The Dars: South Asian Muslim American Women Negotiate Identity

Abstract

Abstract The predominant discourse surrounding Islam on the national landscape conceals the diversity of experiences for Muslim Americans. A close examination of the local landscape of a women’s dars, or Quranic study group, contradicts gendered stereotypes. The dars gathering is a space of shared narratives, agency, and socialization. The nuanced reading of the discourse reveals a negotiation of religious and ethnic identity. Within their local communities, these groups of immigrant women are actively shaping their lives as distinctly South Asian Muslim American.