ISPU at ISNA: Fresh research on Muslim American
Families in America and U.S. Law      

This year at the annual ISNA convention in Chicago, ISPU sponsored a panel featuring fellows from our Center for the Study of American Muslims (CSAM). Each fellow presented their original and path-breaking research on American Muslims families to a packed audience. Professor Zareena Grewal (Director of ISPU's Center for the Study of American Muslims, Yale University) presented her findings on domestic violence in the Muslim American community. Professor Ihsan Bagby (ISPU Fellow, University of Kentucky) presented his research on the rising divorce rate in the Muslim American community and the special stresses on marriages today, including the economic crisis. Professor Debra Majeed (Beloit University) presented her research on the shortage of eligible men in the African American Muslim community; as a result some African American Muslim women have opted for polygyny rather than remaining unmarried. Of course, these unofficial family arrangements remain unrecognized by the US government and, therefore, the second wives do not receive legal protections. These kinds of divergences between Islamic family law and US law was the topic of Professor Asifa Quraishi's presentation (University of Wisconsin). Using Muslim American legal cases as examples, Professor Quraishi demonstrated that what constitutes a marriage, a divorce, or a custody right in Islamic family law is often defined very differently by US courts. She offered practical advice to Muslim families navigating American courts and she highlighted lessons Muslim Americans might learn from the Jewish American community in reconciling a religious legal system and US law. Professor Quraishi's research will be released as an ISPU report titled "No Altars: Islamic Family Law in US Courts" later this summer.

In addition to our panel, ISPU was pleased to co-sponsor the American Muslim Health Professionals networking lunch and the Council for the Advancement of Muslim Professionals dinner at ISNA. At the AMHP lunch, the Director of ISPU's Center for Global Health, Dr. Hamada Hamid (Yale University) shared news about our upcoming public health research, including the Center's study on Muslim American physicians. At the CAMP dinner, our Executive Director, Shireen Zaman, announced our plans to conduct a national study on wealth and entrepreneurship in the Muslim American community.