Meeting Feb. 5, 7pm @ Atifa's

A Kinder, Gentler Islam:
The Creation of a Muslim American Identity by Women Converts in Rural New Mexico
Presented by Kristi Arford

Kristi Arford's thesis is a qualitative look at the ways in which American women who have converted to Islam create and maintain a Muslim American identity through complex identifications and dis-identifications with various social groups or categories. The research is based on field work conducted in the area of Abiquiu, New Mexico, where the Muslim educational center, Dar al Islam exists. The informants for this project are all women who lived, or have lived in the area, or who are regular participants in the events at Dar al Islam. Ten interviews are examined in detail through the method of narrative analysis, and then interpreted through the lens of anthropological theories of identity.
Kristi supports the claim in this thesis that the interviews analyzed here reflect a current trend in literature among and about Western Muslims in the last few years, toward re-interpretations of Islam for the American public. Contemporary Western converts to Islam are claiming a unique social identity for themselves, and this kind of identification among large numbers of individuals can create real social movements. This work examines the roots of a movement by American Muslims to educate non-Muslim Americans about the positive value of their faith.