الفهرس 
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Abstract
This thesis is an attempt to examine how in the wake of the emergence of Muslim diaspora in the West especially after the 9/11attacks Muslims in the West tend to alter their acculturation strategies following the experience of high-level acculturative stress in pursuit of acquiring a satisfactory level of adaptation. In this sense, I present an analysis to three selected novels by three Muslim women writers to show how various models of Muslim individuals react to the social and political stress on Muslim communities after September 11. The first novel is entitled The Kindness of Enemies by Leila Aboulela. The second novel by Shaila Abdullah entitled Saffron Dreams. The last one is Marina Budhos’s teen novel Ask Me No Questions.
This thesis begins with an examination to the status of main Muslim characters in the three novels in diaspora. In accordance to their status in diaspora, an analysis to the initially adopted acculturation strategies by these Muslim models is introduced. Next, I present the psychological and emotional outcomes to their experiences of high-level acculturative stress. In reaction to the intense acculturative stress, I show how they change their sought acculturation strategy to another strategy to reduce their sense of stress, to avoid conflict with the dominant society, or to acquire a satisfactory level of adaptation with their status as a conflicted, minority group settling. One of the main objectives of this research is to focus on the psychological influence of the struggles that faces diasporic Muslims in the West and its role in redefining their level of integration into and attachment to their settled countries’ society. Also, the diversity of Muslim characters in the three selected novels allowed me to spotlight the psychological and behavioral differences between the first- and second-generation immigrants in diaspora, specifically, regarding their selection of acculturation strategies before and after encountering high level acculturative stress. Moreover, I will introduce the role of the dominant society in the Muslim individuals’ choice of the acculturation strategies.