Muslim Women’s Migration Pathways and Their Lived Experiences of Citizenship in Western Norway

This article explores whether and how the migration pathways of Muslim women in Western Norway influence their experiences of lived religious citizenship. Drawing on the lived religious citizenship framework and qualitative data from semi-structured interviews and a focus group, the study compares Turkish women participants (forced migration/refugee status) and Pakistani women participants (voluntary migration/settled status. Findings show that religion is central to the women’s concept of good citizenship but it also generates tensions, serving as a source of inclusion within migrant communities while leading to exclusion from the majority society due to stereotyping. These tensions are navigated through acts of boundary work. Critically, migration pathways significantly shape these strategies: the Turkish women participants, facing disadvantage and non-recognition due to their refugee status, engage in blurring boundaries to seek inclusion in the majority society, while the more privileged settled Pakistani women participants often reinforce boundaries within migrant networks and also between migrant and non-migrant majority society. The study suggests that different migration pathways influence how Muslim women experience everyday citizenship and belonging.