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.

This paper applies the concept of strategic intersectionality to the political representation literature and investigates the impacts of the intersection of multiple identities for minority elected officials. In particular, we test whether Muslim women councilors across London borough councils experience strategic intersectionality or are disadvantaged due to their religion, gender, ethnic and racial identities. We use original interview data to investigate the phenomena and argue that paradoxically Muslim women representatives experience both advantages and disadvantageous due to their multiple minority status depending on policy areas.

This paper gives a brief overview of the various political engagements taken by American Muslim youths in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and the enactment of the USA Patriot Act. It argues that the discriminating and profiling measures introduced by the US government after 9/11 have prompted a new generation of Muslim activists to engage in domestic political processes in unprecedented ways as they seek greater mainstream credibility and legitimacy for themselves and their communities. More at ease with their dual identities than their immigrant parents, and more integrated socially and culturally into their American surroundings, young Muslims have sought to transcend the traditional "communal" focus of Muslim activism, and have situated their anti-discrimination campaigns within the broader framework of the "American" civil rights movement. To this end, they have launched American Muslim associations and networks of their making, and have initiated political campaigns that sometimes have compelled older, established communal organizations to follow suit. The paper is based primarily on a series of personal interviews conducted between 2008 and 2009 with American officials and representatives, U.S. Muslim organizers or spokespersons, members of the Muslim Student Associations (MSA), and young Muslim social workers or activists engaged in political campaigning or community mobilization. It also builds upon my ethnographic studies completed in 2008-2009 in New York, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. Building upon these findings, I propose to outline the contours of the "emerging" American Muslim identity and its political and social priorities since 9/11. I will focus specifically on the efforts by young Muslim activists to redefine themselves as "Americans first," and to fashion a common sociopolitical platform from which to campaign against infringements on the civil rights of Muslim citizens. Their efforts in this regard have been channeled in four principal directions: first, to raise local and national awareness of American Islam; second, to promote community-based activities and solidarities; third, to involve their communities in debating "mainstream American" sociopolitical concerns, such as social welfare, health care, abortion, and so on; finally, to foster greater cooperation and collaboration between Muslims and other national minorities.

This paper examines the nature of postcolonial citizenship as a concept for understanding the status of citizens of the metropole who have migrated from, or are descendants of migrants from former colonies. I believe that situating modern debates about citizenship and nationality in a historical context with an eye to the knowledge constructed in the colonial/early modern period will help inform many studies of these ongoing debates throughout the world both in former metropoles and even former colonies. This paper will focus on postcolonial citizens of France primarily from France's former North African colonies. The paper will combine a historical survey of citizenship laws in Algeria with a review of contemporary debates in France regarding citizenship, and the French national identity. The paper will highlight the relationship between previous laws that required of Algerians the renunciation of a Muslim civil status in order to acquire French citizenship (such as the Senatus Consulte of 1865 and the Jonnart Laws of 1919) with an ongoing discomfort in France concerning religious Muslims and their ability to be full French citizens. The paper will review the discourse utilized in debates on banning headscarves in schools and the "burqa" in public buildings. It will also examine the establishment of the ministry of immigration, integration, national identity and co-development as well as the recent "Grand Debat" on French national identity sparked by President Nicolas Sarkozy. These sources will offer us both official codified views on citizenship and nationality for French Muslims, particularly practicing ones, along with information on the public discourse and debates regarding these matters. The paper will draw on historical studies of French laws and colonialism in Algeria, as well as contemporary laws, government studies and public statements by officials. An additional source for the study will be the public debate as it takes place in the printed media, primarily major French newspapers. This data will be supplemented by interviews I conducted in Paris, France in the winter of 2007-2008 and an interview conducted on my behalf in the spring of 2008 with a representative of the ministry of immigration, integration, national identity and co-development.

Identity formation in immigrants is the central focus of research that relates to religion and immigration. Immigrants in the Unites States generally have held on to religion as a source of constructing religious identity or preserving an ethnic identity or combining both. For instance, in the United States, the mosque plays a central role in the lives of the Muslim immigrant community as a powerful religious and cultural symbol. This function of the mosque enables scholars to clarify Muslims' identity in the Western World. This paper examines how the mosque affects the identity formation of Somali adolescents in Columbus, Ohio, the second largest settlement of migration for Somali Muslim refugees after the civil war in Somalia in 1990s. Somalis have considerable difficulties during the first stage of resettlement in the Diaspora and thus, have established several local religious institutions (mosque or masjid) as well as community associations. In this study, I focus on the largest and most organized mosque as a sample. I have spent 5 months as a participant observant in the setting and conducted 15 in-depth interviews with male and female adolescents, age ranging from 13 to 19. As a result, this paper states three distinct movements among adolescents who attend the mosque's religious, educational, and social activities. The first two movements are identity transformations from national and ethnic identity to religious identity; one movement relating to moving away from the wider American society and culture and the other one relating to integrating developed religious identity with American society and culture. The last movement, however, has experienced identity conflict between ethnicity, religion, and the American society. In conclusion, this paper argues that the mosque not only plays a stabilizing role in the construction of religious identity which diverges in opposite directions among Somali adolescents, but also creates identity conflict for a considerable amount of Somali adolescents.