Praying for One Umma: Rhetorical Construction of a Global Islamic Community in the Facebook Prayers of Young Finnish Muslims

Authors

  • Teemu Pauha University of Helsinki

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.33356/temenos.58019

Keywords:

Islam, Internet, Facebook, Prayer, Identity, Rhetorical Psychology

Abstract

In this paper, I demonstrate how a universalising Muslim identity is constructed in the Facebook prayers of young Finnish Muslims. By analysing the rhetorical devices utilized in the prayer updates, I argue that the prayers serve a function similar to the ‘flagging’ of national identity; the prayers portray the Islamic umma as a unified community and seek to diminish possible counter-discourses that emphasise ethnic divisions among Muslims. This study thus supports earlier observations of a novel ‘umma consciousness’ that is on the rise among young generations of Muslims in Europe.

Author Biography

Teemu Pauha, University of Helsinki

Department of World Cultures

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Published

2017-07-06

How to Cite

Pauha, T. (2017). Praying for One Umma: Rhetorical Construction of a Global Islamic Community in the Facebook Prayers of Young Finnish Muslims. Temenos - Nordic Journal for the Study of Religion, 53(1), 55–84. https://doi.org/10.33356/temenos.58019

Issue

Vol. 53 No. 1 (2017)

Section

Articles

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Copyright (c) 2017 Temenos - Nordic Journal of Comparative Religion

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