Shari‘a and Religious Exclusion in American Democracy

In his Academy project, “Shari‘a and Religious Exclusion in American Democracy,” Massoud traces the intertwined rise of anti-shari‘a discourse and American Muslim responses to it. Some US elected officials have labeled shari‘a, commonly translated as Islamic law, as evil, and they have introduced more than 200 anti-shari‘a bills across the country. To move beyond this “othering” of Muslims, Massoud (with collaborator K. M. Moore) examines shari‘a as a guide to ethical living and a source of democratic values. “This lived experience stands in contrast to the monolithic projection of shari‘a as a threat to Western political liberalism,” Massoud argues. In Berlin, he plans to research and write several parts of his book. The first is a history of how religious minorities in the US were excluded, from the denigration of Catholics and Canon Law by nineteenth century political parties to the anti-Jewish restrictions imposed by twentieth-century universities, businesses, and social institutions. He will then focus on the rise of anti-Muslim populism in twenty-first century US politics, and draw from his fieldwork on contemporary Muslim responses. The book will present striking stories of contemporary Muslims who are turning to rather than from shari‘a, demonstrating the significance of law and faith in the sustenance of democracy.