ABSTRACT
In understanding and dealing with religious and moral pluralism, two bodies of knowledge compete. On the one hand, there are scholars who conceptualize pluralism in terms of social identities that are distinct. On the other hand, there are scholars who conceptualize pluralism in terms of multiple identities that (partly) overlap. It is hypothesized that most people are capable of shifting between different, even contradictory positions on what is Real and Right. By answering the question why and under what conditions some people are no longer able to do so, the author aims to explore which of the two conceptualizations is more adequate to interpret the challenges of plural moralities in liquid times. The author draws on his fieldwork in Tanzania and analyzes the case of an interviewee who is positioned in the media as an Islamic radical but on closer inspection turns out to be more of a social activist who fights for Muslims’ rights.
