Ethnic self-identity and the role of Islam : a study of the Yemeni community in the south end of Dearborn and Detroit, Michigan

This study presents an exploratory, descriptive, and analytical study of Yemeni immigrants who came to the United States in four different immigration waves in the late 1960s, the late 1970s, the late 1980s, and the early 1990s. This study investigates how Yemeni immigrants have used Islam to try to maintain their ethnic identity in the face of the assimilation process in U.S. society. Three questions guide the study. First, to what extent have Yemeni immigrants in the Dearborn-Detroit area used Islam to respond to the process of assimilation that attempts to weaken their cultural values and heritage? Second, how relevant is Islam to the construction, reconstruction, or maintenance of Yemeni ethnic identity? Third, how has the mosque been used to interact with the alien American culture? To obtain personal views of the role of Islam in the ethnic identity of Yemeni immigrants, personal interviews of 50 people were conducted in the Summer of 1997. Closed and open-ended questions were asked to determine how Yemeni immigrants cope with American cultural patterns in their new environment. During this period, participant observation was also conducted to provide the researcher with actual knowledge of the social environment and the interactions between the group and its individual members and to help the researcher understand the dynamics of the Yemeni immigrants' relationships and communication. Written documents that discussed Yemeni immigrants were also used for this study. Findings indicate that for many Yemeni immigrants who came to the United States, religion was one of the most important tools for constructing, reconstructing, or maintaining their ethnic identity in an alien environment. Religion among Yemeni immigrants in the United States plays an important role in helping them to establish communities that preserve their native culture and produce ethnic self-consciousness. Four elements have helped Yemeni immigrants to maintain their identity: (1) the establishment of religious institutions at the center of their community, (2) the establishment of weekend Islamic education for their children, (3) the strengthening of the bonds of young Yemenis with Yemeni culture by sending them to Yemen to be raised by relatives, and (4) the impact of low economic status, which has strengthened the connection between Yemeni immigrants and their religion. For Yemeni immigrants, solid religious principles have directed their attitudes, behaviors, and relations with the outside world.