”Islam är mitt sätt att leva” : En kvalitativ studie om levd islam och muslimska kvinnors livsberättelser i Karlstad

Sammanfattning: In the western world, Islam has been interpreted based on stereotypes of muslims. The stereotype image leads to the fact that many Muslims in Sweden today are forced to face Islamophobia and preconceptions about Islam's meaning. To enhance the image of Islam, lived religion as field of research is useful as it opens the opportunity to study people's lived experiences of religious traditions beyond religious institutions and doctrines. The field can show how religious traditions are expressed in people's everyday lives by lifting the voices of individuals which are not otherwise noted. Lived Islam is thus an area that highlights Muslims' living experiences of Islam in their daily lives. In this essay, lived Islam is studied as it may occur among individuals who define themselves as women and Muslims in Karlstad, Sweden. The aim is to enhance the image of Islam and raise female experiences of Islam. This will broaden the already existing research spectra that usually takes an androcentric perspective. The women's experiences are investigated through life stories interviews. Based on a material perspective on religion, the paper examines how Islam is manifested and expressed through material practices, objects, and different phenomena in the women’s everyday life. The result shows that Islam is described as a framework of how life is interpreted and expected to be lived. Islam is expressed in form of material practices like for example regular prayers, but also as an approach to the outside world. Lived Islam in Karlstad, as it can be expressed among individuals who define themselves as women and Muslims can be said to mean a perspective that encompasses all content in life. The Muslim women in the paper are positive about their life’s in Karlstad, but some elements can also complicate everyday life, such as meetings with preconceptions about Islam and the Muslim woman.