Short Biography

Marcel Klapp is Research Associate at the Department for Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Cologne. He is currently working  in the research project Salafiyya leben. Religiöse Ideale und muslimische Praxis in der postmigrantischen Gelssellschaft, which runs from 2020 to 2023 and is carried out in Cooperation with the Department for Middle Eastern and South East Asian Studies (Prof'in Sabine Damir-Geilsdorf).  The Project is funded by the Ministry for Culture and Science of the Federal State of Northrhine-Westfalia. Furthermore, Marcel Klapp is a doctoral candidate writing his thesis under supervision of Professor Martin Zillinger on practices of self-positioning, critique and compromise in spaces of islamic religious education on the local level of a city in the Ruhr area (Ruhrgebiet) in Germany. 

From 2016 to 2020 Marcel Klapp was Research Associate and member of the working group on religious pedagogy at the Center for Islamic Theology Münster. In 2017 he became part of the newly established Research Center for Online Communication, Islam and Narratives (Re:COIN) led by Professor Mouhanad Khorchide. Besides teaching courses on the Sociology of Religion and Empical Reseach on Islam, he was responsible for several projects at the Re:COIN which focussed on so called counter narratives  as a measure of prevention against Islamism. 

From 2012 to 2016 Marcel Klapp worked as Intercultural Trainer at ESE e.V. - Ethnologie in Schule und Erwachsenenbildung (ethnology in school and adult education). Apart from that he produced an award-winning documentary film about the ritual practice of anatolian Alevis in Germany. He studied Social and Cultural Anthropology, Religious Studies and Geography at the University of Münster and for his master thesis (KOCH FM - Die Rolle eines Slum Radios im Prozess des Community Building in Nairobi) he conducted fieldwork in at a community radio-station in a Slum in Nairobi, Kenya. 

Thematic Interests and Regional Focus

Anthropology of Islam, Anthropology of Public Reasoning, Theories of Practice, Politics of Governance

Islamic Movements in Germany, Salafiyya, Alevism, 

Europe, Germany; Kenya

Research Projects

 2020 - 2023: Salafiyya leben. Religiöse Ideale und muslimische Praxis in der postmigrantischen Gelssellschaft. Cooperation of the Department for Social and Cultural Anthropology (Prof. Martin Zillinger) and the Department for Middle Eastern and South East Asian Studies (Prof'in Sabine Damir-Geilsdorf) of the University of Cologne. Funded by the Ministry for Culture and Science of the Federal State of Northrhine-Westfalia.
2017 - 2020: Countering Digital Dominance. Countering Digital Dominance. Islamdiskurse und Gegenerzählungen in online und offline Kontexten. Center for Islamic Theology Münster (Prof. Mouhanad Khorchide). Funded by the Ministry for Culture and Science of the Federal State of Northrhine-Westfalia. 
2017- 2018: Digital-salam.de. Islamische Gegennarrative zu Salafismus und Extremismus. Eine multimediale Aufarbeitung. Center for Islamic Theology Münster (Prof. Mouhanad Khorchide). Funded by the Ministry for Culture and Science of the Federal State of Northrhine-Westfalia. 
2016: Salam-Online. Forschungswerkstatt Gegenrede zu Salafismus und islamischem Extremismus. Center for Islamic Theology Münster (Prof. Mouhanad Khorchide). Funded by Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung.

Publications

Articles & Working Papers

2018. (with S. Qasem) Erzählen als hegemoniale Praxis. Ein diskurstheoretischer Blick auf Gegennarrative in der Islamismusprävention. CoRE Report 3/2018.  https://www.bicc.de/fileadmin/Dateien/Publications/CoRE_Publications/CoRE_Report_3_Qasem_Erzählen_als_hegemoniale_Praxis.pdf

2018. Narrative Praxisgemeinschaften muslimischer Jugendlicher. Eine praxistheoretische Perspektive auf Selbst- und Welterzählungen im Spannungsfeld von Islamdiskursen und Gegennarrativen. CoRE Report 4/2018. https://www.bicc.de/fileadmin/Dateien/Publications/CoRE_Publications/CoRE_Report_4_Klapp_Narrative_Praxisgemeinschaft_muslimischer_Jugendlicher.pdf

2018. „Von der Dekulturalisierung zur Diversität: Welchen Beitrag kann eine kultur- und sozialanthropologische Perspektive zum Islamischen Religionsunterricht leisten?“, In: Milad Karimi & Mouhanad Khorchide (Eds.): Jahrbuch für Islamische Theologie und Religionspädagogik. 5/2016. Freiburg im Breisgau: Kalam. 231-265.

2018. “Salam-Online: Preventive Measures against extreme online messages among Muslims in Germany. Insights into a pilot project at the Center for Islamic Theology, Münster”, In: Lodz Papers in Pragmatics 14, Nr. 1, De Gruyter, 181–201.  https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/lpp.2018.14.issue-1/lpp-2018-0009/lpp-2018-0009.xml

Teaching materials

2018. (with B. R. Bauknecht). digital-salam.de. Unterrichtsmaterialien zu online Videos und Islam. Web-Archiv. Münster: ZIT. https://digital-salam.uni-muenster.de

2017 (with S. Qasem und M. Khorchide). Salam-Online. Unterrichtsmaterialien zu onlineHate-Speech und Islam. Münster: ZIT. muenster.de/imperia/md/content/zit/salam_web_15.05.2017.pdf

Film & Video

2018. (with J. Isfort). What’s up Islam!? Die Videos zu deinen Fragen. 6-teilige Serie, HDVideo.Münster: Filmwerkstatt Münster e.V./ZIT. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB4eZZnH4gOdBrN66FTAEjg

2015. Himmelsreisen – Einblicke in den Alevitischen Ritualtanz. HD-Video. Münster: Klapp Film. https://vimeo.com/marcelklapp/himmelsreisenfilm

2013. Hızır sei Dank! Die Alevitische Gemeinde in Bergkamen. DVD. Münster & Köln: Klapp Film/AABF