My Articles & Contributions

This article I wrote as part of a collection in honour of Wilhelm Gräb, the mastermind of the IRTG who unfortunately passed away last year.

In my essay on luxury headscarves, I delve into the complexities surrounding this contested issue, highlighting the necessity of a Muslim theological discussion to better understand the nuanced and varied religious phenomena within the sociological realm. Drawing on Wilhelm Gräb’s approach to lived religion, I emphasise how individuals live out their religion in diverse ways, resolving their often conflicting religious and social needs.

Through the example of luxury headscarves, I show that ordinary Muslims provide interpretations of Islam that are just as relevant as those from religious leaders. The choices Muslim women make regarding headscarves involve a dynamic process of balancing personal preferences and religious values, reflecting the moral flexibility and interpretive nature of lived religion. This perspective underscores the importance of examining how people justify their religiously motivated actions, as it shifts the focus from the object of study to the objective of understanding the lived experiences of religion.

Here is my essay for download (open access).

Last year, my friend and teacher, Boike Rehbein, suddenly passed away. He had shaped a generation of scholars across the globe, including myself. In the essay, I look at his characteristics: His conceptual principle of Verstehen, his scholarly contribution through habitus hermeneutics and his structural contribution through the specific design of the Global Studies Programme (GSP). Assessing these three elements and seeing how they are linked, I propose moving towards a Rehbeinian pedagogy, which is instrumental in levelling the academic playing field and allows critical sociology to gain a global orientation.

in: Gedenkschrift Rehbein „Für eine menschliche Welt – Zum Werk von Boike Rehbein“ (For a human work – Work of Boike Rehbein), 2024 Beltz Juventa, p. 188 et seqq. My essay can be downloaded from the publishing company directly.

Special Issue „Digital Youth and Religion“ in Religions 2022, 13(7), 658

This article argues that Muslims have created a specific Muslim Instagram that sustains youthfulness and cultivates their deen (religion). I have analysed over 500 images with the hashtags #muslim and #islam … By playing with notions of youthfulness, Muslims recontextualise their faith and practice online to cultivate their deen. They thereby …

Read more @ MPDI (open access)

This article reflects on Pakistan’s imaginary within contemporary Indian society. It is based factually on a personal experience of events and encounters during my study visit at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in
New Delhi 2018.

Südasien-Chronik/South Asia Chronicle 2022 (12)

Read more @ HU-Server (open access)

How is Muslim religious identity impacted by Muslim dating apps? The development of Muslim dating apps within the last decade has led to Muslims seeking partners beyond their physical and social locality. The following research takes inner-Muslim discursive traditions into account to examine how Muslim males …

Award-winning article for the DAAD–Prize 2021.

Go to the Brill-Journal