Att vara svensk och muslim

Reflektioner kring svenska kvinnors konversion till islam

Abstract

The narratives of Swedish women who have converted to Islam bring up issues concerning identity and the multicultural society. These narratives play an essential and urgent role in the larger context of representations of Islam since they are told from a divergent perspective. They reflect not only post-modern aspects of uprootedness and increased reflexivity but also an existential need for stability and continuity.

The transcultural identity of these women involves a dynamic process of combining different cultural values in everyday life, which compromises as necessary. Their identities and self-presentations as Swedish Muslims are formed in everyday encounters with friends, relatives and social institutions. It is of importance to study how they experience themselves in these encounters and how they develop social and cultural strategies in a complex world.