An Uncertain Future: Negotiating Multiple Identities in a Racially and Ethnically Diverse Mosque in the Post-9.11 United States

Based on a careful ethnographic study of a racially and ethnically diverse immigrant mosque in a mid-sized Midwestern city, I examine the divergent perspectives developed by a group of immigrant Muslims about the American reality and their Muslim entity. The core question is that how Muslim immigrants negotiate their multiple identities in relation to the racial/ethnic differences, divergent visions of Islam, varied socioeconomic status, competing views of gender roles and ambivalent attitudes toward American society among the younger generations. I particularly focus on the conflicts within the community and investigate how community members of diverse backgrounds deal with these conflicts. While examining the different approaches to questions that are essential to these Muslims, I ask if Muslims--like many other immigrants--become American by becoming more religious, or if they become American by leaving their religion behind, or if there is an alternative path. I also try to understand how they interpret the multiple dimensions of the American Dream in the Islamic context. This dissertation contributes to the growing literature on American Muslims, especially on their religious life and identity issues in the post-9.11 American society, as well as the general literature on immigrant religion.