“Conversion” to Islam and the Construction of a Pious Self

Nieuwkerk, K. van

doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780195338522.013.028

Cited by 8 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…Other popular terms in the narratives of my interlocutors were "always felt a Muslim", "white Muslima", "coming home", "finding peace" and "finding one's own true self". This is evident in other ethnographies on Dutch Muslimas as well, whether born into Islam or converted at a later stage in life (Badran 2006;Bartels 2000Bartels , 2005Buitelaar 2006;Buitelaar 2014;Moors 2009;Moors and Vroon-Najem 2019;Van Nieuwkerk 2004;Van Nieuwkerk 2014;Vroon 2014). Another interesting point in this regard is the extension of the studied topic over the borders of research: some of the participants became my friends, others wanted to invite me to their gatherings as a friend, rather than a researcher.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

“…Other frequent terms in their narratives were phrases such as "always felt a Muslim", "white Muslima", "Dutch sister" (Nederlandse zuster, in Dutch), "coming home", "finding peace", "finding one's own true self" and "sisterhood" which oftentimes expresses their desire to be involved in (alternative) feminist voices in Dutch Islam, as they express their interest in being involved in organizing and leading women's groups, equality in religious practice and even to be involved in mixed Muslim groups. This has emerged in other ethnographies on Dutch Muslimas as well, whether the informants were born into Islam or converted at a later stage in life (Badran 2006;Bartels 2000;Bartels 2005;Buitelaar 2006Buitelaar , 2014Moors 2009;Moors and Vroon-Najem 2019;Van Nieuwkerk 2004;Van Nieuwkerk 2014;Vroon 2014;Stoica et al 2012).…”

Section: New Muslimas and Newly Practicing Muslimasmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Although Hollywood studios, as discussed in Ortner's work, and mosques in Amsterdam are certainly not similar in any way, they are both examples of a field that is hard to enter. Perhaps if my identity were different, let us say converted Dutch (Vroon 2014), European with a non-Muslim background (Bartels 2005;Buitelaar 2006;Sealy 2017;Van Nieuwkerk 2014) or born Muslim (Alyedreessy 2016; Ashqar-Sharary and Abu-Rabia-Queder 2020), I would perhaps feel more comfortable. With my Jewish, and especially Israeli identity, I felt like an inferior, or as a reluctant bridge builder.…”

Section: Ethnography In Amsterdam-reflections On Doing Ethnograpfy At "Home"mentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Hybrid Researcher: Entering the Field, Ethnography and Research among Dutch Muslim Women from 2009 to 2019

Hass

2021

Religions

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This paper focuses on ethnography among Dutch Muslim women who chose to practice Islam (whether they were born Muslim, known as ‘Newly practicing Muslims,’ or they chose to convert, known as ‘New Muslims’), which is often considered by the native Dutch population as a religion oppressive to women. This paper is part of a larger project that seeks to understand how these Dutch Muslim women build their identity in a way that it is both Dutch and Muslim, whether or not they mix Dutch parameters in their Muslim identity, while at the same time intersplicing Islamic principles in their Dutch senses of self. This study is based on an annual ethnography conducted in the city of Amsterdam from September 2009 to October 2019, that combines insights taken from in-depth interviews with Dutch Muslimas, observations in gatherings for Quranic and Religious studies, observations in a mosque located in a block of neighborhoods with a high percentage of immigrant and Muslim populations, and one-time events occurring during special times (i.e., Ramadan, the summer, Christmas, and the Burka Ban). This paper has a special focus on the ethnography and the positionality of the author as a researcher who is both an insider and outsider in this specific field and her subjective experiences that could be methodologically relevant for other scholars and ethnographers. This paper will explore the techniques that helped the author enter the field, collect data for this ethnography and the construction of knowledge in this specific field, including the insider–outsider axis, code switching, emotions and assumptions in the field and positionality, which will all be explained in detail. This paper takes the reader on the journey of entering the field and shows them the various techniques that were used to enter the field in order to build report and trust between the researcher and the participants in this study.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 71%

Section: New Muslimas and Newly Practicing Muslimasmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Ethnography In Amsterdam-reflections On Doing Ethnograpfy At "Home"mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Hybrid Researcher: Entering the Field, Ethnography and Research among Dutch Muslim Women from 2009 to 2019

Hass

2021

Religions

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“…Based on those resources it can be understood that the theories of conversion have different stages that impact the search of identity from the outsider but not from the convert himself also the place of the researches are in Asia or Europe. Like it is showed in study made by Nieuwkerk [4] where describes the theoretical approach in which conversion is understood as a complex contextual experience and long-term process that involves the construction of identities, discourses, and a pious self. This study was based on the growing number of studies on conversion to Islam, Internet narratives, and fieldwork among Dutch female converts.…”

Section: Conversionmentioning

confidence: 93%

“…On the other hand, conversion is a process of selfdiscovering, adaptation and acceptance. Joshua Iyadurai [4] in his article mentions that conversion is a major change of situation in one's life that creates an identity crisis where the convert forms a new identity based on one's conversion experience both identity experience and conversion experience have behavioral affect. Therefore, a new identity is formed based on a newfound relationship with God and the faith community.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perception of Identity and Religious Conversion

Bulut¹

2022

Curr Res Psychol Behav Sc

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Counseling psychology is a practice that focuses on how people generally function both personally and in their relationships. It also addresses the emotional, social, work, and physical health concerns people might have. For that reason, counseling psychologists help people with physical, emotional and mental health issues helping to improve their sense of well‐being, relieve feelings of distress and resolve crises. This paper will focus on environment or situational influence of religious conversion into the self-identity of the convert and what kind of skills are needed for the counselor to guide this kind of clients when facing any kind of challenge. The meaning of conversion will be explained, then a relation with selfidentity will be described later on how counselors could approach this kind of people will be recommended

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Interpreting conversion in antiquity (and beyond)

Jacobs¹

2021

Religion Compass

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This essay explores the persistent scholarly desires and motivations that structure the historical study of conversion in religious studies. Most “conversion studies” take a phenomenological approach, which acknowledges the diverse processes, contexts, and meanings of conversion but nonetheless sees the phenomenon as a way to access the contours of global religion. Phenomenology of conversion reveals a desire for bounded religions arranged in a comparable system, “religion.” A hermeneutical approach to conversion does not seek to access a stable phenomenon but asks why conversion as a discourse is deployed. This form of narrative interpretation can open up new possibilities in what we think the study of religion can, and should, do. The specific examples of Jewish conversion to Christianity in late antiquity act as case studies.

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“Conversion” to Islam and the Construction of a Pious Self

Cited by 8 publications

References 0 publications

The Hybrid Researcher: Entering the Field, Ethnography and Research among Dutch Muslim Women from 2009 to 2019

The Hybrid Researcher: Entering the Field, Ethnography and Research among Dutch Muslim Women from 2009 to 2019

Perception of Identity and Religious Conversion

Interpreting conversion in antiquity (and beyond)

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