Migrations, religions, and social flux

This chapter asserts that the religious belief of the migrant serves as a “host” for the transport of embedded ideologies that have historically transformed the societies into which the migrant has settled. It argues that the history of migration is itself sine qua non to the historical social export, reproduction, and expansion of languages and religious worldviews. The chapter discusses the two case studies located in radically different contexts from each other: the social positioning of the migrants, their points of origin, and the constricting forces weighing upon them, among others. The multiple case study approach provided discussion of the role of religion in the shaping of languages and language ideology and in the crafting of political ideologies. The social significance of Muslim migration to South Africa goes beyond discussion of the emergence of particular forms of language and culture since Islam has also exercised a definitive influence over the historical political becoming of South Africa.