They fall to their knees in the country\u2019s mosques, hide behind headscarves and they hear only one call: The mighty Allah\u2019s. \u2018They\u2019 are Muslims\u2014\u2019they\u2019 are very religious.<\/p>\n
It is this image alone that the study of Islam and its followers contributes to when it focuses only on organized Muslims.<\/p>\n
This is according to Nadia Jeldtoft of the Center for European Islamic Thought at the University of Copenhagen\u2019s Faculty of Theology where she is working on a dissertation about \u2018the other Muslims\u2019\u2014the ones that don\u2019t fit preconceived stereotypes. <\/p>\n
According to Jeldtoft, \u2018the other Muslims\u2019 do not necessarily define themselves primarily as Muslims. The question is then to what degree Islamic research itself contributes to an over simplified view of a societal group by solely focusing on extremist Muslims.<\/p>\n
The problem with this narrow focus is that a large portion of research is not properly defined or explained in public debate, says Jeldtoft. When study results enter the political sphere they can be misconstrued and used as ammunition in the debate on Muslims and their religiousness. According to Jeldtoft, this carelessness with research information is very dangerous. <\/p>\n
\u00bbThe knowledge that research on Muslims and the Islamic faith brings to light reflects a complex situation that can be difficult to communicate to the public.\u00ab <\/p>\n
Researchers are partly to blame for the image of all Muslims as extremists, says Jeldoft who in connection with her dissertation has formulated a set of parameters to help diversify the research field\u2019s own ideas.<\/p>\n
\u00bbSome of the approaches we use to categorize Muslims within the field can be problematic. For example, we often speak of Muslims in terms of \u2018practicing\u2019 as opposed to \u2018non-practicing.\u2019 When these terms are not defined in the public sphere they become synonymous with \u2018fundamentalist\u2019 and \u2018well-integrated.\u00ab<\/p>\n
\u00bbCertain terms and ideas are political constructs, and those constructs should not be adopted by the research field,\u00ab maintains Jeldtoft. <\/p>\n
According to Jeldtoft, Christians or the so called \u2018cultural Christians\u2019 constitute the majority of Denmark\u2019s population in comparison to the Muslim minority and herein lies a complex power relationship.<\/p>\n
\u00bbIn this relationship Muslims are a deviation from the norm and that has consequences for how Muslims understand themselves \u2014 suddenly it becomes important to be the minority.\u00ab<\/p>\n
Researchers should be conscious of this relationship when results are disseminated from the think tank out into the real world. Jeldtoft believes the field\u2019s research methods need to be reevaluated.<\/p>\n
\u00bbWe need to rethink how we ask and under which circumstances the questions are asked. If we constantly identify Muslims as first and foremost \u2018Muslims\u2019 it will also become an important identity for the respondents.\u00ab<\/p>\n
A larger portion of Muslims than Christians have an active relationship to their religion, says J\u00f8rgen S. Nielsen, professor at the Center for European Islamic Thought. <\/p>\n
\u00bbBut there is still a larger group, probably half, that has no relation to Islam at all and many of those who are more involved have no regular involvement with an Islamic organization. However, in public debate they are often lumped together with the stereotypical use of Islam as extremist\u2014they have to be Muslims whether they like it or not. And it is them that come under fire when something once again hits the front pages,\u00ab says J\u00f8rgen S. Nielsen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamic research contributes to a distorted image of Muslims and their faith, claims PhD student. She warns against being careless with research facts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":26090,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science","expression-news_article"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n