"Having an Affair with Imam!"

Negotiating Religion in Everyday Life of Young Muslims. A case study of YouTube- Channel SidnDina  

Young Muslims in Europe seek to find a pattern of life which is neither hostile nor unwelcoming to both of their needs: Living a “normal” contemporary life while being attached to their Islamic beliefs. This scenario is not new to the study of contemporary Islam. However, while research focuses mainly on religious intellectuals or groups, generally outside Western societies , little is known about everyday life.

How do individuals answer to questions and react to the challenges as a result of the above described scenario? How and where do Muslims negotiate “taboo” topics, such as gender and sexuality which are particularly put to the core of discourse.

To shed light on to the aforementioned questions this project focuses on a most popular YouTube-channel produced by British Muslim couple Sid and Dina. Their channel offers an anonymous space for discussing questions, both from Muslim and Non-Muslim users, such as “Forced to wear the Hijab”, “Body image and the first night” or “Having an affair with the Imam”.

Dr. Fatma Sagir | Funding through University College Freiburg Teaching Fellowship