“Islam Provides for Women a Dignified and Honourable Position”: Strategies of Ahmadi Muslims in Differentiating Processes in Switzerland

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Notes

¹I do not wish to suggest a single, clearly defined group. The term “community” aims at an individual perception of human beings that is socially determined and constructed. Therefore, a community develops out of subjective criteria, and not out of objective criteria such as language or a common genealogical origin (Weber 1999).

²See Dümmler et al. 2010.

³See Alexander 1996; Espiritu 2001.

⁴ Ahmed-Ghosh 2004: 74. For detailed information about the Ahmadiyya's history and doctrine see also Valentine (2008), Gualtieri (1989 and 2004), Friedmann (2003), and Walter (1918). Schröter (2001) makes a rather critical contribution. For discussions focusing on legal or political aspects of persecution in Pakistan see Kaushik (1996) and Abenante (2000).

⁵See Ahmed-Ghosh 2006: 37.

⁶See Meier et al. 2004; Ettinger 2008.

⁷Although contact with Muslims extends over centuries, contemporary European society is just beginning to come to terms with the permanent settlement within their midst of communities distinguished by their socio-cultural and religious background (Husain 2000: 2).

⁸ Bourdieu 1979: 147–149.

⁹ Bourdieu 1999: 366.

¹⁰Dress worn by both women and men in South and Central Asia. It consists of trousers (shalwar), which are wide at the top and narrow at the ankle, and a long shirt (kameez or kurta). Women additionally wear a long scarf (dupatta), with which they may cover their hair.

¹¹The German interviews were translated into English by the author.

¹² Mayring 2000.

¹³See Ahmed-Ghosh 2004: 85.

¹⁴See also Goffman 1977.

¹⁵See Bartkowski and Read 2003.

¹⁶Similar statements also come up in public talks about the duties of women and men in Islam or on the position of women in Islam.

¹⁷ Ahmed-Ghosh 2006: 46.

¹⁸ Ahmed-Ghosh 2006: 50.

¹⁹See Dümmler et al. 2010.

²⁰See Baghdadi 2010; 2008.

²¹See Alexander 1996; Espiritu 2001.

²²See Espiritu 2001; Dümmler et al. 2010.

²³ Ahmed-Ghosh 2004: 85.