UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Santa Barbara American Muslim Networks and Neotraditionalism A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Religious Studies by Brendan Peter Newlon Committee in charge: Professor Richard Hecht, Chair Professor Ahmad Ahmad Professor Rudy Busto Professor Kathleen Moore Professor Dominic Steavu-Balint December 2017 The dissertation of Brendan Peter Newlon is approved. _____________________________________________ Ahmad Ahmad _____________________________________________ Rudy Busto _____________________________________________ Kathleen Moore _____________________________________________ Dominic Steavu-Balint _____________________________________________ Richard Hecht, Committee Chair September 2017 American Muslim Networks and Neotraditionalism Copyright © 2017 by Brendan Peter Newlon iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Prophet Muhammad was reported to have said, “one who has not thanked the people has not thanked Allah.” I owe an immeasurable debt of gratitude to my parents and family, my patient wife, and my daughter who is still too young to have patience. I could never have done any of this without the wise guidance of all of my teachers, both in and out of the academy. Professor Richard Hecht has dedicated his time generously to keeping this project advancing with his insightful feedback and invaluable reading recommendations. Professor Kathie Moore taught me the continuity of religion from the abstraction of Constitutional Law to the local Interfaith Initiative. My conversations with Professor Ahmad Ahmad always left me reflecting on new questions and the bigger picture. Professor Dominic Steavu-Balint pointed me towards the pivotal concepts of teaching lineages and historical comparison. Professor Rudy Busto helped me refine my thoughts on communities, and never ceased encouraging me since that first Deus Vult... The University provided two services that deserve special recognition: the indefatigable Interlibrary Loan Desk and the Graduate Student Association's free coffee; each contributed almost enough to merit being named as coauthors. iv There are many others who deserve much more than to be acknowledged here: D6, PAZ, ABN, MCJN; NK, AS, NA; FD, RRS, YN, SbS, YR, QH, CRP CRW; CH, AT, EF, ZH, EB, L'Q, OS; MK, FO, SRDMK; OKAG, YS, SS, NH, JR; LC, PF, AM, TW, YL, PS, MT; and the Collaborate crew. My better ideas are a product of our time together and our conversations, and I have nobody to blame but myself for the rest. Above all, I must again thank my mother; not only did she teach me everything I know, she also offered the sage advice without which I could never have completed this undertaking. In her own words: v VITA OF BRENDAN PETER NEWLON June 2017 EDUCATION Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies, with Minor in Chinese, University of California, Santa Barbara, June 2006 Master of Arts in Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, September 2013 Doctor of Philosophy in Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, June 2017 (expected) PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYMENT 2006-07: Instructor of Chinese Buddhism, Woodenfish Summer Travel Study Program, Taiwan Summer 2007: English-Chinese Translator and Publications Editor, International Buddhist Progress Society, Taiwan. Fall 2009: Exam Reader in Chinese Buddhism, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara Winter 2010: Exam Reader in Taoist Traditions, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultural Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara 2010-11: Writing Tutor, Cartwright Learning Resources Center, Santa Barbara City College Spring 2011: Teaching Assistant for Introduction to the Study of Religion, Department of Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara Summer 2011: Teaching Assistant for Greek Mythology, Department of Classics, University of California, Santa Barbara Fall 2013: Exam Reader in Judaism, Department of Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara vi Winter 2014: Exam Reader in Politics and Religion in the City of Jerusalem, Department of Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara 2011-14: Graduate Student Assistant in Technology for Foreign Language Instruction, Letters and Science Information Technology, University of California, Santa Barbara Winter 2015: Teaching Assistant for Religious Approaches to Death, Department of Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara Summer 2015: Teaching Associate for Islam and Modernity, Department of Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara Spring 2016: Academic Conference Co-Organizer for Sixth Annual Islamic Studies Graduate Student Conference, University of California, Santa Barbara Fall 2015 and Fall 2016: Teaching Assistant for Introduction to Middle East Studies, Department of Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara 2016: Participants Coordinator for Herman P. and Sophia Taubman Endowed Symposia in Jewish Studies 2014-17: Graduate Student Assistant in Instructional Design for Online Education, LSIT Collaborate, University of California, Santa Barbara PUBLICATIONS “Hui Muslims and the Minzu Paradigm: Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Islam in China,” Unpublished thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts degree in Religious Studies, University of California, Santa Barbara, 2013. “Brunei Darussalam,” “Silk Road,” and “Taiping Rebellion,” Encyclopedia of Global Religions, edited by Wade Clark Roof and Mark Juergensmeyer. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, 161-162; 1178-1181; 1257. Review: “The Architecture and Spatial Components of Mosques in China: A Review of The Traditional Chinese Style Mosque by Sadiq Javer (2014),” Dissertation Reviews, October 27, 2015. http://dissertationreviews.org/archives/12904. Review: Arjana, Sophia Rose. Muslims in the Western Imagination. (New York: Oxford University Press, 2015). American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences (AJISS) Vol 33, 1 (Winter 2016), 102-105. vii AWARDS Dean’s Honors, University of California, Santa Barbara, Fall 2003 and Spring 2005 US Department of Education Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship for advanced study of Mandarin Chinese. Years awarded: 2008 and 2009 (University of California, Santa Barbara). Summers awarded: 2009 (Shanghai) and 2010 (Beijing). Professor Charles Wendell Memorial Award, presented by the University of California, Santa Barbara Department of Religious Studies for academic achievement in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies. June 2017. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Fields: History of Religions, Islam History of Religions with Professor Richard Hecht Islamic Law and Traditions with Professor Ahmad A. Ahmad American Religions, with Emphasis on Islam with Professors Kathleen Moore and Rudy Busto East Asian Religions with Professor Dominic Steavu-Balint viii ABSTRACT American Muslim Networks and Neotraditionalism by Brendan Newlon American Muslims are diverse in many ways, but is it appropriate to imagine American Muslims as one community, or are there really several different communities of American Muslims? If there are several, are there senses in which the social and aesthetic expressions of such communities could be referred to as “American Islam”? What follows is a multifaceted approach to answering these questions. This dissertation demonstrates that several distinct communities of American Muslims can be identified, and introduces one of these communities, which I refer to as the “Neotraditional” Muslim community, in detail. Chapter One, The Paths of Neotraditionalism, introduces several ways the term “neotraditonal” and its variants have been used in scholarship and clarifies how the term will be used in the present work. Chapters Two through Four demonstrate ix the application of a novel three-part theoretical approach to identifying the center and boundaries of any community through analysis of its social discourse, networks, and aesthetics. This model provides a basis from which to objectively conclude that Neotraditional American Muslims constitute a clearly defined community that is distinct from other communities of American Muslims. In light of this, scholars studying Islam or religions in America are urged to recognize the Neotraditional community and other communities described below as distinct, and to account for the differences between them for the purpose of analysis in all future research relating to American Muslims. In addition to underscoring how this dissertation contributes to scholarship on Islam in America and American religious diversity, the concluding chapter suggests directions for future research and anticipates significant aspects of how the Neotraditional American Muslim community is likely to develop in the coming decades. Although describing core features of the Neotraditional American Muslim community is the primary focus of this dissertation, the three-part theoretical approach it models for identifying a community through analysis of its discourse, networks, and aesthetics offers a programmatic means to identify and describe a community which will be of general interest to any scholar in the Humanities or Social Sciences. x Preliminary Notes on Style I. Transliteration Throughout this dissertation I will provide transliteration of Arabic words in a simplified style based on the American Library Association – Library of Congress (ALA-LC) standard, omitting diacritical marks. This results in a transliteration