qualify or limit their citizenship. An-na'im urges members of the American Muslim community to take a proactive, affirmative view of their citizenship in order to realize their rights fully and fulfill their obligations in social and cultural as well as political and legal terms. He shows that the freedom to associate with others in order to engage in civic action to advance rights and interests is integral to the underlying rationale of citizenship and not something that must be relinquished to become an American citizen. What Is an American Muslim? provides acute insight into the nature of citizenship and identity, the place of religious affiliation in American society, and what it means to share in a collective identity.