Islamic practices in Belo Horizonte: Adaptations and choices in a bastion of Brazilian traditionalism

Abstract

This article aims to analyse sociologically the adaptations Islamic religiosity has been undergoing in Minas Gerais state, one of the most conservative states of Brazil and a bastion of Catholicism. In order to understand the consequences of the cultural negotiation in the practise of a religion that is considered to be ‘foreign’, and to what extent this process is guided and intermediated by Muslim leaders or defined by ‘individual’ decisions of believers, we analyse four important points addressed by Islamic normativity: Islamic clothing, prayers, halal food, and marriage. This research draws on 18 months of participant observation and interviews. We contend that community members, especially women, have a revived and rigorous religious practise, sometimes exceeding the demands of the Sheikh, not only due to the influence of global conservative religious movements, but also because of an elective affinity between the conservatism of Minas Gerais and traditional Islamic values concerning family and gender.