Religiosities in a Globalised Market: Migrant-Origin Muslim Europeans' Self-Positioning Beyond the Sending and Receiving States' Politics of Religion

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter (peer-reviewed)peer-review

Abstract

States that export their official religions compete with transnational alternatives in an unprecedentedly globalised market. In Europe, migrant-origin Muslims are approached by their countries of origin as relatives and networks and as means of influencing European politics. On the other hand, less hierarchical and more decentralised religiosities arise from Muslims' changing needs for meaning in liaison with their interlocution processes with non-Muslims and Muslims of different origins. Both patterns have been taken as threats in Europe: the former as a religious-nationalist foreign infiltration (e.g. “the Gray Wolf radicalisation”), and the latter as Pandora's box, including violent extremisms (e.g. “the ISIS radicalisation”). This dichotomy, however, does not capture the tensions individuals feel in the religious sphere. Drawing on 152 interviews conducted with young adults of Turkish and Moroccan origin in four EU countries, this chapter argues that socialisation at mosques/organisations funded by the country of origin does not necessarily serve the funders as religious diffusion. Rather than a clear-cut religious indoctrination, the gatherings include alternative knowledge claims over intergenerational and gender relations, nationalism and ethnocentrism, and traditions in the country of origin. In conclusion, the chapter offers policy advice other than aiming to decrease the saturation of this religious sphere.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication Nativist and Islamist Radicalism
Subtitle of host publicationAnger and Anxiety
Place of PublicationLondon
PublisherRoutledge
Pages199-225
Number of pages27
ISBN (Electronic)9781003309840
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2023

Cite this