Literature Review: Identity Construction in the Context of Being a Minority Immigrant Religion: The Case of Western-born Muslims

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Abstract
A wealth of literature on Muslims residing in western liberal democracies has been written over the last two decades or so, in particular after the events of 9/11. 1 [1] For an overview of literature on Muslims in Europe in general, see Pauly Pauly, R. J. Jr. 2004. Islam in Europe-Integration or Marginalization?, Aldershot : Ashgate. [Google Scholar] , Islam in Europe. For the United States, see Leonard Leonard, K. I. 2003. Muslims in the United States – The State of Research, New York : Russell Sage Foundation. [Google Scholar] , Muslims in the United States. View all notes This article reviews the relevant literature on the broader dynamics which shape the identities of western Muslims, and western-born generations of Muslims in particular, in the context of being an immigrant minority religion. The initial point of reference of the study is the larger context of shifting identity constructions that take place in new minority immigrant communities in the West in general. The article's main focus is on presenting a review of literature which discusses the (inter-generational) changes in which identity among immigrant Muslim communities in the West is constructed. The literature notes the growing saliency of religious-based identity 2 [2] The increased importance that religion as a source of identity plays in western-born Muslims does not necessarily manifest itself in greater religious observance but in the way western-born generations of Muslims juggle their competing multiple identity sources, especially those of family kinship/ethnicity, religion and nationality. This is what is understood by the term “religiosity”, as used in the main text. View all notes and the formation of new forms of religiosity among members of these communities, especially among western born/raised generation(s) of Muslim youth. The article acknowledges the heterogeneous nature of religious-based identity construction among contemporary western generation(s) of Muslims and briefly describes two groups, referred to here as Progressive Muslims (PM) and Neo-Traditional Salafis (NTS). 3 [3] For a more detailed description of the worldviews behind these two ways of being a Muslim, see Duderija Duderija, A. 2007. Islamic groups and their World-views and Identities: Neo-Traditional Salafis and Progressive Muslims. Arab Law Quarterly, 21(4): 339–60. [Crossref] [Google Scholar] , “Islamic groups and their World-views and Identities. View all notes