Islam, Gender and Integration in Transnational / Heterolocalist Contexts

A Case Study of Somali Immigrant Families in Columbus, Ohio

DISSERTATION

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University

By

Nahla Abdullah Al-Huraibi * * * * *

Rural Sociology Graduate Program

The Ohio State University

2009

Dissertation Committee:

Professor Linda Lobao, Advisor

Professor Cathy Rakowski

Professor Joseph Donnermeyer

Copyright by

Nahla Abdullah Al-Huraibi

2009

ABSTRACT

This dissertation builds from a longstanding sociological question: to what degree and in what manner do immigrants adapt to the new society of the . In particular, it examines Somali immigrants' ways of relating to both their original and the new mainstream American culture concerning gender roles and relationships. This study addresses three central questions: first, how do Somali immigrants negotiate their gender notions and practices between those maintained from the Somali culture and those adopted from the American mainstream culture; second, to what extent do immigrants‟ understandings of Islamic gender texts shape the negotiation process- and in turn, how does the integration process shape their understanding of Islamic gender discourse; and third to what extent do resultant gender perceptions and practices reflect transnational/heterolocal integration and reconciliation between cultures.

This study broadens the model of heterolocalism by focusing on and gender to understand the integration behavior of Somali immigrants. It also participates to the gender and immigration literature by focusing on the household and by shedding light on how gender functions in Muslim cultures. Results of this study contribute to by describing how ijtihad can facilitate Muslim immigrants‟ incorporation into dominantly non-Muslim societies in the West. Results of this study are useful in

ii designing integration programs for Muslim and Somali immigrants, whose numbers are increasing in the United States.

Heterolocalism is the theoretical foundation this study is built on. In response to the shortcomings of both the classical assimilation and the pluralism models in explaining the behavior of new immigrants, heterolocalism, established by Wilbur Zelinsky and Barrett

Lee (1998), explains the relationship between spatial dispersion of new immigrants and the social cross-border networks that help preserve ethnic and religious identities without residential propinquity.

This study is based on a grounded theory approach to collecting/ interpreting data obtained from interviewing thirty-eight immigrants in Columbus, Ohio. Analyzing the data centered around two main issues:

1. Gender roles and relationships within the Somali immigrant family, including

perspectives on female identity, gender division of domestic labor and decision-

making power.

2. Gender relationships outside the family, mainly courtship patterns, “arranged

marriages” and sexuality.

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Participants‟ accounts describe how they view gender roles and relations between the community networks in their original culture and the dominant individualism in the

American mainstream, how they modify these in the new society and what Islamic principles they cite to support their new perspectives. Somali immigrants‟ re-discovering and interpretation of the Islamic gender principles mediate between the two cultural polarized ends; the original and the American mainstream cultures. As part of the new wave of Muslim population into the United States, Somali immigrants‟ gender and family experiences exhibit clear attributes of the heterolocalist behavior that crosses spatial and cultural boundaries. Analysis concludes that neither the classic assimilation theory nor the isolationist pluralism models explain Somali immigrants‟ unique hybrid identities and behavior. Somali immigrants cross-cultural selection of aspects from both cultures and interweaving them in everyday lives indicates a heterolocal pattern of integration in a transnational globalised world.

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In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

“O mankind! We created you from male and female, and made you into nations and tribes, so that you may come to know one another. Verily, the most honored of you in the sight of Allah is (the one who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things)”. (Glorious Qur’an, 49:13)

To my husband, without whose love, support and patience this dissertation would never have come into being.

To my father, who would have been truly happy to see this work come to fruition.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First and foremost, I humbly offer a prayer of gratitude to Allah the Almighty, who has blessed me with health and aided my endeavor. I am grateful to my brother, Khalid, whose care and generous support has been a great source of consolation after the loss of my father. I am deeply touched by the support of my mother, brothers, sisters and sons, Abdullah, Abdul Rahman and Zaid, whose prayers and trust have bestowed on me confidence and contentment throughout.

I offer my sincere thanks to Professor Linda Lobao, my advisor and dear friend, for her patience, assistance and valuable advice during the long journey of this research. I also gratefully acknowledge the guidance of the members of my committee. Many thanks to Professor Cathy Rakowski for her help and for teaching me about “Women in Development.” My thanks also to Professor Joseph Donnermeyer for his help, and especially for introducing me to the fascinating theoretical model of heterolocalism.

My thanks to all the Somali-American women and men who participated in the project. I highly appreciate their generosity in taking time from their busy schedules to share with me their experiences and opinions on this study‟s topic.

I must acknowledge the sources of financial support that facilitated the data collection and writing of this dissertation. Specifically, I appreciate the American Association of University Women (AAUW) for nominating me for the 2003-2004 year fellowship. Many thanks to John Harris, for editing the dissertation. Also my thanks to Tami Newberry and Wairimu Mwangi who helped in the editing of the earlier chapters‟ drafts. My gratitude to Dr. Amanda Konradi for her insightful input into the study proposal. And last, but not least, my sincere gratitude to my beloved husband Mohammed Al- Ruwaishan for his unparalleled support, encouragement and help that made the completion of this study possible.

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VITA

1966…………………………………………………………….Born in Sana‟a, Yemen

1987………………………………………………...B.A. Sociology, Sana‟a University

1988……….High School Teacher, Islamic Education and Contemporary Applications

1991-1996…………………Graduate Teacher Associate, Sociology, Sana‟a University

1995……………………………………..High Diploma, Sociology, Sana‟a University

1999………………………………………………….M.A. Sociology, Ohio University

2002-2004………………………..Graduate Research Associate, Ohio State University

2005-2009……………Teacher of Language & Cultures, Ohio State University

2007…...Intern Grad. Researcher, Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity

PUBLICATIONS

Al-Huraibi, Nahla (2009). Second-Generation Yemeni-American Women between Individual Aspirations and Communal Commitments. (Forthcoming. Paper presented at the “Arab-American Women” Conference. Kansas State University 12-15 March 2009.)

FIELDS OF STUDY

Sociology Women in Development Islamic Studies Arabic Language vii

Table of Contents ABSTRACT ...... II ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...... VI VITA...... VII TABLE OF CONTENTS ...... VIII LIST OF TABLES ...... XII CHAPTER 1 ...... 1 INTRODUCTION...... 1 1.1. GENERAL BACKGROUND ...... 1 1.2. ACADEMIC AND PERSONAL MOTIVATION ...... 6 1.3. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ...... 8 1.3.1. Islamic Gender Texts / Sources...... 8 1.3.1.1. Gender Similarities and Differences in Islam ...... 9 1.3.1.2. Islamic Gender Principles vs. Muslim Cultural Practices ...... 10 1.3.1.3. The Concept of Ijtihad in Islam ...... 11 1.3.2 Gender, Family and Immigration ...... 12 1.3.3. Modes of Integration / Assimilation ...... 13 1.4. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY ...... 17 1.5. BACKGROUND OF THE SOMALI COMMUNITY IN COLUMBUS, OHIO ...... 23 1.5.1. and the Somalis: A Brief History ...... 23 1.5.2. Somalis‘ Communal and Islamic Identity ...... 25 1.5.3. Gender and the Extended Family in Somali Culture ...... 27 1.5.4. Women between Somali Culture and Islam ...... 31 1.5.5. Reasons for Somalis‘ Migration ...... 32 1.5.6. In the New Host Society ...... 34 1.6. RESEARCH QUESTIONS ...... 39 1.7. ORGANIZATION OF THE DISSERTATION ...... 42 CHAPTER 2 ...... 43 viii

LITERATURE REVIEW ...... 43 2.1. ISLAMIC GENDER PRINCIPLES ...... 43 2.1.1 Family and Gender Relationships ...... 45 2.1.2. Gender Roles within the Family ...... 47 2.1.3. Legal Rights of Women ...... 51 2.1.4. The Extended Family and Women‘s Careers ...... 53 2.2. THE GENDER AND IMMIGRATION LITERATURE ...... 55 2.2.1. The Acculturation and Structural Approaches ...... 57 2.2.2. The Individual and Household Approaches ...... 61 2.3. THE LITERATURE ON TRANSNATIONAL HETEROLOCALISM ...... 62 2.3.1. Critical Review of Assimilation and Pluralism ...... 63 2.3.2. The Alternative Model of Heterolocalism ...... 71 CHAPTER 3 ...... 75 METHODOLOGY ...... 75 3.1. WHY QUALITATIVE ANALYSIS? ...... 76 3.2. THE “EMERGENT” THEMES ...... 78 3.3. DATA ANALYSIS AND ADVANCING PARTICIPANTS‟ “VOICES” ...... 80 3.4. THE RESEARCHER‟S ROLE ...... 84 3.5. THE SAMPLE AND THE INTERVIEWS ...... 85 3.6. QUESTIONNAIRE ...... 89 3.7. A NOTE ON THE PROBLEMATIC USAGE OF TERMS ...... 90 CHAPTER 4 ...... 96 DATA ANALYSIS ...... 96 4.1. INTRODUCTION ...... 96 4.2. GENDER/SEX IDENTITY ...... 97 4.2.1. Gender Appropriate Characteristics ...... 101 4.2.2. Gender Roles in Agreement with Characteristics ...... 105 4.3. GENDER ROLES AND RELATIONSHIPS ...... 107 ix

4.3.1. Gender Roles in the Somali Immigrant Family ...... 110 4.3.2. Domestic Labor ...... 113 4.3.3. Wives‘ Paid Work/Employment and Financial Relationships ...... 123 4.4. DECISION-MAKING POWER ...... 135 4.4.1. Arranged Marriage ...... 136 4.4.2. Wives‘ Employment ...... 142 4.4.3. Women‘s Covering (Hijab) ...... 144 4.4.3.1. Hijab and Discrimination in the Mainstream...... 147 4.5. MORE, OR LESS, GENERAL DECISION-MAKING POWER? ...... 151 CHAPTER 5 ...... 160 GENDER RELATIONSHIPS OUTSIDE THE FAMILY ...... 160 AND SOMALI IMMIGRANTS’ INTEGRATION ...... 160 5.1. GENDER RELATIONSHIPS AND COURTSHIP PATTERNS ...... 160 5.1.1 Disciplining Children‘s Sexual Behavior ...... 164 5.2 INDIVIDUAL VS. GROUP RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE TWO CULTURES ...... 175 5.2.1. Aspects of the Somali Culture Respondents Wish to Retain ...... 176 5.2.2. Aspects from the Somali Culture Respondents Maybe Abandoning ...... 187 5.2.3. Aspects of American Mainstream Culture to Embrace...... 191 5.3. ASSIMILATED, ISOLATED, OR NEITHER? ...... 198 CHAPTER 6 ...... 209 CONCLUSION ...... 209 6.1. INTRODUCTION ...... 209 6.1.1. Theoretical Background...... 210 6.1.2. Methodology ...... 211 6.2. DISCUSSION ...... 212 6.2.1. Female Gender Identity and Roles ...... 215 6.2.2. Decision-Making Power ...... 218 6.2.3. Individual vs. Group Relationships...... 221 x

6.2.4. Ijtihad and Distinguishing Islam from Cultural Practices ...... 223 6.2.5. Transnational /Heterolocal Integration ...... 225 6.2.6. Two-Way Integration ...... 229 6.3. LIMITATIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH ...... 230 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 233 APPENDIX A: QUESTIONNAIRE ...... 247 APPENDIX B ...... 251 GLOSSARY OF FOREIGN TERM ...... 251

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List of Tables

TABLE 1: THEMES IDENTIFIED ...... 83 TABLE 2: BACKGROUND INFORMATION ~ FEMALE PARTICIPANTS ...... 93 TABLE 3: BACKGROUND INFORMATION ~ MALE PARTICIPANTS ...... 94 TABLE 4: EDUCATIONAL STATUS OF FEMALE PARTICIPANTS AND HUSBANDS ...... 94 TABLE 5: EDUCATIONAL STATUS OF MALE PARTICIPANTS AND WIVES ...... 95 TABLE 6: HUSBANDS‟ PARTICIPATION IN DOMESTIC LABOR ...... 122 TABLE 7: OCCUPATIONAL STATUS OF FEMALE INFORMANTS AND THEIR HUSBANDS ...... 124 TABLE 8: OCCUPATIONAL STATUS OF MALE INFORMANTS AND THEIR WIVES ...... 125 TABLE 9: ARRANGED MARRIAGE? ...... 141 TABLE 10: WOMEN WHO DO NOT HAVE PAID WORK ...... 143 TABLE 11: WOMEN WITH PAID WORK ...... 143

TABLE 12: SOMALI CULTURE ~ TO MAINTAIN OR ABANDON ...... 190

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بسم اللة الرحمن الرحيم

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1. General Background

Immigrant groups to the United States struggle to be accepted as part of the new society, while striving to preserve certain aspects of their identities and cultures.1 Given that the

Euro-American population is the “core” group in American society (Barkan 2005), the further an immigrant group is racially, culturally and religiously away from the characteristics of the dominant group, the more problematic to maintain a balance between the basic cultural and religious features of its identity while becoming part of the majority society (Samatar 2004).

John Esposito (2004) finds that maintaining their faith while, at the same time, accepting and functioning within the secular, pluralistic Western society is a difficult challenge

Muslim immigrants face.2 Like immigrant communities before them, have to meet the challenge of defining their identities and positions in a western society “that is both secular and whose majority has Judeo-Christian roots” (Esposito 2004: Foreword).

1( Portes and Truelove 1996; Smith 1997; Zhou and Bankston 1998; Alba and Nee 1999; King 2000; Portes and Rumbaut 2000) 2 Historically, it is well known that pluralism and multiculturalism flourished in Baghdad, , Damascus, Andalusia (Spain) and other Islamic cities at the time of the prosperous Islamic civilization. Ethnic and religious minorities, including Christians and Jews, lived side by side with the dominant Muslim majority (See al Faruqi and al Faruqi 1986). 1

For Muslim immigrants in particular, the dilemma of integrating into the dominantly non-

Muslim culture, while maintaining their faith and identity is multiplied because of their

“traditional” gender notions and practices, of gender roles, gender relationships and

Muslim women covering in public,3 which are often perceived as anti-Western (Jawad and Benn 2003).

Some studies conclude that many Muslim immigrants, especially women, have been able to negotiate differences and conflicts between the original and the new cultures (Haddad and Smith 2003; Jawad and Benn 2003; Udel-Lambert 2004). Existing studies, however, fail to consider how Muslim immigrants‟ negotiation of gender roles and expectations between old and new cultures could be an expressive indication of their integration pattern into the new society. Current literature has, moreover, overlooked the role that

Islamic gender perspectives, as principles not affiliated to any specific culture, can play in mediating between the two cultural poles of Eastern and Western cultures, in the current transnational world. This qualitative dissertation examines Somali immigrants as part of the Muslim population in the United States and how their gender perceptions and practices, influenced by the