Abstract
This article explores how new practices and articulations of fatherhood are emerging among Muslim men in Denmark. With an explicit focus on care as both practice and ideal, the article accounts for the emergence of new forms of fatherly commitment, intimacy, and caregiving in domestic life. Drawing on ethnographic material from different social housing areas in and around the city of Copenhagen, I show how these new practices and imaginaries of fatherhood are assemblages of both Islamic ethics and values afforded by the Danish welfare state. Exploring the interlacement of care, Islam, and fatherhood in Denmark, the article provides a nuanced perspective on the various social roles of Muslim men as both fathers, sons, and husbands.
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Notes
The fieldwork was carried out in relation to my master program at the Department of Anthropology at the School of Culture and Society, Aarhus University, Denmark.
Throughout the entire fieldwork, I have had full access to activities and meetings organized by Baba. Most of the participatory research was done in relation to the various activities and reflection exercises facilitated by Baba.
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Grüner, J.S. Emergent fatherhood: new articulations of fatherhood among Muslim men in Denmark. Cont Islam 15, 233–247 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11562-020-00455-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11562-020-00455-x