Struggles for Horizontal Identification: Muslims, Jews, and the Civil Sphere in Germany

Abstract

Muslims across Europe have been labeled as uncivil since the migration waves of postcolonial and guestworker migrants in the mid-20th century. In this paper, I bring the Muslim experience in the German capital into conversation with Civil Sphere Theory (CST), which analyzes how senses of cultural boundedness are supported, shaped, and contested through the interrelations between the institutions of civil society and social movements aimed at expanding civic inclusion. Drawing on two years of ethnographic research in a Berlin mosque, I move from Muslim associations with incivility to the actions these associations provoke in relation to the civil sphere: exploring how those deemed uncivil exert agency in response to, and also in spite of a civil/uncivil divide. Through the voices and experiences of my interlocutors, I show that Muslims are not simply a victimized out-group excluded from the German civil sphere, but are also agents of change who actively seek to gain full inclusion within it. Specifically, I trace how my German Muslim interlocutors contend with their negative social status by drawing on narratives, and enlivening connections that link them to the German Jewish experience: seeking incorporation in the civil sphere through identifications with another “Other,” and through this other, also mainstream society.

Integration of the Movement to Spread Islamic Teachings in Answering the Challenges of the Modern Era and Technological Development

“…The impact of modernization urges Muslims to adapt more aggressively to changes, affecting individuals of all ages. This is because Muslims in different parts of the world do not live as a single homogeneous Muslim community, especially given the complexity of differences in religious beliefs (Becker, 2023). Therefore, Muslims must quickly and accurately address these differences without losing their identity or character as Muslims.…”