Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T00:59:24.508Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Mosque Involvement and Political Engagement in the United States

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 May 2018

Aubrey Westfall
Aubrey Westfall*
Affiliation:
Wheaton College
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Aubrey Westfall. E-mail: westfall_aubrey@wheatoncollege.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Confronted by a number of home-grown Islamic terrorist attacks, many Americans incorrectly assume that Muslim religiosity correlates with anti-American values and that the American mosque is the center of radical socialization efforts. This paper examines the nature of the relationship between mosque involvement and political engagement. It finds that mosque attendance is positively associated with political engagement only when the attendance engages congregants in ways beyond religious ritual. Attending mosque to pray does not significantly impact political identities or engagement like following politics, registering to vote, voting, or party membership, while participation in other social or religious activities at a mosque is associated with an increased probability of engagement. These results suggest that not all mosque involvement is equally beneficial for promoting political engagement and that religious participation must proactively engage with the social lives of the congregants to have a substantive political effect.

Type
Symposium: Dialogue on Muslim American Sociopolitical Life
Information
Politics and Religion , Volume 12 , Issue 4 , December 2019 , pp. 678 - 709
Copyright
Copyright © Religion and Politics Section of the American Political Science Association 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Ayers, John W. 2007. “Changing Sides: 9/11 and the American Muslim Voter.” Review of Religious Research 49(2):187–198.Google Scholar
Ayers, J. W., and Hofstetter, C. R. 2008. American Muslim Political Participation Following 9/11: Religious Belief, Political Resources, Social Structures, and Political Awareness. Politics and Religion, 1(01):3–26.Google Scholar
Bagby, Ihsan. 2009. “The American Mosque in Transition: Assimilation, Acculturation and Isolation.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 35(3):473–490.Google Scholar
Bagby, Ihsan. 2012. “The American Mosque 2011.” Council on American-Islamic Relations: US Mosque Study 2011, 1–29. http://www.icna.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/The-American-Mosque-2011-web.pdf.Google Scholar
Bagby, Ihsan. 2014. “A Portrait of Detroit Mosques: Muslim Views, Politics and Religion.” Michigan: A Portrait of Detroit Mosques: Muslim Views, Politics and Religion. http://www.ispu.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/385_Detroit-Mosque-Study-Ihsan-Bagby.pdf.Google Scholar
Barreto, Matt A., and Bozonelos, Dino N.. 2009. “Democrat, Republican, or None of the Above? The Role of Religiosity in Muslim American Party Identification.” Politics and Religion 2(2):200–229.Google Scholar
Barreto, Matt A., and Dana, Karam. 2009. “Religious Identity and Muslim American Political Incorporation: Mosque Involvement and Similarities between Sunni and Shi'a.” In Midwest Political Science Association Conference, April. Vol. 4. http://www.muslimamericansurvey.org/papers/mpsa2009.pdf.Google Scholar
Brown, R. Khari, and Brown, Ronald E.. 2003. “Faith and Works: Church-Based Social Capital Resources and African American Political Activisim.” Social Forces 82(2):617–641.Google Scholar
Burns, Nancy, Schlozman, Kay Lehman, and Verba, Sidney. 2001. The Private Roots of Public Action. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Calhoun-Brown, Allison. 1996. “African American Churches and Political Mobilization: The Psychological Impact of Organizational Resources.” The Journal of Politics 58(4):935–953.Google Scholar
Campbell, Andrea L. 2003. How Policies MakeCcitizens: Senior Political Activism and the American Welfare State. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Cho, Wendy K. Tam, Gimpel, James G., and Wu, Tony. 2006. “Clarifying the Role of SES in Political Participation: Policy Threat and Arab American Mobilization.” Journal of Politics 68(4):977–991.Google Scholar
Crabtree, Steve. 2002. “Black Churches: Has Their Role Changed?” Gallup. http://www.gallup.com/poll/5998/black-churches-has-their-role-changed.aspxGoogle Scholar
Dana, Karam, Barreto, Matt A., and Oskooii, Kassra AR. 2011. “Mosques as American Institutions: Mosque Attendance, Religiosity and Integration Into the Political System among American Muslims.” Religions 2(4):504–524.Google Scholar
Dawson, Michael C. 1994. Behind the Mule: Race and Class in African-American Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Diamond, Jeremy. 2016. “Trump Doubles down on Calls for Mosque Surveillance.” CNN, June 15. http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/15/politics/donald-trump-muslims-mosque-surveillance/?utm_source=huffingtonpost.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=pubexchange_article.Google Scholar
Dizard, Wilson. 2015. “Muslim Groups Unite for Voter Drive, Outreach to Confront Islamophobia.” Al Jazeera America, December 21. http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/12/21/muslim-vote-drive.html.Google Scholar
Djupe, Paul A., and Calfano, Brian R.. 2012. “American Muslim Investment in Civil Society: Political Discussion, Disagreement, and Tolerance.” Political Research Quarterly 65(3):516–528.Google Scholar
Djupe, Paul A., and Gilbert, Christopher P.. 2009. The Political Influence of Churches. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Djupe, Paul A., and Grant, J. Tobin. 2001. “Religious Institutions and Political Participation in America.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 40(2):303–314.Google Scholar
Djupe, Paul A., and Green, John C.. 2007. “The Politics of American Muslims.” In From Pews to Polling Places, ed. Wilson, J. Matthew. Georgetown: Georgetown University Press, 213–250.Google Scholar
Dougherty, Kevin D. 2003. “How Monochromatic Is Church Membership? Racial-Ethnic Diversity in Religious Community.” Sociology of Religion 64(1):65–85.Google Scholar
Elliott, Andrea. 2005. “Woman Leads Muslim Prayer Service in New York.” The New York Times, March 19. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/19/nyregion/woman-leads-muslim-prayer-service-in-new-york.html.Google Scholar
Erikson, Robert S. 1981. “Why Do People Vote? Because They Are Registered.” American Politics Research 9(3):259–276.Google Scholar
File, Thom, and Crissey, Sarah. 2012. “Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2008.” US Census Bureau. July. https://www.census.gov/prod/2010pubs/p20-562.pdfGoogle Scholar
Foley, Michael W., and Hoge, Dean R.. 2007. Religion and the New Immigrants: How Faith Communities Form Our Newest Citizens. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Foner, Nancy, and Alba, Richard. 2008. “Immigrant Religion in the U.S. and Western Europe: Bridge or Barrier to Inclusion?” International Migration Review 42(2):360–392.Google Scholar
de Freytas-tamura, Kimiko. 2017. “30-Year Sentence for Man Who Burned Florida Mosque Attended by Omar Mateen.” The New York Times, February 7. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/07/us/mosque-fire-florida.html.Google Scholar
GhaneaBassiri, Kambiz. 2010. A History of Islam In America. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Goodstein, Laurie. 2015. “U.S. Muslims Take On ISIS’ Recruiting Machine.” The New York Times. February 19. https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/20/us/muslim-leaders-in-us-seek-to-counteract-extremist-recruiters.html?_r=1.Google Scholar
Gordon, Milton Myron. 1964. Assimilation in American Life: The Role of Race, Religion, and National Origins. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Hagi, Sarah. 2016. “What Hillary Clinton Still Gets Wrong about Muslim Voters.” Broadly. October 21. https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/what-hillary-clinton-still-gets-wrong-about-muslim-voters.Google Scholar
Harris, Fredrick C. 1994. “Something Within: Religion as A Mobilizer of African-American Political Activism.” The Journal of Politics 56(1):42–68.Google Scholar
Harris, Fredrick C. 1999. Something Within: Religion in African-American Political Activism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Hirschman, Charles. 2004. “The Role of Religion in the Origins and Adaptation of Immigrant Groups in the United States.” International Migration Review 38(3):1206–1233.Google Scholar
Huntington, Samuel. 1993. “The Class of Civilizations?” Foreign Affairs 72(3):22–49.Google Scholar
Huntington, Samuel. 2004. Who Are We?: The Challenges to America's National Identity. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.Google Scholar
Jamal, Amaney. 2005a. “Mosques, Collective Identity, and Gender Differences among Arab American Muslims.” Journal of Middle East Women's Studies 1(1):53–78.Google Scholar
Jamal, Amaney. 2005b. “The Political Participation and Engagement of Muslim Americans: Mosque Involvement and Group Consciousness.” American Politics Research 33(4):521–544.Google Scholar
Jones-Correa, Michael A., and Leal, David L.. 2001. “Political Participation: Does Religion Matter?” Political Research Quarterly 54(4):751–770.Google Scholar
Karim, Jamillah. 2008. American Muslim Women: Negotiating Race, Class, and Gender Within the Ummah. New York: New York University Press.Google Scholar
Khan, Azmat. 2011. “America and Muslims: By the Numbers.” FRONTLINE. September 26. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/america-and-muslims-by-the-numbers/.Google Scholar
Kirby, Jen. 2016. “Orlando Gunman Omar Mateen Name-Drops Obscure ISIS Terrorist in 911 Transcripts.” New York Magazine. September 26.Google Scholar
Kohut, Andrew, Lugo, Luis, and Keeter, Scott. 2007. “Muslim Americans Middle Class and Mostly Mainstream.” Pew Research Center. May 22. http://www.pewresearch.org/2007/05/22/mulsim-americans-middle-class-and-mostly-mainstream.Google Scholar
Kwak, Nojin, Shah, Dhavan V., and Holbert, R. Lance. 2004. “Connecting, Trusting, and Participating: The Direct and Interactive Effects of Social Associations.” Political Research Quarterly 57(4):643–652.Google Scholar
Due Lake, Ronald La, and Huckfeldt, Robert. 1998. “Social Capital, Social Networks, and Political Participation.” Political Psychology 19(3):567–584.Google Scholar
Leighley, Jan E. 1990. “Social Interaction and Contextual Influences on Political Participation.” American Politics Research 18(4):459–475.Google Scholar
Leonard, Karen. 2003. “American Muslim Politics Discourses and Practices.” Ethnicities 3(2):147–181.Google Scholar
Lewis, Bernard. 2002. What Went Wrong? Western Impact and Middle Eastern Response. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Lincoln, C. Eric, and Mamiya, Lawrence H.. 1990. The Black Church in the African American Experience. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.Google Scholar
Lipka, Michael. 2015. “The most and least racially diverse U.S. religious groups.” Pew Research Center. July 27. http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/07/27/the-most-and-least-racially-diverse-u-s-religious-groups/Google Scholar
McClurg, Scott D. 2003. “Social Networks and Political Participation: The Role of Social Interaction in Explaining Political Participation.” Political Research Quarterly, 56(4):448–464.Google Scholar
McDaniel, Eric L. 2009. Politics in the Pews: The Political Mobilization of Black Churches. Ann Arbor, MI: The University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Mutz, Diana C. 2002. “The Consequences of Cross-Cutting Networks for Political Participation.” American Journal of Political Science 46(4):838–855.Google Scholar
National Public Radio. 2010. “Muslim Women Debate Gender Segregation in Mosques.” Tell Me More. NPR. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124623737.Google Scholar
Nomani, Asra Q. 2010. “Let These Women Pray!” The Daily Beast. February 27. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2010/02/27/let-these-women-pray.html.Google Scholar
Oskooii, Kassra A. R., and Dana, Karam. 2017. “Muslims in Great Britain: The Impact of Mosque Attendance on Political Behaviour and Civic Engagement.” Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 0: 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2017.1330652.Google Scholar
Peterson, Steven A. 1992. “Church Participation and Political Participation: The Spillover Effect.” American Politics Quarterly 20(1):123–139.Google Scholar
Pew Research Center. 2007. “2007 Muslim American Survey.” Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. http://www.people-press.org/2007/05/22/2007-muslim-american-survey/.Google Scholar
Pew Research Center. 2011a. “2011 Muslim American Survey.” Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. http://www.people-press.org/2011/08/30/2011-muslim-american-survey/Google Scholar
Pew Research Center. 2011b. “Section 1: A Demographic Portrait of Muslim Americans.” Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. August 30. http://www.people-press.org/2011/08/30/section-1-a-demographic-portrait-of-muslim-americans/.Google Scholar
Powell, Kimberly A. 2011. “Framing Islam: An Analysis of US media Coverage of Terrorism Since 9/11.” Communication Studies 62(1):90–112.Google Scholar
Putnam, Robert. 1993. “The Prosperous Community: Social Capital and Public Life.” The American Prospect. http://prospect.org/article/prosperous-community-social-capital-and-public-life.Google Scholar
Putnam, Robert D. 2001. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. Avon, MA: Simon and Schuster.Google Scholar
Read, Jen'nan Ghazal. 2007. “Introduction: The Politics of Veiling in Comparative Perspective.” Sociology of Religion 68 (3):231–236.Google Scholar
Scheufele, Dietram A., Hardy, Bruce W., Brossard, Dominique, Waismel-Manor, Israel S., and Nisbet, Erik. 2006. “Democracy Based on Difference: Examining the Links Between Structural Heterogeneity, Heterogeneity of Discussion Networks, and Democratic Citizenship.” Journal of Communication, 56(4):728–753.Google Scholar
Scheufele, Dietram A., Nisbet, Matthew C., Brossard, Dominique, and Nisbet, Erik C.. 2004. “Social Structure and Citizenship: Examining the Impacts of Social Setting, Network Heterogeneity, and Informational Variables on Political Participation.” Political Communication 21(3):315–338.Google Scholar
Schwadel, Philip. 2002. “Testing the Promise of the Churches: Income Inequality in the Opportunity to Learn Civic Skills in Christian Congregations.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 41(3):565–575.Google Scholar
Schwadel, Philip. 2005. “Individual, Congregational, and Denominational Effects on Church Members’ Civic Participation.” Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion 44(2):159–171.Google Scholar
Simmons, Gwendolyn Zohara. 2008. “From Muslims in America to American Muslims.” Journal of Islamic Law and Culture 10(3):254–280.Google Scholar
Smidt, Corwin. 1999. “Religion and Civic Engagement: A Comparative Analysis.” The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 565(1):176–192.Google Scholar
Smidt, Corwin. 2004. Pulpit and Politics: Clergy in American Politics at the Advent of the Millennium. Waco, TX: Baylor University Press.Google Scholar
Smith, R. Drew. 2013. From Every Mountainside: Black Churches and the Broad Terrain of Civil Rights. Albany, NY: State University of New York PressGoogle Scholar
Street, Nick. 2015. “First All-Female Mosque Opens in Los Angeles.” February 3. http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/2/3/first-all-female-mosque-opens-in-los-angeles.html.Google Scholar
Taylor, Tracey. 2017. “A Women's Mosque Opens in Berkeley, Only Second in the United States.” Berkeleyside. April 14. http://www.berkeleyside.com/2017/04/14/womens-mosque-opens-berkeley-second-united-states/.Google Scholar
Verba, Sidney, Burns, Nancy, and Schlozman, Kay Lehman. 1997. “Knowing and Caring About Politics: Gender and Political Engagement.” The Journal of Politics 59(4):1051–1072.Google Scholar
Verba, Sidney, Schlozman, Kay Lehman, and Brady, Henry E.. 1995. Voice and Equality: Civic Voluntarism in American Politics. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Verba, Sidney, Schlozman, Kay Lehman, Brady, Henry, and Nie, Norman H.. 1993. “Race, Ethnicity and Political Resources: Participation in the United States.” British Journal of Political Science 23(4):453–497.Google Scholar
Wald, Kenneth D., and Calhoun-Brown, Allison. 2014. Religion and Politics in the United States. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.Google Scholar
Wald, Kenneth D., Owen, Dennis E., and Hill, Samuel S.. 1988. “Churches as Political Communities.” American Political Science Review 82(2):531–548.Google Scholar
Wald, Kenneth D., Owen, Dennis E., and Hill, Samuel S.. 1990. “Political Cohesion in Churches.” The Journal of Politics 52(1):197–215.Google Scholar
Welborne, Bozena, Westfall, Aubrey, Russell, Özge Çelik, and Tobin, Sarah. 2018. The Politics of the Headscarf in the United States. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Westfall, Aubrey, Russell, Özge Çelik, Welborne, Bozena, and Tobin, Sarah. 2017. Islamic Headcovering and Political Engagement: The Power of Social Networks. Politics and Religion, 10(1):3–30.Google Scholar