This dissertation explores the identity development of Muslim American women (N=25) in higher education, utilizing intersectionality as both a methodological and theoretical framework. First and foremost, it centers the lived experiences, agency, and autonomy of Muslim women throughout the findings. Second, it takes into account the intersecting identities of participants and how they relate to their place in larger systems of oppression. I explore their religious identity, alongside their race, ethnicity and gender. I offer the hijab as an added facet of Muslim women’s identity, as—when it is worn—it serves as a physical marker of being Muslim. The study finds that Muslim women carry the burden of maintaining their family’s reputation and thus must strategize ways to attain their goals despite the gendered constraints they encounter. These familial expectations then place Muslim women in double binds when they enter higher education, as their families simultaneously expect high academic achievement as well as a strict maintenance of one’s religious identity. While navigating these conflicting expectations, the women in this study redefine and reclaim their Muslim identities independent of familial and societal influences.

This study seeks to fill the gap in the literature on attitudes towards homosexuality, and more specifically, to do this from the perspective of Muslim Americans rather than the usual Christian viewpoint. While analyzing the experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) individuals is important, to have a comprehensive understanding of different forms of homophobia, one must explore the attitude formation of non-LGBTQ individuals. Studies on attitudes towards LGBTQ issues tend to be scarce, but in the literature that does exist, it is common for religion to play a role in predicting whether attitudes are negative or positive. Using 21 in-depth interviews with self-identified Muslim Americans, this study seeks to understand how college-aged Muslim Americans navigate and express their attitudes towards same-sex relationships. I found that Muslim Americans fall in line with the literature on Christian attitudes towards homosexuality in the following ways: 1) adhering to traditional gender beliefs tends to predict negative attitudes and 2) heightened exposure to LGBTQ individuals results in more positive attitudes. However, I found that Muslim Americans are more unique in ways than they are similar: 1) higher levels of religious practice among Muslim Americans do not have a positive relationship with negative attitudes towards same-sex relationships, 2) they do not fall neatly into attribution theory’s notion that one’s belief in the cause of homosexuality would predict their attitudes towards it, and 3) despite little to no discussion of homosexuality within Muslim communities in comparison to Christian communities, my participants were similar to one another in their negotiation practices and ideologies regarding homosexuality.