Being Finnish, Being Muslim

This article explores Muslim women’s views of their religious and national identities, citizenship, and belonging in Finland. The primary material consists of 20 semi-structured interviews collected in 2021 and 2022. The interviews convey three different understandings of the relationship between Finnish and Muslim identity: the perception of oneself as a Finnish Muslim; the perception of oneself as a non-Finnish Muslim; and the perception of oneself as a multicultural citizen. Additionally, two notions can be observed regarding Muslim identity: one sees Muslimness as a central and unchanging aspect of one’s core identity; the other views it as a highly fluid and context-dependent group identity. Islamic religiosity does not in itself seem to reduce attachment to Finnish identity. Instead, those distancing themselves from Finnishness often referred to experiences of not having their Finnishness acknowledged by society. Identification with the ummah, the worldwide community of believers, proved to be relatively low or completely rejected.