An “Integrating Enclave”: The Case of Al-Hayat, Germany's First Islamic Fitness Center for Women in Cologne

Abstract

Muslim minorities in Europe are often portrayed in Western discourses as either secularized and "integrated" or religiously devout and "segregated". The article challenges this common dichotomization. It argues that some Muslim minorities manifest their Islamic identity by concurrently promoting certain aspects of European integration agendas while rejecting others. These individuals endorse active and constructive Muslim participation in majority non-Muslim societies, yet justify any such interactions using ideological or physical constructs that both reaffirm Islam as a binding religious-legal system regulating all aspects of life and fortify identities that are distinct from Western ones. The article examines various models for this duality in the field of sports and focuses on the case of Germany's first Islamic fitness center for women, Al-Hayat in Cologne, which opened in April 2007. Through a field study, the article explores how the gym, which the German media depicts as an example of Muslim segregation but which its owner and members believe to be a force for integration, simultaneously advances aspects of both integration and segregation.

Community-Society Equilibrium: Religious Organizations in the Service of a Secular State

“…These changes are prevalent in education, employment (Hakak 2016 ), and cooperation with state agencies (Yogev 2021 ). Gap-minimizing is effectively done through mechanisms that produce a more integrative enclave—a partial integration in different contexts and settings, which on the one hand allows the closed community to participate in activities that were previously off-limits, and on the other hand continues to keep the boundaries of the community sufficiently well defined (e.g., Sorek 2007 on Arab-Israelis, and Shavit and Wiesenbach 2012 on European-Muslim women). Integrative enclaves are described as those that facilitate community members’ participation in permitted integrative activities while proscribing forbidden behaviors and activities.…”

Everyday bordering. Theoretical perspectives on national ‘others’ in sport and leisure time physical activity

“…Despite the often problematised low degree of physical activity among minority ethnic women in western societies (Author 2016, Author and colleague 2016), women-only swimming sessions, which are popular among Muslim women, have caused great debate in several European countries (Almila 2019, Shavit andWiesenbach 2012). In The first city council discussion described women-only swimming as an activity making the participants part of a segregated community.…”

Hijab, Sport and Schooling in Finland – from Principles to Practice

“…A further problem for such women may be how sport-related spaces such as dressing rooms and showers are arranged. Because displaying nudity in front of other women is deemed inappropriate by many Muslims, women may need to develop various strategies of ensuring their privacy in gender-segregated settings that provide for limited individual privacy (Shavit and Wiesenbach 2012, Karlsson Minganti 2013, Almila 2018.…”

“…There have been debates both about the burkini and about gender-segregated swimming hours in numerous countries and locations within them (Shavit and Wiesenbach 2012, Karlsson Minganti 2013, Stadt Alfeld 310/XVII, Almila 2018, Lenneis and Agergaard 2018. The discursive elements evoked are fairly similar across different places, citing gender equality and discrimination, integration concerns, and even fears of 'Islamization' (Shavit and Wiesenbach 2012). During the 2008 communal elections in Finlandwhich are widely considered as the turning point in anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant sentimenta National Coalition party [Kansallinen Kokoomus] candidate wrote about Muslim women's swimming hours in her campaign blog.…”