The thesis explores the collective identities present among Sunni and Shii Muslims in Canada and their experiences of identity construction and collective identity construction in Canada. The thesis also seeks to identify successes and failures of integrating Canadian Muslims into the culturally dominant identity. Finally, the thesis recommends policies by which Canada may improve efforts to integrate Muslim youth into Canada as a means to prevent disenfranchisement, isolation, and the possibility of social marginalization. Finally, the thesis proposes hypotheses that may guide similar research in the future, as well as policy recommendations that may serve to facilitate better intercultural relations in the future. / Graduate

The main objective of my thesis is showing how consumers who live in Stockholm County deal with the daily practice of halal food providing. I then analyse the main contradiction that emerges from my research, meaning the opposition between those who by ‘halal’ and those who do not. I propose an investigation of halal consumption or ‘non-consumption’ through the lens of economic processes, responsibility, (re)negotiation of food categories, gender roles, food morality, urban space and feedback systems. My aim is to demonstrate how ‘halal’ does not configure as a single category, but a group of categories which is intimately connected to the idea of the consumer to do ‘the right thing’. This ‘right thing’ is not necessarily following all the rules ‘according to the cook book’, but rather interpret the rules in order to ensure the welfare of the loved ones, economically, spiritually and physically. Besides, I will observe the other side of the coin, analysing the role of the food seller, who is included in the moral system which requires him to do the right thing too (not deceive the customer, be a good Muslim, ensure a good quality of the food, keep the prices low).

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The 9/11 terror attacks prompted a large number of public opinion surveys in the Islamic world by Gallup, Pew, Zogby, and others seeking to understand the level and nature of muslim antagonism toward America. Far less attention has been paid to public opinion surveys of Americans concerning their views of Islam, Muslims, and Muslim countries. This thesis sorts through the surveys and presents some surprising findings. First, while American views of Muslim have generally been rather unfavorable, the events of 9/11 did not have a marked change on those views. Moreover, Americans tend to make distinctions between Muslims as individuals, toward whom they have a relatively favorable view; Muslim countries, toward which they have a varied view; and Islam as a religion, toward which they have the most negative view. In addition, the polls show that misunderstandings about Islam and Muslims are pervasive among Americans. This thesis argues that the American Muslim community must play a leading role in correcting such misperceptions. In the absence of a sustained effort, there is little in the survey data that would lead one to believe that a change in perception is imminent.

The scope and principal arguments of the research in this thesis are as follows. This thesis is centered on exploring the identities and sense of belonging of Muslims in Britain. There is a strand of academic research which claims that Muslims in Britain are withdrawn from mainstream Britain because they live in segregated ethnic enclaves, participate in non-mainstream religions, and politically organize themselves via ethnically and religiously homogenous networks. This thesis attempts to go beyond such existing research and advance our understanding of the identities and sense of belonging of Muslims in Britain. Accordingly, the research questions that guide the thesis are: <b>1. What is the strength and relative importance of British identity for Muslims in Britain and what are its drivers? 2. What does ‘belonging to Britain’ mean to Muslims in Britain? 3. What do the identities, British, Pakistani, and Muslim mean to Muslims in Britain, and how easy do they find it to integrate these identities?</b> These questions are dealt with in three main empirical chapters, with the use of a multi-methods approach, combining survey data, cognitive survey methodology interviews, and in-depth qualitative interviews. The first empirical chapter presents regression results, from the Citizenship Survey and Ethnic Minority British Election Study, which confirm the strength of British identity for Muslims and present the various drivers that motivate it. These quantitative findings however do not tell us much about what ‘belonging to Britain’ really means for Muslims. The second empirical chapter delves further into this the concept. I ‘question’ the survey question ‘How strongly do you belong to Britain?’ through 30 cognitive interviews that are used to evaluate survey methodology. This exercise displays two key meanings of the question on belonging to Britain: a ‘cultural’ feeling (at ease) and an ‘affective’ feeling (feel attached). Most respondents interpreted the question as ‘cultural’, reflecting upon the practices, ethical values, and lifestyle that characterises a country. The third empirical chapter takes a look at the identities of Muslims, their national, ethnic, and religious identities through 61 qualitative in-depth interviews. The findings from the structured and unstructured identity questions help to understand the way Muslims in Britain relate to their British, Pakistani, and Muslim identities. The results from the structured identity question took a categorical view of identity as opposed to the themes that emerged from the unstructured identity questions and took a dimensional view of identity. These themes generated a six-group typology of identity with the groups: cultural, unambiguous, emotional, emergent, ambivalent, and none of the above. It was found that identities were not simply additive but were emergent and creative with processes of fusion and mesh. There were some tensions and contradictions in Muslims trying to integrate their different aspects of identity.

The focus of this thesis is the analysis of a Greek–speaking Muslim community that resides in Syria and Lebanon and who claim Greek identity and Diaspora membership on the basis of Greek language and customs. My empirical research on the community was guided by the following research question: in which ways do the members of the Greek-speaking community practice and project their Greek identity? This thesis draws on theories regarding identity construction, community building, memory, gender, diaspora and immigration. All of them have been useful in order to understand and analyze the empirical data gathered during the fieldwork. Anthropological research was conducted for more than 17 months in Syria, Lebanon and Crete. Modern Greeks have constructed their identity around Orthodox Christianity, the Greek language, the glory of Ancient Greece and around policies in support of the Greek state; all concepts that people should respect, support and identify with in order to be included in the Greek fold. The voices of the members of the community in this study tell a counter narrative to that of the official Greek state, and to the formal Greek nationalist historiography that accompanies it. In this counter narrative, Greek history incorporates Muslims, and relates that good relations amongst religious groups are possible and desirable. Significantly, Greek identity is disconnected from Orthodox Christianity, while it does remain attached to Greek customs and Greek language. The community under examination constructs its identity around memories of Crete, gendered norms and practices, and the experience of living in Crete as illegal immigrants.

This research explores the discourses of Muslims that had emerged in The Star, Daily News, Cape Argus and New York Times before and after the bombings of the New York City’s World Trade Centre Towers on September 11, 2001. This was a qualitative study that analysed a total of 176 articles from the various newspapers from July 2001 to November 2001. A discourse analytic approach was used as the method of analysis within a broad depth hermeneutic framework. The depth hermeneutic approach emphasises the analysis of the socio-historical context in order to understand how certain constructions of Muslims had historically emerged. Therefore, this study traces the construction of Muslims and the media historically. The results indicate that the dominant discourses of Muslims that have emerged are that ‘Muslims are fundamentalists’, ‘Muslims are violent’, ‘ Muslims cannot be trusted’ and the depiction of Muslims in conflicting terms in relation to the West, namely: ‘Muslims versus the Western World’. The various sub-themes that had emerged are as follows; ‘Muslims are a force to be feared,’ ‘Islam teaches violence’ and that ‘Muslims are inhumane and uncivilised. The ideological representation of Muslims within the texts as the out-group when compared to the West is emphasised through these discourses. A comparison of the various newspapers portrayal of Muslims in the media before and after September 11, 2001, shows that the Cape Argus depicts a more positive representation of Muslims in both instances. The findings reveal that Daily News, The Star and the New York Times present a more negative view of Muslims before and after the events of September 11, 2001.

Thesis advisor: Jonathan Laurence / Religious symbols in France are routinely viewed as threats to the laïcité and vivre ensemble that characterize the ideal French Republic. However, unlike displays of religious identification such as necklaces bearing small crosses or stars of David, the presence of Muslim headcoverings in the public sphere has prompted significantly harsher criticism and increasingly restrictive measures within France. Some of the voile’s critics argue that such headcoverings are not only more visible, but are also indicative of a more brazen defiance of traditional republican ideals. While the perceived threat of religious symbols is far from a recent development in France, the particularly fierce reaction to the voile is indicative of a greater trend: the increasingly assertive interpretation and application of laïcité with respect to headscarves. The object of this study is to understand why French laïcité is moving in this increasingly authoritarian direction as well as to understand why a full ban of the “burqa” is being considered in France at this particular moment in time. The earlier affaires du foulard (headscarf affairs) offer good background context for the traditional applications of this principle towards the Muslim veil, and comparing the current dispute with the 2003-2004 affair offers a number of points of assessment that are useful for understanding the ways in which the interpretation and application of laïcité have shifted. The 2006-2007 veil affair in the United Kingdom also provides excellent analytical contrast that will help to situate the French affairs in a larger European context, serving as an analytical foil in many ways to the French understanding of secularism. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Political Science Honors Program. / Discipline: College Honors Program. / Discipline: Political Science.

Religious literacy and relationship building between religious groups and individuals remain a crucial need in the United States. This need is particularly acute in 'diversity deserts,' such as religiously exclusive college campuses. Colleges must respond to this need and course curriculum can provide an advantageous and effective starting point. The new and emerging field of Interfaith Studies provides useful language, concepts, and methods that can be applied to research and sources within established academic disciplines to create new pedagogical models to better equip students to live well in a religiously diverse America. By demonstrating how educational objectives from the field of Interfaith Studies can be integrated into existing curricular models that utilize ethnographic narratives, an innovative model of interfaith pedagogy can be created. This method, called the shared experience model relies primarily on the work of Oddbjørn Leirvik and Eboo Patel, two leading thinkers in the field of what is being called Interfaith or Interreligious Studies. When applied to four ethnographic narratives of young Muslim Americans constructed from methods rooted in ethnography and narrative inquiry, the shared experience model can result in a reader's development of, appreciative knowledge and narrative imagination, two key capacities from Interfaith theory. Acquisition of appreciative knowledge and narrative imagination through engagement with a narrative fosters empathy and admiration - moving the reader from tolerance to appreciation. Ultimately, it results in a self-reflection that prepares the reader to begin to consider and articulate their own narrative identity.