Individualization Processes in Young Muslim Women's Knowledge Acquisition and Practice of Islam in Trondheim
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Doctoral theses at NTNU, 2020:372 al thesis Eli-Anne V Eli-Anne Vongraven Eriksen ongraven Eriksen ongraven Continuity and change: Individualization processes in young Muslim women's Doctor knowledge acquisition and practice of Islam in Trondheim ISBN 978-82-326-5090-3 (printed ver.) ISBN 978-82-326-5091-0 (electronic ver.) ISSN 1503-8181 Doctor NTNU al theses at NTNU, 2020:372 al theses at NTNU, echnology Philosophiae Doctor Faculty of Humanities Thesis for the Degree of Thesis for the Degree Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies Norwegian University of Science and T Eli-Anne Vongraven Eriksen Continuity and change: Individualization processes in young Muslim women's knowledge acquisition and practice of Islam in Trondheim Thesis for the Degree of Philosophiae Doctor Trondheim, December 2020 Norwegian University of Science and Technology Faculty of Humanities Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies NTNU Norwegian University of Science and Technology Thesis for the Degree of Philosophiae Doctor Faculty of Humanities Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies © Eli-Anne Vongraven Eriksen ISBN 978-82-326-5090-3 (printed ver.) ISBN 978-82-326-5091-0 (electronic ver.) ISSN 1503-8181 Doctoral theses at NTNU, 2020:372 Printed by NTNU Grafisk senter Acknowledgements I could not have written this thesis had it not been for all the valuable help and support I have gotten from a large group of people: participants/informants, supervisors, colleagues, friends and family. First of all, I would like to thank all those who participated in this study. They welcomed me and my project with open arms. Their openness and generosity made my time in the field very interesting and pleasant. I thank them for their time, contributions, stories, reflections, trust, patience and forbearance. Without you, this study would be impossible. Secondly, I would like to thank and show my gratitude to my supervisors Professor Ulrika Mårtensson (NTNU) and Professor Anne Sofie Roald (Malmø University). I really appreciate the help, support and patience you have showed me during all the years it has taken to write this text. I cannot thank Ulrika Mårtensson and Anne Sofie Roald enough for their patient guiding, inspiring and extensive commentary and availability throughout the project. and commented the chapter drafts as they took form. Because of them, I was able to find my way and hand the text in. I will also express my appreciation for the support, help and friendship I have enjoyed from my previous colleagues at Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies (NTNU) and my colleagues at the Department of Teacher Education (NTNU). My colleagues at Religious Studies provided me with a good working environment and have always been supportive to me and my project even well passed by deadline. My colleagues at the Teacher Education, and in particularly those at the Social Studies section, have helped me find time to finish my project and have provided much support and motivation until the end. You all deserve a number of thanks! My family and friends have been there for me through all my ups and downs during these years. I am so grateful for having you in my life. I would like to send a special thank you to Ragnhild Laird Iversen, who have commented on some of the chapter drafts and who have been a great conversation partner and friend throughout the project. Last but not least, I will express my deepest gratitude to my partner Øyvind Jensen for his endless patience and support and to my son Aksel for just being who he is. You are the sunshine of my life. I take full responsibility for errors and shortcomings in the final product. Credits of what may be good in this thesis is owed to my participants, supervisors, colleagues and friends. iii iv Table of contents Chapter 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Context and purpose 3 1.1.1 Islamic knowledge acquisition and processes of individualization 4 1.1.2 A gender perspective on Islamic knowledge 6 1.1.3 Knowledge acquisition and processes of individualization among Muslim women in Trondheim 7 1.2 Clarification of terms: Emic and etic. 9 1.3 Project design and outline of the thesis. 10 Chapter 2. State of the Art: Islam and individualization in the Modern West/Europe 13 2.1 Processes of individualization. 14 2.1.1 Religion à la carte 15 "#'#/#.%7,+#!"--(+#(%! 16 2.1.3 Processes of religious individualization among Muslims in Europe/the West. 17 2.1.4 The individualization of the religious choice 19 2.1.5 Individualization through Islam.. 21 4,-+#-+#(%!5 22 2.1.7 Inaccurate picture of the past and an ethnocentric perspective 24 2.1.8 Problematic epoch perspectives. 26 2.1.9 How to capture the wind? Other critical remarks on the theories of individualization 27 2.1.10 Summary: The theories of individualization and their identified weakness. 29 2.2 Conceptualizing Islam in the West 32 2.2.1 Orientalist and anti-Orientalist approaches 32 2.2.2 Causality explanations: A critical /#0( -"4.%-.+%#,-))+("5 34 2.2.3 Islam as a discursive tradition 3 An anthropological approach 36 ,%&,4&,-+,#!'# #+5- Another discursive construction 39 2.2.5 The Islamic basket 3 A religious studies approach 42 2.2.6 Summary: The strategies of conceptualizing Islam and their identified weakness 46 v Chapter 3. Methodology 48 3.1 Addressing the individualization debate 49 3.1.1 Addressing the conceptualization debate 53 3.1.2 The insider/outsider problem 57 3.1.3 The emic-etic debate 58 3.1.4 Stating my own positions 62 3.1.5 Chapter outline 64 3.2 *$!!'-++,-!+6%'$ 65 (0&+-7,#&',#(',0#%%.,#'-"#,-",#, 67 ", (+(%7,4,%&#,$-5 67 3.3 Lived religion 68 3.3.1 A concept and a perspective 69 0(&'7,)+,)-#/ 71 3.3.3 How the lived religion concept and perspective will be used in this thesis 72 3.4 Field and individuals 72 3.4.1 Field(s) 73 3.4.2 Capital 74 3.4.3 Individuals within fields 3 The relationship between fields and individuals 76 (0 (.+#.7,(')-,0#%% used in this thesis 77 3.5 Established social orders and individuals 78 3.5.1 Individuals in institutional orders 80 3.5.2 Strategies and tactics 81 3.5.3 Strategic and tactical religion 83 (0 +-.7,(')-,0#%%.,#'-"#,-",#, 84 3.6 The renewed Islamic basket 86 3.7 Summary: Theoretical framework 88 3.8 Applied methods 91 3.8.1 Approaching local Islamic institutions and Muslim women in Trondheim 91 3.8.2 Selection of participants 94 3.8.3 Institutional presentation of main informants 97 3.8.4 Observations 99 3.8.5 Interviews 105 3.8.6 Literature studies and the historical perspective as a method.... 109 vi 3.8.7 Methodological and ethical considerations.. 109 Chapter 4. The Islamic fields as methodologies. 118 4.1 An emic perspective: Islamic Methodologies. 118 4.1.1 Knowledge and practice. 119 4.1.2 Globalization 122 4.1.3 Sources and method. 123 4.1.4 Chapter outline 124 4.2 Institutions of knowledge 129 4.2.1 Traditional institutions. 131 4.2.2 Modern movements. 136 4.2.3 6%(%7#',-#-.-#(',. 138 4.3 Usul al-fiqh. 141 4.3.1 Usul al-fiqh: Glocal institutionalized methodology. 147 4.3.2 Hanafi. 150 4.3.3 Shafii 155 4.3.4 Twelver Shia 159 4.4 The Muslim Brotherhood 161 4.4.1 Background and global organization 161 4.4.2 Methodology 164 /'%&6+', *+$%!ields 170 4.5.1 Hanbali 170 4.5.2 The Indonesian Muslim Society Trondheim (KMIT) 181 4.6 Summary: The women and their Islamic fields 185 Chapter 5. Being Muslim in Trondheim: A lived religion approach... 188 5.1 Defining Muslims 189 5.1.1 Defining Muslim practices 191 .,%#&,7,% -definitions. 195 5.1.3 Emic versus Etic descriptions of Islam. 200 /'%&6+!&!.!-$)-+,'*#&'/$'-,+$% 202 5.2.1 Knowledge about what? Emic and etic descriptions. 203 5.2.2 Sources and methods to Islam 207 vii 5.2.3 Material sources and methods: The scriptures. 208 2.2.4 Other material sources 214 5.2.5 Social and institutional sources and methods: Religious authorities 218 5.2.6 The methods: Elaborated and specified 224 5.2.7 Internet as a medium and method 229 0($'*!&!&!.!-$!2,!'&(*'+++!&, /'%&6+!&!.!-$)-+, for knowledge 231 5.3.1 A generational perspective on sources and methods 231 5.3.2 "0(&'7,,(.+,'&-"(,#'%#!"-( -"-"(+#,( #'#/#.%#2-#('... 240 5.4 Concluding analysis: Being Muslims in Trondheim 247 (,* +$%!!$++, 1'-&-+$!%/'%&6++'-*+ and methods to Islam 251 6.1 Muslim Society Trondheim (MST) 252 6.1.1 MST as a source and method to Islam 253 "0(&'7,)#-%0#-"#' 254 "0(&'7,--#%&'./+,0#-"#' 258 7,#' %.'('-"0(&'7,$'(0%!*.#,#-#('')+-#( ,%& 262 6.2 The Sister Group (SG) 264 6.2.1 SG as a source and method to Islam 264 "0(&'7,)#-%0#-"#' 265 ,-"0(&'7,--#0#-"#' 270 7,#' %.'('-"0(&'7,$'(0%!*.#,#-#('')+-#( ,%& 275 6.3 Islam Net (IN) 276 6.3.1 IN as a source and method to Islam 276 "0(&'7,)#-%0#-"#' 277 ,-"0(&'7,--#0#-"#'' 279 7,#' %.'('7,$'(0%!*.#,#-#('')+-#( ,%& 280 6.4 The Indonesian Muslim Society in Trondheim (KMIT) 282 6.4.1 KMIT as a source and method to Islam 282 "0(&'7,)#-%0#-"#' 282 6.4.,-"0(&'7,--#0#-"#' 286 6.4.4 7,#' %.'('-"0(&'7,$'(0%!*.#,#-#('')+-#( ,%& 288 viii 6.5 Dar El Eman Islamic Center (DIC) 291 6.5.1 DIC as a source and method to Islam 291 "0(&'7,)#-%0#-"#' 292 ,-"0(&'7,--#0#-"#' 293 7,#' %.'('-"0(&'7,$'(0%!*.#,#-#('')+-#( ,%& 294 6.6 Trondheim Mevlana Cultural Organization (Mevlana) 295 6.6.1 Mevlana as a source and method to Islam 296 "0(&'7,)#-%0#-"#'/%' 297 "0(&'7,--#&'./+,0#-"#'/%' 300 /%'7,#' %.'('-"0(&'7,$'(0%!*.#,#-#('' practice of Islam 304 $6!, 305 6.7.1 AOB as a source and method to Islam 306 "0(&'7,)#-%0#-"#' 307 "0(&'7,--#&'./+,0#-"#' 309 7,#' %.'('-"0(&'7,$'(0%!*.#,#-#('')+-#( ,%& 310 -%%*1 $'$+$%!!$++, /'%&6++'-*+&%, '+ to Islam...........