"I'm just an Imam, not Superman": Imams in Switzerland: Between stakeholder objects and self-interpretation

Abstract

Current debates on Islam in Europe often focus on imams as religious leaders and key figures in integration politics. Muslim associations undergoing processes of transformation and generational change have equally high expectations of imams. This article uses stakeholder theory to analyse the current situation of imams and draws on empirical material from Switzerland to illustrate both multi-faceted stakeholder claims and imams' self-reflections on role conflicts they experience. It indicates that imams and Muslim associations tend to develop different coping strategies leading either to an enlarged profile for imams or to a differentiation of functions and professions in the social and religious fields.