Challenges and experiences of adopting a Muslim identity: narratives of Scottish and German women who converted to Islam.

Abstract

This thesis sets out the narratives of Scottish and German women who converted to Islam, in an attempt to explore the complexity of identity formation among Muslim women converts who have to balance their native identity with their chosen one. This study builds upon a poststructuralist conceptualisation of identity, whereby discourses shape the process of conversion and subjective experiences of the women. Semi-structured interviews reveal how becoming Muslim is constantly negotiated within old and new relations and within wider society. It becomes evident that the adopted Muslim identity is not fixed and can only be understood as multi-dimensional and mutli-layered. This thesis observes how women's discursive context continuously shapes and re-negotiates their identity.