Loren Diller Lybarger
Ohio University (Athens, OH 45701-1361)
FT-57607-10
Summer Stipends
Research Programs
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[Grant products]
Totals:
$6,000 (approved)
$6,000 (awarded)
Grant period:
5/1/2010 – 9/30/2010
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New World Islam: Religious Institutionalization & Generational Change among Somali & Palestinian Muslim Immigrants in the US
The topic of Islam in America is poorly understood. Media reports stress terrorism while expert discussion emphasizes assimilation challenges. My project aims to enrich these discussions through a comparative ethnography of two groups: Somalis in Columbus, OH and Palestinians in Chicago. The study asks: How are U.S. Muslims adapting Islam to the social challenges confronting them? How do their differing ethnicities affect this process? My methods will include participant-observation and interviewing to assess how mosques, principally, are shaping social orientations within these groups. I seek a 2010 NEH Summer Stipend to intensify the Somali work. By the end of 2010, I hope to produce a report from the field based on my summer research for the Journal of the American Academy of Religion. I also will also address a general humanities audience locally and nationally through Ohio University's media resources and the Somali Documentation Project.
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