Abraj Al Bait Towers in Mecca with Crowd by jimmy papaziad is licensed under CC BY 2.0 in pexels.

Conversations in American public life can often further negative stereotypes of Islam and Muslim communities as repressive, misogynistic, and patriarchal. In an interview-based study with 80 men and women American Muslims, Eman Abdelhadi and Anna Fox highlight the diversity of gender beliefs in this group, emphasizing that American Muslims make sense of gender while facing negative stereotypes and blatant Islamophobia. For many American Muslims, navigating external Islamophobic perceptions becomes part of how they understand gender in their own lives. 

Most American Muslims interviewed in this study showed two different positions; the first gender ideology group was critical of stereotypes of Islam as inherently repressive and patriarchal. This group believes that Islamic doctrines and history reflect that men and women have naturally different social roles and capacities. They may interpret Islamic doctrine and practices as appreciative of natural differences in the skills of men and women. Generally, however, this group did not believe that the gender differences reflected in Islamic doctrines and practices translate into gender inequality, challenging mainstream perceptions of Islam as repressive.

The second group responded to stereotypes differently. These respondents tended to highlight narratives of repressive gender relations and practices in their Muslim communities. Yet, this group focused their critiques of patriarchy on their Muslim communities, while implicitly assuming or explicitly stating that Western and secular society is fundamentally gender egalitarian. In contrast to the first group, who did not see the separation of men and women in Islamic doctrine as an obstacle to equality, this second group evaluated the gender divides in Islamic doctrine and practice as inherently negative. At the same time, these respondents faced a dilemma, acknowledging that condemning their communities as patriarchal could contribute to or confirm negative stereotypes of Islam. 

Abdelhadi and Fox explain that anti‑Muslim bias affects Muslim Americans’ daily lives. It shapes how they act in their communities and even changes how they think about gender, because outside ideas slip into their own views.