Home in the Traces of Ishbiliya

Abstract

In a globalizing world influenced by migration and transnational networks, the concept of belonging to a place is becoming increasingly complex. Sevilla, a city with a multicultural and multireligious history, might be expected to allow for diverse attachments and feelings of belonging. However, drawing on three months of ethnographic fieldwork in the city of Sevilla, I argue that the belonging of people with a Moroccan background in Sevilla is predominantly based on the idea of territorial rootedness. This thesis examines how the belonging of first and second generation Moroccan immigrants in Sevilla is experienced and shaped in the context of the historical and physical background of the city. There are two narratives about the Moorish past of Sevilla, where the exclusionary narrative, that views this history negatively, portrays people with a Moroccan background as the Other. For people with a Moroccan background who view this history from a positive narrative, architecture is a key element in enhancing positive feelings of belonging in Sevilla. The materiality of Islamic-looking architecture evokes the remembrance of positive collective memory of the Moorish past and the remembrance of their feelings of belonging in Morocco. This research contributes to a clear theorization of belonging by approaching this concept at the individual and collective level. I argue that in examining and theorizing the belonging of people with a Moroccan background in Sevilla, the personal feelings of belonging of people with a Moroccan background seem to outweigh the negative societal discourses about their belonging in Sevilla.