For the Greater Good: Common Goals and Institutional Sunni–Shiʿa Cooperation in Norway
In: Journal of Muslims in EuropeAdjunct associate professor, MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society Oslo Norway
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Abstract
Under what circumstances do Sunni and Shiʿa organisations enter into institutional cooperation with each other? This article explores this question through a study of Muslim institutional cooperation in Norway from the late 1980s to the late 2010s, based on both archival sources and qualitative interviews. This period witnessed at first a very tight cooperation between Sunni and Shiʿa organisations, before the cooperation collapsed in the 1990s. In the 2010s Sunnis and Shiʿa again started to cooperate closely. The article seeks to interpret this development through the theory of superordinate or common goals or uniting against a third party. Sunnis seemed to invite the Shiʿa in when they had a clear common goal in the form of an external threat. Even though conditions vary, I argue that this mechanism may have played a role in the development of cooperation between Sunni and Shiʾa organisations in other countries as well.
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|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 226 | 115 | 9 |
| Full Text Views | 103 | 22 | 2 |
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For the Greater Good: Common Goals and Institutional Sunni–Shiʿa Cooperation in Norway
In: Journal of Muslims in EuropeAdjunct associate professor, MF Norwegian School of Theology, Religion and Society Oslo Norway
Search for other papers by Olav Elgvin in
Current site
Google Scholar
PubMed
Abstract
Under what circumstances do Sunni and Shiʿa organisations enter into institutional cooperation with each other? This article explores this question through a study of Muslim institutional cooperation in Norway from the late 1980s to the late 2010s, based on both archival sources and qualitative interviews. This period witnessed at first a very tight cooperation between Sunni and Shiʿa organisations, before the cooperation collapsed in the 1990s. In the 2010s Sunnis and Shiʿa again started to cooperate closely. The article seeks to interpret this development through the theory of superordinate or common goals or uniting against a third party. Sunnis seemed to invite the Shiʿa in when they had a clear common goal in the form of an external threat. Even though conditions vary, I argue that this mechanism may have played a role in the development of cooperation between Sunni and Shiʾa organisations in other countries as well.
| All Time | Past Year | Past 30 Days | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abstract Views | 226 | 115 | 9 |
| Full Text Views | 103 | 22 | 2 |
| PDF Views & Downloads | 210 | 55 | 3 |