Abstract
Various migration flows from Mediterranean countries have introduced an increasing number of Muslim immigrants into Italy. Through the process of integration, these immigrants often marry native Italian men and women, who usually are of Catholic descent. These new interreligious and intercultural families provide a unique opportunity for greater communication, but can often develop into situations of conflict, and some marriages end in separation or divorce. This article attempts to explore the phenomenon of interreligious and intercultural marriages in Italy. It distinguishes and evaluates both the cultural and religious aspects, which often overlap and can be misidentified, and can either reinforce or weaken Catholic-Muslim marriages. This article also discusses the theoretical and clinical approaches to these issues and presents a case study to better exemplify this research.
Acknowledgments
Editing of this article was supported by a grant from the American University in Cairo, Egypt.
Notes
1. Italy has a total population of 56 million people.
2. The Maghreb is comprised of Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania.
3. The concept of intrasomatic or intrapsychic culture (CitationCsikszentmihalyi & Massimini, 1985; CitationMassimini, Inghilleri, & Delle Fave, 1996) includes the meanings, behaviors, attitudes and skills that are acquired by an individual through the processes of cultural assimilation (Vygotskij, 1934/1962) and embodiment (CitationBibeau & Corin, 1995; CitationCsordas, 1990, Citation1993), which contribute to the formulation and the manifestation of his or her cultural identity. Intrasomatic culture is that part of culture that the individual absorbs and interprets subjectively, and it guides his or her actions in everyday social interactions, even in multicultural contexts. This concept permits, on one hand, the explanation of the cultural resistance (CitationReid, 1999) in changing processes of migrants, seen as a resistance positive and constitutive for the self, and, on the other hand, to understand how the subjective variability within cultural groups and structures occurs and changes itself through the daily experience (CitationInghilleri, 1999).
4. The migration project is intended as an ensemble of thought, sometimes little related to concrete data, but very close to the sphere of desire, that the first-generation migrant develops in relation to his or her migration objectives, future, and relations with family and country of origin. Often, the migration experience develops in a direction divergent from the original project, which remains for the individual as an unaccomplished desire, generating regret, and guiding his or her actions in everyday life's practices (CitationBourdieu, 1980). An example of the effects and relevance of migration projects is the desire of immigrants to return home to their country of origin when they are older adults, to spend their retirement and to die and be buried close to their loved ones and in the appropriate religious way. Often individuals and families invest in this dream, which is not always achievable, by building houses in the country of origin, at the cost of many years of sacrifice, and, in the end, those houses remain uninhabited.
5. Cultural artifacts (CitationCole, 1996; Vygotskij, 1934/1962) are all those objects, tangible or intangible, that are not present in nature and are constructed by man. The maintenance of these artifacts requires an investment of individual psychic energy (time, attention, thought, care, and maintenance) (CitationDawkins, 1976; CitationInghilleri, 2003; CitationMonod, 1970). The sum of the artifacts of a social group gives shape to its culture (also called extrasomatic culture; CitationCsikszentmihalyi & Massimini, 1985; CitationMassimini et al., 1996).
6. “Mentor” is intended to mean a person who has the age, the social role, and, most of all, the temperament to influence and guide the way of thinking and interpreting life of children or adolescents, like parents, relatives, priests or religious figures, teachers, educators.
7. Ummah is the community of Islamic faithful all over the world. For a Muslim, the membership to Ummah is important, both for religious and cultural reasons. A Muslim never considers himself or herself alone on the earth; the references to the enlarged community are always present.
8. I am a social psychologist and transcultural psychotherapist, with long clinical experience in public and private services with foreign adults, adolescents, and families, and with mixed couples with children.
9. The names in this case study have been changed to respect the privacy of the couple.
10. The reported names are not the original names.