This article investigates how two Middle Eastern Christian churches in Denmark are constructed as particular sensorial spaces that invite attendees to participate in and identify with specific times and spaces. As with other Christian groups, rituals of the Sunday mass constitute a highlight of the activities that confirm the congregations' faith and community, but for members of a minority faith, these rituals also serve other functions related to identification and belonging. Inspired by a practice-oriented (Bell 1992) and phenomenological approach to placemaking (Cresswell 2002) through sensory communication (Leistle 2006; Pink 2009), the article examines constructions of religious identity and belonging through ritual practices. The findings stem from fieldwork carried out in 2014-2015 and are part of a larger crossdisciplinary study of Egyptian, Iraqi and Assyrian Christians in Denmark. We argue that in various ways, the ritual forms a performative space for memory and belonging which, through bodily practices and engagement with the materialities of the church rooms, creates a memory that reconnects the practitioners with places elsewhere. More specifically, we argue that the Sunday ritual facilitates the connection with God and the eternal, a place and time with fellow believers, and a relocation to remember and re-enter a pre-migration past and 'homeland'.

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Despite little scholarly attention, Middle Eastern Christian Churches are a well-established element of the European religious landscape. Based on collaborative research, this article examines how three mutual field visits facilitated a deeper understanding of the complexity that characterises church establishment and activities among Iraqi, Assyrian/Syriac and Coptic Orthodox Christians in 2 the UK, Sweden and Denmark. Exploring analytical dimensions of space, diversity, size, and minority position we identify three positions of Middle Eastern Christians: in London as the epitome of super-diversity, in Copenhagen as a silenced minority within a minority, and in Södertälje as a visible majority within a minority. KeywordsIdentity formation, Middle Eastern Christians, migrant churches, multi-sited fieldwork, superdiversity 1. Introduction St Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church in Kensington, London, was completely full. It was Palm Sunday and three of us were taking part in the Holy Liturgy service. Lucky to get a folding chair we were squeezed in between the last pew and the participants who were less lucky and had to stand. A woman in front of us was platting crosses of straw and shortly after we arrived she gave us each one, as she did for other newcomers. After a couple of hours of preaching and reading, switching between English, Arabic and Coptic, we left the church. Next stop was Ealing, 10 kilometers and 45 minutes away, where we attended the evangelical service of Living Water Arabic Church. The service was introduced by loud rhythmic music performed by a choir and accompanied by the preacher playing the keyboard. Almost an hour later he gave an engaged speech in Arabic with simultaneous interpretation into English. Fewer people were present, but we noticed with surprise that one of the women attending had also attended the morning's service at St Mark's.

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Approaching Islam as a discursive terrain, this article challenges the tacit understanding of Islam as a repressor in young women’s lives and argues that well-educated, young female Muslims in Denmark use a discursive distinction between “real” Islam and “misguided” ethno-cultural traditions to challenge restrictive gender norms. Inspired by research on everyday lived religion and lived Islam, we show how the women—backed by their middle-class identity formations—posit a culture/religion dichotomy turning the discursive terrain of Islam into a resource in intergenerational discussions with their own families and wider communities. Addressing a gap in research literature on European Muslims, the article illustrates how middle-class formations play a significant part in the women’s responses to conventional authorities as the women apply Islamic sources in negotiations of gender boundaries.