Images of Muslim Childhood: Cultural Pluralism and Migrant Identity in Islamic Children’s Literature. Paper at Childhoods 2005 Conference: Children and Youth in Emerging and Transforming Societies. Oslo, Norway

Children and the transmission of religious identity to the next generation are matters of great concern in the Muslims European minorities. As a response to the challenge of cultural pluralism, a new brand of Islamic children’s literature has emerged. Based on examples of such literature, this paper argues that childhood discourse not only expresses heartfelt Muslim concerns. In the wake of migration and European cultural pluralism, Islamic childhood discourse also stands out as a crucial arena for cultural contest – with specific implications for the depiction of gender relations. The present paper is largely based on my recent study, Your cradle is green: The Islamic Foundation and the call to Islam in children’s literature (2003).