Sharia in the City Negotiation and Construction of Moral Space
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SHARIA IN THE CITY NEGOTIATION AND CONSTRUCTION OF MORAL SPACE BY SHARIF ISLAM DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Sociology in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2016 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi, Chair Associate Professor Zsuzsa Gille Associate Professor Junaid Rana Associate Professor Assata Zerai ABSTRACT This dissertation is primarily concerned with how sharia is practiced by Muslims from a variety of backgrounds in Chicago’s Devon Avenue and how they co-construct physical and moral spaces. More specifically, I am interested in how sharia as a divine, non- contingent moral and legal code is understood and analyzed in various contingent situations and everyday settings such as producing, distributing, marketing and consuming halal food products. Drawing on conversations with residents, employees, and customers who visit stores in Devon Avenue, as well as archival research, my aim is to demonstrate the various multifaceted understandings and implications of sharia for Muslims in the United States. I argue that the multifaceted interpretations and practices of sharia in the United States are connected with the rhythms and everyday practices of Chicago and beyond. These connections, rhythms, and practices are reflected and interpreted in the actions and comments of Muslims and non-Muslims alike. The goal here is not just to show that the religious (for instance, sharia) and the non- religious/secular (grocery stores, restaurants, farms) are intertwined but to what extent these seemingly separate and disparate domains and spaces may be concurrently called upon within the framework of Islam, sharia, and halal food. Even though I focus on a particular neighborhood in Chicago, my aim is to flesh out the various historical, local, and global links that form a broader, nuanced picture of sharia in the United States. To this end, my analysis also takes in the broader history of Islam in the United States in order to contextualize the place and voice of the people that I present here. Within this context, I summarize the details of Islamic dietary law and the ii debates and issues that were raised during the course of my fieldwork. I also describe the history of halal certification, which plays an important role in marketing and distribution. I highlight two court cases -- where the issue of halal food plays a central role -- that shed light on how religious and secular laws interact with each other, in particular, how U.S. courts interpret and handle cases involving sharia within constitutional limits. I also contextualize these discussions within the frame of the separation of church and state and the concept of legal pluralism. In synthesizing these issues, I show that sharia in the form of halal food production, distribution, and consumption creates a moral space and trajectory of complex processes that are sometimes dissonant. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS "The path is the goal.” Over the years during which this dissertation has taken shape, I walked through various paths -- sometimes arduous, sometimes exciting -- and met many people who guided, helped, and supported me. I offer my sincere and heartfelt gratitude to all of them. If I missed anyone, I will make sure to mention you in the book! First and foremost, I thank my dissertation committee: Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi, Zsuzsa Gille, Junaid Rana, and Assata Zerai. This dissertation would not have been possible without their support. I was fortunate enough to have Behrooz Ghamari-Tabrizi as my committee chair. Since this project’s inception his guidance and instructions helped me turn my random ideas into an acceptable dissertation with coherent arguments. His broad sociological and historical understandings provided me with valuable tools to finish this project. From day one Zsuzsa Gille has been exceedingly patient and generous with her time. Her ethnographic and theoretical knowledge was invaluable for me. Junaid Rana helped me focus my ethnographic lens. His knowledge of Chicago and Muslims in the United States improved the questions I posed and how I explored the answers. Last, but certainly not least, I like to thank Assata Zerai for her indispensible guidance on qualitative research and methodology. Her encouragement and insight immensely improved the final product. In addition to my committee, I must thank the following members of the University of Illinois faculty, past and present, for their wisdom, support, and guidance: iv James Barrett, Bernice Barnett, Matti Bunzl, Clifford Christians, Norman Denzin, Stacy Harwood, Valerie Hoffman, the late Jorge Chapa, Mohammad Khalil, Anna-Maria Marshall, Peggy Miller, Jan Nederveen Pieterse, Winifred Poster, Salim Rashid, and Dan Schiller. Outside the University of Illinois, I was fortunate enough to discuss my ideas with the following people: Hussein Agrama, William Chittick, Marcia Hermansen, Aminah McCloud, Paul-Brian McInerney, Shankar Nair, Alisa Perkins, Isaac Reed, Arijit Sen, and Ali Zaidi. I thank them for their time. Special thanks to David Freidenreich for reminding me of the importance of food. I am also indebted to all of my pervious teachers who have inspired and helped me. In particular, I want to thank Shawkat Ali for his support and commitment to change the world. The staff at the Department of Sociology helped me immensely. In particular, I want to thank Shari Day and Lucretia Williams. Early drafts of some of the chapters were presented at a variety of academic venues. I appreciate the feedback I received from the discussants and the audience on those occasions. Sweet home Devon Avenue! I want to thank Ayaz Rabbani and Mohammad Minhaj for taking me to Devon Avenue in 1999. I still remember various late night Biriyani feasts at Ghareeb Nawaz. In Chicago, several people helped me to get this project started. I want to mention the following names in particular who’s help and generosity and hospitality was invaluable: Syed Wahaj Uddin Ahmed, Maribeth Brewer, Muhammad Munir Chaudry, Masud Lodhi, Hameedullah Khan, and Colleen Sen. I also must thank all the people who took many hours out of their busy day to talk to me. The conversations we had became an integral part of this dissertation. v To my fellow graduate students who shared the journey with me, I thank them for their patient ears as I frequently talked about my project: Nicole Brown, Ravi Ghadge, Dan Hale, Jae-Kyun Kim, Melissa McDonald, Grant Shoffstall, Nathalie Tiberghein, and Gehui Zhang. Special thanks to Drs. William Kramer and Brett Bode at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) who allowed me to have a flexible workweek from August through December 2015. While working fulltime and finishing this dissertation was definitely challenging, I was glad I was able to do this without the compromising my work or the quality of the dissertation. No words can match the unwavering faith of my parents in me. I want to thank my mother, Rokeya Islam -- my “The First Teacher.” My father, Serajul Islam, for believing in and supporting me over the years. They both in their own ways taught me the importance of being patient, persistent, and thoughtful in my scholarship and life in general. My brother, Saif Islam, has been a constant source of support and encouragement. His unflinching critique and insight into the American religious landscape fueled various late night discussions and debates. I am also indebted to my sister, Nazma Zubaira, for being there for me. I also want to thank my uncle Dr. Shah Newaz Khan -- the first Ph.D. I met in my life -- for his support and encouragement. Gratitude also goes to my other uncle Dr. Nizam Khan -- the second Ph.D. and the first social scientist I knew. Libraries are the wonder of human civilization. Please let us make sure they don’t go away! vi And lastly -- my two best friends. My wife, Marina -- I will always be indebted to her for her support. She is my love but also my editor, fiercest critic, and the best damn linguist I know! This path would have been much bleaker without your unconditional support. And Maya, who came into our life in 2013, made me a better human being. I sure hope for a better world for her devoid of war, destruction, hatred, and hunger. May the path you tread be challenging and rewarding. This is for you two. vii “The Prophet said to Ibn-Masud: You will look at the fowl in Paradise; as soon as you desire it, it falls down, roasted, in front of you.” The revivification of religious sciences, al-Ghazzali. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS A Note on Transliteration and the use of foreign words…………………………………………………….x Introduction: Some conceptual considerations…………………………………………………………………..1 Chapter 1: Methods……………………………………………………………………………………………………………36 Chapter 2: Islam in the United States: A brief historical sketch……………………………………….49 Chapter 3: Something ain’t halal here: Debates, issues, legal cases dealing with halal food……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………77 Chapter 4: The rhythms and senses of the neighborhood………………………………………………..131 Chapter 5: Eating right in the neighborhood: Everyday aspects of halal food…………………157 Chapter 6: Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………..187 References……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….198 ix A NOTE ON TRANSLITERATION AND THE USE OF FOREIGN WORDS I italicize foreign words when they are first introduced in the text. Both “Halal” and “Sharia” appear in the Merriam-Webster in simplified form so I follow that format. For the other Arabic terms, I follow the rules of the International Journal of Middle East Studies, simplified by omitting the diacritical marks. I also transliterated Hindi and Urdu words used (mostly in conversations) in a simplified format (without diacritical marks). Most of my conversations with my interlocutors were in English with healthy doses of Hindu/Urdu words and a few phrases thrown in here and there. I have translated those words and phrases and when appropriate included the original word along with the English translation.