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Farming Among American Muslims

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Farming Among American Muslims HIJRA AND HOMEGROWN AGRICULTURE: FARMING AMONG AMERICAN MUSLIMS By ELEANOR DALY FINNEGAN A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2011 1 © 2011 Eleanor Daly Finnegan 2 To Mom, Dad, and Nigel 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS There are countless people who have helped me to complete this dissertation and I am thankful for all of their help. I would especially like to thank my parents and my family for supporting me in my studies and research. I thank Nigel for his encouragement, editing, and breakfast sandwiches. I thank my colleagues at the University of Florida, who made the Religion Department and especially the Religion and Nature program such a dynamic place to be. I would also like to thank my friends for providing support and feedback, as well as necessary breaks. I thank Anna Peterson for being a wonderfully encouraging mentor and advisor. I would like to thank my committee for providing such helpful feedback. Finally, I would like to thank the people of the Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Fellowship, the Dayemi Tariqat, and the Shadhiliyya Sufi Center East. They warmly welcomed me, and without their assistance I would have been unable to undertake this project at all. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 ABSTRACT ..................................................................................................................... 8 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 10 Sufism and Farms in the United States................................................................... 10 Methodology ........................................................................................................... 21 Insights from Farms ................................................................................................ 22 Negotiation of Identity, Community, and Environmental Ideas ................................ 25 Intentional Communities, American Muslim Identity, and Islam and Ecology ......... 27 Chapter Outline ....................................................................................................... 41 2 LAYING THE GROUND WORK: THE HISTORY OF FARMING AMONG AMERICAN MUSLIMS............................................................................................ 45 Legacies from Muslim Spain ................................................................................... 46 African Muslims during Slavery ............................................................................... 49 Early Arab Muslim Immigrants ................................................................................ 56 Early African American Sunni Muslims ................................................................... 60 Yemini Muslim Immigrants ...................................................................................... 68 Nation of Islam ........................................................................................................ 70 New Medinah .......................................................................................................... 79 Muhammad Farm.................................................................................................... 90 Other Muslim Farms ............................................................................................... 93 Conclusion .............................................................................................................. 94 3 THE BAWA MUHAIYADDEEN FELLOWSHIP AND THE BAWA MUHAIYADDEEN FELLOWSHIP FARM ................................................................ 98 History – Bawa, Fellowship, and Farm.................................................................. 101 Space, Place, and Institutions – the Fellowship and Farm.................................... 127 Practices – Fellowship, Farm ,Environmental Practices ....................................... 132 Future Plans ......................................................................................................... 145 Community ............................................................................................................ 146 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 149 4 THE DAYEMI TARIQAT AND THE DAYEMPUR FARM ...................................... 152 History................................................................................................................... 154 Space, Place, and Institutions ............................................................................... 164 Practices ............................................................................................................... 174 5 Future Plans ......................................................................................................... 187 Community ............................................................................................................ 188 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 193 5 THE SHADHILIYYA SUFI CENTER EAST AND THE FARM OF PEACE ............ 196 History – Shadhiliyya Sufi Center East and the Farm of Peace ............................ 197 Space, Place, and Institutions – the Farm of Peace ............................................. 202 Practices ............................................................................................................... 209 Future Plans ......................................................................................................... 230 Community ............................................................................................................ 231 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 235 6 VALUES AND PRACTICES FROM EXPERIENCE .............................................. 241 Lived Religion ....................................................................................................... 242 Values to Practices – The field of Islam and ecology ............................................ 243 Practice to Values – Environmental ethicists‟ critiques of traditional ethics .......... 253 Values and Practices from Experiences on Farms ............................................... 257 Signs of God ................................................................................................... 260 Environment as Perfect .................................................................................. 261 Nature as Muslims .......................................................................................... 263 Tawhid and Interconnectedness ..................................................................... 264 Ideas about the Prophet Muhammad ............................................................. 268 Ideas about Religious Practices ..................................................................... 272 Farm Infused with the Blessing of the Sheikh ................................................. 275 Lessons about the self.................................................................................... 276 Changing Practices ........................................................................................ 279 Secular Ideas about and Practices in Nature ................................................. 280 Conclusions .......................................................................................................... 281 7 CONCLUSION: IDEAS AND INSTITUTIONS ....................................................... 285 The Potential Importance of Religion .................................................................... 286 Institutions ............................................................................................................. 287 Practices ............................................................................................................... 289 Beliefs ................................................................................................................... 290 Importance of Work ........................................................................................ 290 Creation as Part of God .................................................................................. 292 Human Relationships with God ...................................................................... 294 Needs or Rights of Nature .............................................................................. 296 Emulate Example of Religious Figures ........................................................... 296 Need to Use God‟s Gifts ................................................................................. 299 Food ............................................................................................................... 301 Medicinal Quality of Nature ............................................................................ 304 Ideas about Agriculture................................................................................... 305 Alternative ideas about society ....................................................................... 306 6 Necessity of Being Self-sufficient ................................................................... 307 Ecological
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