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Strategic Coalitions: Muslim Power Politics in Detroit
Abstract by Dr. Sally Howell On Session 209  (The Politics of Western Muslims)

On Sunday, November 21 at 01:30 pm

2010 Annual Meeting

Abstract
American Muslims organize across and within racial, ethnic, socio-economic, and sectarian lines toward a complex array of political and religious ends. This paper analyzes three coalition building projects taking shape in the Detroit area and what they can tell us about Muslim American (cultural and legal) citizenship in the (continuing) era of the war on terror. The first campaign sought to bridge a gap that was perceived to be developing between local Sunni and Shi'a Muslims in reaction to military and political conflicts overseas. The second sought to mobilize Muslim and civil rights networks in opposition to police/FBI violence and extra-ordinary investigative powers targeted at mosques and Muslim leaders in Detroit. The third sought to mobilize Muslims across ethnic and class divisions to defend Islamic charitable giving in the face of multilateral counter-terrorism measures that have closed, frozen the assets of, and otherwise cast great suspicion upon charities with deep roots in Detroit. Each initiative has involved a mix of creative and coercive steps taken to overcome intra-community differences/divisions and to encourage Muslim investments in local and national community-building projects (often at the expense of transnational ones). Situated at the intersection of multiple identities - as citizens and non-, as members of ethno-racial populations that are largely non-Muslim, and as residents of municipalities with differing regulations and reputations for (religious and ethnic) inclusion - Detroit's Muslims have pursued sometimes surprising strategies for political empowerment. The three projects discussed in this paper shed light on the disciplinary inclusion Western Muslims have faced (most visibly since 2001) and the steps they are taking to internalize and work beyond these conditions of contested citizenship.
Discipline
History
Geographic Area
North America
Sub Area
Ethnic American Studies