Quaestiones Infinitae publications of the department of philosophy and religious studies utrecht university volume xci Colofon ©Annemeik Schlatmann, 2016 Bookdesign by rood ontwerp, Richard Draaijer Printed by Ridderprint isbn 978-94-6103-050-4 Shi‘i Muslim youth in the Netherlands Negotiating Shi‘i fatwas and rituals in the Dutch context sjiitische moslimjongeren in nederland : onderhandelingen over sjiitische religieuze voorschriften en rituelen in de nederlandse context (met een samenvatting in het nederlands) proefschrift ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor aan de Universiteit Utrecht op gezag van de rector magnificus, prof.dr. G.J. van der Zwaan, ingevolge het besluit van het college voor promoties in het openbaar te verdedigen op maandag 6 juni 2016 des middags te 2.30 uur door Ann-Marie Schlatmann geboren op 31 december 1960 te Vancouver, Canada Promotor: Prof.dr. M.M. van Bruinessen Co-promotor: Dr. N. Landman Table of contents 5 Acknowledgements 11 A note on transliteration 13 General introduction 15 Introduction to the study 16 Theoretical approach 19 Research questions and method 20 Shi‘i religious authorities 21 Shi‘i young adults 23 Outline of this dissertation 27 1 Shi‘i Islam, Shi‘i Muslims and the Dutch context 29 Shi‘i Islam 30 The origin of Shi‘i Islam 30 Religious authority in Shi‘ism 33 Shi‘i Muslims in the Netherlands 35 Ethnic backgrounds 35 Social characteristics 38 The Netherlands, a changing context 40 2 The Internet marja‘ 43 Contemporary Shi‘i religious leadership 44 Becoming a marja‘ al-taqlid 44 Grand ayatollah sayyid ‘Ali al-Sistani 48 Grand ayatollah sayyid ‘Ali Khamene’i 52 Grand ayatollah sayyid Muhammad Husayn Fadlallah 56 The relationship between Shi‘i authorities and believers 63 The Shi‘i fatwa 63 Ijtihad: same sources, different fatwas 65 Taqlid 69 Islamic jurisprudence and migration 70 Jurisprudence for migrants in the Islamic legal traditions 70 Fatwas for Shi‘i migrants 72 Shi‘i fiqh li-l-mughtaribin and Sunni fiqh al-aqalliyyat 76 Attitude towards non-Muslim environment and non-Muslim state law 77 The Internet fatwa 80 Building a community of followers 80 The Internet marja‘ 82 Web presence of grand ayatollah Sistani 83 Web presence of grand ayatollah Khamene’i 85 Web presence of grand ayatollah Fadlallah 87 Processing Internet fatwas 91 Conclusion 94 3 Contextualising religious knowledge: the believer and the marja‘ al-taqlid 99 Acquiring religious knowledge 101 Moral starting points 101 Transfer of Shi‘i knowledge 101 Search for Shi‘i knowledge 105 Newcomers in the tradition 109 Applying religious knowledge 113 Islamic values and Islamic law 113 Living a just life 113 Being accountable for one’s actions 117 Practising taqlid 122 Taqlid and individual responsibility 122 Selecting a marja‘ al-taqlid 125 Consulting the knowledgeable 131 Consulting the office of the marja‘ al-taqlid 134 Khums, the material part of loyalty 137 Conclusion 140 4 Everyday Dutch Muslim life: practice and representation 145 Prayer 147 Prayer prescriptions 147 Prayer disciplines 150 Temporarily turning secular space into Muslim space 152 Intra-Muslim prayer encounters 154 Prayer in the private sphere 155 Muslim and secular sensibilities 158 Negotiating between correct practice and representation 158 Music 158 Listening to music 160 Performing music 162 Alcohol 165 Selling alcohol 165 Alcohol in social life 167 Shaking hands 169 Shaking hands with a troubled conscience 172 Strategies in (not) shaking hands 175 Taking the context into account 176 Shaking hands as counter-representation 178 Ramadan 180 Ramadan, month of piety 180 Priority to perfect practice and a pure state of mind 181 Conclusion 184 5 Negotiating Islamic modesty 189 Outer appearance: the hijab 192 A disciplined self 192 Religious prescriptions 192 Constructing a Muslim self 194 ‘Because God tells you to do so’ 196 Style of clothing 200 Different veiling interpretations 204 Ethnic veiling customs 204 The pressure of social control 205 Postponing the headscarf as norm 207 Competing veiling discourses 209 Identity and difference 211 Dutch attitude towards veiling 211 Taking position as a Muslim woman in Dutch society 212 Resisting Dutch prejudices 214 Converts becoming visible Muslims 217 Modest behaviour: mixed social interaction 219 Religious regulations, ethnic customs, Dutch manners 219 Disciplined companionship 221 The supervised conscience 224 Switching codes of conduct 226 Conclusion 228 6 Marriage practices and gender relations in marriage 231 Mating and dating 234 Ideal partner profile in a minority context 234 Changing views of ‘a good match’ 236 Crossing boundaries 238 Dating Shi‘i style 240 Dating in secret 241 Marriage alliances and contractual agreements 243 Temporary marriage: meeting modern desires 243 Engagement 248 Cohabitation 252 Marriage contract: restoring gender balance 254 Dowry 255 Stipulations in the marriage contract 257 Gender relations within marriage 261 Gender relations in legal interpretations 261 Obedience 262 Maintenance 267 Conclusion 269 7 Towards a Dutch Shi‘i Muslim community 273 Shi‘i youth organisations 275 Ethno-Shi‘i foundations 275 Youth associations 278 AhlalbaitYouth 278 Ahlalbayt4Everyone 283 Building a Dutch Shi‘i community 285 Imagining a shared future 285 Muharram: the heart of Shi‘i piety, the core of Shi‘i identity 286 Traditional Muharram ceremonies in the Netherlands 288 A Muharram gathering for youth by youth 290 Religious knowledge instead of rituals 291 Space and audience 292 Communal prayer 293 The lay preacher: religious understanding, shared experience 293 The lecture 294 ‘ Fiqh moment’ and debate 296 Muharram Magazine 298 A shared future 300 Conclusion 302 General conclusion 305 Major research findings 307 Fatwas for Muslims in the West continuation of legal tradition 308 Shi‘i legal methodology and the new genre of fatwas 308 Perspective of authorities on western society and western ‘other’ 309 Aim of fatwas for Muslims in the West 310 The emergence of ‘a Dutch Shi‘i Muslim’ 310 Intersecting discourses and practices 310 Contextualising fatwas: balancing between correct practice and the image of Islam 311 Fatwas as means to fight the constraints of ethnic discourse and to meet ‘Dutch’ needs 312 A united ‘Dutch’ Shi‘i youth community 314 ‘Eventually we will meet European Shi‘i Muslims over here’ 315 Summary in Dutch (Nederlandse samenvatting) 317 Bibliography 323 Author biography 341 Appendices My interviewees 343 Questionnaire AhlalbaitYouth site 349 10 Questions interviews Shi‘i believers 352 Interviews with legal scholars and representatives of maraji‘ al-taqlid in Qum 353 List of Arabic terms 357 Acknowledgements Since I started writing this dissertation some years ago, war and the insecure situation in a number of Middle Eastern countries have forced millions of people from that region to seek refuge elsewhere. Many are hoping to find a safe haven in European countries like the Netherlands. Only a few decades 11 ago, the Netherlands also received a large flow of asylum seekers and political refugees from the Middle East. The present study is mainly about those who in the 1990s arrived in the Netherlands as toddlers, young children, or adolescents. Thanks to this research project I got to know some of them, now young adults. I hope that this book which shows how these youngsters have given shape to their lives and have been building a future in the Netherlands as Muslims will contribute to counterbalancing any suspicious attitude from the Dutch towards Muslim refugees today. I owe my first debt of gratitude to those whose real names I cannot mention for the sake of anonymity, my interlocutors. Those whom it concerns will know. I experienced the conversations with you as the highlights of my research. I made the deliberate choice to use the words ‘interlocutors’ and ‘interviewees’ rather than the more frequently used but more passive term ‘informants’, because by entrusting me with your experiences, thoughts and feelings, sometimes very personal and candid, you gave me an insight into your lives that went beyond mere information. Without your contribution, this dissertation could not have been written in this way. I am thankful to Mr Abbas Barati, Mr Mohammad Bonakdar and Mahmud Nazari of al-Mustafa University in Qum, Iran, for your efforts to arrange meetings with scholars and introduce me to key people in the network of Shi‘i religious authorities. The knowledge I gained during my stay in Qum contributed greatly to my research. Besides, you made my stay in Iran not only informative and useful, but also a wonderful experience. To my supervisors and promoters, Martin van Bruinessen and Nico Landman, I owe the greatest gratitude. Without Martin this project would not even have seen the light of day. From the very beginning until the end, both of you gently pushed me into the right direction with your expertise, constructive suggestions, analytical spirit and critical comments. You have always stimulated my thinking, encouraged me and believed in me, even at times when I was on the point of losing confidence in myself. I want to express my gratitude to Birgit Meyer, for our inspirational talks and for giving me the chance to be part of the workshops at Zentrum Moderner Orient in Berlin from which I greatly benefited. You have much contributed to my really enjoying this PhD adventure. I thank the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies of Utrecht 12 University for offering me the possibility to embark on this PhD project by giving me a position as AIO. To my colleagues of the department, especially my roommates Joantine Berghuijs and Sigrid Coenradie, I would like to say that I am grateful for your inspiration, suggestions and support, and for sharing the ups and downs that inevitably seem to belong to PhD life. My gratitude also goes to the members of the review committee, Oliver Scharbrodt, Annelies Moors, Karin van Nieuwkerk, Christian Lange and Birgit Meyer, for the time and energy you devoted to critically reading my work and to be part of the defence committee.