STUDENT RESEARCH
This section lists student papers from around the globe which explore different aspects of Islam and Muslim communities in the Americas.
Graduate Work
Ken Chitwood – University of Florida
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Ken Chitwood is a religion scholar at the University of Florida studying Religion in the Americas and a graduate student fellow with the Center for Global Islamic Studies. His academic work focuses on Islam in the Americas, Puerto Rican Muslims, Latina/o Muslims, hemispheric American religion, translocal religion, intersections of religion & culture, Christian-Muslim relations, global Christianity, Muslim minorities, & ethnographic methods and manifestations of religion beyond religion in a global and digital age.
The Study of Islam and Muslim Communities in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Americas: the State of the Field
Abstract:
This essay offers a brief review of existent literature in the field of Islamic studies in Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Americas focusing on its main themes and suggesting some areas for further consideration and research. The essay makes theoretical suggestions for where scholars could inject their energy and efforts to advance this unfolding field of study. These theoretical considerations suggest that more work could be done in expanding the field in its engagement with prevalent theories in the field of global Islamic studies and those that treat the Americas as a geography of dynamic hemispheric engagement and encounter. Essentially, the paper argues that there is still a necessity to explore the tensions, interactions, frictions, and collaborations across and at the boundaries between the global umma and the American assabiya, between the global and the local, and between immigrant communities and the growing number of regional converts. Finally, the author suggests some practical considerations that may prove beneficial to the field's advancement.
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Exploring Islam in the Americas from Demographic and Ethnographic Perspectives
Abstract:
Research on Muslim communities in the Americas is on the rise. There are now entire books and numerous journal articles, encyclopedia entries, and conference presentations on the topic (Khan 2015b; Chitwood 2014, Narbona, Pinto, and Karam 2015; Morales 2012). But why? Are the numbers appreciating? Or is the community a particularly ripe field for understanding currents in race, culture, religion, globalization, and other rel- evant topics in the social sciences? Researchers can learn much about the way religion and culture act upon, and relate to, today’s globalized world from studying Muslims in the Americas. Furthermore, de- mographic data can prove an ad rem avenue into the field. This chapter discusses some population data concerning Muslims in the Americas and offers pathways for further research based on these statistics. These demographics invite a more thorough study of under-appreciated religious populations that present ample opportunities for research in cultural studies, sociology, anthropology, and specifically apropos to the ethnographic study of religion.
http://theconversation.com/how-an-ancient-islamic-holiday-became-uniquely-caribbean-102161
How an ancient Islamic holiday became uniquely Caribbean
Carolina Zuniga
Abstract:
In the first part of the thesis the introduction of the research is presented. In the second chapter can be found the literature review; how religion appears in the Internet, both as information source and experience, the first stages of Islam in Internet, it is also described making emphasis in its deferent forms and finally it focused in what are virtual communities and their characteristics. Chapter three displays the methodology of this work. In chapter four, ten Latino Muslim communities spaces in Facebook are analyzed observing the Sense of Virtual Community, discussion structure and practices, authority and hierarchy, and the broader connections with other (e-) communities. Finally in the chapter five findings, discussion and conclusion are given.
Undergraduate Work
Emanuel Pietrobon – University of Turin
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Strategist, lobbyist, thinker. Columnist and political analyst for Opinio Juris - Law&Politics Review, L'Intellettuale Dissidente, ASRIE. Bachelor's degree in Development and International Cooperation Sciences at University of Turin (score 110/110 cum laude) on 09/11/2018. Currently enrolled in the master's degree in Area and Global Studies for International Cooperation at University of Turin.
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Trinidad and Tobago: an inquiry on how a peaceful and multi-religious country became one of the largest basins for daesh recruitment in the western hemisphere
Excerpt:
Trinidad and Tobago is an insular state of Caribbean America, a nation that, along with Suriname and Guyana, possesses a historical tradition of religious pluralism that includes a substantial Islamic community. A 2011 census of the population describes a multi-faith panorama composed of Catholics (21.6%), Hindus (18.2%), Pentecostals (12.0%), Anglicans (5.7%), Baptists (5.7), Muslims (5%), and a number of other faith groups.
Although Islam is the smallest among the majoritarian beliefs, it has played and plays an important role in society. Several celebrities, public figures, politicians, and thinkers are known to be practicing Muslims; among them are the philosopher Imran Hosein and the former president Noor Hassanali, the “first Muslim head of state in the Americas.”
Trinidad and Tobago is the only country in the continent with a history of political and militant Islam. The country also represents a unique paradigm in Latin America, as it has become the largest Daesh recruitment basin in the region, presenting “one of the highest per capita rates of foreign fighters in the world” of the Western Hemisphere: 36 foreign fighters per capita and 616 foreign fighters per capita of Muslims joined Daesh.
To understand what factors have led to radicalization in a country historically built on the crossroads of different cultures, religions, and civilizations peacefully coexisting for centuries, it is necessary to analyze the Trinidad society more in depth.