Exile as Liminality: Tracing Muslim Migrants in Fascist Europe

Abstract

: The chapter is a case study of the success and failures of Muslim migrants to claim space for themselves in the Western world before and during the Second World War. Members of the Druze-Lebanese Hamada family tried to stabilise their lives under the precarious conditions of exile in light of their host societies’ projections of Muslim foreignness and Arab exoticism, which they tried to exploit for their own benefit taking on roles and enacting personae to satisfy expectations between France, the United States, Switzerland, and Italy. Mussolini’s pretentious showcasing as a “protector of Islam” opened up distinct possibilities for the Hamadas in an environment where tricksters and opportun-ists met attention seekers and careerists in the fascist system. In particular, this chapter shows how Nur Hamada went to great lengths to prove her authenticity as a representative of modern Muslim womanhood.