Dar, Sarah (2010) Muslim women, religious identity, commitment and expression in Britain. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

Since 9/11 and 7/7 the focus on Muslims as a subject of political, media and academic debate
has intensified. Muslim women, who are critical to these various debates, are often
essentialised and typified as casualties of Islam, and their voices are effectively silenced. This
study, which ‘gives voice’ to the experiences of Muslim women, examines the ways in which
Muslim women negotiate their religious identities and commitments in twenty-first century
Britain through their engagement with artistic projects. Through a combination of semistructured
interviews with twenty-six women and participant observation in a Muslim women’s
arts organisation and nasheed group, it addresses three research questions each of which
tries to cast sociological light on the intersection between artistic practice and identification
with Islam. Firstly, it asks to what extent Durkheim’s notion of religion as la vie sérieuse helps
to describe the beliefs, identities and practices of Muslim women. Secondly, it considers the
extent to which, and manner in which, Muslim women’s artistic participation expresses selfidentification
with religion and culture. Finally, it examines the implications of artistic
participation for other areas of Muslim women’s lives.
In responding to these questions, I draw upon literature on religion and identity, religious
commitment, Islam and gender, and Islam and the arts. My analysis focuses on how religion
and everyday life are entwined in the experiences of Muslim women and how these
experiences problematise the idea of strict boundaries between the ‘sacred’ and ‘profane’. It
highlights variety in the commitment and practice of Muslim women and how individualisation
and choice are very much part of the variation in their religious lives. I consider how my
participants negotiate their gendered, religious and cultural identities through artistic
participation and show that Muslim women engage in performances, not only in their roles as
artists, but also as they navigate the expectations or (cultural) scripts handed to them by their
families and religious communities. I also highlight how re-presenting and representing
Muslim women and Islam can be an important act for those engaging in artistic practices and
how this activity demonstrates active agency in a public sphere that often excludes them.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BP Islam. Bahaism. Theosophy, etc H Social Sciences > HQ The family. Marriage. Woman
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Muslim women -- Great Britain, Identification (Religion), Islam and art, Muslim women -- Intellectual life
Official Date:	October 2010
Dates:	Date Event October 2010 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Department of Sociology
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Carter, Bob, 1948-; Throsby, Karen, 1968-
Sponsors:	Economic and Social Research Council (Great Britain) (ESRC)
Extent:	x, 311 leaves.
Language:	eng

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