Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Position and Self Understanding of Sunni Muslim Imams in Norway

Position and Self Understanding of Sunni Muslim Imams in Norway Norwegian society is markedly secular, and religious leaders generally have no power beyond their own religious community. Public debate is nevertheless distinguished by a commonly held belief that religious leaders are powerful individuals. This is particularly the case with imams, who are accused of having too much power and of using this power to inhibit the integration of Muslims into Norwegian society. This article nuances this image by presenting imams’ activities and work; the conditions for this; and their self-understanding of their position of power in Norway. The imam’s role is illuminated through four fields: 1) the imam’s formal position, activities and areas of responsibility, 2) the imam’s authority regarding religious interpretation and advice or council, 3) the imam as he is presented in the Norwegian press, 4) the imam’s position as tempered by new Muslim authorities. 1 http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Muslims in Europe Brill

Position and Self Understanding of Sunni Muslim Imams in Norway

Journal of Muslims in Europe , Volume 3 (2): 209 – Sep 26, 2014

Loading next page...
 
/lp/brill/position-and-self-understanding-of-sunni-muslim-imams-in-norway-h0E0LQgOBk

References

References for this paper are not available at this time. We will be adding them shortly, thank you for your patience.

Publisher
Brill
Copyright
© Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands
ISSN
2211-792X
eISSN
2211-7954
DOI
10.1163/22117954-12341288
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Norwegian society is markedly secular, and religious leaders generally have no power beyond their own religious community. Public debate is nevertheless distinguished by a commonly held belief that religious leaders are powerful individuals. This is particularly the case with imams, who are accused of having too much power and of using this power to inhibit the integration of Muslims into Norwegian society. This article nuances this image by presenting imams’ activities and work; the conditions for this; and their self-understanding of their position of power in Norway. The imam’s role is illuminated through four fields: 1) the imam’s formal position, activities and areas of responsibility, 2) the imam’s authority regarding religious interpretation and advice or council, 3) the imam as he is presented in the Norwegian press, 4) the imam’s position as tempered by new Muslim authorities. 1

Journal

Journal of Muslims in EuropeBrill

Published: Sep 26, 2014

Keywords: Imam; power; self-understanding; media; religious interpretation; ‘new mediators’

References