Finnish Shia Youth and the Qur’an: Cultural Psychological Perspectives on Lived Religion

This book investigates the role of the Qur’an in the everyday lives of young Shia Muslims in Finland. Adopting a cultural psychological perspective on Islamic scripture, the book approaches the Qur’an as a symbolic resource that young Muslims can draw on to find guidance and support, to reflect on the meaning and purpose in their lives, or to experience community with other believers. The book emphasizes the variety of ways in which young Shia Muslims relate to the scripture, bringing to life the various ways in which young Shia Muslims grapple with a text that is difficult to understand and try to construct a meaning that makes it relevant in the context of contemporary Finland. This book provides a novel approach to the religious lives of a little-known religious minority. In addition, it brings together fields that have so far been largely separate, in particular cultural psychology and Islamic studies. As such, the book provides a valuable resource to scholars interested in lived religion, religious minorities, Islam in Europe, sacred texts, as well as culture and human mind.

Teemu Pauha (MA, MTh, PhD) is a psychologist and scholar of religion who serves as a university lecturer in Islamic theology at the University of Helsinki. Pauha also holds the Title of Docent (associate professor) in the study of religion at the University of Turku and in the study of religions and Islamic studies at the University of Helsinki. His expertise includes the social psychology of religious identity and interreligious relationships, particularly in the context of Islam in Europe. After completing his PhD thesis on the religious and national identities of young Finnish Muslims, Pauha has published research on such topics as apostasy from Islam, Finnish mosque conflicts, Sunni-Shia relations, interreligious attitudes of atheists, and martial arts. He has also edited (in Finnish) collections of articles on Finnish Muslims and the psychology of religion. Since 2014, Pauha has authored or coauthored the Finnish section of the Yearbook of Muslims in Europe (Brill), and since 2024, he has served as editor-in-chief of Studia Theologica: Nordic Journal of Theology.