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Faith with Doubt: American Muslims, Secularity, and the “Crisis of Faith” by Zaid Adhami Graduate Program in Religion Duke University Date: November 6, 2017 Approved: ___________________________ Leela Prasad, Chair ___________________________ Ebrahim Moosa, Co-Chair ___________________________ David Morgan ___________________________ Juliane Hammer Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate Program in Religion in the Graduate School of Duke University 2017 i v ABSTRACT Faith with Doubt: American Muslims, Secularity, and the “Crisis of Faith” by Zaid Adhami Graduate Program in Religion Duke University Date: November 6, 2017 Approved: ___________________________ Leela Prasad, Chair ___________________________ Ebrahim Moosa, Co-Chair ___________________________ David Morgan ___________________________ Juliane Hammer An abstract of a dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate Program in Religion in the Graduate School of Duke University 2017 Copyright by Zaid Adhami 2017 Acknowledgments It has become conventional to note that it would not have been possible for a project like this to come into existence were it not for a very long list of family members, friends, peers, colleagues, mentors, teachers, and even students. While commonplace, this standard note reflects something that is profoundly true. I am indeed indebted to a long list of individuals in my personal and professional life who have guided me through the PhD process, and who have contributed to my growth and development more broadly. These many people have cumulatively made it possible for me to arrive at this point of having successfully completed my PhD dissertation. I cannot properly account for all these people here, but in what follows I express my gratitude to a handful of people who have most directly contributed to this dissertation project in particular. To begin, I’d like to express my sincere gratitude to my friends in Boston who served as my ethnographic conversation-partners and interlocutors for this project (both those who are present in the pages of this dissertation, but also many others whose stories, reflections, and exchanges did not end up being included but still deeply informed my understanding). All of these individuals have been my teachers and intellectual partners in many ways. Through our extended conversations, they helped me see many issues in a new light, pushed and challenged me often, and generally helped me hone in my understanding of many issues discussed in this dissertation. iv Beyond this, however, they have also been genuine friends to me and have provided me with a deep sense of community and family. Thank you. I’d also like to extend my deep thanks to my dissertation committee. Firstly is my primary advisor, Dr. Leela Prasad, who has been guiding me through every step of the PhD process from the very beginning. Her teaching and advising have of course been deeply important in shaping my intellectual formation throughout my graduate training. Beyond this, however, her advising was also crucial to this project coming to fruition. From our long numerous conversations early on in the process helping me think through my research interests, to her confidence in the potential of my project even when it wasn’t always clear what I was trying to do, her guidance and support have always been invaluable. Later on, it was her guidance in helping me think through the challenges and dilemmas of ethnographic fieldwork, and her extensive feedback on my dissertation chapters. All this took place in the context of many personal challenges in her own life, through which she always remained committed to me and my work. Last but certainly not least, it must be mentioned that she played this advising role always full of warmth and generosity of spirit. I am deeply grateful to have had the fortune of pursuing my PhD under Dr. Prasad’s tutelage. I am also deeply grateful to my co-chair, Dr. Ebrahim Moosa. I owe much of my intellectual development and training in thinking through the Islamic tradition to Dr. Moosa. From even before I began at Duke, I contacted him about his book on Ghazali, v which I had been reading for my undergraduate honors thesis. He not only responded to my queries by email, but proceeded to have extended dialogues with me by phone about my questions and thoughts on the book. This was the beginning to of a long process in which he would help me approach these issues in new and insightful ways. Also from the very beginning of the program, he always instilled in me the dual emphasis on deep understanding of Islamic discursive/textual traditions, while also engaging more broadly in theoretical discourses on these subjects. He would always be referring me to new authors and new genres, opening new vistas of thought and bodies of literature to engage and incorporate into my theoretical toolkit. As my own research and dissertation project moved forward, Dr. Moosa always remained very supportive and encouraging of my work, staying on as my co-chair despite changes in institutional affiliation and geographic residence. I can confidently say that my intellectual engagement on the questions addressed in this dissertation would have been very different without his teaching and guidance. Dr. Juliane Hammer has been an invaluable source of guidance and mentorship throughout the PhD process. She has served as my foremost guide and teacher in all things related to Islam in America, and has pushed me intellectually in innumerable ways in the study of religion and Islam. She has trained me to be a much more careful and nuanced thinker, while also serving as a model of ethically and politically responsible scholarship. Beyond this role as an intellectual guide and teacher, she has vi also been an incredible mentor, supporter, and friend since we first met. Her encouragement when I dealt with self-doubt about my work, her insightful advice in navigating our field (and the academy generally), and the warmth and hospitality of her friendship, have all been a tremendous blessing through this process. Finally, my deep appreciation must also be extended to Dr. David Morgan, who has always been supportive, responsive, and present as an advisor. He has always been responsive to any inquiries, met with me whenever needed, and been an active, engaged reader and discussant of my work. Taking a course with Dr. Morgan my first year opened me up to new kinds of analysis and understanding that I was not attuned to before. And his feedback and prodding through the process of my comprehensive exams, dissertation proposal, and writing helped me arrive at key insights in my project. In addition to my dissertation committee, I must also thank my colleagues during graduate school at Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill, who were crucial to my intellectual growth. I am also deeply grateful to my current colleagues at Williams College, who have not only been an incredible source of intellectual growth and stimulation through our many conversations and my exposure to their scholarly work, but have also been a tremendous source of encouragement, support, and mentorship. In particular, I’d like to thank Jason Josephson-Storm, Jacqueline Hidalgo, and James Manigault-Bryant. I also want to thank my students at Williams College, particularly those who took my courses on “Secularization in the Modern World” and “Faith and vii Rationality in Islam”. Our discussions about the course materials helped me refine my understanding of many of the issues that present themselves in the dissertation. And additionally, I’d like to thank Almas Zakiuddun for her meticulous copy-editing of the dissertation, particularly on such short notice. Her edits truly made the writing more fluid and readable. Finally, my most important thanks are due to my beloved family. Firstly, to my dear parents, who have always instilled in me a love of learning and a passion for religious knowledge, as well as a commitment and connection to the Muslim community, both of which led me down this path of religious studies scholarship. In particular, my father’s own scholarly interests and work in the study of Islam has always been a great inspiration for me, and offered me a model of bold intellectual inquiry into religious matters. Furthermore, I am of course endlessly indebted to my parents for providing me with the many opportunities that have allowed me to get to this point. It goes without saying that my debt to them for all they have done can never be repaid or even adequately accounted for. Last is my deep gratitude to and for my beloved wife, Saadia. Not only is she my best friend, life companion, and loving anchor in my life, but she has also always been my intellectual companion and support. My own intellectual development throughout my graduate studies has been inextricably tied to our partnership. She has always been a sounding-board and conversation-partner for any ideas I have been working through, viii and I myself have learned tremendously from her sharing her thoughts and reflections. Much of my understanding of Islamic traditions has been developed in conversation with her, and she has served as my teacher in a number of important areas of scholarship. My intellectual engagement with Muslim communities in North Carolina and Massachusetts has also always been a collaborative effort together, and I have always learned tremendously from her moral clarity and courage. Furthermore, she played a vital role in the initial development of this project in particular, and was always a source of support, comfort, and feedback during the often-agonizing process of ethnographic fieldwork and dissertation writing. I cannot imagine having gone through these seven years of graduate school without her as my partner and companion.

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