For this blog I am going to focus primarily on the research that I have gathered throughout my observation. I have been fortunate enough to talk to two practicing Male Muslims (ages 22 and 30) as well as attend the local Sunni Mosque.
I would like to highlight from Chapter 10 the section on how ‘Religion Constructs (and Constrains) Gender.’ This section breaks down a specific idea that Religion has the ability to construct masculinity. More specifically, this section describes the influence that Christianity has had on the way that men construct and create their gender identity to be of a ‘muscular’ type. As quoted on page 226, ‘while Christian religions defined women as the angel in the house, they defined men as the strength of the public realm.’ (DeFrancisco and Palczewski, 2007) I am enrolled in a class on Islam this semester, and after learning that there are 1 billion Muslims (just over half the number of Christians), I began to wonder if there was a similar effect on the gender identity of practicing Muslim males. In the reading, scholar Elina Vuola (2002) described how Christian and Islamic fundamentalism share many similarities (DeFrancisco and Palczewski, 2007). With this in mind, I looked to my interviews and attendance at the mosque to uncover what defines a Muslim Male’s gender identity.
First, I will describe the common responses across all three sources when asked what characteristics define the male gender identity in Islam. First, it is important for a man to be financially secure and to be a provider for his family and those around him. One of my interviewees went on to say that it is more so important to be ‘responsible.’ By this he meant “responsible not just to yourself but to your family, friends, neighbors and everyone else that you interact with.” Second, it is important to live faithfully and to follow the Five Pillars (profession of faith, fasting, charity, prayer, and pilgrimage). A quote from one of my interviews stated, “I try to make my brain think beyond certain things, I go to the mosque daily. As a man, I must go if I can.” Third, the man should be respectful, patient, modest, and humble. At the mosque during the sermon it was interesting how much of the focus of carrying out the Islamic faith was placed upon the role of the man. It was his duty to instill these values and faith in their children, to teach them and to read them the Qu’ran. Men were in a separate room from the women, as you can see in the photo at the end of the blog. This lent the impression that the Imam (speaker) was speaking directly to the men and challenging them in their faith to be the leaders and to live out their lives through the instruction that he gave. Meanwhile, the women listened in from another room.
Both of my interviewees talked about how they recognized that there was a stereotypical gender identity that they identified with (as listed above), but at the same time felt that they had their own ‘custom made’ identity. They went on to say that they believed each person has a mosaic of characteristics and influences that creates their own unique identity. They highlighted through the interview that though there are many religious characteristics and values that influence who they are. There are also cultural, ethnic, and demographic influences that they identify with that create a one-of-a-kind identity.
In conclusion, I definitely think that there is a direct influence on the formation of gender identity through the influence of Islam. The men are expected to view the world in a certain way, to view women in a certain way, and also to view themselves and how they contribute to this world through the central lens of their religion. I think that many people would view practicing Male Muslims as controlling and strict. However, these observations led me to view their nature as disciplined and humble. Again, knowledge is power. But how many people would actually ask a person what defines who they are and how they act?
Below is a picture that I was able to take at the mosque. (I was only able to get one, due to the flash) Also, there is a youtube video of the call to prayer that I witnessed while at the Mosque.
Enjoy!
Questions Asked:
1) How long have you practiced Islam and how has it affected your life and the way that you view the world?
2) Do you believe that your identity as a man has been shaped in any way by your faith? Why or why not?
3) What characteristics would you say define a practicing Muslim male?
4) How would you describe your own gender identity?
5) Would you say that there are common identity characteristics for practicing Muslims? If so, what are these characteristics?
6) Do you think the gender identity of a Muslim Male differs from other gender identities? Why or why not?
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Please let me know if you would like me to send you my full interview notes.
ReplyDeleteGreat work with the descriptive cultural data. If you have more interview data that is relevant to the project, I would love to read about it in the summary blog. I think you are in good shape for that blog as well. Start first with a recap of your gender identity of interest, how it relates to gender, and then summarize the main findings from this blog in terms of masculinity and gender as enabling and constraining. Then you will need to build on these first two blogs by giving us a few key take aways. What did you learn in terms of the intersection between masculinity and Muslim men? How does this relate to gender? How can this improve gender in communication?
ReplyDeleteAlso think about how you can keep adding more audio/visual data. This will be key in terms of the creative project presentation. I think your presentation would lend itself to video, but also maybe the written medium. It could be interesting to do poetry, prose, short story, or something of that nature.