Religion and the (de-)construction of Diaspora

Abstract

The aim of this article is to highlight aspects of the complex relationship between religious and ethno-national identity-building processes from transnational and trans-state perspectives, using the example of Muslim migrants from the former Yugoslavia in Switzerland, focussing on Albanians and Bosniaks.The starting point of the article is the idea that religions, in addition to their use of symbols and myths of origin to surround ethno-nationalist ‘assumptions’ with a special ‘aura of factuality’ (Geertz, 1993: 90), provide important resources in the form of universal values that are adopted by individuals as norms of daily conduct. Furthermore, because of their universal claims, religions provide supranational and transnational beliefs and give rise to leaders whose reach can extend beyond their nation or faith tradition.