Calfano provides an examination of the pressures faced by Muslims, often considered political and social outsiders in western nations, especially in the United States. Identity is a complex concept, especially when considering the role that group attachments play in affecting how one sees her/his role in the political environment of their country of residence. Perhaps the greatest tension in this regard is felt by those who are often considered outsiders in their home country, despite significant ties to their nation. Though citizens and second generation residents in many cases, American Muslims face a combination of suspicion, government scrutiny, and social segregation in the United States, despite significant education and economic assimilation in America. The crux of the investigation advanced here centres on how group influence, emotions, and religious interpretation contribute to the political orientation and behaviour of a national sample of Muslims living in the American context. A compelling explanation as to how members of an ostracized political group marshal the motivation to push through suspicion to become fully engaged political actors, this book has wide relevance and will be of interest to scholars researching Muslims and political participation across the fields of political science, history, sociology, and religion.

Gender, Race, and Social Identity in American Politics: The Past and Future of Political Access explores the ways in which cultural expression is represented in American politics as it intersects with issues of gender, race, and the construction of social identity. Specifically, this body of work examines how representations in the media and larger culture can establish and diminish the status of diverse communities of American politicians. Contributors analyze the rhetorical and performative changes that have occurred in America as it has shifted politically from growing acceptance and tolerance to an obscure—and often hostile—conservative ideology. This book contributes to the growing dialogue surrounding American politics by citing specific cases of gender and race-based infringements of the current political system, as purported by media and party players. This book will be especially useful to scholars of political science, media studies, gender studies, and critical race studies.

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.

This book places context at the core of the Islamic mechanism of iftā’ to better understand the process of issuing fatwās in Muslim and non-Muslim countries, thus highlighting the connection between context and contemporaneity, on one hand, and the adaptable perception of Islamic law, on the other. The practice of iftā’ is one of the most important mechanisms of Islamic law that keeps Islamic thought about ethical and legal issues in harmony with the demands, exigencies and developments of time. This book builds upon the existing body of work related to the practice of iftā’, but takes the discussion beyond the current debates with the intent of unveiling the interaction between Islamic legal methodologies and different environmental contexts. The book specifically addresses the three institutions (Saudi Arabia’s Dār al-Iftā’, Turkey’s Diyanet and America’s FCNA) and their Islamic legal opinions (fatwās) in a comparative framework. This demonstrates the existence of complex and diverse ideas around similar issues within contemporary Islamic legal opinions that is further complicated by the influence of international, social, political, cultural and ideological contexts. The book thus unveils a more complicated range of interactive constituents in the process of the practice of iftā’ and its outputs, fatwās. The work will be of interest to academics and researchers working in the areas of Islamic law, Middle Eastern studies, religion and politics.

This book presents a journey into the ideas, outlooks and identity of young Muslims in America today. Based on around 400 in-depth interviews with young Muslims from Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York and Virginia, all the richness and n

Though not all people are religious believers, religion has played important historic roles in developing political systems, parties, and policies—affecting believers and nonbelievers alike. This is particularly true in the United States, where scholars have devoted considerable attention to a variety of political phenomena at the intersection of religious belief and identity, including social movements, voting behavior, public opinion, and public policy. These outcomes are motivated by “identity boundary-making” among the religiously affiliated. The contributors to this volume examine two main factors that influence religious identity: the communication of religious ideas and the perceptions of people (including elites) in communicating said ideas. Exploring the Public Effects of Religious Communication on Politics examines an array of religious communication phenomena. These include the media’s role in furthering religious narratives about minority groups, religious strategies that interest groups use to advance their appeal, the variable strength of Islamophobia in cross-national contexts, what qualifies as an “evangelical” identity, and clergy representation of religious and institutional teachings. The volume also provides ways for readers to think about developing new insights into the influence religious communication has on political outcomes.

Introduction: Muslims in America or American Muslims, John L. Esposito. Part I: The American Path Option: Between Tradition and Reality. 1. The Dynamics of Islamic Identity in North America, Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad. 2. Striking a Balance: Islamic Legal Discourses on Muslim Minorities, Khaled Abou El Fadl. 3. The Fiqh Councilor in North America, Yusuf Talal DeLorenzo. 4. Muslims and Identity Politics in America, Mohommed A. Muqtedar Khan. Part II: North American Pluralism and the Challenge of the Veil. 5. The Hijab and Religious Liberty: Anti-Discrimination Law and Muslim Women in the United Stat.

This collection brings together sixteen previously unpublished essays about the history, organization, challenges, responses, outstanding thinkers, and future prospects of the Muslim community in the United States and Canada. Both Muslims and non-Muslims are represented among the contributors, who include such leading Islamic scholars as John Esposito, Frederick Denny, Jane Smith, and John Voll. Focusing on the manner in which American Muslims adapt their institutions as they become increasingly an indigenous part of America, the essays discuss American Muslim self-images, perceptions of Muslims by non-Muslim Americans, leading American Muslim intellectuals, political activity of Muslims in America, Muslims in American prisons, Islamic education, the status of Muslim women in America, and the impact of American foreign policy on Muslims in the United States.

A comprehensive and authoritative encyclopedia of U.S. political history An essential resource for anyone interested in U.S. history and politics, this two-volume encyclopedia covers the major forces that have shaped American politics from the founding to today. Broad in scope, the book addresses both the traditional topics of political history—such as eras, institutions, political parties, presidents, and founding documents—and the wider subjects of current scholarship, including military, electoral, and economic events, as well as social movements, popular culture, religion, education, race, gender, and more. Each article, specially commissioned for this book, goes beyond basic facts to provide readers with crucial context, expert analysis, and informed perspectives on the evolution of American politics. Written by more than 170 leading historians and social scientists, The Princeton Encyclopedia of American Political History gives students, scholars, and researchers authoritative introductions to the subject's most important topics and a first step to further research. Features nearly 190 entries, organized alphabetically and written by a distinguished team of scholars, including Dean Baker, Lewis L. Gould, Alexander Keyssar, James T. Kloppenberg, Patricia Nelson Limerick, Lisa McGirr, Mark A. Noll, Jack N. Rakove, Nick Salvatore, Stephen Skowronek, Jeremi Suri, and Julian E. Zelizer Describes key political periods and eras, from the founding to the present day Traces the history of political institutions, parties, and founding documents Explains ideas, philosophies, and movements that shaped American politics Presents the political history and influence of geographic regions Describes the roles of ethnic, racial, and religious groups in the political process Explores the influence of mass culture, from political cartoons to the Internet Examines recurring issues that shape political campaigns and policy, from class, gender, and race to crime, education, taxation, voting, welfare, and much more Includes bibliographies, cross-references, appendixes, a comprehensive index, and more than 50 illustrations and maps

Looking closely at relations between Muslims and their host countries, Abdulkader H. Sinno and an international group of scholars examine questions of political representation, identity politics, civil liberties, immigration, and security issues. While many have problematized Muslims in the West, this volume takes a unique stance by viewing Muslims as a normative, and even positive, influence in Western politics. Squarely political and transatlantic in scope, the essays in this collected work focus on Islam and Muslim citizens in Europe and the Americas since 9/11, the European bombings, and the recent riots in France. Main topics include Muslim political participation and activism, perceptions about Islam and politics, Western attitudes about Muslim visibility in the political arena, radicalization of Muslims in an age of apparent shrinking of civil liberties, and personal security in politically uneasy times.