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Islam at Work: How Muslim Women in France and Germany Reconcile Piety and Profession

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Abstract

This article contributes to research on the integration of Muslims into the labor market by identifying a typology of Lebensführung (conduct of life) related to religion and career. The central thesis suggests that there is a certain tension between Muslim religiosity and women’s employment that emerges from society’s perception of the religion rather than from any religious convictions within Islam itself. The article first develops a theoretical perspective based on approaches to life conduct that are useful for understanding the challenges that Muslim women face at work. The article then examines how women from a Muslim background who work in the social and medical sectors in France and Germany reconcile their work with their religion. Using a reconstructive methodology, this study reveals a typology of life conduct: Lebensführung with a fusion of spheres (type 1), Lebensführung with a separation of spheres (type 2), and Lebensführung with flexible boundaries between spheres (type 3). Finally, the article discusses aspects of Lebensführung that transcend the national context.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    By comparing how Muslim and Christian women with a migration background are integrated into the labor market in Germany, this study is one of the few that manages to distinguish between religious factors and factors related to ethnicity, social origin, and gender.

  2. 2.

    However, this gap does not seem to be very large: in Germany, 35% of Muslim women (compared to 41% of non-Muslim women) are employed full-time, while in France the corresponding figures are 44% and 59% (Halm and Sauer 2017, p. 31).

  3. 3.

    A survey initiated by the University of Münster in 2010 (Pollack 2014, p. 21) found that Islam is associated with discrimination against women (with over 80% of the respondents agreeing with statements that make the link).

  4. 4.

    In 2017, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled on two cases (C-188/15, Asma Bougnaoui / Micropole SA and C-157/15, Samira Achbita / G4S Secure Solutions).

  5. 5.

    This definition is based on two types of approaches that I draw on. I distinguish between them according to the key principle of each. On the one hand, there are those that are centered on values and meaningful ideas that guide life practice (Weber 1985; 1988; Oevermann 1995), and on the other are approaches that focus on questions of negotiation, organization, and compatibility in everyday life. These latter approaches were mainly developed in the Arbeitsgruppe Alltägliche Lebensführung (Research Group on the conduct of everyday life; my translation) at the University of Munich. Funded by the DFG (German Research Foundation) from 1986 to 1996, the research group was situated within the field of the sociology of work (see especially Jurczyk et al. 2016; Kudera 1995; Kudera and Voß 1990; Müller and Weihrich 1991; Voß 1991).

  6. 6.

    Lebensführung is the prevalent term in the German context; in the French context, terms are more closely related to Foucault’s work and include éthique de vie, façon d’être, and réforme de soi.

  7. 7.

    Amir-Moazami (2018, pp. 11–15) argues that the production of knowledge about Muslims is not neutral, but rather is affected by both political interests and power relations. It therefore contributes to constructing Muslims as objects, examining them and trying to control them.

  8. 8.

    The approach of lived religion or everyday religion (Ammerman 2006; McGuire 2008) emphasizes the entanglement of the religious and the secular. It underlines the interconnectedness and variability of the religious by considering ordinary believers (not just experts), non-religious places, and practices other than a strict application of precepts (transgressions).

  9. 9.

    Such legal disputes attract high levels of media attention—for example, the so-called ‘Baby Loup’ case in France or the case of Fereshta Ludin in Germany (Chrisafis 2013; Henley 2004). In both cases, the legitimacy of the headscarf was at stake and both women invested a large amount of energy in their legal challenge. Indeed, this can be considered proof of their high motivation to be active in the employment sphere despite their religious conviction.

  10. 10.

    Hradil (1992) makes the important point that the ability to develop biographical goals autonomously is not given but must be acquired.

  11. 11.

    Nevertheless, she states that there is compatibility between her religious and professional values, due to her chosen vocation. However, this leads neither to a merging of spheres (as in type 1) nor to conflicts in professional activity (as seen in type 3).

  12. 12.

    The Basmala literally means “in the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate”. The Prophet Mohammed is said to have stated that any ethically or religiously permissible action should be preceded by the words “bismillah”, which blesses the action. (Heinzmann et al. 2013, 108 f.).

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  1. Centrum für Religion und Moderne CRM, Münster, Germany

    Linda Hennig

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  1. Exzellenzcluster Religion und Politik, Universität Münster, Münster, Germany

    Christel Gärtner

  2. Bielefeld University, Faculty of Sociology, Bielefeld, Germany

    Heidemarie Winkel

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Hennig, L. (2021). Islam at Work: How Muslim Women in France and Germany Reconcile Piety and Profession. In: Gärtner, C., Winkel, H. (eds) Exploring Islam beyond Orientalism and Occidentalism. Veröffentlichungen der Sektion Religionssoziologie der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Soziologie. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-33239-6_11

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