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Periodical article Periodical article
Title:The Occupation of Public Space through Religious and Political Events: How Senegalese Migrants Became a Part of Harlem, New York
Author:Salzbrunn, Monika
Year:2004
Periodical:Journal of Religion in Africa
Volume:34
Issue:4
Pages:468-492
Language:English
Geographic terms:Senegal
United States
Subjects:Peoples of Africa (Ethnic Groups)
Urbanization and Migration
Religion and Witchcraft
migration
Mourides
politics
Sufism
External link:https://www.jstor.org/stable/1581508
Abstract:During the last twenty years, Senegalese migration has shifted from West African cities to France, from France to its European neighbour countries and finally towards the United States of America. Whereas the secular French state discourages religious display, especially within public space, the more community-oriented USA is far from being opposed to religious references in the public sphere. In this article, I aim at analysing how Senegalese migrants who have grown up in secular states (Senegal and/or France) use American public space to demonstrate their political and religious identity through the organisation of special events. Even though the migrants, notably the political and religious activists, take into consideration the cultural and political differences between their various places of residence, they follow continuous strategies across their translocal spaces. Special events like the Murid Parade in July or the Senegalese presidential election campaign in spring 2000 are rich empirical data for the analysis of the complex interaction between Senegalese inside and outside their country, their translocal networks and their connections to the local situation in New York City. The latter includes the different inhabitants of Harlem and the local geographical setting, the representatives of the state and the politics of migration, as well as the Mayor and his political program. The recently opened House of Islam founded by members of the Murid Sufi order in Harlem shows how deeply the Senegalese in the US are already rooted. However, the annual religious event organised by the Murids is only one demonstration of identity politics. In order to illustrate the diversity of the community, I will show how the events organised during the Senegalese Presidential election campaign in 2000 in New York City take into consideration the complexity of the religious, political and economic identities of the American Senegalese.
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