"A lot of us have a very difficult time reconciling what being Muslim is": A phenomenological study on the meaning of being Muslim American.

OBJECTIVES

Little is known about the lived experiences of Muslim Americans and what it means to identify as "Muslim American" within the sociopolitical context of Islamophobia. Although xenophobia, racism, and religious discrimination have been shown to impact identity development, it is unclear how Muslim American youth negotiate and make sense of their identities against this backdrop.

METHOD

A qualitative, phenomenological approach guided the research design to explore how 11 Muslim American late adolescents/emerging adults make sense of their Muslim American identities. Using Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Social Identity Theory (SIT) to guide this investigation, we sought to explore the narratives of what it means to be members of the Muslim American community and how participants experienced cultural belongingness.

RESULTS

Participants identified four key components that are central to their essence of being Muslim American. These elements were, having (a) a "built-in community," (b) "a lot of ethnic diversity," (c) "a religious practice," and (d) "a feeling that we all have to be this very united group."

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings capture the complexities of what it means to be Muslim American, particularly given the heterogeneity within the community. Islamophobia contextualized their meaning-making process by perpetuating group homogeneity as the problem and solution. Clinical and research implications highlight the need to recognize intersectionality and systemic oppression as part of the identity negotiation. Pressures from within and outside of the community converged to impede participants' feelings of cultural belongingness and identity exploration. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).