Revista de Estudios Sociales

rev. estud. soc. | eISSN 1900-5180 | ISSN 0123-885X

From Anxiety to Fundamentalism: Mental Health and Religiosity among Muslim Youth in Almería (Spain) and Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

No. 95 (2026-01-31)
  • Alexandra Ainz-Galende
    Universidad de Almería, Spain
    ORCID iD: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1272-6928
https://doi.org/10.7440/res95.2026.04

Abstract

This article explores how mental health, experiences of existential emptiness, and adherence to fundamentalist religious discourses intersect in the lives of Muslim youth in Almería (Spain) and Sarajevo (Bosnia and Herzegovina). Based on 64 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with participants aged 18 to 29, the study traces life stories marked by psychological distress, isolation, and an ongoing search for meaning. Using a qualitative, comparative approach, the analysis focuses on recurring themes in their narratives. Across both cities, many young people encounter normative interpretations of Islam primarily through social media—especially videos, sermons, and online communities. This structured form of religiosity plays a pivotal emotional role by offering stability, symbolic containment, and a moral reference point. At the same time, it can foster identity withdrawal, normative rigidity, and social isolation. The article argues that fundamentalism is not always rooted in preexisting ideological commitments; in many cases, it emerges as a psychosocial response to affective displacement, anxiety, and subjective vulnerability. In this sense, religiosity becomes a refuge in an environment perceived as inhospitable rather than an expression of cultural continuity. These findings shed light on the ambivalent place of faith in youth contexts marked by emotional suffering and offer useful insights for designing public mental health policies that acknowledge the symbolic dimension of distress in efforts to build a culture of peace.

Keywords: culture of peace, existential emptiness, fundamentalist Islam, mental health, social media, youth religiosity

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