Maximilian Lasa

Short presentation

My PhD project has the preliminary title Young Muslims Pursuing Islamic Education Abroad and concerns the key questions: Why do young Muslims pursue Islamic education abroad, what kind of universities and schools are they attending, and what impact does this education have?

The project aims to capture individual trajectories in the dynamic and manifold field of higher Islamic education. Therefore, the project employs a qualitative approach by conducting semi-structured interviews with individuals who are either currently enrolled students or alumni of different higher Islamic education programs abroad.

This research outline includes students and alumni from Germany and Scandinavian countries. The study highlights the different backgrounds, motivations, wishes and goals of students, as well as the different career opportunities and paths resulting from studying Islamic sciences. Using a micro-scale approach, the study aims to understand the transformative capability of higher Islamic education and equally important the transformative capability of students and alumni.

The PhD project is part of the larger research project Rearticulating Islam: A New Generation of Muslim Religious Leaders financed by THE VELUX FOUNDATIONS, which is led by associate professor Simon Stjernholm. Furthermore, the project is joined by post-doc Kasper Ly Netterstrøm and by Maria Lindebæk Lyngsøe and me as PhD fellows. The project focuses on the phenomenon of a new generation of Muslim religious leaders in northern Europe who are facing particular challenges, possibilities and audiences, which demands a continuous rearticulation of Islam.