Research

Over the past few months, I have taken a research interest in different aspects of the American Muslim community. Social problems I am interested addressing range from intergroup relations, attitude formation, prejudice and discrimination, and group behavior. However, for all intensive purposes, my main focus will be on intra and intergroup conflict. Intra- and intergroup conflict is often studied by social psychologists worldwide among larger bodies of accessible groups. These conflicts arise from objective differences of interest as well as controlling behaviors and attitudes (Seul, 1999). There is typically a mixture of elements. Other issues that cause these conflicts differences in needs-satisfaction and economic or power differences (Seul, 1999).

Little is known about the dynamics of the Muslim community in the United States. It not only consists of being one of the smallest minorities, but there is typically an air of mysticism that surrounds it. It is difficult for researchers to get into such groups because of a general distrust that Muslims in general have of outsiders due to the way they have been treated and due to media bias over the years. Also, when people have been permitted to study Muslims by community leaders, there is a still suspicion of those involved if they are not Muslim or from the community of Muslims that they associate with. One of the primary concerns is whether the research will paint them in a bad light. Therefore, many Muslims choose not to participate in such studies.

Likewise, the general sentiment of Muslims only focuses on their communities. There is little to no interest in discussing the affairs of communities that rival theirs. For instance, one mosque in Washington, DC will not advertise and speak about another larger mosque that is not part of the same sect as they are. Any good that they are doing, even if it benefits them in any way, is pointless to them. Their group identity only extends to those who are similar in belief and practice.

The Muslim community in America isn’t just one community, but it is made up of several smaller communities who do not always see eye-to-eye. In such cases, tensions typically flare up when groups are exposed to each other by way of personal and online interactions. Among these groups, there are the Sunnis, Salafis, Sufis, Shi’a, Five Percenters, and Ahmadis. Each one of these groups is comprised of different cultural makeups. For instance, you will find that Salafis are predominantly made up of African American Muslims with the majority of its practitioners being from a low socio-economic status. Whereas the largest and general body of Muslims, known as Sunnis, are comprised of just about every culture, socioecomic status, and race. Ahmadis are mainly from Pakistan and rarely will include any other race or ethnic group (Saeed, 2007). The Shi’a mainly come from Iran and surrounding countries where they have influence such as Yemen. Sufis have a makeup that rivals that of the Sunnis but they are a relatively smaller group among the Muslims. Five Percenters is another group that is predominantly African American and it came about as a rejection of the tenets that the majority of Muslims adhere to. Among each one of these sects, it is religion that stabilizes individual and group identity (Seul, 1999).

Despite the claims that most of them follow the same religious sources of text, there is a strong dislike of each other among the groups such as the Shi’a’s attitude towards Sunnis (Abdussalam, 2008). Group identity plays a large role in this and leads to a lot of issues with regards to in-group out-group bias (Cairns, Kenworthy, Campbell, & Hewstone, 2006; Fiske, 2014). This escalates to the point of not acknowledging known members of other groups as well as, in rare cases, violence. Though much of the conflict stems from overseas, the hate and dislike of the other groups have been transferred to the shores of America.

Much of the research that focuses on Muslims in the United States either address attitudes concerning Muslims or mental health and perceptions of mental illness among Muslims. The topic of intragroup conflict among Muslims in other countries has been studied to an extent. However, these studies do not give an insight into the conflict of Muslims in America. This is mainly because of the position of Muslims in the West and their standing. Also, African American Muslims, who make up half of the Muslims in the United States are unique when it comes to the worldwide body of Muslims.

Though I would like to research Muslims in the United States, I am more interested in the intragroup conflict of indigenous Muslims, or those who have been born and raised in the United States. Islam is the second-largest religion in the world, but it is also the fastest growing religion in the United States. It’s important to understand what issues contribute to intragroup conflict among them. Some of it focuses around education and other issues are socioeconomic. In either case, the dividing line between them is not exactly clear and the circumstances that lead up to them are murky at best. There is also the view that atrocities overseas may help progress conflict between groups by way of different sects actions or inactions. For instance, the Shi’a have been criticized by many Sunni has being the cause of renewed conflict in Palestine in Israel by way of their continued rocket launch into Israeli settles that have led to the deaths of thousands on the Palestinian side. Shi’a led Hezbollah has been an active participant in the conflict.

The research that I have currently found on has a focus on either intragroup conflict in general or intergroup conflict among other religious groups such as Christians or Jews. The study of this topic could shed light on the causes of radicalization as well as understanding their differences. The Salafis for instance, are against taking part in the judicial system and proclaim those Muslims who choose to do so as sinners and disregarding Islamic law (Wiktorowicz, 2006). This eventually leads up to internal wars between them and anyone outside of the group who disagrees with their stance. As a result, the groups do not work with each other, communicate with each other, or agree on the same platforms or items. The hope is to eventually come up with ways to reduce conflict among the groups.

Besides intragroup conflict among indigenous Muslims in the United States, there is also the issue of intergroup conflict between Muslims and other groups. Researchers have tackled this position among Muslims and Christians, Muslims and Jews, and Muslims and Hindus (Bekerman & Horenczyk, 2004; Cairns et al., 2006; Magdalena, 1977). There is probably no shortage of literature that addresses these matters. However, research on American Muslims is lacking. This same research is lacking when it comes to conflict with other beliefs. This is an area that shouldn’t be overlooked because people identify with religion as a form of identity (Ysseldyk, Matheson, & Anisman, 2010).

Taking all of this into consideration, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as the atrocities that’s happening to the Salafis in Yemen, and the worldwide conflicts with the Taliban and ISIS could lead to research that focuses on the Muslims in America. One question I could research is how does anger interrelate with exposure to violence affect intragroup conflict that materializes from intergroup conflict? A study like this could be conducted by way of anger and sadness manipulation. Everyday we’re exposed to news stories about the atrocities that happen overseas. There are the stories about the girls being raped by soldiers, innocent people being killed, the occupation in Gaza with most of the people being killed are children, and even citizens being locked up and held on spurious charges. All of this has an affect on the different groups involved. Currently, there is nothing like this that focuses on American Muslims.

References

• Abdussalam, A. S. (2008). Intra-Muslim Conflicts: A Linguistic Representation. American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences. ↩
• Bekerman, Z., & Horenczyk, G. (2004). Arab‐Jewish Bilingual Coeducation in Israel: A Long‐Term Approach to Intergroup Conflict Resolution. Journal of Social Issues, 60(2), 389–404. doi:10.1111/j.0022-4537.2004.00120.x ↩
• Cairns, E., Kenworthy, J., Campbell, A., & Hewstone, M. (2006). The role of in‐group identification, religious group membership and intergroup conflict in moderating in‐group and out‐group affect. The British Journal of Social Psychology / the British Psychological Society, 45(4), 701–716. doi:10.1348/014466605X69850 ↩1 ↩2
• Fiske, S. T. (2014). Social beings: Core motives in social psychology (3rd ed.). Wiley Global Education. ↩
• Magdalena, F. V. (1977). Intergroup Conflict in the Southern Philippines: An Empirical Analysis. Journal of Peace Research, 14(4), 299–313. doi:10.1177/002234337701400403 ↩
• Saeed, S. (2007). Pakistani Nationalism and the State Marginalisation of the Ahmadiyya Community in Pakistan. Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism, 7(3), 132–152. doi:10.1111/j.1754-9469.2007.tb00166.x ↩
• Seul, J. R. (1999). `Ours is the Way of God': Religion, Identity, And Intergroup Conflict. Journal of Peace Research, 36(5), 553–569. doi:10.1177/0022343399036005004 ↩1 ↩2 ↩3
• Wiktorowicz, Q. (2006). Anatomy of the Salafi Movement. Studies in Conflict & Terrorism, 29(3), 207–239. doi:10.1080/10576100500497004 ↩
• Ysseldyk, R., Matheson, K., & Anisman, H. (2010). Religiosity as Identity: Toward an Understanding of Religion From a Social Identity Perspective. Personality & Social Psychology Review, 14(1), 60–71. doi:10.1177/1088868309349693 ↩