New generations of Italians: young Muslims in the Sele plain

Abstract

Who are the young Muslims in the Piana del Sele (Campania, Italy), and what role do they play in the institutionalization processes of local Muslim communities? This research explores the experience of the 1.5 generation—young people of Moroccan origin raised in Italy—who, by engaging in grassroots inclusion practices and seizing the discursive opportunities offered by the local context, promote access to rights in areas marked by labor exploitation and social marginalization. In doing so, they activate institutionalization processes within local Muslim communities. These young Italian Muslims form collaborative networks with local religious authorities, who, while not being the main drivers of such processes, act as secondary agents in their development. Nevertheless, significant inequalities persist between larger, better-organized urban centers and rural municipalities, which continue to face isolation and major barriers to access to services and institutional participation.