The Religious Identity Perception of the Egyptian Muslim Diaspora in the West: A Case Study of Postgraduate Students

Egyptian Muslim postgraduate students carry their identities, memories, and affiliations with them when moving from an Islamic country to a Western country and face many challenges in re-identifying and representing themselves in their new context of living in the diaspora. This research investigate...

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Main Author: Nourelhoda Hussein
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Migration Research Foundation 2021-09-01
Series:Turkish Journal of Diaspora Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/1886776
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author Nourelhoda Hussein
author_facet Nourelhoda Hussein
author_sort Nourelhoda Hussein
collection DOAJ
description Egyptian Muslim postgraduate students carry their identities, memories, and affiliations with them when moving from an Islamic country to a Western country and face many challenges in re-identifying and representing themselves in their new context of living in the diaspora. This research investigates how postgraduate students living in the Egyptian Muslims Diaspora perceive their religious identity using qualitative methodology, in order to understand the nature of Muslim identity in relation to mobility and space. This study finds that participants perceive their religious identity as an individual characteristic, rather than a social one and previous experiences in the homeland greatly affect their sense of belonging. Participants also express their belonging to a spiritual territory, rather than a spatial one. The sense of estrangement that the participants experience living abroad provide them with a positive perception and appreciation of their own religious identity. Additionally, the participants express the fear of dynamism in their religious identity while living in the diaspora and they emphasize holding on to the fundamentals as their personal identity, while highlighting the decrease in their practice, justified by the absence of their social religious community.
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spelling doaj.art-98a8e0d0971b4c13a203c86314858bc02023-09-14T09:08:35ZengMigration Research FoundationTurkish Journal of Diaspora Studies2717-74082757-92472021-09-011256761987The Religious Identity Perception of the Egyptian Muslim Diaspora in the West: A Case Study of Postgraduate StudentsNourelhoda Hussein0International Islamic University MalaysiaEgyptian Muslim postgraduate students carry their identities, memories, and affiliations with them when moving from an Islamic country to a Western country and face many challenges in re-identifying and representing themselves in their new context of living in the diaspora. This research investigates how postgraduate students living in the Egyptian Muslims Diaspora perceive their religious identity using qualitative methodology, in order to understand the nature of Muslim identity in relation to mobility and space. This study finds that participants perceive their religious identity as an individual characteristic, rather than a social one and previous experiences in the homeland greatly affect their sense of belonging. Participants also express their belonging to a spiritual territory, rather than a spatial one. The sense of estrangement that the participants experience living abroad provide them with a positive perception and appreciation of their own religious identity. Additionally, the participants express the fear of dynamism in their religious identity while living in the diaspora and they emphasize holding on to the fundamentals as their personal identity, while highlighting the decrease in their practice, justified by the absence of their social religious community.https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/1886776diasporareligious identitymobilityegyptian muslimsegypt
spellingShingle Nourelhoda Hussein
The Religious Identity Perception of the Egyptian Muslim Diaspora in the West: A Case Study of Postgraduate Students
Turkish Journal of Diaspora Studies
diaspora
religious identity
mobility
egyptian muslims
egypt
title The Religious Identity Perception of the Egyptian Muslim Diaspora in the West: A Case Study of Postgraduate Students
title_full The Religious Identity Perception of the Egyptian Muslim Diaspora in the West: A Case Study of Postgraduate Students
title_fullStr The Religious Identity Perception of the Egyptian Muslim Diaspora in the West: A Case Study of Postgraduate Students
title_full_unstemmed The Religious Identity Perception of the Egyptian Muslim Diaspora in the West: A Case Study of Postgraduate Students
title_short The Religious Identity Perception of the Egyptian Muslim Diaspora in the West: A Case Study of Postgraduate Students
title_sort religious identity perception of the egyptian muslim diaspora in the west a case study of postgraduate students
topic diaspora
religious identity
mobility
egyptian muslims
egypt
url https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/1886776
work_keys_str_mv AT nourelhodahussein thereligiousidentityperceptionoftheegyptianmuslimdiasporainthewestacasestudyofpostgraduatestudents
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