NIA Winter School

Muslim Migrants in Athens: Religion in Times of Marginalisation

Myrte Hoekstra and Magdalena Boehm

January 18, 2013

Introduction

- Muslim immigrants present from various ethnicities/national origins

- Organizing religious life as a minority in a predominantly Christian-orthodox state

- Lack of official place of worship in Athens

- Increasing hostility and discrimination

Research Questions

- How have religious practices/beliefs/sense of identity changed as a result of migration?

- How does not having an official place of worship impact religious practices?

- How is religious life organised?

- What is the relation between religious and ethnic identity/organisation?

- How do Muslim migrants respond to perceived hostility?

→ does it influence religious practices in the public sphere?

Fieldwork

- Semi-structured interviews

* with representatives of Afghan, Bangladeshi, Libyan, and Moroccan community

* with imam and female instructor of unofficial mosque

- Observation and unstructured interviews

* outside and inside unofficial mosques

* with shopkeepers and bystanders in the area

Findings (1/5)How have religious practices/beliefs/sense of

identity changed as a result of migration?

Religion as important aspect of (some) migrants' lives: something that “cannot be taken away” from them.

Religious places often social gathering point for Muslim migrants.

Emphasis on unofficial Mosques as means of (religious and non-religious) education.

Less emphasis on prayer. Temporal focus on the weekends and evening.

Findings (2/5)How does not having an official place of worship impact

religious practices?

Respondents stress unofficial character of mosques and religious leaders

→ however, unofficial mosques are registered by Greek authorities

Problems with financing (communal donations and voluntary work), location, achieving gender segregation, time schedule

Intensive cooperation with (some) other religious centres

Findings (3/5)How is religious life organised? What is the relation

between religious and ethnic identity/organisation?

(Mostly) multi-ethnic “mosques”, cooperation predominantly based on language similarities.

→ this question could not be much explored due to time constraints

Findings (4/5)How do Muslim migrants respond to perceived

hostility?

→ does it influence religious practices in the public sphere?

Greek population afraid of fundamentalist/religiously orthodox influence in underground mosques

Need to hide/tone down religious practices to avoid causing attention

Police harasses mosque visitors and imams

Findings (5/5)How do Muslim migrants respond to perceived hostility?

→ does it influence religious practices in the public sphere?

Attacks on (visibly) Muslim women

Attacks by fascists on Pakistani mosques

During Eid al-fitr (end of Ramadan), celebration in Attiki square was violently disturbed

→ Contacts with Greek and country of origin-authorities (not fruitful)

Conclusion

Muslim migrants manage to organise themselves religiously despite lack of recognition from Greek government and discrimination

Network of Muslim/ethnic organisations that also have contacts abroad and with government officials

Nevertheless, many barriers and constraints to achieve desired religious organisation

Limitations and Future Directions

Target group: people invested in religious/ethnic organisation

Mainly “expert” opinions, mainly males, language barriers

Longitudinal observation of religious practices would be worthwhile

Also include institutional focus (embassies, Greek authorities)