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

Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 278
Author(s):  
Bat sheva Hass

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.

Societies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bat Hass ◽  
Hayden Lutek

This research focuses on Dutch Muslim women who chose to practice Islam, whether they were born Muslim (‘Newly Practicing Muslims’) or they chose to convert (‘New Muslims’). This study takes place in a context, the Netherlands, where Islam is popularly considered by the native Dutch population, as a religion oppressive to women. How do these Dutch Muslim women build their identity in a way that it is both Dutch and Muslim? Do they mix Dutch parameters in their Muslim identity, while at the same time, inter-splicing Islamic principles in their Dutch sense of self? This study is based on an ethnography conducted in the city of Amsterdam from September to October 2009, which combines insights taken from in-depth interviews with Dutch Muslim women, observations from Quranic and Religious classes, observations in a mosque, and one-time events occurring during the month of Ramadan. This paper argues that, in the context of being Dutch and Muslim, women express their agency, which is their ability to choose and act in social action: they push the limits of archetypal Dutch identity while simultaneously stretching the meaning of Islam to craft their own identity, one that is influenced by themes of immigration, belongingness, religious knowledge, higher education and gender.


Author(s):  
Yanwar Pribadi

Abstract This article discusses the relationship between Sekolah Islam (Salafism-influenced Islamic schools) and urban middle-class Muslims. Based on ethnographic fieldwork in the City of Serang (Kota Serang), near Jakarta, this paper argues that these conservative and puritan Muslims demonstrate their Islamic identity politics through their engagement with Sekolah Islam. The analysis of in-depth interviews with and close observations of parents of students and school custodians (preachers or occasionally spiritual trainers) at several Sekolah Islam reveals that they have attempted to pursue ‘true’ Islamic identity and have claimed recognition of their identity as the most appropriate. The pursuit of a ‘true’ Islamic identity has infused Islamic identity politics, and there is an oppositional relationship between local Islamic traditions and Salafism, as seen in Sekolah Islam. The relationship between Islam and identity politics becomes intricate when it is transformed into public symbols, discourses, and practices at many Sekolah Islam. This paper shows that through their understanding and activities at Sekolah Islam, these Muslims are avid actors in the contemporary landscape of Islamic identity politics in Indonesia. By taking examples from Sekolah Islam in Indonesia, this article unveils social transformations that may also take place in the larger Muslim world.


2021 ◽  
Vol 122 ◽  
pp. 06005
Author(s):  
Olga Anatolievna Griva ◽  
Taisiya Nikolaevna Danilova ◽  
Igor Grigoryevich Timoshchuk ◽  
Zarema Zudievna Khairedinova

The authors draw attention to the issue of gender differences in the features of the subjective experience of happiness and unhappiness. The article describes the results of a study conducted with clients of psychologists who report problems related to the experience of destructive interpersonal relationships and consider themselves deeply unhappy in life. The purpose of the study is to reveal the gender specificity of the frustration of the subjects’ life needs underlying the deep experience of unhappiness in their lives. A peculiarity of the approach used by the authors is the consideration of issues of psychological nature in the context of philosophical and religious understanding of eternal values, such as happiness and love for one’s neighbor. A special focus of the authors’ attention is the problems related to the philosophical and religious basis of consideration of the feminine as Sophia the Wisdom of God with the complex of her rejection, the dominant sense of guilt, and the desire to return to the Father. Such methodological symbiosis is facilitated by interdisciplinarity as one of the main principles of the authors’ interaction with the materials of this work. The Thematic Apperception Test (TAT) aimed at the amplification of subjects’ unconscious intentions is used as a diagnostic instrument. The conducted psychological study allows to reveal and describe some of the causes for the manifestation and experience of happiness and unhappiness in the lives of modern men and women and show specific differences between their subjective experiences of happiness and unhappiness in their lives. Unlike previous studies of this kind, the deployed philosophical and religious studies approach provides an opportunity to take a new look at the outlined issues considering them from the point of the philosophical context of values.


2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 13-35
Author(s):  
H. Şule Albayrak

For decades the authoritarian secularist policies of the Turkish state, by imposing a headscarf ban at universities and in the civil service, excluded practising Muslim women from the public sphere until the reforms following 2010. However, Muslim women had continued to seek ways to increase their knowledge and improve their intellectual levels, not only as individuals, but also by establishing civil associations. As a result, a group of intellectual women has emerged who are not only educated in political, social, and economic issues, but who are also determined to attain their socio-economic and political rights. Those new actors in the Turkish public sphere are, however, concerned with being labeled as either “feminist,” “fundamentalist” or “Islamist.” This article therefore analyzes the distance between the self-identifications of intellectual Muslim women and certain classifications imposed on them. Semi-structured in-depth interviews with thirteen Turkish intellectual Muslim women were carried out which reveal that they reject and critique overly facile labels due to their negative connotations while offering more complex insights into their perspectives on Muslim women, authority, and identity.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
pp. 2333794X2110123
Author(s):  
Tiara Amelia ◽  
Hadi Pratomo ◽  
Asri C. Adisasmita ◽  
Evi Martha ◽  
Yeni Rustina ◽  
...  

Background: The infant and neonatal mortality rate in Depok City is still high, with low birth weight (LBW) and premature births being one of the main causes. In 2018, 14 out of 41 cases of early neonatal death were due to LBW. Studies show that Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) can prevent or reduce LBW deaths caused by hypothermia, but the implementation is still not evenly distributed. Objective: Describe KMC feasibility as a supporting material for a KMC policy umbrella at Depok City. Method: Qualitative research was conducted with a Rapid Assessment Procedure (RAP) design. A total of 56 informants were divided into 8 discussion groups, 7 in-depth interviews and 2 Focus Group Discussions (FGD). The types of informants were families and inter-sectoral officers. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data. Results: KMC implementation feasibility in Depok City in terms of facilities and infrastructure was still limited and the quality was insufficient. The number of human resources was still limited, and the competency was still not evenly distributed. LBW family readiness can be maintained if provided with complete and accurate knowledge; therefore, a strong commitment may develop to continue KMC at home. The potential sources of KMC financing are found at health facilities and inter-sectoral; however, to use it, a legal umbrella at the city district level is necessary. Conclusions: The factors of potential financing sources need to be followed up into a priority. This is to overcome the constraints of KMC feasibility implementation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 393-393
Author(s):  
John Pothen ◽  
Keland Yip ◽  
Ellen Idler

Abstract Can forgotten stories from the past inform a city’s future? As older adults continue to live longer and comprise more of the population than ever before, the suitability of gentrifying spaces for older adults aging in place is increasingly important. Critical theories of gentrification argue that remembering the experiences of older adults in this context - experiences of suffering, resilience, and structural violence - is essential to promote changes in support aging in place. In this study, we tell a story of individual experiences, structural violence, and aging in the ongoing gentrification of one neighborhood in southwest Atlanta. We construct this narrative through a qualitative analysis of 1,500 local newspaper articles from 1950 to the present day and 10 in-depth interviews with ex-residents of the neighborhood aged 65-87. Drawing on the theory of planetary rent gaps, we frame gentrification as a class struggle between property-owners and working class residents. We highlight the city government’s role as a facilitator for property-owners through projects including the Model City initiative, preparation for the 1996 Olympics, and ongoing development surrounding the Atlanta BeltLine. We show how these projects have affected the prospects for aging in place in general and, specifically, by affecting access to healthcare services. We share this story in an effort to combat the politics of forgetting and to inform a richer, more inclusive, and more equitable future for gentrifying spaces.


2020 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-107
Author(s):  
João Pedro Santos

In the 1960s, Portugal lived through a period of rapid industrialization in what became known as the golden cycle of Portuguese industry. This late industrialization makes Portugal one of the countries ruled by a peripheral Fordism, which is particularly relevant in the region of Setúbal, since several heavy industry companies settled there, among them Setenave and Lisnave. These shipyards are described by workers as being “a city within the city” mostly given their dimension and labour contingent. However, this industrial “city” was more than a place of economic production; it was also a place for sociability. Informed by semi-structured in-depth interviews with former shipyard workers, and focused on the meaning they attribute to the changes experienced between the 1970s and the deindustrialization period of the 1980s, this article analyses the transition from a working culture based on solidarity to a culture dominated by competition and individualism.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 83-99
Author(s):  
Yok-Fong Paat ◽  
Trina L Hope ◽  
Hector Zamora ◽  
Laura C Lopez ◽  
Christian Salas

Using in-depth interviews, this study examined the social upbringing, subjective experiences and coping mechanisms of Mexican origin ex-convicts before and after their incarceration. Overall, our participants experienced multiple structural disadvantages prior to and following incarceration. Many grew up in environments with little social control—lacking good parenting or role models—and embedded in communities of concentrated poverty and criminality. Many also disclosed their struggles to survive, lack of positive influences and legitimate/constructive coping mechanisms. Contrary to public stereotypes that Mexican origin ex-convicts are hardcore criminals, many were convicted of non-violent drug-related charges and the majority aspired to a crime-free future. To reduce recidivism and minimize future re-offending, we suggest that clinical practitioners, social service providers and policy planners address the aforementioned needs and challenges that contributed to ex-convicts getting in trouble with the law to begin with.


Society ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-12
Author(s):  
Eraskaita Ginting ◽  
Yusnaini Yusnaini

People in Jambi city assume that Pasar Hong Kong, a traditional market located in Jelutung sub-district, is “a Chinese market”, even some areas in the city of Jambi such as Jelutung, Koni, and Talang Banjar are dominated by the ethnic of Chinese. This research aims to explore how social inequality that occurs due to the advantages and disadvantages of an ethnic group so that it can affect individual attitudes that damage social capital. This research uses a case study approach with in-depth interviews and literature study as data collection techniques. The subjects of this study were ethnic Malay and Chinese female merchants in Pasar Hong Kong, Jambi city, Indonesia. This research found that social inequalities that occur among the female merchants of ethnic Malay and Chinese in Pasar Hongkong occur naturally, where both merchants and buyers have a high tolerance when interacting. Although sometimes there are differences in attitude when the merchants serve different ethnic buyers. The involvement of traditional leaders in managing social inequalities is very important due to the lack of assimilation among ethnic Malay and Chinese.


Religions ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (10) ◽  
pp. 791
Author(s):  
Lidia Rodríguez ◽  
Juan Luis de León ◽  
Luzio Uriarte ◽  
Iziar Basterretxea

A number of empirical studies have shown the continuous lack of adherence and the growing autonomy of the population regarding religious institutions. This article reflects on the kind of relationship between deinstitutionalisation and religious experience based on the following hypothesis: the evident decline in religious institutions does not necessarily lead to the disappearance or the weakening of religious experience; rather, it runs simultaneously with a process of individualisation. Our aim is to provide empirical evidence of such transformations; therefore, we do not get involved in speculations, but take into account the contributions of scholars concerning three key terms integrated in the conceptual framework of “religious experience’’: “experience of God”, “God image”, and “institutional belonging”. We analysed 39 in-depth interviews with a qualitative approach; interviews were conducted during the years 2016–2018 amongst Evangelical and Catholic populations in three Latin American cities (Córdoba, Montevideo, and Lima) and in the city of Bilbao (Spain). These interviews clearly indicate a growing autonomy from the religious institution, while evidencing a rich range of experiences of God and a great diversity of God representations. In both cases, they point to processes of individualisation of believers who elaborate their own religious experience in a personal and complex way.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document