Faithful Journeys: unpacking the religious luggage of Senegalese Murid migrants in Europe

Kaag, M.M.A. (2023)

Article / Letter to editor

This contribution aims to approach the theme of a traveling Islam by starting from
moving people and considering how their religious “luggage”—in terms of beliefs,
ideas, and practices—travels with them and what this means for the circulation of
religious ideas in Africa and beyond. The paper focuses particularly on Senegalese
migrants of the Murid Sufi order residing in Italy and the Netherlands; it investigates
how their religious luggage is important to them in the migration context and may
circulate further from there. In addition, it explores how their religious luggage is
moulded in, and through, their migration experiences: for instance, its meaning may
change, or another layer may be added. Finally, ideas on (the force of) the Muridiyya
may travel back to Senegal, adding other layers to the meaning of religion there as well.

• embodied religion
• Islam
• Muridiyya
• Murid diaspora
• Senegal

• All authors: Kaag, M.M.A.
• Date: 2023
• Journal: Islamic Africa
• Volume: 14
• Pages: 79 - 97
• DOI: doi:10.1163/21540993-20220001
• Link: https://brill.com/view/journals/iafr/14/1/article-p79_005.xml