Paper short abstract:

This paper explores reinterpretation and transgression regarding divorce among Muslim congregations in Sweden, specifically in the intersection of various Muslim communities, the formal Swedish law, other relevant national legislations, and not least the everyday practices of individual parties.

Paper long abstract:

This paper takes its point of departure in my previous long-term fieldwork among members of Muslim youth associations in Sweden and their envisioning and negotiating marriage. As acknowledged by the convenors of this panel, young people tend to bend rules while trying to receive consent from families and further relevant others. While I studied young Muslims’ individual navigation through complex, sometimes contradictory, norm systems and institutions, I did also distinguish a common pattern: the youths tended to communicate unwanted norms in terms of “cultural traditions”, but refer to the “true” understanding and observance of the religion as a path towards influence on crucial decisions in their lives, such as when to marry and with whom. Moving beyond ideals and practices surrounding marriage, my current research focuses on divorce. In Sweden, a marriage can only be dissolved by decree of a court and by the application of the divorce rules of the Swedish Marriage Code. No religious denomination has jurisdiction to validly dissolve a marriage, yet many Muslims find themselves in need of an accredited “religious” divorce in addition to the civil divorce and, hence, turn to their congregations for solution. The purpose of this paper is to examine the divorce norms of some Muslim congregations in Sweden and how their representatives and members in turn navigate complex terrains in the intersection between the norms of various Muslim communities, the formal Swedish law, other relevant national legislations, and not least the everyday practice of individual parties.