University of Mississippi

SOC 101

Reading 31

“Muslim Self-Identities after 9/11” Lori Peek

1)Which of the following groups of people might be considered Muslims?

1. 1. African Americans
   2. Arab Americans
   3. White Americans
   4. any of the above might be a Muslim

2. According to Peek, which of the following are reasons why people adopt a religious identity in a multi-cultural society such as the United States?

1. 1. religion offers people community networks, economic opportunities, and educational resources.
   2. religion may serve as an important marker that helps preserve group cohesion.
   3. religion can serve to reduce tensions caused by immigrant and ethnic diversity, so that people identify themselves first and foremost by their religious identity.
   4. all of the above

3. For Peek, during the phase that she identified as “ascribed identity,” Muslim children were mostly likely to think of themselves in which of the following ways?

1. 1. Muslim children thought little about their religious identity and mostly took it for granted as part of their everyday lives.
   2. Muslim children were seriously engaged in Muslim activities and attended almost exclusive Muslim organizations and events.
   3. Muslim children rejected all of their Muslim identity, choosing to play and hang around with only American, non-Muslim children.
   4. Muslim children were sequestered away from children who were not Muslims, and had no contact with people from other religious and ethnic backgrounds.

4. During the “ascribed identity” phase of Muslim children’s relationship to the larger American culture that Peek described, which of the following best illustrates these children’s assimilation patterns?

1. 1. like many new immigrants groups, these children stuck close to their ethnic enclaves and had little to do with people of other ethnicities.
   2. like many new immigrant groups, Muslim children felt the pressure to assimilate to American norms and values quickly, attempting to “pass” as unidentified ethnic Americans.
   3. like many new immigrant groups, Muslim children went through a period of American hatred, disdaining all of the norms and values of the larger American culture.
   4. like many new immigrant groups, Muslim children gave little thought to their religious or ethnic identities.

5. In Peek’s study of Muslim Americans after 9/11, what was the relationship between young adults’ embracement of a Muslim identity and their going off to college?

1. 1. college was a time to learn about new religions and many Muslims rejected their Muslim identity during these years.
   2. they encountered so much prejudice and discrimination in college that they found themselves hanging out exclusively with other Muslims.
   3. college was a time when they re-discovered their Muslim roots and were more likely to seek out friends who were Muslims.
   4. none of the people who Peek interviewed attended a college with a Muslim student organization, so it was unlikely for them to meet others like themselves.

6. For Muslims living in the United States right after the September 11, 2001 attacks, which of the following best illustrates what they experienced?

1. 1. Americans from all walks of life felt for the Muslim’s plight and embraced them like no other time before.

1. 2. there was a division within the Muslim community, with Muslim Arabs on one side and all other Muslims on another.
   3. Muslims in the time directly after the attack denounced their religious identities, hoping to not be recognized or noticed.
   4. many Muslims reported acts of discrimination, harassment, racial profiling, and assault that they had to endure.

7. Based on your understanding of Peek’s research on Muslim Americans, which of the following best illustrates what happened to the Muslim community right after the 9/11 terrorist attacks?

1. 1. the Muslim community became fractured and divided, with little consensus or agreement about what they should do as a whole.
   2. after the attacks, Muslims felt a stronger bond with each other, feeling as if they had to explain their religion and faith to others.
   3. in the years following the 9/11 attacks, Muslim Americans increasingly became more assimilated into the larger American culture.
   4. shortly after the 9/11 attacks, a majority of Muslim American left the United States to return to their countries of origin.

8. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, young Muslim Americans were more likely to do which of the following?

1. 1. men grew beards to show their solidarity with other Muslims.
   2. women began to wear headscarves more often to show their solidarity with other Muslims.
   3. Muslim parents wanted their children to tone down their presentations as Muslims because they feared that they would be hurt.
   4. all of the above

9. Which of the following best summarizes Peek’s conclusions about the development of religious identities in multi-cultural societies?

1. 1. religious identity, once formed, stays with one for life, and very little can change how people feel about their own religion.
   2. although religious identity is enduring, most people give it up or make it a less meaningful part of their lives as they mature.
   3. religious identity can be transient, with it representing a strong force at some times in life, and a weaker force at other times in life.
   4. Peek feels that the religious identity experienced by Muslim Americans is a unique event in American history, and there can be no generalizations made about this to other groups.

10. According to Peek, which of the following is the fastest growing religion in the United States?