‘Sometimes I am Spanish and Sometimes Not’: A Study of the Identity and Integration of Spanish Muslim Women

Abstract

This article reports part of a wider investigation which is still being developed and analyzes in depth the lives of female university students who are both Spanish and Muslim. The first part of this research was published in the Revista Española de Educación Comparada, where the results of the study in Madrid are presented. Here, the second part of the research is presented: the outcomes in the Valencian Community, Ceuta and Melilla. The research focuses on the identity and integration of female Spanish Muslim university students in the society in which they were born and grew up. The situation in Ceuta and Melilla is analyzed, which is totally different than the situation in Madrid and the Valencian Community because of their history and location in the north of Africa, and because of the large Muslim population in both cities. Through a primarily qualitative methodology, complemented by the quantitative method, the research investigates which elements these women will include or exclude from their identities and which adaptation strategy (following Berry's model) they have selected to interrelate with their society. The primary data are taken from one-to-one interviews, group discussion sessions and surveys.