The Transnational Afterlives of European Muslims

Balkan, Osman; Masarwa, Yumna

doi:10.1215/1089201x-9698255

Cited by 9 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 31 publications

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“…Contemporary Islamic deathscapes build upon past experiences (often negative, such as local community resistance against the provision of Islamic burial space) of bereavement in migrant diaspora (Beebeejaun et al, 2021;Hunter, 2016;Maddrell et al, 2021), where struggles for space are expressed both symbolically and materially (Ahmed, 2016;Maddrell & Sidaway, 2010). Islamic deathscapes, as any religious or cultural deathscape, are therefore contested spaces, territories of identity formation which to some extent evidence inclusion into the country of settlement, but can at the same time be perceived by some within majority populations as a threat to cultural unity and uniformity (Hunter, 2016; see also Ansari, 2007;Balkan & Masarwa, 2022;Kadrouch-Outmany, 2014Venhorst, Venbrux & Quartier, 2011).…”

Section: Islamic Deathscapes In Northwest Europementioning

confidence: 99%

Adapting to 'one-size-fits-all': constructing appropriate Islamic burial spaces in Northwestern Europe

House¹,

Westendorp²,

Dornelles³

et al. 2023

New Perspectives on Urban Deathscapes

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Fate wanted my husband to die and be buried at Merl Cemetery. For him, … he was not interested in being repatriated to Algeria. [In Algeria] we suffered a lot from terrorism, so he wanted to be buried here [in Luxembourg]. At first, we didn't know there was an Islamic cemetery. … I didn't know the whole procedure in Luxembourg. It all went through the funeral director. It's very different than how it goes [in Algeria] where we pick up the deceased and bury them where we want. And here the funeral director arranged it and they arranged his burial at the Islamic section. They didn't even ask us; it was a no-brainer to do it like that. That's good, but it would've been nice if we knew how it goes and everything. But until we had that experience, it is difficult [to know the procedure]. … You know I am, and especially him, and our daughters too, we are very open, we agree with acculturation in this case. At the time [of his death] I didn't realise what was happening. I didn't really think about it. The main thing was that it went well, that he had his prayers, that was important. But in hindsight, why not be buried next to others [i.e., non-Muslims]? … I'm a believer and a Muslim, everyone knows that. But you have to adapt to the new environment, I think you have to adapt. (Interview with Nouria, Luxembourg, 11 December 2020) 1 Nouria, an Algerian Muslim woman in her 50s, moved to Luxembourg over 20 years ago fleeing the Algerian Civil War and has lived there ever since. Four years ago, her husband suddenly passed away. As she explains, he was buried in the Islamic section of Merl cemetery, the largest cemetery in Luxembourg-city. In retrospect, she was grateful that her husband was buried according to Islamic principles, but she questioned whether burying him in a segregated section of the cemetery was in line with their values. She remains uncertain whether this choice, on the advice of the funeral company she hired, was the right way to bury, mourn, and remember her husband. And his burial has raised questions for her around her sense of belonging; to have, as a migrant long settled in Luxembourg, her husband's grave segregated along cultural and religious identities.

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Section: Islamic Deathscapes In Northwest Europementioning

confidence: 99%

Adapting to 'one-size-fits-all': constructing appropriate Islamic burial spaces in Northwestern Europe

House¹,

Westendorp²,

Dornelles³

et al. 2023

New Perspectives on Urban Deathscapes

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Hindu Mobilities and Cremation: Minority, Migrant and Gendered Dialogues and Dialectics in English and Welsh Towns

Maddrell

Mathijssen

Beebeejaun³

et al. 2023

IMISCOE Research Series

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In Chap. 1 Avril Maddrell, Brenda Mathijssen, Yasminah Beebeejaun, Katie McClymont and Danny McNally untangle the embodied, gendered, racialised and institutionalized cremation practices of Hindu communities in three case study towns: Northampton and Swindon in England and Newport in Wales. They argue that attending to questions of (in)adequate funerary infrastructure and norms – including prompt cremation; accommodating ritual requirements for witnessing the charging the cremator; the negotiation of designated sites for the disposition of cremated remains in local rivers; and local bus services – are essential steps to creating and maintaining a sense of inclusiveness, lived citizenship and justice for these communities. The chapter underscores the changing local-national-international mobilities of cremated remains and other evolving practices and beliefs to reflect the role of varied corporeal, material, institutional and religious-emotional (im)mobilities that are instrumental in shaping contemporary Hindu funerary practices and experiences in England and Wales. This raises issues regarding inclusive funerary provision for Hindus in England and Wales, as well as providing conceptual insights regarding the material and spiritual mobilities of the dead, their remains and their mourners.

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Deathscapes and Religion

Maddrell

2024

Springer International Handbooks of Human Geography

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The Transnational Afterlives of European Muslims

Cited by 9 publications

References 31 publications

Adapting to 'one-size-fits-all': constructing appropriate Islamic burial spaces in Northwestern Europe

Adapting to 'one-size-fits-all': constructing appropriate Islamic burial spaces in Northwestern Europe

Hindu Mobilities and Cremation: Minority, Migrant and Gendered Dialogues and Dialectics in English and Welsh Towns

Deathscapes and Religion

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