Race, Religion, and Geopolitics: Dating and Romance Among South Asian Muslim Immigrants in Canada

Using the “complex religion” framework, this article shows the importance of religion while recognizing how race, national origin, and geopolitics shape how Muslims navigate their romantic lives. Based on 50 in-depth interviews of South Asian Muslim immigrants in Canada on interfaith and interracial...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Shams, Tahseen (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Oxford Univ. Press 2022
In: Sociology of religion
Year: 2022, Volume: 83, Issue: 4, Pages: 505-526
Standardized Subjects / Keyword chains:B Canada / South Asians / Muslim / Mate selection / Ethnic identity / Migration / Geopolitics
RelBib Classification:AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
BJ Islam
KBM Asia
KBQ North America
NCB Personal ethics
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Summary:Using the “complex religion” framework, this article shows the importance of religion while recognizing how race, national origin, and geopolitics shape how Muslims navigate their romantic lives. Based on 50 in-depth interviews of South Asian Muslim immigrants in Canada on interfaith and interracial romance, I show that taken-for-granted labels “Muslim” and “South Asian” are ambiguous even for the participants as they navigate the search for compatible partners. Race and ethnicity are important components alongside religion and sect that together give meaning to negotiations about who is a “real” Muslim. And despite a sense of panethnic desi groupness, religion, sect, and nationality create fissures that challenge and limit notions of brown solidarity on the ground, even for children of immigrants. Finally, I identify how another important yet overlooked dimension of Muslimness—global geopolitics—shapes participants’ romantic pursuits. Overall, this article problematizes current approaches to studying Muslim immigrant experiences in the West.
ISSN:1759-8818
Contains:Enthalten in: Sociology of religion
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1093/socrel/srac015