Religious transnationalism of the Yārsāni community in Sweden

Abstract

Concepts of diaspora concerning related factors of social transformationhave been investigated with respect to religion and attempts to preserve ethnicidentity in society without abandoning group identity.The main objective of this study is to examine the ethnic and religious narrative of the Yārsānis in diaspora and how the dynamics of religious transformation become apparent in a description of diaspora.Reference will be made to the theoretical framework developed by Steven Vertovec and Peggy Levitton diaspora, transnationalism, and migration in their relation to religion. The article follows two major theoretical premises: How Yarsanis‘ changing attitudes in new cultural settings necessitate adaptations that affect their religion and culture, and the effects of integration in Sweden due to the ritual encounters between Yarsanis and the, apparently, „secular“ Swedish values.How do these new contexts create open space for narrating “Yārsāni-ness”?