Abstract
M.A.
A specific identity is not an inherent quality of human nature. Yet all humans have identities. The question then arises as to how identities are formed and what influences their formation. In this study it is asserted that identities are constructions and that, as such, they occur within a space and time. The particular interrelations and meanings that occur in a space and time result in the formation of a place. Place, then, influences the constructions of the identity. In this study the Tablīgh Jamā̉at (TJ), a movement that seeks to improve the practice of Islam amongst Muslims, was investigated to assess what influenced the construction of an identity amongst its members in Johannesburg. The Tablīgh Jamā̉at, which is the single largest Islamic movement in the world, originated in India in 1927 and was established in South Africa in the early 1960s. The movement has a large presence in the Muslim community of Johannesburg. The execution of activities related to the movement, the promotion and manipulation of the message and activities of the movement, as well as physical and material capabilities independent of the movement were found to influence the construction of the identity. These, together, have shaped the meaning, in a place, due to the manipulation of shared experience. However, there are also physical and material constraints that limit the further construction of identities. The reliance of the identity on factors that are not inherent to it poses a challenge for the development of theory regarding social identities.
Prof. Peter Alexander