Perceptions of Qiwāmah (Male Authority) among Iranian Muslim Men in the Swedish Diaspora

Razieh Shameli

Majid Dehghan Banadaki

Masoumeh Zarei

Yafa Shanneik

 

Abstract: This article examines how Iranian Muslim men in Sweden understand and negotiate qiwamah (male authority), the Qur’anic concept associated with male responsibility within the family, most often linked to Qur’an 4:34 (al-rijal qawwamuna ʿala al-nisaʾ, which means husbands should take good care of their wives) within a broader Western sociocultural environment that commonly characterises Muslim masculinities as hierarchical, aggressive, and patriarchal, as highlighted in contemporary scholarship. Despite these common perceptions in Western contexts, little is known about how Iranian Muslim men understand the Islamic foundations of masculinity or how these understandings are reinterpreted in migration. Drawing on in-depth interviews with Iranian Muslim men living in Sweden, the study explores participants’ familiarity with Qur’anic teachings on qiwamah, their everyday religious practices, and their reflections on responsibility and authority after migration. The research uses inductive coding and a conceptual framework composed of a dual lens that combines Shia scholarly interpretations of qiwamah with relational masculinity theory, applied to the diasporic context of Iranian Muslim men in Sweden. The analysis shows that men’s knowledge of qiwamah is often partial and shaped more by cultural transmission than by direct engagement with scripture. Rather than being transformed by migration, participants’ understandings reveal continuity with ethical sensibilities formed in Iran, while also showing ongoing negotiation of qiwamah within the lived realities of diasporic life.