In a special issue of the Journal of American Folklore focused specifically on Asian American folklore, Dr. Fariha Khan (Associate Director of the Asian American Studies Program) has written a piece titled "The Dars: South Asian Muslim American Women Negotiate Identity." Here is a summary of the journal article:
"The predominant discourse surrounding Islam on the national landscape conceals the diversity of experiences for Muslim Americans. A close examination of the local landscape of a women’s dars, or Quranic study group, contradicts gendered stereotypes. The dars gathering is a space of shared narratives, agency, and socialization. The nuanced reading of the discourse reveals a negotiation of religious and ethnic identity. Within their local communities, these groups of immigrant women are actively shaping their lives as distinctly South Asian Muslim American."
"The Dars: South Asian Muslim American Women Negotiate Identity" is available through the Penn Libraries website and attached as a pdf below.