It Is Our Motherland Too: Transnational Engagement, Religious Identity and Mobilisation of Muslims of Sri Lankan Origin in the UK

Abstract

Foregrounding fluid processes of group identity re/formation, this article advances the debates on the nature of collective mobilisation among diasporas. Specifically, it contributes to a relatively underexplored diaspora studies sub-field: the role of religion in diasporic identity formation. Empirical material from the immigrant group Muslims of Sri Lankan origin in the United Kingdom indicates that religious identities play a key role in the process of formation of political identities and framing under the concept of one ummah. Further, critical events and crisis situations in places of origin mobilise these groups to form social and solidarity movements. This article contributes to ongoing debates on the constructivist approach to diaspora engagement, which goes beyond the conventional ways of understanding diasporas as ‘dispersed victims’. To this end, I argue that the diasporic characteristics are contingent upon the collective experience and embodiment of crisis situations at home and host sites.