Skip to main content

American Muslim Women: Narratives of Identity and Globalisation

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Muslim Societies and the Challenge of Secularization: An Interdisciplinary Approach

Part of the book series: Muslims in Global Societies Series ((MGSS,volume 1))

  • 1097 Accesses

Abstract

During the past 50 years, advanced industrial societies such as the United States have been moving toward a greater secular orientation. At the same time, large numbers of Muslims from Asia and the Middle East have settled in the United States, bringing with them non-Western perspectives of gender and family. Muslim women immigrants’ perspectives tend to be marginalized in the U.S. Westernized, secular, female dynamic. This chapter gives voice to feminist counternarratives by first- and second-generation U.S. Muslim women in an attempt to document and analyze how these women negotiate new racial and gendered politics within the adopted society. Many interrelated themes emerged during analysis of these intergenerational interviews. In this chapter, the theme of gendered socialization is emphasized.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Ahmad, I. and Szpara, M. Y. (2003) Muslim children in urban America: The New York City schools experience, Journal of Muslim Minority Affairs 23(2): 295–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ahmed, K. (1999) Adolescent development for South Asian American girls, in S. R. Gupta (ed.), Emerging Voices: South Asian American Women Redefine Self, Family, and Community, Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press, pp. 37–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, K. and Jack, D. C. (1991) Learning to listen: Interview techniques and analyses, in S. B. Gluck and D. Patai (eds.), Women’s Words: The Feminist Practice of Oral History, New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 11–26.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barringer, H. R., Takeuchi, D. T., and Xenos, P. (1990) Education, occupational prestige, and income of Asian Americans, Sociology of Education 3(11): 27–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berry, J. W. (1997) Immigration, acculturation, and adaptation, Applied Psychology, An International Review 46: 5–68.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhopal, K. (1997) Gender, ‘Race’ and Patriarchy: A Study of South Asian Women, London: Ashgate Publishing Limited.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bierbrauer, G. and Pedersen, P. (1996) Culture and migration, in G. R. Semin and K. Fiedler (eds.), Applied Social Psychology, Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, pp. 399–422.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Boesch, E. E. (1991) Symbolic Action Theory for Cultural Psychology, Berlin: Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bouma, G. D. and Brace-Govan, J. (2000) Gender and religious settlement: Families, hijabs and identity, Journal of Intercultural Studies 21(2): 159–175.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boute, G. S. (2002) Resounding Voices: School Experiences of People from Diverse Backgrounds, Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, G. (1995) Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women, New York, NY: Anchor Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bruner, J. (1996) The Culture of Education, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cole, M. (1996) Cultural Psychology: A Once and Future Discipline, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Creswell, J. W. (2005) Research Design: Qualitative & Quantitative Approaches, 2nd edition, London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Das Gupta, M. (1997) ‘What is Indian about you?’ A gendered, transnational approach to ethnicity, Gender & Society 11(5): 572–596.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dwyer, C. (1999) Negotiations of femininity and identity for young British Muslim Women, in N. Laurie, C. Dwyer, S. L. Holloway, and F. M. Smith (eds.), Geographies of New Femininities, New York, NY: Longman, pp. 135–152.

    Google Scholar 

  • Felix-Ortiz, M. and Newcomb, M. D. (1995) Cultural identity and drug use among Latino and Latina adolescents, in G. J. Botvin, S. Schinke, and M. A. Orlandi (eds.), Drug Abuse Prevention with Multiethnic Youth, Newbury Park, CA: Sage, pp. 147–165.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gabbica, D. (ed.) (1994) Seeking Common Ground: Multidisciplinary Studies of Immigrant Women in the United States, Westport, CT: Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ganesh, K. (1999) Patrilineal structure and agency of women: Issues in gendered socialization, in T. S. Saraswalhi (ed.), Culture, Socialization and Human Development: Theory, Research and Applications in India, New Delhi: Sage, pp. 235–254.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilligan, C. (1982) In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women’s Development, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gluck, S. B. and Patai, D. (1991) Women’s Words: The Feminist Practice of Oral History, New York, NY: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goodwin, J. (1994) Price of Honor: Muslim Women Lift the Veil of Silence on the Islamic World, Boston, MA: Little Brown & Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gupta, S. R. (1999) Walking on the edge: Indian–American women speak out on dating and marriage, in S. R. Gupta (ed.), Emerging Voices: South Asian American Women Redefine Self, Family, and Community, Walnut Creek, CA: Altamira Press, pp. 120–145.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hickey, M. G. (2006) Asian Indian family socialization patterns and implications for American schooling, in C. Park, R. Endo, and A. L. Goodwin (eds.), Asian and Pacific-American Education: Learning, Socialization, and Identity, Vol. 3, Greenwich: Information Age Publishing, pp. 193–219.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jack, D. C. (1991) Silencing the Self: Women and Depression, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kagitchibasi, C. and Berry, J. W. (1989) Cross-cultural psychology: Current research and trends, Annual Review of Psychology 40: 493–531.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klassen, C. and Burnaby, B. (1993) ‘Those who know’: Views on literacy among immigrants in Canada, TESOL Quarterly 27: 377–397.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kotash, E. (1992) Immigrant mothers, Canadian daughters, Chatelaine 65(1): 55–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kurien, P. A. (1999) Becoming American by becoming Hindu: Indian Americans take their place at the multicultural table, in R. S. Warner and J. G. Wittner (eds.), Gatherings in Diaspora: Religious Communities and the New Immigration, Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press, pp. 37–70.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lazreg, M. (1994) The Eloquence of Silence: Algerian Women in Question, London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • LeCompte, M. D. and Schensul, J. J. (1999) Designing and Conducting Ethnographic Research, Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mandelbaum, D. G. (1988) Women’s Seclusion and Men’s Honor: Sex Roles in North India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan, Tucson, AZ: The University of Arizona Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Matsuoka, J. K. (1990) Differential acculturation among Vietnamese refugees, Social Work 35: 341–345.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mearns, D. J. (1995) Shiva’s Other Children: Religion and Social Identity Amongst Overseas Indians, New Delhi: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mehra, B. S. (1997) Parents and their cultural model of schooling: Case of Asian Indians, paper presented at American Educational Research Association, Chicago.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mehra, B. (1998) The home-school relations: An exploration into the perspectives of parents and schools on Asian Indian cultural model of schooling, unpublished dissertation, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

    Google Scholar 

  • Melleuish, G. (2005) Globalised religions for a globalised world, Policy 21(2): 16–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Minister, K. (1991) A feminist frame for the oral history interview, in S. B. Gluck and D. Patai (eds.), Women’s Words: The Feminist Practice of Oral History, New York, NY: Routledge, pp. 27–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mordecai, C. (1999) Weddings, Dating, and Love Customs of Cultures Worldwide, Phoenix, AZ: Nittany Pub.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nguyen, N. and Williams, H. (1989) Transition from east to west: Vietnamese adolescents and their parents, Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 28: 505–515.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Norris, P. and Inglehart, R. (2004) Sacred and Secular: Religion and Politics Worldwide, Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ogbu, J. U. (ed.) (1991) Minority Status and Schooling: A Comparative Study of Immigrant and Voluntary Minorities, New York, NY: Garland, pp. 3–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Kelly, C. G. and Carney, L. S. (1986) Men and Women in Society, 2nd edition, Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, pp. 233–243.

    Google Scholar 

  • Phinney, J. S. (1990) Ethnic identity in adolescents and adults: A review of research, Psychological Bulletin 108: 499–514.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Portelli, A. (1991) The death of Luigi Trastulli: Memory and event, in A. Portelli (ed.), The Death of Luigi Trastulli and Other Stories: Form and Meaning in Oral History, Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Portes, A. and Rumbaut, R. (2001) Legacies: The Story of the New Second Generation, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Raheja, G. G. and Gold, A. G. (1994) Listen to the Heron’s Words, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Read, J. (2003) The sources of gender role attitudes among Christian and Muslim Arab-American women, Sociology of Religion 64(2): 207–222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenthal, D., Ranieri, N., and Klimidis, S. (1996) Vietnamese adolescents in Australia: Relationships between perceptions of self and parental values, intergenerational conflict, and gender dissatisfaction, International Journal of Psychology 31(2): 81–91.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schweder, R. A. (1990) Cultural psychology: What is it? in J. W. Stigler, R. A. Schweder, and G. Herdt (eds.), Cultural Psychology: Essays on Comparative Human Development, Cambridge, MA: Cambridge University Press, pp. 1–43.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Sodowsky, G. R. and Carey, J. C. (1987, July). Asian Indian immigrants in America: Factors related to adjustment Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development 15: 129–141.

    Google Scholar 

  • Triandis, H. C. (1990) Cross-cultural studies of individualism and collectivism, in J. J. Berman (ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation 1989: Cross-Cultural Perspectives, Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, pp. 41–133.

    Google Scholar 

  • Uphoff, J. K. (1999) Religious diversity and education, in J. Banks and C. A. Banks (eds.), Multicultural Education: Issues and Perspectives, 5th edition, Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vertovec, S. (1995) Hindus in Trinidad and Britain: Ethnic religion, reification and the politics of public space, in P. Van der Veer (ed.), Nation and Migration: The Politics of Space in South Asian Diaspora, Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, A. (1978) Finding a Voice: Asian Women in Britain, London: Viagro.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yao, E. L. (1989) Understanding Indian immigrant learners, Elementary School Guidance and Counseling 23: 298–305.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zine, J. (2004) Creating a critical faith-centered space for antiracist feminism, Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion 20(2): 167–188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. Gail Hickey .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2010 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Hickey, M.G. (2010). American Muslim Women: Narratives of Identity and Globalisation. In: Marranci, G. (eds) Muslim Societies and the Challenge of Secularization: An Interdisciplinary Approach. Muslims in Global Societies Series, vol 1. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3362-8_13

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics