Secularism and Identity: Non-Islamiosity in the Iranian Diaspora

by Reza Gholami

Overview

Within western political, media and academic discourses, Muslim communities are predominantly seen through the prism of their Islamic religiosities, yet there exist within diasporic communities unique and complex secularisms. Drawing on detailed interview and ethnographic material gathered in the UK, this book examines the ways in which a form of secularism - ‘non-Islamiosity’ - amongst members of the Iranian diaspora shapes ideas and practices of diasporic community and identity, as well as wider social relations.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472430120
Publisher:	Ashgate Publishing Ltd
Publication date:	04/28/2015
Series:	Studies in Migration and Diaspora
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

Reza Gholami is Lecturer in the Sociology of Education at Middlesex University, UK.

Table of Contents

Series Editor’s Preface; Preface; Acknowledgments; Introduction; Chapter 1 Postmodern Fixations; Chapter 2 Across Times and Spaces; Chapter 3 From Islamic Revolution to Non-Islamious Migration; Chapter 4 Non-Islamiosity Observed; Chapter 5 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (‘the Persian’, ‘the Islamic’ and ‘the Muslim’); Chapter 6 The ‘Persia’ Factor; Chapter 7 ‘Is This Islamic Enough?’ Secular Power and Shi‘a Religiosity; Chapter 101 Moratorium;

Editorial Reviews

’By investigating Muslim diasporic modes of the secular Gholami redresses the tendency of most research on Muslim minorities in Europe which overemphasises their Islamic dimension. At the same time, he successfully challenges simplistic dichotomies of devout versus secular Muslims.’ Oliver Scharbrodt, University of Chester, UK ’This comprehensive and readable book is a major contribution and addition to the growing literature on Iranian and Muslim immigrants in diaspora, and a valuable book for anyone concerned with the complex relationships between migration, religion, diaspora, identity, and secularism.’ Mohsen M. Mobasher, University of Houston-Downtown (UHD), USA ’Muslim heritage diasporas in the UK especially are often presumed to be un-problematically religious. Reza Gholami’s interesting study of the Iranian middle class in London successfully challenges such ideas and contributes to a new body of work on secular and non-religious identifications. Combining cultural theory with ethnographic vignettes, he shows how contested discourses of modernity, freedom and anti-religion have all been imaginatively reconstructed in media, art and everyday practices across the generations.’ Seán McLoughlin, University of Leeds, UK

From the Publisher