RE-IMAGINING AND NEGOTIATING RELIGIOUS IDENTITY: THE CASE OF INDONESIAN MUSLIMS IN BERLIN

Experience of living as Muslim minority in a non-Muslim majority society raises questions on religious identity. Although freedom of religion is guaranteed in Germany, the tensions between Muslims -as individuals- and the host society remains high. Together with the influx of Muslim population, institutionalization of religion and transformation of global Islam, Muslims now face new challenges in the way they construct their identities. This thesis seeks to understand current social phenomena concerning with religious identity and discourses maintained by Indonesian Muslims in Berlin. The method employed in the study is based on participant observation, and interviews. Special attention is given to the significant dynamics of the communities and to the identity of their members. In analyzing so, the argument lies on an assumption that although living in Berlin where global Islam encounters Western culture and idea of institutionalized religions, Indonesian Muslims are culturally and religiously tied with the traditions of the communities in the homeland. They are not cohesive, and frequently import the ideas and discourses from the country of origin