ABSTRACT
Religion can be a strong driver for taking collective action, as illustrated by individuals and groups of believers taking faith-based action on issues of welfare and social justice (Bäckström et al. 2011; Beaumont and Cloke 2012; Cloke, Beaumont, and Williams 2013), or by terrorist groups inspired by fundamentalist interpretations of a particular religion. In this article, we want to explore how Muslims in Sweden relate their faith to social life in their neighbourhood, in their home town/city, and in society in general, that is, a question of place identity on different scales (see Pile 2010, 15). Irrespective of scale and level, identity formation is a process and not a fixed category. Such processes are
, Charlotte Fridolfssonb and Eva Gustavssona
Given the lack of systematic research on Muslims in Sweden,1 our approach is exploratory, illustrating the way some imams, other community leaders and “everyday makers” (this term will be explained in a separate section later in this article), identifying themselves as Muslims, express an orientation towards finding ways of relating Islam to perceived Swedish culture and traditions without losing their Muslim identity.
