Community-making in times of displacement: The place of marriage and religious identification among young Muslim men and women

Abstract

This concluding essay integrates the various contributions of this special volume to conceptualize how South Asian migrant communities, whether in the UK, Bangladesh, or the US, respond to and negotiate multiple experiences of displacement and resettlement. I draw attention to the place of Islam – as religion, institutional context, social connection, and moral community – among young men and women in these multiple sites to highlight the salience of religious networks in the meaning of family, the identification of marriage partners, and the making of a moral compass to guide social and personal life. These networks unfold in a particular historical context where forms of Islamic othering and economic insecurity shape relations of social engagement and belonging among Muslim immigrants youth.