Patriotism Among Muslim American Opinion Leaders Reem Abou-Samra Wayne State University

Wayne State University Wayne State University Dissertations 1-1-2014 Patriotism Among Muslim American Opinion Leaders Reem Abou-Samra Wayne State University, Follow this and additional works at: http://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations Part of the Near Eastern Languages and Societies Commons, Other Arts and Humanities Commons, and the Political Science Commons Recommended Citation Abou-Samra, Reem, "Patriotism Among Muslim American Opinion Leaders" (2014). Wayne State University Dissertations. Paper 1038. This Open Access Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@WayneState. It has been accepted for inclusion in Wayne State University Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@WayneState. PATRIOTISM AMONG MUSLIM AMERICAN OPINION LEADERS by REEM ABOU-SAMRA DISSERTATION Submitted to the Graduate School of Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 2014 MAJOR: POLITICAL SCIENCE Approved by: ______________________________________ Advisor Date ______________________________________ ______________________________________ ______________________________________ DEDICATION To my beloved daughter and husband Minnah and Sammer Bashir. I could not have done it without your support these last couple of years. Thank you! Mom and Dad, I will be eternally grateful for always encouraging me to do my best and reach my fullest potential. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to first and foremost thank my advisor, Dr. Ronald Brown, who was not only a mentor academically but a dedicated role model with constant enthusiasm, an unyielding supporter, and a true friend. You were both the best advisor one could ever ask for. Additionally, I would like to sincerely thank Dr. May Seikaly, who instilled in me a true passion in academia and for oral history. Without her guidance, I would never have found my true calling in oral history. Also, I would like to thank Dr. Abbott and Dr. Scaff, for providing me with the opportunity to harness my skills of analysis, interpretation, and theory in your political thought courses. Finally, I would like to thank Dr. Heike Schotten and Dr. Maurice Cunningham, who introduced me to the world of theory over 10 years ago and cultivated in me a deep passion for political thought. iii PREFACE I hope this study allows an often mislabeled and misunderstood group of people to find their place and identity in America. I hope that this work symbolizes and contributes a small patch stitched into the larger quilt of American identity. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS Dedication________________________________________________________ii Acknowledgments_________________________________________________iii Preface__________________________________________________________iv List of Tables____________________________________________________viii Chapter 1: “Introduction”__________________________________________1 Question___________________________________________________1 Muslim Americans as a subject of study___________________________3 Muslim American Double Consciousness_________________________11 Conceptualization of Patriotism________________________________13 Survey Data and Literature on Muslim American Patriotism_________13 Geographical Scope_________________________________________16 Implications of the Study______________________________________18 Chapters’ overview__________________________________________20 Chapter 2: “Islam in Detroit”______________________________________22 History of Muslims in America_________________________________23 History of Muslims in Metropolitan Detroit_______________________25 The Muslim American Experience______________________________35 Muslim American Political Activism____________________________38 Chapter 3: “Literature Review on Patriotism”________________________42 What is Patriotism?_________________________________________43 Eighteenth to Early Twentieth Century Patriotism__________________44 20th to 21st Century Patriotism- Pre-9/11_________________________45 v Post 9/11- Defining and Measuring Patriotism____________________51 Chapter 4: “Methodology- Oral History”____________________________59 The Sample- Opinion Leaders_________________________________60 One-on-One Oral History Interviews____________________________64 Dealing with Bias ___________________________________________69 The Approach______________________________________________71 Background Information______________________________________74 Chapter 5: “The Muslim American Patriot”__________________________76 Americanness______________________________________________77 Citizenship________________________________________________78 Born, Raised, and Culture____________________________________82 Values and Ideals___________________________________________86 Loyalty____________________________________________________89 Active Involvement__________________________________________90 Old Definition- Race_________________________________________92 Multiple Identities___________________________________________93 Patriotism_________________________________________________95 Loyalty____________________________________________________95 Patriotism cannot be blind____________________________________97 Patriotism cannot be symbolic________________________________98 Patriotism is an active pursuit_________________________________99 Patriotism equals American__________________________________101 Discussion of Perception____________________________________101 vi Would you consider yourself Patriotic?_________________________101 Chapter 6: “Conclusions”________________________________________103 Self-Analysis: Being a Muslim American, Participant-Observer _____103 Five Major Conclusion _____________________________________107 Muslim American Patriotism Archetypes________________________112 Future Studies_____________________________________________113 Appendix A: Questionnaire________________________________________115 Appendix B: Recruitment Letter_____________________________________116 Appendix C: HIC Approval Letter___________________________________117 References______________________________________________________118 Abstract________________________________________________________130 Autobiographical Statement________________________________________131 vii LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1– Muslim ethnic groups in Michigan_________________________________25 Table 4.1- Demographics of Respondents____________________________________74 Table 5.1- Themes and Number of Respondents on Americanness and Patriotism_____76 Table 6.1- Muslim American Patriotism Archetypes___________________________111 viii 1 CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION While a significant degree of public opinion research has been conducted about Muslim Americans (Panagopoulous 2006, Pew 2007, Gallup 2010, Pew 2011), very little research has focused on the ideological beliefs among Muslim American opinion leaders. This is problematic because public opinion is essential for a well-functioning democracy, so that the public can effectively weigh important issues as well as ensure that the government is being held accountable. Also, minority groups (such as Muslim Americans) are instrumental because of the prior history of exclusion. Patriotism and public opinion are associated concepts, largely because public opinion may dictate who is or who is not loyal, thereby deeming them a patriot or not. Some groups may not feel a sense of belonging to the nation, mainly because other groups do not feel that they are patriots, and in particular, if they are treated unfairly by political authorities or are unduly characterized as a national security threat and are therefore systematically denied the same due process protections granted to other citizens. Research in Metropolitan Detroit is essential because of increased monitoring of Muslim Americans in Dearborn. Irrational fear after 9/11 is leading some national security experts to consider Dearborn as a haven for suspected terrorists, despite the fact that there have been no terrorist attempts by Dearborn residents. Moreover, if a social group, like Muslim-Americans, is viewed by substantive members of governing elites as not belonging or that they are not true patriots, it may prove difficult, if not impossible to be heard in the halls of congress, the courts or the executive branch. Therefore, it is important to gauge feelings of belongingness as well as patriotism, from Muslim Americans themselves. Anticipatory exclusion (Fung, 2004), the feeling that one will be 2 excluded because of the livered reality that one is politically powerless in comparison to other political groups, or if one feels like they cannot influence the decision making process, may lead some Muslim Americans to voluntarily withdraw from the messy world of democratic politics. Therefore, it is important to explore the ideological beliefs of Muslim American opinion leaders in order to understand how they perceive themselves, to gauge their feelings of belongingness, Americanness, and patriotism, and to understand whether they experience anticipatory exclusion. More specifically, we know very little about how opinion leaders address two interrelated questions: First, what it means to be a patriot; and second, what constitutes an American way of thinking or being. The larger inquiry revolves around how opinion leaders in the Muslim-American community: How are the concepts patriotism, American national identity, values and beliefs, civic duty and obligations,

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