‘Blue Squares’, ‘Proper’ Muslims and Transnational Networks

Abstract

Despite the volume of research about identities of various shapes and forms, few studies have explored young people’s narratives of nation and religion. Drawing on research with young Muslim men in Scotland, this article employs Floya Anthias’s ideas about narratives of location, dislocation and positionality in order to seek a deeper understanding and appreciation of the young men’s national and religious identities and affiliations. Although the majority of the young men identify as Scottish Muslims, the meanings and associations of these identity markers vary in strength, nature and meaning, and the young men are also connected with a global network of identifications linking them with family heritages in Asia and Africa.