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Islam, Gender and Integration in Transnational / Heterolocalist Contexts

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Islam, Gender and Integration in Transnational / Heterolocalist Contexts 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 United States. 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 Islam 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 Islamic studies 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. iii 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. iv 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. viii 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. vi 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 Arabic 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
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