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Making Space Muslim Americans And Making Space: Muslim-Americans and “Progressive” Gender Activism in Mosques after 9/11 Sara Abdelghany Mentor: Dr. Karine Walther A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Award of Honors in Culture and Politics Georgetown University in Qatar Spring 2020 1 Acknowledgements I am so grateful to my advisor Dr. Karine Walther, without her support I may not have had the inspiration to complete this project. Professor Walther is an incredible mentor who guided me academically and aided in my personal growth outside of this project. I highly appreciate all the time she spent working with me on my thesis, from brainstorming chapter ideas and arguments, to working on my writing, to copy editing. She is also a saint who made the time in her extremely busy schedule (and during the 2020 coronavirus crisis) to look over my full thesis draft, not one time, but three times! That is real mentorship and true dedication to one’s student. A particular thank you to the faculty and staff who supported me throughout this process. To Dr. Firat Oruc who was a valued and continuous source of support, since the submission of my proposal, and graciously took time out of his schedule to review my theoretical framework. To Dr. Abdullah Al-Arian who advised me and pushed me to construct detailed arguments about the Muslim-American community. Also, to Dean Julien Moutte for suggesting Dr. Walther as my mentor and believing in my ability to pursue honors. Thank you to the friends who joined me in this experience and supported me along the way. To Sara and Ana, my history honors colleagues, whose weekly support was a constant source of strength and validation. And to Sarah and Saoud who motivated me to continue working till the very end. Finally, a special thank you to Mama, Baba, and Noha for their patience and love during this process. 2 Table of Contents List of Figures……………………………………………………………………………………..4 Glossary…………………………………………………………………………………………...5 Acronyms………………………………………………………………………………………….7 Introduction………………………………....……………………………………………………..8 Background………………………………………………………………………………10 Theoretical and Analytical Frameworks.………………………………...……….……....16 Chapter Breakdown………………………………………………………………….…...22 Literature Review……………………….………………………..………………………24 Concepts and Terminology…………………………………..…………………………..31 Chapter 1: Early Post-9/11 Progressive Activism…..…………………………………….….…...37 Chapter 2: Muslims for Progressive Values…………………………………………………........61 Chapter 3: Making Inclusion Mainstream………....…………………………………….....…….82 Epilogue/Conclusion: The Internet as an Alternative Space…………………...…………….….108 Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………120 3 List of Figures Figure 1: Examples of centers and peripheries within a social network analysis…..…….……...19 Figure 2: Main entrance of Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia…………..….33 Figure 3: Women’s entrance of Dar Al-Hijrah Islamic Center in Falls Church, Virginia..………..34 Figure 4: Men and women performing the Meccan Salat during Hajj in 2003…….…………..….36 Figure 5: A mixed-gender Eid prayer at Cairo, Egypt in 2014…....................................................36 Figure 6: “(L to R). The muezzin Suehyla El-Attar, organizer Saleemah Abdul-Ghafur, imam Dr. Amina Wadud, organizers Asra Nomani and Ahmed Nassef. March 18.”......................................49 Figure 7: Ani Zonneveld and MPV members during a Eid prayer, 2012 in Los Angeles, California……………………………………………………………………………..………….68 Figure 8: Photo submission of the men’s prayer space at the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C…………………………………………………………………………………….............…87 Figure 9: Photo submission of the women’s prayer space at the Islamic Center of Washington, D.C..……………….…………………………………………………………………………..…88 Figure 10: “Creating a More Welcoming Mosque for Women” ISPU Infographic…………..…..92 Figure 11: A Women’s Mosque Jummah in July 2015………………………...………..……......94 4 Glossary1 athan: The call to prayer. Dhuhr: The midday prayer and the second of the five daily prayers. fitna: A complex word often used against Muslim women to justify patriarchal versions of Islam. It can mean religious chaos, temptation, or corruption. iftar: The breakfast meal during Ramadan (or other days of fasting). Hajj: One of the five “pillars” of Islam, and the annual pilgrimage performed during the twelfth month of the Islamic calendar. imam: A prayer leader (can be a man or a woman). jihad: Incorrectly translated as “holy war,” refers to an internal or external “struggle.” Jummah: The weekly congregational Friday prayer. khateeb (male)/khateebah (female): Sermon-giver or speaker during Jummah. khutbah: The Jummah sermon. Maghrib: The sunset prayer and the fourth of the five daily prayers. masjid: A mosque. mu’athin: Person who offers the call to prayer (traditionally a man). mussalla: Prayer space that can be inside a mosque or in an open-air space. Qiyam: Additional night prayers. Although traditionally performed during Ramadan, these prayers can be performed on other days as well. rakat: The number of prayer movements. salat: Prayer. sunnah: This word has multiple meanings depending on context. It can mean additional prayers, additional theological sources to the Qur’an, or mirroring the practices of the Prophet Muhammad. 1 All words in the glossary are originally from Arabic, and are terms frequently used by Muslim-Americans, at times interchangeably with English translations of those words. 5 Taraweeh: Evening sunnah prayers performed during Ramadan. turbah: A piece of clay used for Shi’a prayers. ummah: The global Muslim community. 6 Acronyms AIM: Alliance of Inclusive Muslims CAIR: Council on American-Islamic Relations FGM: Female genital mutilation FITNA: Feminist Islamic Troublemakers of North America GWOT: Global War on Terror ICNA: Islamic Center of North America ISNA: Islamic Society of North America ISPU: Institute for Social Policy and Understanding MPV: Muslims for Progressive Values MSA: Muslim Students Association PMU: Progressive Muslim Union 7 Introduction “In my little mosque there is no room for me to pray. I am turned away faithfully five times a day”2 - Mohja Kahf, “Little Mosque,” 2003 By highlighting the experiences of some Muslim women in mosques, Muslim-American author Mohja Kahf’s poem provides readers with an inside perspective into the Muslim community. Patriarchal interpretations of Islam have limited women’s participation at mosques, and led many Muslim women to engage in global gender activism in the United States and across the world.3 The relationship between gender and the mosque is reflective of larger issues of gender representation and power, which have also come under increased scrutiny by Muslim-American women and “progressive” Muslims since the rise of global Islamic feminism in the 1980s.4 2 An excerpt from Mohja Kahf’s, “Little Mosque,” PoemHunter, accessed November 12, 2019, https://www.poemhunter.com/poem/little-mosque/. 3 Of course, these are not the only places Muslim women have engaged in gender activism. For more on this global movement see: Line Nyhagen, “Mosques as Gendered Spaces: The Complexity of Women’s Compliance with, and Resistance to, Dominant Gender Norms, and the Importance of Male Allies,” Religions 10, no. 5 (2019): 321; Rhoda Reddock, “‘Up Against a Wall’: Muslim Women's Struggle to Reclaim Masjid Space in Trinidad and Tobago,” in Aisha Khan, ed., Islam and the Americas (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2015), 217-248; Saba Mahmood, Politics of Piety: The Islamic Revival and the Feminist Subject (New Brunswick: Princeton University Press, 2011); Saba Mahmood, “Feminist Theory, Agency, and the Liberatory Subject: Some Reflections on the Islamic Revival in Egypt,” Temenos - Nordic Journal of Comparative Religion 42, no. 1 (2006): 31-71; Salma A. Bageeb, “Appropriating the Mosque: Women's Religious Groups in Khartoum,” Africa Spectrum 42, no. 1 (2007): 5-27; Nina Hoel, “Sexualising the Sacred, Sacralising Sexuality: An Analysis of Public Responses to Muslim Women's Religious Leadership in the Context of a Cape Town Mosque,” Journal for the Study of Religion 26, no. 2 (2013): 25-42. For more on Islamic feminism see scholarship outlined in Literature Review below. 4 The 1980s rise in Islamic feminism was not the first time that Muslim women highlighted practices of gender inequality in their faith. Muslim women have raised these issues since the very origins Islam. See for example: Souad Hakim, “Ibn 'Arabî's Twofold Perception of Woman: Woman as Human Being and Cosmic Principle,” Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society 31 (2002): 1–29; Beverly B. Mack and Jean Boyd, One Woman's Jihad: Nana Asma’u, Scholar and Scribe (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2000); Jean Boyd, The Caliph's Sister: Nana Asma’u 1793–1865: Teacher, Poet and Islamic Leader (London: Frank Cass & Co. Ltd, 1989); Margot Badran, Feminists, Islam, and Nation: Gender and the Making of Modern Egypt (New Brunswick, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1994); Marion Holmes Katz, Women in the Mosque: A History of Legal Thought and Social 8 After 9/11, social activism on gender justice issues, along with interfaith activism, also became an important demonstration of Muslims’ assimilation in American society.5 Some activists, including a group of Muslims who called themselves “progressive Muslims,” sought to challenge the mounting antagonism Muslims faced from mainstream American society by initiating change in their communities. While some progressive Muslims claimed it was necessary for Muslims living
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