A Different Take on Islamic Culture

Muslim Cool: Race, Religion, and Hip-Hop in the United States by Su’ad Abdul Khabeer

Summary:

“Drawing on over two years of ethnographic research, Su’ad Abdul Khabeer illuminates the ways in which young and multiethnic US Muslims draw on Blackness to construct their identities as Muslims. This is a form of critical Muslim self-making that builds on interconnections and intersections, rather than divisions between “Black” and “Muslim.” Thus, by countering the notion that Blackness and the Muslim experience are fundamentally different, Muslim Cool poses a critical challenge to dominant ideas that Muslims are “foreign” to the United States and puts Blackness at the center of the study of American Islam. Yet Muslim Cool also demonstrates that connections to Blackness made through hip hop are critical and contested—critical because they push back against the pervasive phenomenon of anti-Blackness and contested because questions of race, class, gender, and nationality continue to complicate self-making in the United States.” See the full summary here.

Main Argument:

In her book, Su’ad Abdul Khabeer discusses the “ways in which young and multiethnic US Muslims draw on Blackness to construct their identities as Muslims.” From this statement one could say that one’s religious identity often stems from their cultural background and environment. Her main idea of “Muslim Cool” is “displayed in the ideas, dress, social activism in the ‘hood,’ and in complex relationships to state power.

The Social Function:

Su’ad Abdul Khabeer’s main argument can relate back to Emile Durkheim’s view on religion. Durkheim believed that a functional society relied on group effort within the community. He also thought that society was sacred and needed a band of individuals to work together in order to form a stronger group. According to Daniel Pal, Durkheim believed, “society needs the commitment of an individual” (95). Khabeer investigates the ways in which Black and multi-ethnic youth draw on a common culture in order to function as a larger group.

Pious Fashion: How Muslim Women Dress by Liz Bucar

Summary: 

“Writing in an appealing style based on first-hand accounts, Bucar invites readers to join her in three Muslim-majority nations as she surveys how women approach the question “What to wear?” By looking at fashion trends in the bustling cities of Tehran, Yogyakarta, and Istanbul—and at the many ways clerics, designers, politicians, and bloggers try to influence Muslim women’s choices—she concludes that pious fashion depends to a large extent on local aesthetic and moral values, rather than the dictates of religious doctrine.” See the full summary here.

Main Argument:

In this survey, Bucar’s main argument stems from the popular belief that a hijab and modest clothing represent the oppression of women in Islam. Throughout the book, “she argues that modest clothing represents much more than social control or religious orthodoxy.” She concludes that this pious fashion style “engages with a range of aesthetic values related to moral authority, consumption, and selfhood.” The headscarves are styled in a way that is unique to each wearer which promotes individuality and freedom of aesthetic expression. Westerners often automatically associate modest fashion with “oppression” or “lack of freedom” but that is not usually the case.

The Social Function:

Bucar’s argument goes directly against Karl Marx’s view on religion as a whole. Marx viewed religion as a tool of oppression which is a common belief about the hijab and modest clothing in Islam. Marx sees religion as “an illusion with most definitely evil consequences. It is the most extreme example of ideology, of a belief system whose chief purpose is simply to provide reasons, excuses really, for keeping things in society just the way the oppressors like them.” Westerners are often led to believe that Muslim women are forced to wear hijab and therefore see it as a modern form of oppression. One could relate this to Marx and his view of religion. Bucar attempts to steer her readers away from this outdated thought and instead turns it into something empowering.

Being Muslim: A Cultural History of Women of Color in American Islam

Summary:

“From the stories that she gathers, Chan-Malik demonstrates the diversity and similarities of Black, Arab, South Asian, Latina, and multiracial Muslim women, and how American understandings of Islam have shifted against the evolution of U.S. white nationalism over the past century. In borrowing from the lineages of Black and women-of-color feminism, Chan-Malik offers us a new vocabulary for U.S. Muslim feminism, one that is as conscious of race, gender, sexuality, and nation, as it is region and religion.” See the full summary here.

Main Argument:

In her book, Sylvia Chan-Malik puts all of her focus on the rich history of Black and women-of-color feminism within the United States. Throughout her book, she “explores how U.S. Muslim women’s identities are expressions of Islam as both Black protest religion and universal faith tradition.” She makes the argument that Black and women-of-color Muslims were an important factor in the formation of the American Islam community. Their activism played a role in creating a more safe and supportive environment within the Muslim community.

The Social Function:

Chan-Malik’s argument is also similar to that of Durkheim’s view on religion. As mentioned before, Durkheim saw religion as a product of a functional society formed by individuals. Black and women-of-color Muslims banded together through activism and worked hard to form a safe and supportive society within the Islamic community.

THE EXHIBIT:

All three of these books somehow related back to the ideas of thinkers such as Durkheim and Marx. Both “Muslim Cool” and “Being Muslim” share a similar sentiment that involves coming together as a larger group. The two authors unknowingly took inspiration from Durkheim’s beliefs as he also believed that the basis of religion is a strong, functional society. On the other hand, “Pious Fashion” is sort of a jab against the views of Marx. Rather than seeing the hijab as a form of oppression, Bucar sees the piece of cloth as a form of freedom and expression. All three of these books involve the thoughts of Durkheim and Marx whether it was intentional or not.