Conversion to islam in Ukraine: Preliminary observations

Abstract

With the onset of a religious revival in Ukraine in the 1990s and the emergence of several Islamic organisations, conversion to Islam became a viable religious choice for many Ukrainians. This article offers several preliminary observations with an aim to go beyond traditional stereotypes about the key gender and ideological aspects of this process. The source base of this study encompasses thirteen unstructured in-depth interviews conducted by the author as well as a number of conversion accounts published by Ukrainian media and Islamic religious web resources. The theoretical framework employed for the analysis of these data is based upon Lofland and Skonovd’s schema of six major modes of conversion which emphasises different paths of adopting a certain religion. Following the investigation of the converts’ narratives, the article demonstrates that conversion to Islam in Ukraine constitutes a complex and multifaceted social phenomenon. Due to the developments in modern technology and social media, it now occurs not only in large cities with active Islamic centres, but also in small rural localities without any Muslim presence. Furthermore, while for some women turning to Islam is directly or indirectly linked to marriage to foreigners from Muslim countries, the majority of female conversions also contain other important facets, such as spiritual search, cultural immersion or even mystical experiences. On the opposite side of the spectrum, even though cases of conversion to Islam among Ukrainian men arguably are not as common, they offer important insights regarding the dynamics of religious choices of Ukrainians and the potential emergence of Ukrainian Islam as a local phenomenon. These and other issues merit further detailed analysis of conversion to Islam in Ukraine.