Claiming space in civil society. Young Muslim moral personhoods in Bangladesh and Italy

In this article we analyze the multi-layered engagements of young Muslim activists in Dhaka (Bangladesh) and in the 'Bangladeshi community' in Rome (Italy), illustrating how, despite the local factors shaping a problematic relationship between Islamic activism and civil society in the two contexts, the young people share an attitude that points to the manifestations of a public Islam on a global level. This attitude aims at transcending the sectarianism and isolationism of previous generations, giving rise to civic engagements that rely on a concept of moral personhood, and strive to achieve change in society through modalities that depart from the clich & eacute;s of political Islam. By considering these varied modalities, we highlight the existence of unconventional links between politics and civil society, and between 'new' and 'old' forms of civil society, contributing to the deconstruction of a Eurocentric and religion-averse understanding of the concept. At the same time, by analyzing the role played by the 'individual' in our interlocutors' engagements, we shed light on counterintuitive convergences between Muslim moral economy and that of neoliberal governmentality, and on the emergence of a 'liquid civil society'.