“Narrow-Minded and Problematic” or a “Superior Culture”? Implications of Divergent Representations of Islam for Pakistani American Youth

• In Event: Roundtable Session 23
  In Roundtable Session: Arab and Muslim Experiences in School Contexts

Abstract

This paper examines the intersection between practices at school and at home to illustrate the complex terrain that young Pakistani-American Muslim youth must negotiate in their everyday lived experiences. School personnel view Islam as backward, problematic and a hindrance to the youths’ academic and professional success while families present Islam as a type of cultural capital that can guide youth and help them navigate their lives by being a “good Muslim.” Such fossilized views of culture and nationality produce an “imagined nostalgia,” that is longing for a time and place that may not have actually existed. Consequently, both school personnel and families send the message that being Muslim and being American was not compatible, a message that the youth internalized.

Author

• Ameena Ghaffar-Kucher, University of Pennsylvania