Between resistance and assimilation: A critical examination of American Muslim Educational Behaviors in Public School

This article investigates the relationship between religious identities of African American Muslims and school performance. We examined how understandings of religion inform how American Muslims view, behave, and imagine their role in school. The first author conducted interviews over the course of a year with four American Muslims, two of whom chose not to pursue postsecondary education and two who did In conjunction with interview responses, bracketing allowed for a conscious, transparent interpretation of data The findings indicate the presence of two distinctive approaches in how indigenous American Muslims imagine themselves and behave educationally. In one mode, American Muslim religious identity has both appropriated and developed strands and discursive practices that hinder and even prevent successful educational attainment. In another, they sought extensive education but had nonobservant religious identities. Finally, this research reports on how traditional American institutions of agency, which often facilitate educational success, are viewed by American Muslims.