Islã, migração e tecnologias digitais: reflexões sobre a Muridiyya transnacional a partir de Caxias do Sul (RS)

Abstract

Brazil has recently emerged as a favorite migratory destination for many people from Senegal, mostly followers of the Islamic Sufi brotherhood Muridiyya. This research aims to investigate the transnational diffusion of Muridiyya, especially observing the appropriation of Information and Communication Technologies by murids of the diaspora. To this effect, we will analyze how the transnational flows of money, objects and information contribute to the belonging building process and to the globalization project that drive the brotherhood development. If, on one hand, technological capitalism fosters established powers by opening even more space to dominant cultures, on the other hand, we can individuate interstitial initiatives in which subaltern agents and groups appropriate the technological tools creating their own spaces of interaction and action. Focusing on religious belonging, we also seek to highlight the large plurality of Islamic practices, in order to deconstruct the monolithic representation of Islam, commonly conveyed by mainstream media.