Muslims in Curitiba: an analysis of identity dynamics based on the Assiráj newspaper

The present work analyses – on the basis of Assiráj, a newspaper published by the duodecimal Shiite’s branch of the ‘Sociedade Beneficente Muçulmana do Paraná’ – the identity dynamics of the Muslim community of Curitiba. Through the fieldwork, we accompany several activities carried out by his members and inquire about the processes of reception of the newspaper. This work considers the Assiráj as a sort of locus that condenses the processes of localization of the conflicts between “Orient” and the “Western” world, as well as a set of representations on “Us” and the “Others”. We present, also, the discussion on “orientalism” in the context of a production and reproduction of stigmatization process – on the Muslims in general and on the Shiites in particular – with which the Assiráj tries to break off.

Key-words: Islam, Assiráj, Identity, SBMPR