Doctoral Dissertation Research: Muslim Identity and the Mosque in Contemporary Socieity

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SES-1331827Jeffrey AlexanderElisabeth BeckerPrinceton UniversityThis dissertation project studies identity formation, boundary making, and stigma by focusing on Muslim identity within the context of the mosque in contemporary society. Through qualitative methods (ethnographic observation at mosques, interviews and textual analysis of national newspapers), the investigators will study Muslim identity construction and the confrontation of resulting stigmatization. The intellectual stimulus arises from the policy findings that individuals in Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom increasingly privilege their Muslim identities over ethnic or national identities. The researchers hypothesize that individuals with Muslim backgrounds both confirm and challenge religion-based boundaries through various strategies (e.g. confrontation, dialogue, and avoidance). In testing and building upon this hypothesis, this study will address the following questions: What is the importance of Islam for individual identities in contemporary European societies? How and why do individuals who identify as Muslims cope with and/or confront stigma? How and why is the site of the mosque important for strategies of coping with and/or confronting stigma across national contexts? The investigators will complete an ethnographic study with three Muslim minority groups at the site of the mosque in three European cities (individuals of Pakistani descent in London, UK; Turkish descent in Berlin, Germany; and Moroccan descent in Madrid, Spain). Through ethnographic observation, interviews and textual analysis, the researchers employ a unique methodological approach to analyze identity formation and resultant everyday experience across the continent--providing both micro and macro lenses for better understanding migration, integration and multiculturalism in Europe through the dually social/physical space of the mosque. Ethnographic studies of Muslim groups to date focus almost exclusively on insider accounts, failing to address mainstream societal forces that contribute to identity formation among minority groups. Moreover, the ethnographic site of the mosque is highly underutilized, with no in-depth ethnographies as of yet undertaken at a European mosque and only one at a mosque in the United States. The comparative method that draws on parallels of increased identification of Muslim in three historically divergent European countries, as well as the inclusion of a southern European country, will concurrently contribute to sociological understanding of boundaries on belonging in different contexts. Broader ImpactThe significance of this study reaches far beyond the discipline of Sociology into broader society. In grappling with debates on immigration and integration, research findings will contribute to understandings of multiculturalism globally. By engaging with not only academic institutions, but also community organizations, the research will also help to create linkages between the academic and broader civil society in the three countries of study.