Íconos, sentidos e identidades en movimiento: estrategias, prácticas y discursos en una comunidad musulmana de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires

• Main Authors: Mari-Sol García Somoza, Mayra Soledad Valcarcel
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidad de los Andes 2016-04-01
• Series: Revista de Estudios Sociales
• Subjects: Islam; identity; globalization (Thesaurus); public space; transnationality; hijab (Author’s Keywords).
• Online Access: http://res.uniandes.edu.co/view.php/1068/index.php?id=1068
• ISSN: 0123-885X; 1900-5180

We analyze the processes of identity reconstruction in a Shiite community in Buenos Aires taking the effects of globalization and transnational phenomena into account. First, we reflect on the institutional strategies, practices and symbolic resources deployed by its members to define their presence in the public space. We then look at the impact of Political Islam on this group’s praxis and discursive rhetoric. Finally, we explore the relationship between political-religious language, the promotion of traditional family morality and corporal inscription —especially among the women— of Muslim identity. We conclude that turning certain diacritics of identity into icons and supporting certain political causes allows them to vindicate their belonging to a lineage of believers and to negotiate their position within the Argentine socio-religious field.