The Religious Conversion of Iranian Asylum-Seeking Women in the Process of Searching for Identity

The Case of Eskisehir

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1558/jasr.30211

Keywords:

Iranian women, religious conversion, Islam, Christianity, Turkey, Eskisehir

Abstract

This article explores the experiences of Iranian women who converted from Islam to Christianity, particularly focusing on the challenges they faced in their home country and as immigrants. Following the 1979 Iranian revolution, women, especially those from minority groups, endured significant oppression. Many women fled Iran in pursuit of freedom, but their difficulties persisted as immigrants, now compounded by their minority status in a new context. Based on qualitative research, including in-depth interviews with twenty-seven women in Eskisehir, Turkey, the study uncovers how patriarchal norms, domestic abuse, early marriage, and a lack of educational opportunities in Iran pushed these women toward Christianity, which offered them not only a new faith but also a sense of personal and spiritual autonomy. The research highlights the complex interplay of identity, religion, and agency, demonstrating how these women's conversions were both an act of defiance against oppressive systems and a path toward personal liberation.

Author Biographies

  • Rayehe Mozafarian, Anadolu University

    Rayehe Mozafarian received her PhD in Sociology at Anadolu University in
    2023. Mozafarian has undertaken research on female genital mutilation (FGM) in Iran
    and is known as one of the most important activists to fight against the issue in the
    country. In 2015, Mozafarian founded Stop FGM Iran (Step by Step Towards Stopping Female Genital Mutilation in Iran) group, which is the first specialized forum to prevent the spread of this practice in Iran. Mozafarian has written several books, most notably Razor and Tradition, which analyses the different aspects of female circumcision, and The Knot: A Look at Child Marriage in Iran which focuses on child marriages in Iran and the causes of the issue. She has also also directed and produced multiple documentary films.

  • Fuat Güllüpınar, Anadolu University

    Fuat Güllüpınar is Professor of Sociology at Anadolu University. He received a
    PhD from the Department of Sociology at Middle East Technical University, Ankara,
    Turkey, in 2010. He worked as a Visiting Researcher at Max Planck Institute for Social
    Anthropology (Halle/Saale) in Germany between the years 2005–2006. In 2009–2010,
    he was a Visiting Student Research Collaborator at the Center for Migration and Development, Princeton University. He is interested in sociology of migration, xenophobia, sociology of education and citizenship, sociology of generation and youth, political ideologies in Turkey. He has conducted extensive empirical research on citizenship and inequality; immigration and integration; racism and new right movement in Germany; institutional discrimination; integration of Turkish youth to the education and the labour market in Germany.

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Published

2024-10-23

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Equinox Publishing Ltd.

How to Cite

Mozafarian, R., & Güllüpınar, F. (2024). The Religious Conversion of Iranian Asylum-Seeking Women in the Process of Searching for Identity: The Case of Eskisehir. Journal for the Academic Study of Religion. https://doi.org/10.1558/jasr.30211