Iraqi women in Denmark : ritual performance and belonging in everyday life / Marianne Holm Pedersen.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Pedersen, Marianne Holm, author.

Series:

New ethnographies.

New ethnographies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Muslim women--Denmark.

Muslim women.

Muslim women--Denmark--Rites and ceremonies.

Muslims--Denmark--Customs and practices.

Muslims.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (vii, 197 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Manchester ; New York : Manchester Univ Press, 2013.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Iraqi women in Denmark is an ethnographic study of ritual performance and place-making among Shi'a Muslim Iraqi women in Copenhagen. The book explores how Iraqi women construct a sense of belonging to Danish society through ritual performances, and it investigates how this process is interrelated with their experiences of inclusion and exclusion in Denmark. The findings of the book refute the all too simplistic assumptions of general debates on Islam and immigration in Europe that tend to frame religious practice as an obstacle to integration in the host society. In sharp contrast to the fact that Iraqi women's religious activities in many ways contribute to categorizing them as outsiders to Danish society, their participation in religious events also localizes them in Copenhagen. Drawing on anthropological theories of ritual, relatedness and place-making, the analysis underscores the necessity of investigating migrants' notions of belonging not just as a phenomenon of identity, but also with regard to the social relations and practices through which belonging is constructed and negotiated in everyday life.The Iraqi women's religious engagement is related to their social positions in Danish society, and the study particularly highlights how social class relations intersect with issues of gender and ethnicity in the Danish welfare state, linking women's religious practices to questions of social mobility. The book contextualizes this analysis by describing women's previous lives in Iraq and their current experiences with return visits to a post-war society.

Contents:

Contextualising the study. Setting the scene ritual performance and place-making in everyday life

Finding a place for oneself : proceses of settlement in Denmark

Ritual as a cultural prism. The celebration of 'Id al-fitr: notions of relatedness among extended families

The commemoration of Muharram : negotiating community

Fattima's taklif : bringing up children for a good future

Notions of belonging revised. Living in a transnational social field : notions of belonging revised

Conclusion : ritual performance and belonging.

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 15 May 2026).

Includes bibliographical references (p. [173]-187) and index.

ISBN:

9781526102775

1526102773

9781526102768

1526102765

9781781706930

178170693X

OCLC:

894476912