Keeping It Halal

The Everyday Lives of Muslim American Teenage Boys

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Minority Studies, Sociology, Marriage & Family
Cover of the book Keeping It Halal by John O'Brien, Princeton University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: John O'Brien ISBN: 9781400888696
Publisher: Princeton University Press Publication: August 28, 2017
Imprint: Princeton University Press Language: English
Author: John O'Brien
ISBN: 9781400888696
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication: August 28, 2017
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Language: English

A compelling portrait of a group of boys as they navigate the complexities of being both American teenagers and good Muslims

This book provides a uniquely personal look at the social worlds of a group of young male friends as they navigate the complexities of growing up Muslim in America. Drawing on three and a half years of intensive fieldwork in and around a large urban mosque, John O’Brien offers a compelling portrait of typical Muslim American teenage boys concerned with typical teenage issues—girlfriends, school, parents, being cool—yet who are also expected to be good, practicing Muslims who don’t date before marriage, who avoid vulgar popular culture, and who never miss their prayers.

Many Americans unfamiliar with Islam or Muslims see young men like these as potential ISIS recruits. But neither militant Islamism nor Islamophobia is the main concern of these boys, who are focused instead on juggling the competing cultural demands that frame their everyday lives. O’Brien illuminates how they work together to manage their “culturally contested lives” through subtle and innovative strategies—such as listening to profane hip-hop music in acceptably “Islamic” ways, professing individualism to cast their participation in communal religious obligations as more acceptably American, dating young Muslim women in ambiguous ways that intentionally complicate adjudications of Islamic permissibility, and presenting a “low-key Islam” in public in order to project a Muslim identity without drawing unwanted attention.

Closely following these boys as they move through their teen years together, Keeping It Halal sheds light on their strategic efforts to manage their day-to-day cultural dilemmas as they devise novel and dynamic modes of Muslim American identity in a new and changing America.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

A compelling portrait of a group of boys as they navigate the complexities of being both American teenagers and good Muslims

This book provides a uniquely personal look at the social worlds of a group of young male friends as they navigate the complexities of growing up Muslim in America. Drawing on three and a half years of intensive fieldwork in and around a large urban mosque, John O’Brien offers a compelling portrait of typical Muslim American teenage boys concerned with typical teenage issues—girlfriends, school, parents, being cool—yet who are also expected to be good, practicing Muslims who don’t date before marriage, who avoid vulgar popular culture, and who never miss their prayers.

Many Americans unfamiliar with Islam or Muslims see young men like these as potential ISIS recruits. But neither militant Islamism nor Islamophobia is the main concern of these boys, who are focused instead on juggling the competing cultural demands that frame their everyday lives. O’Brien illuminates how they work together to manage their “culturally contested lives” through subtle and innovative strategies—such as listening to profane hip-hop music in acceptably “Islamic” ways, professing individualism to cast their participation in communal religious obligations as more acceptably American, dating young Muslim women in ambiguous ways that intentionally complicate adjudications of Islamic permissibility, and presenting a “low-key Islam” in public in order to project a Muslim identity without drawing unwanted attention.

Closely following these boys as they move through their teen years together, Keeping It Halal sheds light on their strategic efforts to manage their day-to-day cultural dilemmas as they devise novel and dynamic modes of Muslim American identity in a new and changing America.

More books from Princeton University Press

Cover of the book Lending to the Borrower from Hell by John O'Brien
Cover of the book The Mystery of the Invisible Hand by John O'Brien
Cover of the book The Best Writing on Mathematics 2014 by John O'Brien
Cover of the book The Power and Independence of the Federal Reserve by John O'Brien
Cover of the book The Sun's Influence on Climate by John O'Brien
Cover of the book Capitalism and the Jews by John O'Brien
Cover of the book Quantitative Viral Ecology by John O'Brien
Cover of the book Talaat Pasha by John O'Brien
Cover of the book In the Blood by John O'Brien
Cover of the book Framing Democracy by John O'Brien
Cover of the book Iran Rising by John O'Brien
Cover of the book What's Eating You? by John O'Brien
Cover of the book Agent_Zero by John O'Brien
Cover of the book Ladies' Greek by John O'Brien
Cover of the book Fighting over Fidel by John O'Brien
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy