American Mosques Research

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Professor Jacqueline Fewkes, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, Florida Atlantic University maintains a blog of her research on American Mosques . According to Fewkes "there is a real need to understand mosque spaces better as civic institutions entirely within “mainstream” American history, and to understand how American ideas of civil society have shaped and been shaped by mosque communities. What histories do we have of early mosque communities in the US? What were the circumstances under which the first American mosques were built? What were and are the relationships between physical space and social practice? And what does the history of Muslims in the United States mean to American Muslims today?

These are the questions my students and I will explore and attempt to answer as we visit mosque sites across the US in the next few years. We will gather historical, ethnographic, and visual data, much of which we will share here on this blog in the hope of engaging other students, teachers, members of religious communities, and anyone interested in better understanding American society and culture."

She encourages everyone to follow our project as it continues to develop, and looking forward to contributing positively to public discourses about American Muslim community.

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