Imams in Flanders: A Research Note

This paper presents the results of an exploratory, mixed-method study on imams in Flanders. The research question was mainly who are they?, in an attempt to draw the first picture of their socio-demographic background, ethnicity, functions, and expectations with respect to their position in Flanders...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Loobuyck, Patrick 1974- (Author) ; Meier, Petra (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Taylor & Francis [2014]
In: Islam and Christian-Muslim relations
Year: 2014, Volume: 25, Issue: 4, Pages: 471-487
IxTheo Classification:AD Sociology of religion; religious policy
BJ Islam
KBD Benelux countries
TK Recent history
Further subjects:B Integration
B Flanders
B Imams
B European Islam
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
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Summary:This paper presents the results of an exploratory, mixed-method study on imams in Flanders. The research question was mainly who are they?, in an attempt to draw the first picture of their socio-demographic background, ethnicity, functions, and expectations with respect to their position in Flanders, or in Belgium more broadly speaking. The first three sections give context information about Muslims, Islam, and mosques in Belgium and Flanders. In the next sections, the research design and the results are presented. This presentation focuses on four issues: imams as immigrants; their tasks and workload; their job situation and attitude towards official recognition and payment; and finally their ambiguous attitudes towards government initiatives. We give also some reflections in dialogue with research on imams in other Western European countries. The conclusion discusses the challenges for imams and the government to become real partners within the further integration process of the Muslim community in Flanders and Belgium.
ISSN:1469-9311
Contains:Enthalten in: Islam and Christian-Muslim relations
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1080/09596410.2014.919721