Kirby, B orcid.org/0000-0002-5466-2291, Sibanda, F and Charway, F (2021) Disarming the xenophobic everyday: Muslim migrants and the horizons of urban mutuality in Durban. Africa, 91 (2). pp. 296-316. ISSN 0001-9720
Abstract
This article explores the everyday lives that African migrants in Durban, South Africa share with other residents of the city. In conversation with Obvious Katsaura's work on ‘ethno-mutualism’, we use the example of ordinary greeting practices to show how Durban's urban everyday has been hijacked by xenophobic sensibilities. By demonstrating how the act of excluding migrants from these practices threatens to render the quotidian city uninhabitable for them, we shed light on the importance of mundane forms of social interaction for building a sense of identity and belonging. We then consider several ways in which African migrants develop and participate in Muslim forms of sociality that assist them in ‘disarming’ the urban everyday: from providing a platform for building solidarity with fellow migrants to mediating a ‘sense of welcome’ from the established Indian South African community. Elaborating on this, we delineate how forms of reciprocity emerge through the interactions between migrant and Indian Muslims that reproduce the ambient life of the city as a shared habitat, opening up new possibilities for entanglement. As such, our analysis contributes to emerging conversations about urban mutuality and migrant religious practices in the everyday lives of African cities.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Keywords: | South Africa; Durban; Tanzania; Africa; Urban; City; Cities; Informality; Informal economy; Market; Infrastructure; Migration; Xenophobia; Race; Ethnicity; Ethnography; Religion; Everyday religion; Islam; Muslim; Mosque; Everyday; Mutuality; Violence; Micro-aggressions; Coexistence; Goffman; Katsaura; Gestures; Gesture; Zulu; isiZulu; Ethnic politics; Greetings; Urbanism; Anthropology of Religion; Anthropology of Islam; Religious Studies; African Studies; Associational life; Livelihoods |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Leeds |
Academic Units: | The University of Leeds > Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Cultures (Leeds) > School of Philosophy, Religion and History of Science (Leeds) > Theology and Religious Studies (Leeds) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number British Academy PF2\180014 British Academy PMT9-BA ASSAf |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Publications |
Date Deposited: | 09 Mar 2021 15:52 |
Last Modified: | 09 Mar 2021 16:04 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Cambridge University Press |
Identification Number: | 10.1017/S0001972021000073 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:163675 |