MOSQUE AND IDENTITY FORMATION OF MUSLIM ADOLESCENTS IN THE UNITED STATES: A SOMALI CASE IN COLUMBUS, OHIO

Year 2016, Issue:44, 123 - 153, 28.12.2016

Fatih Yıldırım

https://doi.org/10.21054/deuifd.284953

Abstract

This article examines the role of the mosque in
identity formation among Somali adolescents in Columbus, Ohio. The research was
conducted at a large, ethnically Somali mosque in Columbus, utilizing the
methods of participant observation and ethnographic interviewing. Two main
trends were observed in adolescent Somali American identity formation. One trend
was for research participants to cultivate a distinctly Muslim American
identity by integrating their Somali ethnic, American, and Islamic identities.
Mosque participation played a key role in their ability and willingness to
synthesize these identities. However, adolescents in this group could be
divided into two opposing sub-categories as integrating to the American society
with their Muslim salient identity versus distancing away from the American
culture and society. The second over-arching trend that emerged in the research
was for Somali American adolescents to experience identity conflict between
their Muslim, Somali, and American identities. This group, unlike the first,
struggled and failed to reconcile the various norms and commitments of these identities
and it seemed that mosque participation deepened this identity struggle for
adolescents in this group.

Keywords

Mosque, Identity Formation, Muslim Adolescents, Somalia, American Islam

AMERİKA BİRLEŞİK DEVLETLERİ’NDE CAMİ VE MÜSLÜMAN GENÇLERİN KİMLİK İNŞASI: COLUMBUS, OHIO SOMALİ ÖRNEĞİ

Abstract

Bu makale Ohio eyaletinin Columbus şehrindeki Somalili
gençlerin kimlik inşalarında caminin rolünü ele almaktadır. Bu çalışma
Columbus’taki en büyük Somali Camisi’nde katılımcı gözlem ve etnografik mülakat
teknikleri istihdam edilerek gerçekleştirilmiştir. Çalışma neticesinde,
Somalili gençlerin kimlik gelişimlerinde iki ana eğilim gözlemlenmiştir.
Bunlardan birisi, araştırmaya konu olan gençlerin Somali, Amerikan ve Müslüman
kimliklerini mezcederek kendine özgü bir Müslüman Amerikalı kimliği
geliştirmeleridir. Bununla birlikte, bu gruptaki gençler birbirine zıt iki
alt-kategoriye ayrılabilir: Müslüman baskın/aslî kimlikleriyle Amerikan
toplumuna entegre olanlar vs.
Müslüman baskın/aslî kimlikleriyle Amerikan kültürü ve toplumundan kendilerini
dışlayanlar. Bu kimlikleri sentezlemede gösterdikleri kabiliyet ve istek
noktasında camiye katılımın kilit bir rolü vardır. Bu çalışmada ortaya çıkan
iki ana eğilimden diğeri ise, Somalili gençlerin Müslüman, Somali ve Amerikan
kimlikleri arasında kimlik çatışması deneyimlemeleridir. Birincisine nazaran bu
gruptakiler birbirinden farklı ahlaki ve davranış tarzına sahip bu kimlikleri
birbirleriyle uzlaştırmada zorlanmışlar ve başarısız olmuşlardır. Bu noktada,
camiye katılımın bu kimlik çatışmasını daha da derinleştirdiği gözlemlenmiştir.

Keywords

Cami, Kimlik İnşası, Müslüman Gençler, Somali, Amerikan İslamı

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