Expanding Familial Ties: From the Umma to New Constructions of Relatedness Among East African Indians in Canada

Abstract

This chapter considers how Sunni East African Indians in Canada forge diverse kinship solidarities within and across the spheres of the Muslim umma or nation, immigrant community, and extended networks of relatedness between migrants. Malik begins by exploring the ways in which some Muslims imagine global interconnectedness through the umma—a universal and inclusive nation. Turning to ethnographic material, Malik then contends that although migrants form broader sacred connections with other Muslims, they simultaneously cultivate a more exclusive familial community that is shaped by intergenerational experiences of migration across multiple locations, colonialism, as well as sectarian, ethnic, and regional divides.