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Muslims on Campus: Religion, Secularity, and The MUSLIMS ON CAMPUS: RELIGION, SECULARITY, AND THE PROTESTANT LEGACY A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF EDUCATION AND THE COMMITTEE ON GRADUATE STUDIES OF STANFORD UNIVERSITY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ABIYA AHMED MAY 2021 © 2021 by Abiya Ahmed. All Rights Reserved. Re-distributed by Stanford University under license with the author. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution- Noncommercial 3.0 United States License. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/us/ This dissertation is online at: http://purl.stanford.edu/dk143sp4257 ii I certify that I have read this dissertation and that, in my opinion, it is fully adequate in scope and quality as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Ari Kelman, Primary Adviser I certify that I have read this dissertation and that, in my opinion, it is fully adequate in scope and quality as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Jonathan Rosa, Co-Adviser I certify that I have read this dissertation and that, in my opinion, it is fully adequate in scope and quality as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Zaid Adhami Approved for the Stanford University Committee on Graduate Studies. Stacey F. Bent, Vice Provost for Graduate Education This signature page was generated electronically upon submission of this dissertation in electronic format. An original signed hard copy of the signature page is on file in University Archives. iii ABSTRACT This dissertation explores religion and secularity in higher education through the case of Muslim students at an elite, residential, and secular campus on the West Coast of the United States. Based on three years of qualitative research including participant observation, ethnographic fieldwork, and interviews, I argue that the case of Muslim students at West Coast University (WCU) compels us to reconsider the standard narratives of religion in higher education. These narratives propose either that the academy is wholly secular and religion has been shut out (Marsden 1994); or the opposite, that religion does, indeed, have a place on campus because higher education now exists in a “post-secular” age (Jacobsen & Jacobsen 2008; Schmaulzbauer & Mahoney 2018). The latter perspective also contends that religion on campus not only survives but also often thrives, continuing to contribute to diversity and pluralism (Patel 2020). In my dissertation, I show via the case of WCU Muslim students that the story is more complex. More specifically, I show that as Muslim students are immersed in what might be considered a secular campus, they encounter religion generally and engage Islam particularly through Protestant features, which arbitrate being Muslim on campus. I thus characterize their campus context as Protestant-secular and explore its influence in terms of pluralism, privatization, and personalization on campus. In Chapter 1 (“Protestant Secularity”) I describe the framing that informs my analysis. I offer a historical and theoretical overview of secularity and religion, their relationship with Protestantism, and how that relates to the place of religion in higher iv education. I conclude with proposing “Protestant Secularity” as the campus context of WCU. In Chapter 2 (“Pluralism”), I illustrate how WCU offers various institutional accommodations for Muslim students and marks certain Islamic celebrations such as the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday. How Muslim students view and engage with these accommodations and celebrations is illustrative of how WCU propagates a Protestant version of pluralism and diversity. Their perspectives also show us how religious pluralism on campus serves the institution more than it serves them. In Chapter 3 (“Privatization”), I explore how specific notions that reify religion and a liberal/conservative discursive structure rooted in Protestant-secular logics lead Muslim students at WCU to keep their own Islamic beliefs, ideas, and questions private. I examine intra-community campus discourses on gender and Islam, which are a robust site for how these tensions play out. These discourses fall short of offering constructive spaces to Muslim students for examining their perspectives by limiting their choices to a liberal/conservative binary. Given this limitation, students privatize their religious beliefs and ideas. I argue thus that the even as these campus discourses make visible a particular notion of religion, the students’ own ideas about Islam and religion remain invisible. In Chapter 4 (“Personalization”), I highlight how Muslim students apply personalization as a strategy to engage Islam and Muslimness on their own terms, despite being embedded in an institution whose Protestant-secular context limits the set of possibilities for them. I also present personalization as a story about religious change in college, contrasting it with religious individualism. Arguing that such an individualism also v has Protestant overtones, I propose that personalization is a better way to understand these Muslim students’ lived experience on campus. Whether or not they do so knowingly, these Muslims students interact with and within Protestant-secularity as they experience being Muslim on campus and as they think about Islam. Their case tells us which ideas of religion thrive in American higher education and the kind of discursive structures on campus that make this possible. It also shows us how, for some religious communities, the place of religion on campus remains fraught in subtle but significant ways. vi Acknowledgements “Whoever has not thanked people has not thanked God.”1 Pursuing a PhD is both a personal and collective endeavor: individual successes and epiphanies are possible only with the advice and sacrifice of others. Regrettably, their contributions are allocated a little space on an acknowledgement page such as this one, which is by no means proportionate to their impact. What follows thus expresses only a hint of my gratitude and certainly not its depth, which remains ineffable. To begin, this would not have been possible without Ari Y. Kelman, whose faith in me from the beginning has changed my life. Ari has uplifted my research interests, furthered my academic pursuits, and truly expanded my intellectual universe. He has done all this while demanding excellence and simultaneously demonstrating grace. They say doctoral advisors can make or break their advisees, and Ari has, without a doubt, made me. My gratitude also to other members of my reading committee: Zaid Adhami, whose thoughtful engagement with my work has been the source of invaluable insights, and whose generosity of time models the Prophetic practice of giving others their due attentiveness; and Jonathan Rosa, who ensures I never settle for less and whose advocacy and enthusiasm for my work reminds me of exciting possibilities. So much thanks also to Anna Bigelow and Anthony Antonio, for graciously stepping in when most needed and serving on the oral exam committee. I am grateful for their guidance and time, and for their genuine interest in my work. A special note of appreciation for Raymond McDermott: Ray taught my first course at Stanford and I knew immediately he was someone special. His brilliance remains an untapped treasure, and I feel lucky to have learned from him. I would be remiss if I did not mention Joseph Gibbs, my undergraduate advisor from a lifetime ago, who first encouraged me to pursue a PhD and has patiently followed my progress for years. 1 Attributed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), recorded in Sunan Abu-Dawud, 4811 vii I am so grateful to all my Stanford colleagues and friends, especially to Suki Jones, David Song, and to the entire EDJS crew for the many enjoyable and enlightening conversations: it’s been a real pleasure. Much thanks also to Kate McKinney and Elayne Weissler-Martello, who never failed to make my life easier. Thanks also to all my ECL colleagues for supporting my work, especially to Jan Barker Alexander for being an amazing supervisor and encouraging me to finish writing, and for facilitating conditions that allowed me to do so. So much gratitude to Cassie Garcia for being such a delight and breeze to work with, and for asking provocative questions that furthered my thinking as I wrote this dissertation. Many friends and family members have seen me through this journey, and I remain indebted to them all for their patience and prayers. Special shout out to D, M, N, P, R, and S: here’s to a lifetime of conversations and reunions. Nothing is possible without a stable support system, and I am blessed to live around people who form mine. Heartfelt thanks to Sana, who has been there from even before the beginning: from GRE prep sessions almost a decade ago to babysitting sessions during a pandemic, she has more than fulfilled her end of our friendship. Endless credit to my parents, whose upbringing is the reason I have come this far. A humble and truly insignificant thank you to my mother, who continues to sacrifice for me even now in more ways than I can list. My successes are a direct result of her efforts and prayers; I have no doubt that I would be lost without them. Finally, my deepest gratitude is to and for Atif, who epitomizes profound love and true partnership. Atif has been a pillar and a mirror throughout, offering me exactly what I needed when I needed it. His unwavering faith in me has mattered more than anything else, and his unconditional sacrifices for me have made all the difference. This work has my name on it but make no mistake: it is equally his. I end by dedicating this to the students who generously and openly welcomed me into their lives – this project is not just about them but, I hope, for them. And, for Ismael, who is the light of my world, and for whom I imagine a lighter and more enlightened world.
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