Abstract

 How and to what extent does religion play into the life-rupturing experiences that characterize forced migration? This article provides a novel look at how issues of religion and identity (re/de)constructions are entangled with the Syrian refugee crisis and mirrored in the diverse experiences relating to a sample of Syrian refugees now residing in Norway. The study aims to delve more deeply into the Syrian scene of war as a determinant backdrop to the Syrian refugee crisis, thereby tracing the intersection of religion in people’s experiences of conflict, displacement, and refugeehood. It argues for a lived dimension approach when analysing the variable ways in which empowering and disempowering aspects of religion cut into their migration trajectories. Additionally, it applies a theoretical lens derived from existential anthropology to explore how narrative negotiations veer between chaos, crisis, and disruption, on the one hand, and resilience, hope, and restitution, on the other. The study reveals an ambiguous empirical reality in which the nexus between religion and forced migration involves highly contradictory identification processes. Furthermore, it provides vivid polyvocal testimonies on how Syrians have navigated the liminal in-betweens of vulnerability and agency in their escape from Syria as well as during their journeys of displacement into refugeehood.
Highlights
How and to what extent does religion play into the life-rupturing experiences that characterize forced migration? This article provides a novel look at how issues of religion and identityconstructions are entangled with the Syrian refugee crisis and mirrored in the diverse experiences relating to a sample of Syrian refugees residing in Norway
The study aims to delve more deeply into the Syrian scene of war as a determinant backdrop to the Syrian refugee crisis, thereby tracing the intersection of religion in people’s experiences of conflict, displacement, and refugeehood. It argues for a lived dimension approach when analysing the variable ways in which empowering and disempowering aspects of religion cut into their migration trajectories. It applies a theoretical lens derived from existential anthropology to explore how narrative negotiations veer between chaos, crisis, and disruption, on the one hand, and resilience, hope, and restitution, on the other
How and to what extent does religion play into the life-rupturing experiences that characterize forced migration? The following study aims to provide a fresh look at how issues of religion and identityconstructions are entangled with the Syrian refugee crisis and mirrored in the diverse experiences of Syrian refugees residing in Norway
Summary
“Most of the war in Syria is wrapped under a religious cover.” “I think this is the worst feeling one can have, to arrive at a point where you feel that your life story has ended.” “It was fear on all the roads leading out of Syria.”. Not to mention that ‘religion’ itself is a highly contested concept that lends itself to multiple understandings as to how it has triggered, informed, and otherwise dynamically (re)shaped experiences of Syrians displaced by conflict and war These challenges notwithstanding, the present paper argues for a narrative approach in [3] which polyvocality and existential dimensions are viewed as a means of eliciting multiple voices and encounters of religion within the shared phenomenon of forced migration. This includes how lived religion, in a broad sense of the term, dynamically plays into emotionally charged “moments of being” and experiences of rupture (Jackson and Piette 2017). All were informed of and gave consent to the research project’s ethical standards, ensuring anonymity and confidentiality. During 2017 and 2018, in-depth interviews, focus group discussions, and informal conversations took place to shed light on a plurality of different perspectives regarding how religious issues operate in Syrian migration stories.
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