The simplest meaning of diaspora, that immigrants retain collective memories of their home countries, continue to relate to them, and define their identities with respect to that relationship, applies to most Muslim immigrants in North America (although they may not have been expelled from their homelands or plan to return to them). First-generation Muslim women are charged with crucial roles in the maintenance and transmission of diasporic identity, while second-generation Muslim women tend to redefine religion and culture in their new North American homelands.

State policies …