Ways of Being a Muslim: Unpacking Diversity through Empirical Evidence
By
Adis Duderija, New Age Islam
(With
Help Of Chat GPT)
22 December
2023
Conceptualising Contemporary Muslim Diversities
Has Long Intrigued Scholars Seeking To Categorise Muslims’ Varied
Interpretations And Practices. However, Proposed Typological Frameworks Suffer
From A Lack Of Empirical Grounding. Without Verification Against Real Muslims,
Constructed Frameworks Risk Divorcing Imagined Categories From Lived Realities.
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Ever since
9/11, people have wondered - what do Muslims really believe? Are their beliefs
diverse or all the same? Researchers have come up with different ways to
categorize Muslims but few studies asked Muslims directly.
Conceptualising
contemporary Muslim diversities has long intrigued scholars seeking to
categorise Muslims’ varied interpretations and practices. However, proposed
typological frameworks suffer from a lack of empirical grounding. Without
verification against real Muslims, constructed frameworks risk divorcing
imagined categories from lived realities. Categorizing theoretically alone
risks affirming biases without empirical substantiation. Too little considers
Muslims’ self-understandings beyond externally imposed labels.
Previous
studies proposing typologies provide conceptual schemes for understanding
Muslims’ religious orientations and practices. However, few empirically test
proposed categories against Muslims themselves. As a result, frameworks devised
alone risk misaligning invented categories from Muslims’ lived faith experiences.
Classifying theoretically prioritises prevailing theories yet risks divorcing
constructed typologies from how Muslims authentically interpret their religion
as lived.
By
addressing this critical gap, this landmark national survey offers the first
comprehensive empirical insights into the spread of proposed Muslim typologies
among Australian Muslims themselves. It bridges the epistemological disjuncture
between scholarly constructions detached from Muslims’ self-interpretations.
Rather than
imposing predetermined categories, respondents self-classified through
statements corresponding to authoritative scholarly typologies without
predetermined labels. This empirical approach enables understanding through
direct testimony untainted by externally imposed schemes. It enables critical
reflection by grounding prevailing categories in Muslims’ own religious
self-conceptions.
Findings
reveal diversity, not uniformity, characterises contemporary Muslim identities
in Australia. Contrary to stereotypes, variation prevails across proposed
schemas. While classifications align identities, overlaps abound between
constructed categories. Such empirical insights propel rethinking prevailing
conceptions through evidenced debate replacing reaction.
The main
typologies empirically detected were: progressive, liberal, secular, cultural
nominalist, traditionalist, Sufi, ethical Maqasidi, legalist, political
Islamist and militant. Such categories do not necessarily signify rigid
boundaries. They indicate families of approaches Muslims inhabit to varying
degrees. The results point to fluidity and overlap across proposed schemas.
Skeptics
question representativeness, yet proposed alternatives risk sustaining biases
if not empirically founded. Surveys’ methodological limitations are offset
against the immense insight gained into Muslims’ actual diversity by their own
testimony. Numbers map distributions qualitative approaches alone cannot.
Quantitative evidence challenges stereotypes through direct Muslim testimony.
Conceptual
frameworks risk divorcing notions from realities. Empirical grounding
reconnects categories to lived experiences. By situating proposed typologies
within Muslims’ self-understandings, this research bridges epistemological
divides between constructed categories and Muslims’ own religious
self-conceptions. It brings proposed schemas into contact with Muslims’
diversity of practice and belief.
Findings
propel reconsideration away from prevailing conceptions of homogeneity, towards
more nuanced understandings informed by Muslims themselves. Diversity comes to
the fore, defying assumptions of uniformity. Recognizing intra-Muslim variation
undermines perceptions sustained by singular essentialist frames. New insights
displace misconceptions through Muslims’ lived accounts.
The
conclusions fundamentally rethink prevailing conceptions and counter
misperceptions by grounding categorizations empirically in Muslims’ own
recollections of religious faith in practice, diversity and community. By
anchoring constructed categories in direct testimony rather than theoretical
constructions, this pioneering study stands to reshape scholarly and public
understanding with evidence from Muslims themselves. It points pathways beyond
prevailing misconceptions through Muslims’ lived religious self-understandings.
Rethinking
Muslim typologies demands direct empirical engagement to reconnect conceptual
frameworks with Muslims’ internal dynamics of interpretative diversity.
Situating proposed categories within Muslims’ self-reports realigns constructed
schemas with lived orientations, identities and pieties. Findings prompt
reconsideration grounded in Muslims’ testimony rather than imposed frameworks
alone. They invite rethinking Muslim complexities and plurality through
empirical insights informed by—rather than disjoined from—Muslims themselves.
Past
typological work provided conceptual order but lacked empirical testing. This
establishes the need for verifying proposed categories alongside conceptual
formulations. The novelty lies in grounding typologies in direct
self-reporting, avoiding imposed pre-packaging. Findings enable taking
conceptualisations beyond constructed categories to what Muslims themselves say
shapes religious and cultural self-understandings.
Future
research could employ expanded indicators or longitudinal analysis. But this
landmark study makes an important empirical contribution bringing proposed
typologies face-to-face with lived realities by situating schemas within direct
Muslim testimony from Australia. Findings prompt revisiting assumptions to
rethink prevailing conceptions through empirical insights emergent from within
Muslim communities themselves.
One
important implication of the research is
a more robust understanding of contemporary Islam than afforded by constructed
categories alone or prevailing misconceptions. Another is highlighting
diversity evident in lived diversities against essentialist views. A third
consequence prompts reconsidering constructs relationally formed through
Muslims’ self-articulations of faith in practice, belief and community.
Ultimately, findings enable renewed reflection on conceptualizing Muslim
diversities empirically grounded in Muslims’ own accounts of religion in their
lives.
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The piece
above is based on a recent academic article I co-authored titled -Muslim
Typologies In Australia: Findings Of A National Survey https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11562-021-00473-3
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A decades old patron of New Age Islam, Dr Adis
Duderija is a Senior Lecturer in the Study of Islam and Society, School of
Humanities, Languages and Social Science; Senior Fellow Centre for Interfaith
and Intercultural Dialogue, Griffith University | Nathan | Queensland |
Australia. His forthcoming books are ( co-edited)- Shame, Modesty, and Honor in Islam and Interfaith Engagement Beyond the
Divide (Springer)
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-west/muslim-diversity-empirical-evidence/d/131355
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