KJøNN, RELIGION OG DELTAKELSE: EN CASE-STUDIE AV MUSLIMSKE KVINNER I OSLO.

The article discusses the participation of Muslim women in the mosque and in public debate, and the various opportunities and constraints that they are confronted with in these arenas. Muslim women have to relate to a religiously given patriarchal structure, but they are also actors that can make choices and take advantage of possibilities that challenge patriarchal gender regimes. The article analyses how different processes in the mosque and in the public sphere may be interpreted as contradictory and complex. At times, these processes increase the participation of women and promote liberation, while at other times they constrain women through various forms of discipline and control. The study shows that the presence of immigrant women is decisive for the building of religious institutions among Muslim migrants in diaspora, and that women tend to achieve greater space and be included in more varied forms of participation in the mosque after migration. The study also reveals that many Muslim women find the mosque to be important in their social life and religious education. Despite signs of increased participation by women, the mosque may be described as a patriarchal gender regime where women's participation to a large degree depends on the goodwill of men. The article also discusses the increased participation of Muslim women in public debate, which illustrates that Muslim women in Norway take very different views when it comes to the nature and degree of changes deemed necessary in relation to patriarchal practices. Moreover, participation in public debate creates both possibilities and costs for those involved. The article is based on qualitative interviews with Muslim women and with male imams in Oslo, and on clippings from major Norwegian newspapers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]