Role of Islam in Practical Life amongst Some Young Swiss Muslim Adults: A Focused Ethnographic Analysis

Contemporary secular Switzerland has been polarised by more than two decades of anti-Muslim sentiments, conveyed through misrepresentative narratives by some politicians and media, ‘otherising’ Islam and Muslim-related issues. This polarised environment may have triggered ambivalent impacts on the personal development of Swiss-born Muslims Consequently, I suggest that they live in an ambivalent position, where their status as Muslim is not fully acknowledged and their belonging to Switzerland still questioned. Indeed, this article will explore the following research question: How do some young Swiss-born Muslim adults construct their subjectivities and experiences linked to Islam in their daily lives in contemporary Switzerland? The research methodology of this focused ethnography draws on various semi-structured interviews and informal conversations with several young Swiss Muslim men and women. The paper focuses on (a) Switzerland’s socio-cultural and political context and (b) the various ways this study’s research partners construct their ambivalent subjectivities through the analysis of their individual trajectories and narratives. It concludes that young Swiss Muslim adults formulate and produce alternative narratives, in order to make sense of their lives and accommodate various layers of identification in contemporary Switzerland. Eventually some recommendations for further research are formulated.  

Production, Purification and Characterization of Carboxymethyl Cellulase for Food Applications

Agricultural wastes/byproducts have great potential for the production of value added products with special reference to enzymes. Two indigenous carbon sources namely, wheat bran and sugar cane bagasse were used as substrates for carboxymethyl cellulase (CMCase) synthesis by Aaspergillu niger through submerged fermentation. The fungus produced highest CMCase activities at 3% level of wheat bran using 30°C and pH 5 over 96 hrs of incubation. The enzyme was purified for its further use in food processing. During the purification process, a 3.05 fold purification of enzyme was observed after gel filtration. Characterization of purified enzyme was carried out to find out the most suitable conditions for the CMCase performance; the best enzyme activity was observed at 50°C and pH 4.5. The enzyme was quite stable and retained 37% of its maximum activity at 90 ° C. The SDS-PAGE of the purified enzyme revealed its molecular weight as 47.1 kDa. For efficacy purpose, the enzyme added feeds were given to the broiler chicks in order to investigate their effects on body performance, feed efficiency and for safety concerns. The enzymatic treatment exhibited positive effects on body weight, carcass weight and chest muscle weight. Non-significant variations in the serum biochemistry and hematological parameters were observed. After safety evaluation, the enzyme was employed at various levels in bread preparation. Different treatments exhibited significant variations in rheological properties of the dough. The CMCase application in the bread making process resulted in increased volume (15.45%) up to a level of 250 IU/100g flour (T 2 ) however, excessive dose showed a decreasing trend for this parameter. The treatment T 2 produced bread with specific volume 3.99 cm 3 /g in contrast to that of T 0 i.e. 3.37 cm 3 /g. The external and internal characteristics of bread were also improved by the enzyme addition. Later, the enzyme application in citrus juice extraction also showed beneficial effects. Although the enzymatic treatment had non-significant effect on TSS, density and pH of pulp and juice however, a momentous reduction in pulp viscosity i.e. 74.79% was observed in T 6 (CMCase and pectinase 50 IU/100g each). Moreover, the treatment T 6 gave more clarified juice with 95.70% transmittance than that of control (78.00%); also resulted in 20.00% increase in the juice yield with 90.00% juice recovery. The sensory evaluation of the enzyme treated juice reflected improved taste, flavor and sweetness however; caused slight color deterioration of the resulting juice. The purified enzyme was also employed in carotenoid extraction from citrus peel and the maximum yield (8.60±0.94 mg/100g peel) was calculated in case of T 4 (250 IU of each enzyme/100g peel). The pigment showed more stability in dark as compared to light at 30°C. Furthermore, higher pigment loss was observed at 45°C than that at refrigeration temperature (4°C). It was also observed that freeze drying of the pigment enhanced its stability. It is concluded from the present investigation that wheat bran has a potential for CMCase production that can efficiently be used in bread production, juice processing and carotenoid extraction.