Sharing Devon: The “Coexistence” of Pakistani Muslims and Orthodox Jews
A 10-Week Study of Jews and Muslims in West Devon, Chicago
“History of violence, strained relationships, and ongoing strife.” This is how many people would describe the relationship between Muslims and Jews. Between geographical conflicts and religious disputes, these groups of people are rarely seen walking side by side in peace. As I walked down Devon and California Avenue in Chicago, I wanted to pay close attention to and observe the interaction between these two groups of people. My article focuses on these two groups, even though there are other groups such as Indian Hindus in that area of Devon.
Coming from a Jewish home, I have certain biases and opinions surrounding the ongoing conflict between these groups of people. However, I have always tried to keep an open mind as this dispute is centuries old and it is impossible to know all of the age-old details. I chose to study the relationship between Muslims and Jews in West Devon simply because it really struck close to home for me. Being in a generation that has only known destructive relationships between these groups, I wanted to study their interaction in Chicago. I wanted to know if religious affiliation reinforced boundaries between the two groups or if they intermixed and coexisted.
During my research, I (sadly) confirmed many of my expectations that I previously held. Although I would have liked to see the intermingling of these two groups within Devon, I instead saw a divide; however, it was a divide that did not appear to be driven by conflict. Walking down Devon Avenue (From Damen to California), I was overwhelmed by the Pakistani Muslim and Indian population. That entire stretch of Devon was strictly devoted to Indian and Pakistani people. As I was walking, I saw countless shops that sold Saris (traditional attire of many South Asians) as well as restaurants, shops, and convenient stores that emphasized Islamic roots. Many of the streets had secondary names that reflect the prominence of the Pakistani Muslim culture, including one named “Mohammed Ali Jinnah.” There was not a single store, shop, or even hair salon that did not express ties to India or Pakistan. For the first time, I was in a place that truly made me feel like an outsider. I received many “you don’t belong here” looks. Despite that ever-present feeling, I was truly intrigued by the strength of the cultural ties within that area.
As I traveled further down west Devon and closer to California Avenue, I expected to see the Jewish culture slowly appear and intertwine with the Muslim culture. However, the exact opposite happened. As I turned the corner onto California Avenue, every trace of the South Asians was completely gone. The two cultures share that street corner, but nothing more. Walking from Devon and California north to Devon and Touhy, I felt like I was in more of a residential neighborhood. While the Muslim area on the western portion of my walk on Devon contained shops, restaurants, and socializing, the Jewish area contained houses and synagogues. I came across four different places of Jewish worship in that stretch of about a mile. I didn’t see a single South Asian, Muslim or otherwise, walking down California Avenue. The separation of the two ethnoreligious groups was both expected and yet somewhat surprising. The two groups share a common street corner, yet they manage to keep their distance from each other.
Now that I have observed the relationship between these two groups firsthand, I have a new view on why this topic is important. While I did not observe tension or direct conflict, I did see separation. Each ethnoreligious group kept to itself. I believe this is important because it emphasizes that although these religions do not agree on much, they respect each other’s space. They allow the other religion to practice and even feel safe within close quarters. To me, this shows the significance of religion within our society. Although these religious groups share their differences, they do so in a way that allows them to live next to each other in the same area. To me, this is a step towards the future. While it is not exactly “coexistence,” it is existence without threat of harm.
What I Expected to Find
By studying the Muslim and Jewish neighborhoods within West Devon, I hoped to find how history, collective identity, cultural objects, and cultural enclaves affected the relationship between these two groups. In addition, I looked for the potential effect of the “American view” of religion on this relationship. Before conducting actual field research, I expected to find two very distinct and separate groups. Due to the history of these groups, I expected to find tension and conflict between the groups. I also thought the strength of each group’s collective identity would cause turmoil between them. As I mentioned in my introduction (and will expand upon later), this was not what I actually found.
Background and History
In order to understand how West Devon came to be, I want to include a bit of background.
The upper photograph shows a view of Touhy Avenue in 2007 and a Jewish synagogue under construction. The lower photograph shows a view of the same street with the completed synagogue in late 2014.
Similarly, the upper photograph shows a view of Richmond Street in 2007. The space is occupied by a residential home. In late 2014, this space has transformed into a place of Jewish worship.
Both of these sets of photographs represent the growth of the Jewish population in West Devon. Even in seven short years, new synagogues have been built. This shows the influx of Jews in recent years and their new presence in Devon. These photos represent Tillman and Emmetts (1999) idea of spatial succession. They describe spatial succession as “changes in the occupancy of religious structures” (1999:81). They would describe these cases in West Devon as spatial succession because these spaces began as “profane spaces” and were transformed into “sacred spaces” (1999:85). While the Jewish population grew and created sacred worship centers, the Muslim population maintained its ongoing presence in the neighborhood.
These two photographs show the same Islamic book store on the same street corner between 2007 and 2014. Although this is not a huge time lapse, it does represent the stability of the Muslim population in West Devon over the years. I believe that by understanding the growth of the Jewish population and the stability of the Muslim population over time, I will be able to better explain the relationship between these two groups in the area.
Limitations and Potential Future Research
I believe it is important for me to emphasize that this research was only conducted over a 10-week period of time. My observations and conclusions are limited in scope and may be subject to change with more time. This is exploratory and is only in its beginning stages. If I were to conduct future research I would spend time interviewing both Muslims and Jews in West Devon. This would help me gain a better understanding of their relationship as it would be through their eyes and personal experiences. I would ask them how they view the relationship and if their separation is intentional. I would also ask about tolerance and on what level they “tolerate” each other. I believe this information is vital to a complete analysis of Muslims and Jews in West Devon. But for now, I am presenting the preliminary portion of my findings and its implications in the real world.
Shaping Two Cultures- Cultural Objects and Collective Identity
As I observed the two groups, I saw Griswold’s (2013) remarks on cultural objects and collective identity at play. As I walked down Devon, I was amazed by the sheer volume of shops that only targeted the Muslim population. Turning onto California Avenue, every trace of the Muslim culture was gone; replaced by strong signs of Judaism. Wendy Griswold (2013) describes “cultural objects” as a “socially meaningful expression that…tells a story” (Griswold 2013:11). She explains that a cultural object is only meaningful if looked at in terms of the whole picture, including the creator and receiver of the object, as well as the social world that exists in. A cultural object could mean nothing to a person; however, it could represent history and strength to another person. For my research, the idea of cultural objects helped me understand the relationship between the two religious groups in West Devon.
The three images above represent my findings while walking through the South Asian part of West Devon. The middle picture shows a shop selling Saris and other native South Asian clothing. I saw at least fifteen other shops selling similar clothing. The other two pictures show shops targeting a specifically Muslim population. From CDs to books to “gifts and perfumes,” these stores aimed to sell strictly to Muslims. The first picture shows a store that sells “Things that Muslims Need!” These pictures represent Griswold’s (2013) ideas of cultural objects. Cultural objects are “meaningful expressions,” and the specific clothing, CDs/DVDs, and books are important portrayals of the Muslim culture. These objects are not meaningful in the same way to people of other cultures (they do not wear this clothing or read/listen to the same things), which shows Griswold’s idea that cultural objects are specific to each individual culture.
By still using Griswold’s argument, I will explain cultural objects in the realm of the Jewish population in West Devon. The first picture represents a synagogue (Jewish house of worship) and the second picture shows a street named after Anshe Motele, another Jewish synagogue in the area. These are both cultural objects because they embody the Jewish culture and they each “tell a story” of that culture. The synagogue is where many Orthodox Jews spend their Saturdays: praying, socializing, and engaging in their Jewish heritage. It is a representation of Jewish history that other cultures might not understand in the same way. Other ethnic and religious groups have their own places of worship and some choose not to participate in worship ceremonies at all. This shows that this strong cultural object in the Jewish world is practically meaningless to others.
Durkeim argues that religion “points to all cultural objects as collective representations” (Griswold 2013:53). This means that the cultural objects seen in Devon (places of worship, specific clothing, food) are not created by one person, but instead a group of people bound together by shared feelings of love, suffering, pain, and triumph. According to Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi (1991:81–82), “collective identity in religious communities is deliberately and consciously fostered.” By understanding that these cultural objects represent shared experiences and also that each religious group aims to create a sense of shared identity, we can now begin understand the relationship between Muslims and Jews in West Devon. Each religious group has had different historical experiences and has undergone both triumph and defeat in different ways. Through history and the passing of religion from generation to generation, these experiences have become rooted in each of the religious groups. According an article by Robert Eisen, a religion scholar, Muslims and Jews each have a distinctly different viewpoint surrounding the state of Israel. “Jews view the state of Israel as the triumph of a dispossessed people who waited 2,000 years for a return to their homeland” while “Muslims view the state of Israel as the most egregious example of Western colonialism and imperialism, a foreign body inserted into the Middle East for the purpose of furthering Western domination” (Eisen 2006). This is an accurate depiction of different experiences and viewpoints rooted in history that have shaped the mindset of these religious groups. Because of this, both Muslims and Jews in West Devon have each developed a collective identity within their respective groups that the other group does not understand. Because of this feeling of “insiders” vs. “outsiders,” Muslims and Jews in West Devon do not really interact, keeping mostly to their own groups.
Cultural Enclaves and “Neighborhoods”: Sharing But Not Coexisting
Historically, Chicago has always been known as a city of neighborhoods. Each neighborhood has distinct qualities that sets it apart from its surrounding neighborhoods. Lowell Livezey describes Rogers Park as a diverse area with “micro-neighborhoods” that are “much more ethnoracially concentrated,” and that concentration is “fostered and defined by religious groups” (Livezey 2001:50). In the case of Devon and Rogers Park as a whole, this means that while the larger area contains many ethnoracial groups, the micro-neighbhoods, or enclaves, are usually centered around a single religion. The groups are separate and strong enough that they do not feel pressure to conform (Livezey 2001:50). This was what I encountered while studying Muslims and Jews in West Devon.
The two sets of pictures show the contract between the two ethnoreligious groups in West Devon. This row (above) of pictures perpetuates the idea of a Jewish enclave because not only does the area include places of worship, it also includes other institutions that would appeal to Jews. There are places that offer English classes and organizations that simply encourage Jews to socialize and connect with other Jews.
Similarly, the Muslim population has also developed a completely separate enclave. They promote Muslim culture and heritage through their selling of Muslim music, videos, and food.
The idea of micro-neighborhoods in West Devon can be traced back to the history of ethnicity and religion of both groups. Ethnicity is defined as a method of classification based on a shared characteristic, such as heritage, language, or religion. I believe that the link between ethnicity and religion is two-fold. Ethnicity can be shaped by religion and common geographical location. On the other side, religious groups often group together geographically in order to be around like-minded people. In the case of Muslims and Jews, I believe religion helped enforce ethnicity. In the early 1900s Eastern Europe was home to one of the largest Jewish populations and between 1901 and 1910 roughly 12% of all immigrants to the United States were Jews, most of them from Eastern Europe (Joel Pearlmann (2006)). On the other hand, South Asia contained a large Muslim population. I believe these groups often settled in areas where they knew they would feel at home. Because of religion, each group became geographically closer, causing them to learn the same languages and go through similar experiences. As both Jews and Muslims experienced this, religion and ethnicity became closely tied together. These people shared a common religion, and because of this, they also shared a common territory, language, heritage, and history. I think this also contributed to the formation of micro-neighborhoods in West Devon. Historically, these groups have sought out others that shared the same mind-set. They have merged ethnicity and religion due to geography. Because of this, the separation of these two groups in West Devon is understandable.
By studying West Devon through Livezey’s (2001) lens of ethnoreligious enclaves, I conclude enclaves serve as another aspect of life that shapes the relationship between the Muslims and Jews. Livezey argues that “religious organizations help create and perpetuate the enclaves” and “ensure that they are defined by the concentration and cultural self-identification of similar people” (2001:69). In addition, Joane Nagel (1994) argues a similar point. She claims: “Ethnic identity is most closely associated with the issue of boundaries. Ethnic boundaries determine who is a member and who is not” (1994: 154). This helps to explain the separation that is seen between the Jews and Muslims. Each group is a part of a distinct enclave that is strongly defined by ethno-religious ties. These enclaves are the underlying force that keep like-people together and push outsiders away. Along with history, cultural objects, and collective identity that I described earlier, enclaves within West Devon are another piece that explains the distance Muslims and Jews keep while living in close proximity.
Respect and The American View of Religion: Any Religion is Better Than None At All
Historically, Americans do not like difference. We want everyone to speak the same language and consider themselves “American.” However, of all potential points of difference, Americans respect religious difference. According to a review of Will Herberg’s book Protestant, Catholic, Jew by Joseph Fauman, the American environment as a whole “is favorable to religious identification — any religious identification.”Although this mindset is constantly adapting to the time period, Americans tend to understand if immigrants and other “outsiders” want to hold on to their religion. While these people are expected to conform to American norms in other ways (e.g., language and citizenship), religious differences have generally been respected.
I saw this concept in action in West Devon. Although the two religious groups kept their distance and did notreally interact, they also abstained from conflict. From my knowledge of typical Muslim/Jewish relationship in the Middle East, hate comments, vandalism, and even physical violence are not uncommon. However, I did not witness anything like this between the two groups in West Devon, and historically this has not been a common issue in the area. While I would have to interview people to solidify this hypothesis, I believe that these groups have developed a sense of mutual respect for each other. Although they do not have the same set of beliefs or values, I think they respect each other simply because they respect the idea of religion. This shows how American ideals have influenced these two groups. From what I have observed, the interaction of Muslims and Jews in West Devon mirrors the American idea that having any religion is better than not having one at all.
Conclusion
Through outside research and my personal observations, I have been able to make preliminary conclusions about the relationship between Jews and Muslims in West Devon. Although the relationship that I observed was not ideal, I believe it is a step in the right direction. The Muslim and Jewish microneighborhoods were very separated and each group kept to its own businesses. However, there was not any sign of conflict. To me, this shows that while the two religions have not completed accepted each other, they have at least formed a base-level tolerance.
By applying the ideas of cultural objects, collective identity, enclaves, and religious tolerance, I was able to interrogate the relationship of Muslims and Jews in West Devon. Cultural objects and collective identity helped to explain why the religious groups are so separate. Both Muslims and Jews identify with a different set of values and express themselves through respective cultural objects. This creates a sense of collective identity in each religious group and can be a part of the explanation as to why they have trouble understanding each other. In addition, the history of ethnicity and religion helped me to grasp why each group formed an enclave or microneighborhood. Both Muslims and Jews used their shared identities within their religion to form geographical enclaves. This also explains their separation. However, I also noticed a very American idea of religion between these groups. American ideals have been formed around the concept that any religion is better than none at all. Although the two groups did not interact much, they seemed to tolerate each other. I believe they are making progress and will hopefully coexist and interact in the future.
For me, this project was an eye opening experience and allowed me to view my research in the context of the real world. For much of my life I have been told that Muslims and Jews have never and will never get along. I have seen war plague the Middle East because of this ongoing conflict. However, I have experienced this relationship closer to home, in Chicago. It is far from perfect but it does show progress. In my personal experience, I have never witnessed a legiminate war fueled by religion. I think the “American view” of religion has surpressed this. While I do not think this mindset will survive much longer, it has allowed for more tolerance of other religions. By studying West Devon, I was able to see a different environment than I expected. I did not see pure hatred and violence. Because I cannot fully understand the extent of the relationship from what I have observed, I want to continue expanding my knowledge on these two groups. This project made me step out of my comfort zone and step into a world surrounded by stereotypes. I hope that by reading and observing more about Muslims and Jews in West Devon, I will be able to fully understand the capacity of their relationship.
Citations
Beit-Hallahmi, Benjamin. 1991. “Religion and Identity: Concepts, Data, Questions.” Sage Journals: pp. 81–95.
Eisen, Robert. “Muslims and Jews: Common Ground.” The Washington Post, May 9, 2006. Retrieved March 13, 2015 (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/08/AR2006050801388.html).
Emmett, Chad F. and Benjamin F. Tillman. 1999. “Spatial Succession of Sacred Space in Chicago.” Journal of Cultural Geography, Volume 18, Issue 2: pp. 79–108.
Fauman, Joseph. 1957. “Review of Protestant Catholic Jew: An Essay In American Religious Sociology.” Jewish Social Studies, Volume 19. Retreived March 12, 2015 (http://www.jstor.org.turing.library.northwestern.edu/stable/pdf/4465532.pdf?acceptTC=true).
Griswold, Wendy. 2013. Cultures and Societies in a Changing World. Los Angeles: Sage.
Livezey, Lowell W. 2001. “Communities and Enclaves: Where Jews, Christians, Hindus, and Muslims Share the Neighborhoods,” Cross Currents: pp. 45–69.
Nagel, Joane. 1994. “Constructing Ethnicity: Creating and Recreating Ethnic Identity and Culture,” Social Problems. Oxford University Press.
Pearlmann, Joel. 2006. “The Local Geographic Origins of Russian-Jewish Immigrants, Circa 1900.” The Levy Economics Institute. pp. 1–7.
