Engaged Surrender: African American Women and Islam (George Gund Foundation Imprint in African American Studies)

291 Pages·2003·1.64 MB·English

by  Carolyn Moxley Rouse

Engaged Surrender
   
    
The George Gund Foundation has endowed
this imprint to advance understanding of
the history,culture,and current issues
ofAfrican Americans.
Engaged Surrender
African American Women and Islam
Carolyn Moxley Rouse
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS
Berkeley Los Angeles London
University of California Press
Berkeley and Los Angeles, California
University of California Press, Ltd.
London, England
© 2004 by the Regents of the University of California
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rouse, Carolyn Moxley, 1965–.
Engaged surrender : African American women and Islam /
Carolyn Moxley Rouse.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
isbn0–520–23794–3 (alk. paper).—
isbn0–520–23795–1 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Women in Islam. 2. Muslim women—Social condi-
tions. 3. Muslim women—United States—Social condi-
tions. 4. African American women—Religion. I. Title.
bp173.4 .r68 2004
305.48'6971073—dc21 2003002462
Manufactured in the United States of America
13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05 04
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The paper used in this publication is both acid-free and
totally chlorine-free (TCF). It meets the minimum require-
ments of ANSI/NISO Z39.48–1992 (R 1997) (Permanence of
Paper). 1
For Zora and Yahya

CONTENTS
Preface
ix
Acknowledgments
xv
1. Engaged Surrender
1
2. A Community of Women: Consensus, Borders, and
Resistance Praxis
24
3. Gender Negotiations and Qur’anic Exegesis: One
Community’s Reading of Islam and Women
36
4. Historical Discourses
81
5. Soul Food: Changing Markers of Identity through
the Transition
105
6. Conversion
127
7. Performing Gender: Marriage, Family,
and Community
152
8. Searching for Islamic Purity In and Out of Secular
Los Angeles County
174
9. Conclusion
210
Epilogue
219
Notes
223
Glossary
243
Bibliography
247
Index
257
PREFACE
Almost six months to the day after a group of terrorists attacked the
United States by flying planes into the World Trade Center and the Pen-
tagon, I was asked to speak about Islam at a state agency. It had created
a “diversity” team responsible for finding creative ways of educating the
staff about multicultural issues. The person who invited me had seen me
speak about Islam on a local public television show, and in a moment of
insanity, I said yes. My television interview had been hard enough, why
would I subject myself to the same forms of interrogation? How could I
be an “expert” about things I really know nothing about, such as how
Americans feel about this tragedy. My expectation was that six months
after 9/11 Americans had become more sophisticated about Islam. The
explosion of information produced and disseminated was rich, and for a
moment the popular press focused on the diversity within the Muslim
ummah (community). Notably, the press tried to show that Islam does
not support violence against civilians, and that at least 99.99 percent of
all Muslims want peace.
Accepting the opportunity to talk I thought, naively, that this audience
would be interested in learning about a particular group of African
American Sunni Muslims. I was hoping this talk would extend further the
discussions already extant in the media on the diversity in the Muslim
ix