Middle Eastern Christian Spaces in Europe: Multi-sited and Super-diverse

Abstract

Despite little scholarly attention, Middle Eastern Christian Churches are a well-established element of the European religious landscape. Based on collaborative research, this article examines how three mutual field visits facilitated a deeper understanding of the complexity that characterises church establishment and activities among Iraqi, Assyrian/Syriac and Coptic Orthodox Christians in 2 the UK, Sweden and Denmark. Exploring analytical dimensions of space, diversity, size, and minority position we identify three positions of Middle Eastern Christians: in London as the epitome of super-diversity, in Copenhagen as a silenced minority within a minority, and in Södertälje as a visible majority within a minority. KeywordsIdentity formation, Middle Eastern Christians, migrant churches, multi-sited fieldwork, superdiversity 1. Introduction St Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church in Kensington, London, was completely full. It was Palm Sunday and three of us were taking part in the Holy Liturgy service. Lucky to get a folding chair we were squeezed in between the last pew and the participants who were less lucky and had to stand. A woman in front of us was platting crosses of straw and shortly after we arrived she gave us each one, as she did for other newcomers. After a couple of hours of preaching and reading, switching between English, Arabic and Coptic, we left the church. Next stop was Ealing, 10 kilometers and 45 minutes away, where we attended the evangelical service of Living Water Arabic Church. The service was introduced by loud rhythmic music performed by a choir and accompanied by the preacher playing the keyboard. Almost an hour later he gave an engaged speech in Arabic with simultaneous interpretation into English. Fewer people were present, but we noticed with surprise that one of the women attending had also attended the morning's service at St Mark's.

(In)visibility and the Muslim other: Narratives of flight and religious identity among Iraqi Christians in Denmark

“…I see narrative accounts as ‘narratives of location and positionality’ that give access to ‘the ways the narrator, at a specific time and space, is able to make sense of and articulate their placement in the order of things’, and thus the dynamics of collective imaginings and social actions in regard to belonging (Anthias, 2002: 498–501). By focusing on Iraqi Christians’ relations to both white majority Christians and Middle Eastern Muslims in Iraq/the Middle East and Denmark/Europe, I show that for a ‘minority within a minority’ (Galal et al., 2016), it is particularly demanding to claim belonging and recognition because they are struggling to manage their visibility.…”

“…Christians from Iraq belong to several denominations, including the Chaldean Catholic Church, the Assyrian Church of the East, the Ancient Church of the East and the Syriac Orthodox Church. The Assyrian/Syriac communities closely link religious identity with ethnicity despite ongoing debates on boundaries and name (Atto, 2011; Galal et al., 2016). Among Chaldean Christians, there is contestation regarding the extent to which their religious identity should be constructed as an ethnic one.…”

“…They are stopped, restricted from occupying the position as Christians, due to their ‘non-white body’. Thus, they are not only an invisible minority among other larger minorities (Galal et al., 2016); their ‘(real or imagined) embodied and biological features become associated with certain meanings and values’ (Leinonen and Toivanen, 2014: 161) and, as a result, often absorbed in a critical public discourse on the much larger group of Muslim minorities in Denmark. In other words, they are misrecognized as Muslims.…”

“…In Denmark, the vast majority of immigrants with origins outside Europe and the Anglo-Saxon countries come from the Middle East, and many are from Iraq. Given that Middle Eastern Christians in Europe can be seen as a ‘minority within a minority’, they are often almost invisible to national policymakers, media and society (Galal et al., 2016: 17–21). They are also rarely addressed in academia.…”

Middle Eastern Christian Identities in Europe

“…Indeed, given that in many European national contexts these communities can be seen as a "minority within a minority," they are often almost invisible to national policymakers, media, and society. 7…”