ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the group interviews that were conducted between July 2009 and March 2010 in New York City, Miami, Florida, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Louisville, Kentucky, and Springfield, Missouri. These group locations were selected with an eye to population and geographic diversity, as well as the relative size of the Muslim community in each locale. The chapter considers the roles that perceived outgroup scrutiny and personal religious devotion play in shaping important personal resources such as social network composition and the claiming of identity labels. Focus group members were helpful in setting some guideposts regarding network composition, including its dependence on perceived outgroup scrutiny, self-conscious emotions, and personal religious devoutness. The chapter focuses on the more religiously based aspects of Muslim life and the choices Muslims make in selecting their social network members. It also focuses on the inter-group permeability concept, which is also part of the identity acceptance dynamic.
