Book review: The "community of the house": religion, marriage strategies, and transnational identity of Turkish Alawi/Nusairi migrants in Germany

Abstract

This monograph is about the Alawis, formerly Nusairis, a religious minority from southern Turkey. Due to ongoing religious secrecy, this work makes a significant contribution because no firsthand information was available about their social and religious life in Germany before Prager conducted her research. Focusing on the transformation of kinship and marriage during transnational migration enabled her to inquire about the social and religious life of this community, which, before migrating to various cities in Germany, predominantly lived in Turkey’s southern regions of Hatay, Adana, and Mersin. Because membership in this religious community is patrilineally defined, kinship and marriage play a crucial role in their social organization. Studying the Alawis in Germany and in their places of origin, Prager captured important aspects of their transnational identity by reconstructing their marriage strategies, which since recent times led to various transformations in their religious and social life, despite the fact that they to maintain their unique religious identity. Prager presents the results of her research in seven chapters of different lengths and degrees of elaboration.