"Focusing on social activism, artistic practices, political participation, institution building and more, this book challenges readers to think anew about the longstanding contributions of Muslim Americans to the diversity and dynamism of the American heartland."—Sally Howell, author of Old Islam in Detroit: Rediscovering the Muslim American Past
"An important contribution to the literature about communities of color. . . . This work’s focus on Milwaukee allows the authors to delve deeper in analyzing the dynamics associated with groups and individuals who are working closely together and face somewhat similar local and regional challenges."—Irfan Omar, Marquette University
"This timely book is a must read for scholars and students across the social sciences and humanities interested in issues of race, religion migration, identity, belonging, community, and activism. Highly informed, rich in detail, and sophisticated in its analysis."—Peter Hopkins, Newcastle University
Description
Muslims in Milwaukee explores the everyday lives, identities, and activism of Muslims in a midsized Midwestern city. Milwaukee is one of America’s most segregated cities, yet within its boundaries, a vibrant Muslim community is reshaping narratives and embodied practices of belonging, civic engagement, and urban placemaking. While considerable scholarship on Muslim Americans has concentrated on larger metropolitan centers like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, or on Detroit’s historic Arab neighborhoods, this book turns our attention to an understudied city where Muslim communities are small but rapidly growing, and where their experiences unfold within distinct local landscapes of race, segregation, and opportunity.
Drawing on over a decade of ethnographic fieldwork, surveys, and extensive interviews with community members, students, artists, activists, and leaders, the authors examine how local political, economic, and historical structures shape Muslim American experiences and civic participation, situating their analysis within the dual dynamics of belonging on one hand and exclusion and discrimination on the other.
About the Author
Anna Mansson McGinty is associate professor of geography and women’s and gender studies at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. She is the author of Becoming Muslim: Western Women’s Conversions to Islam.
Caroline Seymour-Jorn is professor of global studies and comparative literature at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. She is the author of Cultural Criticism in Egyptian Women’s Writing and Creating Spaces of Hope.
Kristin M. Sziarto is an associate professor of geography at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. She has published numerous articles in journals such as Contemporary Islam, An International Journal for Critical Geographies, and Territory, Politics, Governance.
June 2026