Indira Pranabudi

Islam Across Cultures

ANTH 0200 - Dr. Chase

Islam Across Cultures

I was born as a Muslim in Indonesia, a country where 87% of its 237 million population1
(as of 2010) identify as Muslim, consequently making Indonesia the largest Muslim democracy2.
This piece of trivia more often than not comes as quite a revelation to most people, due to two
things. For one, most people dont realize that Indonesia is a predominantly Muslim country,
and secondly, Indonesia has that many people?! Are you kidding me? Even though the fact
that I am Muslim always seems to surprise other people, Islam has actually played a very
instrumental part in my childhood, up to the point that, in one way or another, every major
event in my life has been colored by Islamhowever subtle of a manner it is.
Despite being raised as a Muslim, at Brown, I have yet to be actively involved in the
Muslim community. In hindsight, I attribute this to the fact that I did not consider myself very
religious, and thus, I never thought I could possibly fit in. However, as I started to spend more
time with the Brown Muslim Students Association (BMSA) this semester, I quickly realized how
friendly and diverse the Muslim community is. As the worlds second largest religion3, the
diversity of Muslims should not come as a surprise to me, but as someone whose understanding
of Islam emerged solely from her upbringing as a Muslim in Indonesia, I was constantly amazed
at how diverse the population is. This newfound understanding and revelation of Islam is what
sparked the idea of my ethnography. I wanted to study how Muslims with various cultural and
religious backgrounds approach their college experience.

Badan Pusat Statistik, Penduduk Menurut Wilayah dan Agama yang Dianut (Jakarta, 2010).

Baswedan, Anies R.. Political Islam in Indonesia: Present and Future Trajectory. Asian
Survey 44(5) (2004): 670. Accessed December 11,2014, doi: 10.1525/as.2004.44.5.669.
2

Pew Research Center. The Global Religious Landscape. The Pew Forum on Religion &
Public Life (2012).
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Personal Background
I consider my family to be fairly religious, although that is probably up for debate, as it
depends on how one defines the word religious. Aside from being taught Islamic morals and
ethics from a young age, I attended a full-time Islamic elementary school from 3rd to 6th grade,
which gave me a solid foundation of Islam. I practice the bare necessities of Islam, such as
praying five times a day and fasting during the month of Ramadan, and I can also somewhat
read Arabic and recite certain surahs (chapters) of the Quran, albeit not fluently. Sometimes,
depending on my mood and religious situation, I also make eort to go above and beyond by
performing religious activities that are prescribed as sunnahnot compulsory but recommended
in Islam. Having said that, if I were to define religious as the amount of rituals one practices,
half of my interviewees could be considered less religious than I am, while the other half could
be considered more religious.
Methodology
I conducted interviews with 22 Muslims, 14 of whom are international students. Among
the 22, one is a non-Muslim who grew up in a primarily Muslim country, and one is a revert.
Most of the interviews were done on a one-on-one basis, although there were two interviews that
were done in a group setting of two respondents, and five which were done jointly with another
interviewer. The lengths of the interviews varied, and in most occasions, it tended to go over the
20 minute minimum. I recorded most of the interviews and took quick notes in my notebook as
the interviews took place. Afterwards, I went through all the recordings I had and refined my
notes, before finally starting to analyze the data that I had gathered. All the names as well as
places mentioned in this ethnography have been changed in order to protect the respondents
identities.

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Whilst the bulk of my research was carried out through interviews, I also partially did
participant observation. I involved myself in more events held by the BMSA, both for my own
personal interests, as well as for the purpose of this study. Thus, while trying to forge friendships
with other Muslims, I also attempted to approach everything with an observational lens as I
compared my observations to my own personal experiences.
Findings
I found a divide between American Muslim students and Muslim international students,
all of whom were raised in predominantly Muslim countries. This can be generalized as a divide
between Muslims growing up in predominantly non-Muslim countries with Muslims growing up
in predominantly Muslim countries. American Muslims are more likely to identify as religious
while international students are less likely to do so. As a whole, the universal theme of religion
as an identity as well as religious development in college was also prevalent among Muslim
students, although more so in international students.
The Intersection of Culture and Religion
As a 1400 year old religion, it should come as no surprise that Islam has been deeply
ingrained in various cultures, whether it be in terms of practice, or morals. In many
predominantly Muslim countries, various things that could be considered Islamic could also be
attributed to culture, and various things that could be considered cultural could be attributed to
Islam. For instance, Oliver, a student from a predominantly Muslim country in North Africa
said:
Right here, they use a lot of sentences like Alhamdulillah, Subhanallah,
Mashallah. But, growing up, those are just For example, Assalamualaikum.
When you meet someone you say, Assalamualaikum. Thats not considered a
religious thing as much as its considered just a greeting. So, you might say
Assalamualaikum or you might say Ahlan, or anything, the important part is
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just greeting the person. But over here theyre very attached to that, which, I
attribute to the fact that religious education is something separate.
In Indonesia, having to pray five times a day is a responsibility shared by millions of
people, and thus, it is not uncommon to find that most shopping malls, oces, and generally all
types of public buildings will have a mushollaan Islamic prayer roomfully stocked with
prayer rugs as well as a wudu area. Praying five times a day for me has become such a normal
daily activity that its almost instinctual. Even praying in the evening, before I go to bed, has
become such a habit for me to do that it almost becomes weird when I dont, and sleeping
without praying never feels right.
Generalizing from the examples above, in countries where Islam is deeply rooted within
the society, a reason people might not consider themselves as being religious could in part, be
accredited to the fact that even if they do things that could be considered religious, they dont
perceive it as being religious, because for them, it is something that they just do everyday.
It could also be that, when youre just another Muslim in a predominantly Muslim
country, being Muslim doesnt mean much, because youre just like any other person in society.
Brandon, a Muslim student from an increasingly secular Muslim country, described being a
Muslim in America as being an individual amongst everyone else, while back home, being a
Muslim back home is like fitting into a society. This is supported by Lori Peeks statement
that Muslims who were raised in predominantly Muslim areas said that their religious identity
was taken for granted as part of their everyday lives4. It could be said that having Islam as
ones religious identity in America serves to dierentiate a person from the rest.

Peek, Lori. Becoming Muslim: The Development of a Religious Identity. Sociology of Religion
66(3) (2005): 223. Accessed December 11, 2014.
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On the one hand, this sense of feeling dierent has a positive impact as Ben, a student
who grew up among multi religious people, said that instead of making him think any less of
Islam, being dierent made me think more of [Islam] as my own religion. On the other hand,
being dierent also has its negative implications, which I can personally attest to as a practicing
Muslim living in the US. For one, the fact that I am the only one among my close friends who
prays five times a day makes me feel dierent, because I need to structure my days in such a
way that I can fulfill all my religious responsibilities, while at the same time, fulfilling my duties
as a student. Andrew, a Muslim from a West African country describes his experience as tough:
Its tough. Its tough to tell your friends in the middle of something that, I have
to pray, or Oh, I have to do this. Its tough, because you feel dierent.
Dierent in a good way, not necessarily in a bad way, but as a human, you dont
like to feel dierent all the time. Especially if youre the only one. No one wants
to feel like a minority, because feeling like a minority makes you feel belittled.
However, this sense of being dierent could also lead to the strengthening of ones beliefs.
Not being able to participate in certain activities that are inseparable to the typical American
college experiencesuch as alcohol and the hookup culturecertainly causes Muslim students
to reevaluate their beliefs. As Hillary, an American Muslim with Indian and Saudi descent, puts
it:
I think being in college, Im getting more aware of how Islam is being challenged
by the world, and what exactly the principles in Islam are that I will need to
hold on to in this liberal college community. So, in that way, my perspective is
being moulded as being open to everyone around me and all the liberalism, but
trying to hold on to all the Muslim identity that I have, that might be
threatened.
Increasing Faith in College
College is known as a period in life where people embark on journeys trying to figure
their life and core values out. Alyssa Bryant and Helen Astin claim that college years are

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marked by reflections on faith, purpose and life meaning and by eorts to understand the
preponderance of suering, evil, and death in the world5. Especially at a place like Brown,
where the students are generally considered very liberal, for religious students, attending Brown
might be a struggle, because the beliefs that they were raised with might be constantly
challenged. However, following the point above, surprisingly, most of the respondents I talked to
have found that college in fact reinforces their beliefs, and allows them to really understand the
guiding principles within Islam. Upon being asked how Islam has shaped his college experience,
Finn, an American with Pakistani heritage, replied by saying that:
It was interesting because Islam was always there, but I discovered it in my
college years. In high school, I didnt really pray. I fasted Ramadan because my
parents would be fasting, but if there was something going on in school, I
wouldnt fast for a day. It wasnt really a strong part, but then coming to college,
it was still not a strong part of me, and I acted accordingly, without those
guiding principles. But I discovered the MSA, and I took on myself to learn more
about Islam. So in a way, the question is not really like how has Islam shaped
your college experience, its actually the other way. College has created a
situation in which I could learn about religion more, and thus, practice religion
more.
The fact that most students at Brown are open-minded could be one of the many reasons
to the general increase in faith among students. Lynda Nelms claims that students in college are
actively pursuing a reason for existence and, at times, the search for self is equated with a
search for God6. Peter Hopkins also noted that universities serve as safe and tolerant places

Alyssa N. Bryant, and Helen S. Astin. The Correlates of Spiritual Struggle During the College
Years. The Journal of Higher Education 79 (2008): 1. Accessed December 10, 2014.
5

Lynda W. Nelms, et al.. Spirituality and the Health of College Students. Journal of Religion
and Health 46(2) (2007):251. Accessed December 14, 2014.
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because people who occupy the spaces within the university tend to be more educated than
society as a wholeand therefore less racistthan people elsewhere7.
Some respondents noted that even though in college they might not practice religion as
much as they did at home, being in college allowed them to understand the philosophical
meaning behind the teachings of Islam even deeper. Brandon noted that:
Nowadays, Im starting to connect to the lessons more. And, its not like Im
drastically changing my life to like, you know, oh I have to wudu all the time, or
I have to pray five times a day. But its certainly given me a sense of structure.
Real Islam in America
A common theme among international Muslim students is that they are surprised that
the people are as religious as they are. This could be partially due to the fact that Islam in
America isnt as colored by culture as Islam is in a lot of dierent countries. Again, when Islam
is considered inseparable from culture, it becomes hard to tell which teachings or morals are
cultural, and which teachings are actually religious. According to Oliver, this is dangerous,
because:
Points like wearing the hijab or men-women interaction become part of the
culture and are not perceived as part of the religion, which is dangerous because
culture changes a lot. And, changing culture does not feel as bad as changing
religious laws. If everyone wears pants and then one day you decide to start
wearing long robes, if you think that pants are just part of the culture, then you
wont feel bad. But if pants are part of the religious rules, you do.
In a way, the fact that Islam is separate from culture gives its believers a clearer and less
biased lens regarding which things are really Islam, and which things are just cultural. Sylvia, an
international student from a Middle Eastern country even said that she feels American Islam is

Peter Hopkins. Towards critical geographies of the university campus: understanding the
contested experiences of Muslim students. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers
36(1) (2011): 160. Accessed December 10, 2014.
7

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a lot more prophetic. Prophetic in the sense thatactually doing what the Quran says in the
sense that like, praying, and being good people. Ben also agreed to this statement, as he said
that being a Muslim back home was more about having to perform certain things, whereas being
a Muslim in America goes more into the actual meaning behind doing certain rituals.
I remember last Friday, Adrian spoke about how you should go about living life,
and not the where you stand, but the how and why you stand. I couldnt get that
[back home]. I dont know why, its not like I couldnt understand what they were
saying, but the content of the sermons [back home] were more like, This is what
good muslims do, whereas here its like, Heres how you live a fruitful life, and
its more spiritually inclined, as opposed to you know, like, lifestyle.
The Outlook on Islam
If I had to select the most important thing that I can take out of this ethnography, I
would say that it is to treat the rules in Islam as guiding principles that are intended to protect
its believers, instead of restrictions that dont allow its believers to enjoy the world. Having
spent two thirds of my life growing up in a predominantly Muslim country, I never had trouble
abstaining from things like alcohol, because very few people do so in Indonesia. Here at Brown,
drinking is such an integral part of the college experience, whether or not you are allowed to do
so in the eyes of the law.
As a practicing Muslim, I aim to uphold the teachings in Islam, and thus, I have made a
clear choice not to drink. However, I have found it challenging to do so, especially when
confronted with the question of Why dont you drink? I always reply that its for religious
purposes, and people generally respect my decision. Nonetheless, I would be lying if I said that
its easy trying to abstain from such activities.
A lot of my respondents have said that Islam taught them to approach things dierently,
and that Islam protects them, instead of restricts them. For instance, Andrew notes that:

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I feel like Islam saves me from trouble. Im just thinking of, what if I were not
Muslim? Like, does that mean I would be smoking or drinking? So all those
stu...like, Islam shields me from them. Thats what how I feel my Islam to be
like. Whatever Islam tells me is not good, I think of it more like, to be shielding
or protecting me rather than stopping me.
Henry, an interviewee from a very conservative background, also said that Islam and the
way he was raised gave him a dierent understanding of morals:
I think [Islam] defines a lot what I constitute as fun. Im a really outgoing guy
Im an introvert stillbut I love going out with people. Im very sociable. At this
point, because I grew up with the thought that alcohol is bad, I just dont need
alcohol to have fun. People still see me crashing the floor and just doing what I
do. That is what I think Islam is really at this point. Its really what I constitute
as fun, and whats right and whats wrong, whats okay and whats not okay.
In general, most respondents saw Islam first and foremost as a set of guiding principles
in life, and not just as a religion which tells you what to do. Although students who did not
grow up with a Muslim background might feel like the guidelines in Islam are very restricting,
most respondents feel that Islam served as a good groundwork for their college experience.
Adam, an American with Indian ancestry, even says that being a Muslim has enhanced my
college experience in that it has allowed me to make a lot of friends who are likeminded. Adam
continues to explain that:
I feel like Islam has given me a nice spiritual grounding. It has given me a sense
of peace. It gives you two dierent goals in your life, and it keeps you busy,
but it also allows you to operate in such a way that you can get validation in a
way that isnt like what everyone else is getting. Everyone else in college is
getting validation from their academics, their romantic relationships, or very
specific hobbies. Getting validation from spirituality, and getting validation from
your religiosity isnt very common.
Conclusion

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As with many other aspects in life, the environment in which a person was raised
certainly has tremendous impact on how one internalizes their morals and ethics and carries out
their religious responsibilities. With that being said, I also realized that there are in fact
universal experiences that Muslim students experience in college, irregardless of their cultural
identity or background, which stems from religion the fact that they all have the same faith.
This is rather synonymous to the theme of nature vs nurture throughout the whole of this
Anthropology class. In all aspects of life, there will always be the culture aspect, which is the
dierent traditions and backgrounds that lead to dierentiating experiences, but there will also
always be the biology aspect, whichalthough I understand religion is far from biologycould
be thought of as the rather unshakable and staunch set of principles which religion represents.
All in all, carrying out this ethnography proved to be a lot more rewarding than I had
previously anticipated. Speaking to other Muslims and learning about their stories has, in a way,
brought me closer to my own faith, and I look forward to learning more about the dierent
religions of this world.

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Appendix A

ANTH 0200 - Dr. Chase

Interview Questions
1. Which culture or ethnicity do you identify with the most?

- Did you grow up in the US? If not, where?

- What languages do you speak other than English, if any?
2. How much do you think religion played a part in terms of how you were raised?

- Were you raised in a religious family?

- Did you grow up in a neighborhood thats predominantly Muslim?
- Were your friends mostly Muslim?
3. Where you grew up, what was the general view or attitude towards Muslims? Was it
positive, or was it negative?
4. Is the Muslim community here at college dierent from what you had expected? If its
dierent, how is it dierent, and if its similar, how is it similar?
5. Can you describe how you and your family celebrate major Muslim festivities, such as Eid
ul-Fitr and Eid ul-Adha?

- When you go home for Eid, what do you look forward to the most and the least?
6. What are social relationships like among Muslims?

- Do Muslim men and women typically mingle with each other, or is there more of a barrier
between dierent sexes?

- Would your parents allow you to hang out with people of the opposite sex, outside of
academics, or situations where it is absolutely necessary?
7. Could you talk more specifically about dating in X? Is it considered normal for Muslims to
date before getting married? Or, are arranged marriages more common?
8. How do you think being a Muslim has aected you the most, in terms of how you live your
life, or in terms of how you approach your college experience?

- Do you think being a Muslim has aected your college experience?

- Do you think you would have done anything dierently if you werent a Muslim?

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Appendix B

ANTH 0200 - Dr. Chase

Bibliography
Badan Pusat Statistik, Penduduk Menurut Wilayah dan Agama yang Dianut (Jakarta, 2010).
Baswedan, Anies R.. Political Islam in Indonesia: Present and Future Trajectory. Asian Survey
44(5) (2004): 669-690. Accessed December 11,2014, doi: 10.1525/as.2004.44.5.669.
Bryant, Alyssa N., and Helen S. Astin. The Correlates of Spiritual Struggle During the College
Years. The Journal of Higher Education 79(1) (2008): 1-27. Accessed December 10,
2014.
Hopkins, Peter. Towards critical geographies of the university campus: understanding the
contested experiences of Muslim students. Transactions of the Institute of British
Geographers 36(1) (2011): 157-169. Accessed December 10, 2014.
Nelms, Linda W., et al.. Spirituality and the Health of College Students. Journal of Religion
and Health 46(2) (2007):249-165. Accessed December 14, 2014.
Peek, Lori. Becoming Muslim: The Development of a Religious Identity. Sociology of Religion
66(3) (2005): 215-242. Accessed December 11, 2014.
Pew Research Center. The Global Religious Landscape. The Pew Forum on Religion & Public
Life (2012).

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