Mazen Hashem

The khutba, a Friday sermon delivered at the weekly congregational prayers in mosques, can be considered the public discourse among practicing Muslims. In the US, this short address signifies the identification with Islam in a largely non-Muslim society and embodies meanings that Muslims attach to their living faith in the country. This content analysis paper studied the discourse of Friday khutbas delivered in Southern California focusing on a two-fold dimension: how the ummah is projected, and the relatively civil nature of khutbas. Collected material shows that the concept of the ummah is invoked within three parameters: the exemplary potential of the ummah, the duty to help its people, and the importance of unity within the ummah's social divisions. Given the virtual nature in which the ummah is invoked— a communal identity that connects with images of an ideal space while it unfolds in a concrete present—the khutba approximates a civil discourse. Such a discourse uses religious language and conceptions for addressing the social milieu in which the addressees live. The focus of the khutba gives priority to the Muslim community in the United States, but its message of mending social reality extends to the larger society beyond the circle of Muslims.

... It also subsumes the socially accepted claims over an area of expertise that is perceived critical to the society (Larson 1977 ... aims at market control'' (Larson 1977, p. 50), and Freidson (1999, p. 2) stresses that professional work erects barriers to arbitrary ... MAZEN HASHEM 184 ...

... and over-encompassing while hadith is more applied as it addressed concrete events in the early days of Islam, the time of Muhammad. ... 4). The sa/afis emphasized fixity more than the mathhabis because the former lacked an appreciation of the rules of textual derivation, usul. ...

<jats:p>AbstractThe influx of Muslim immigrants into America has become steady inthe last decade, a development which raises the need for a theoretical outlookdelineating a model of an Islamic-controlled process of assimilation.Using Gordon's model of assimilation, the paper suggests an Islamicposition regarding each of his seven types and stages of assimilation.In respect to cultural assimilation, the paper advocates an interactiveprocess of assimilation on the level of extrinsic cultural traits. Such a processutilizes six filtration procedures regarding different kinds of American culturalartifacts. But on the level of intrinsic cultural traits, the paper suggests acounterassimilation position, and considers it a cornerstone in keeping theoriginality of Islam.As to identificational assimilation, the paper defines Islamic boundariesrelevant to each of its three components: ethnic, national, and racial.The paper discusses behavior-receptional and attitude-receptional typesof assimilation in light of patterns of behavior that affect such reciprocity.The paper argues that civic assimilation is a crucial area where much ofthe Muslim community's efforts could be invested.Finally, the paper briefly discusses marital assimilation and structuralassimilation.IntroductionAssimilation is an important subject that deserves careful considerationfrom minorities, marginal groups, and immigrants. The position of a groupon assimilation has far-reaching effects on its present and future, as well ...</jats:p>

<jats:p>AbstractThe influx of Muslim immigrants into America has become steady inthe last decade, a development which raises the need for a theoretical outlookdelineating a model of an Islamic-controlled process of assimilation.Using Gordon's model of assimilation, the paper suggests an Islamicposition regarding each of his seven types and stages of assimilation.In respect to cultural assimilation, the paper advocates an interactiveprocess of assimilation on the level of extrinsic cultural traits. Such a processutilizes six filtration procedures regarding different kinds of American culturalartifacts. But on the level of intrinsic cultural traits, the paper suggests acounterassimilation position, and considers it a cornerstone in keeping theoriginality of Islam.As to identificational assimilation, the paper defines Islamic boundariesrelevant to each of its three components: ethnic, national, and racial.The paper discusses behavior-receptional and attitude-receptional typesof assimilation in light of patterns of behavior that affect such reciprocity.The paper argues that civic assimilation is a crucial area where much ofthe Muslim community's efforts could be invested.Finally, the paper briefly discusses marital assimilation and structuralassimilation.IntroductionAssimilation is an important subject that deserves careful considerationfrom minorities, marginal groups, and immigrants. The position of a groupon assimilation has far-reaching effects on its present and future, as well ...</jats:p>

The khutbah delivered each Friday in mosques represents an important facet of the Muslims’ religious imagination. Islam, being an ultra-scriptural religion, requires that those who deliver this sermon, the khatib, engage in a wide range of creative handling of texts. The khutbah stands as concentric circles of belonging to a text-rooted religion and to the continuous realignment of those texts when addressing social reality; the khatib stands as an interpreter of lived experiences as well as a maker and shaper of such experiences. The quest of relevance in the khutbah is counterbalanced by the quest for authenticity. This discourse analysis study, which analyzes two years’ worth of khutbahs delivered in Southern California, focuses on three interrelated dimensions of khutbahs: how certain texts assert their authority, the different approaches to contextualizing the text, and how texts are reinterpreted in the face of the challenges of modernity.

This book is a penetrating study of several of the Qur'anic verses andhadiths used to construct and justify a "skewed" understanding of femininity:"He created you from a single soul, and then He created fromit/like-nature its mate" (4:1); " ... mighty is your snare" (12:27); "Fair inthe eyes of men/people is the love of things they covet: women and sons..." (3:14); the concept of shahawiit (earthly desires); and the hadith"she was created from a rib."The discussion is based on a close reading of several tafasir. One noticesimmediately that many of these sources dignify women and do notadvocate the conventional view prevaling in contemporary Muslim societies.The book makes no apology to any author or source that presentsa stereotypical view of women; instead, it criticizes their methodology onthe ground that they followed the traditions of the Bible and the Jews.In the second section, the discussion departs from a direct analysis ...

This book is a penetrating study of several of the Qur'anic verses andhadiths used to construct and justify a "skewed" understanding of femininity:"He created you from a single soul, and then He created fromit/like-nature its mate" (4:1); " ... mighty is your snare" (12:27); "Fair inthe eyes of men/people is the love of things they covet: women and sons..." (3:14); the concept of shahawiit (earthly desires); and the hadith"she was created from a rib."The discussion is based on a close reading of several tafasir. One noticesimmediately that many of these sources dignify women and do notadvocate the conventional view prevaling in contemporary Muslim societies.The book makes no apology to any author or source that presentsa stereotypical view of women; instead, it criticizes their methodology onthe ground that they followed the traditions of the Bible and the Jews.In the second section, the discussion departs from a direct analysis ...

Although the revolution in Syria is unfolding within the modern politicalboundaries of this country, its proper understanding is not attainablewithout putting it in a larger historical context, which includes the adjacentgeographical areas of the Levant, Bilad al-Sham. Without such a broaderview, the appreciation of the complexity of the Syrian case is not possible,nor accounting for its consequences and anticipating its future.Probably, in no case, is the mess of colonial legacy more visible than itis in Syria. The pathway of this legacy marks the future development of thecountry, and its implications are facing the revolution today with arduouschallenges. The complexity of the Syria case is not limited to the politicaldimension; it is also complex at the meta-cultural level. Furthermore, thechange in Syria has consequences for the region as whole ‒ it will institutionalizethe Arab Spring as an unavoidable political force, and it will energizethe process of cultural reformation and...

Although the revolution in Syria is unfolding within the modern politicalboundaries of this country, its proper understanding is not attainablewithout putting it in a larger historical context, which includes the adjacentgeographical areas of the Levant, Bilad al-Sham. Without such a broaderview, the appreciation of the complexity of the Syrian case is not possible,nor accounting for its consequences and anticipating its future.Probably, in no case, is the mess of colonial legacy more visible than itis in Syria. The pathway of this legacy marks the future development of thecountry, and its implications are facing the revolution today with arduouschallenges. The complexity of the Syria case is not limited to the politicaldimension; it is also complex at the meta-cultural level. Furthermore, thechange in Syria has consequences for the region as whole ‒ it will institutionalizethe Arab Spring as an unavoidable political force, and it will energizethe process of cultural reformation and...

American-Muslims represent a normative minority, yet, they live in a reality where race and ethnicity loom large. This paper argues that the ethnic dynamics of the American life are highly meaningful in explaining American Muslim reality and their future. Those dynamics include cultural and structural dimensions, which call for a conceptualization of the varied paths of integration that Muslims can potentially assume. Informed by the trajectories of American ethnic minorities, this paper asserts that the integration of a minority group within the majority society is a dynamic process of negotiation. While economics and politics carve structural niches for minorities, their lived reality is ultimately determined by the interaction between the material conditions of those structural niches and the cultural webs in which the collective souls of minority members reside. To analyze such complex terms of integration, the paper revisits the conceptualization of ethnicity, synthesizing elements from the primordial and the constructivist perspectives—interests and circumstances that mold the lives of minority groups are acknowledged as well as the symbolic qualities of their shared memories. Similarly, in order to account adequately for the otherwise fluid use of the concept of culture, the paper differentiates between cultural preservation, cultural maintenance, and cultural resilience. Those represent three strategies in which a minority manages its culture in reference to the pervasive societal culture. The stance of the dominant majority and its view of the minority are also considered. The paper argues that the combination of structural violence reflected in the depreciation of the minority’s material resources, and cultural violence reflected in the devaluation of symbolic capital, lead to the decay of the communities, pushing them into a vicious circle of social decay. The main contribution of the paper lies in theorizing how the well-being of a minority group is predicated upon the level of its cultural reliance.

Written in the spirit of a classic "Distant Mirrors", the paper takes a look at the American culture as encountered by a skeptic outsider who tries to make sense of a culture that is "weird" in a historical comparative sense, yet familiar and known. Suitable for a reader in a course on culture in sociology and anthropology classes.

This paper inquires about the conditions that enable the rise of new applied undergraduate fields in American universities and colleges. After identifying high-growth fields since 1950, the paper traces their professional development from an embryonic stage until universities and colleges started offering bachelor’s degrees in those fields. The experiences of the six fields of this study show that although pressures for academic differentiation were evident, governmental intervention was ultimately crucial. Qualitative evidence indicates that the independence of a new field hinges on the interaction of four factors: societal pressures, state intervention, academic resourcefulness of the field, and professional institutional processes.

American-Muslims represent a normative minority, yet, they live in a reality where race and ethnicity loom large. This paper argues that the ethnic dynamics of the American life are highly meaningful in explaining American Muslim reality and their future. Those dynamics include cultural and structural dimensions, which call for a conceptualization of the varied paths of integration that Muslims can potentially assume. Informed by the trajectories of American ethnic minorities, this paper asserts that the integration of a minority group within the majority society is a dynamic process of negotiation. While economics and politics carve structural niches for minorities, their lived reality is ultimately determined by the interaction between the material conditions of those structural niches and the cultural webs in which the collective souls of minority members reside. To analyze such complex terms of integration, the paper revisits the conceptualization of ethnicity, synthesizing elements from the primordial and the constructivist perspectives—interests and circumstances that mold the lives of minority groups are acknowledged as well as the symbolic qualities of their shared memories. Similarly, in order to account adequately for the otherwise fluid use of the concept of culture, the paper differentiates between cultural preservation, cultural maintenance, and cultural resilience. Those represent three strategies in which a minority manages its culture in reference to the pervasive societal culture. The stance of the dominant majority and its view of the minority are also considered. The paper argues that the combination of structural violence reflected in the depreciation of the minority’s material resources, and cultural violence reflected in the devaluation of symbolic capital, lead to the decay of the communities, pushing them into a vicious circle of social decay. The main contribution of the paper lies in theorizing how the well-being of a minority group is predicated upon the level of its cultural reliance.