Being Muslim in Boston: Identity in the Islamic Society of Boston

The American Muslim community continues to grow and
seek its self-definition. Increasingly, American
Muslims do not merely recreate the experiences of
older immigrant groups, but rather face unique
challenges that demand investigation. In this book,
the author explores the lives of the Muslims of the
Islamic Society of Boston (ISB), a diverse community
whose members strive to adapt to the American
environment through the embrace of a distinctively
Islamic identity. This work examines such
subjects as modes of interpretation of Islamic
knowledge, attitudes toward religious education for
children, marriage within and between ethnic groups,
attitudes toward sex and gender, the use of the
hijab, and race and ethnic relations, both within
and outside the mosque itself. The outcome of the
author''s two-year study helps shed light on what it
means to be both Muslim and American at the dawn of
the 21st century. This book will interest those in
the fields of anthropology and Islamic studies as
well as sociology and immigrant studies, not to
mention individuals who simply want to know more
about their Muslim neighbors.