Globalisation, the practice of devotional songs and poems and the linguistic repertoires of young British Muslims

Abstract

This article provides empirical data from transnational religious contexts which highlight the complexity, fluidity and indexicality of language and religious practices in globalising settings. Through an examination of the role of devotional song and poetry in the Islamic world, and in particular, among young multilingual and multivarietal British Muslims, an attempt is made to show how globalising processes of the present age contribute to, on the one hand, novel forms of language resources and innovative religious practices and, on the other, coexisting traditional approaches to faith and language practices. It also shows how young people deploy their linguistic repertoires and language resources in order to re-construct their religious and linguistic identities. A conclusion is presented that such practices, whilst drawing on old and traditional roots, become transformed when enacted in these newer settings, both linguistically and religiously.