A Guide To Recent Dutch Research On Islam And Muslim Societies

In recent decades, traditional methods of philology and intellectual history, applied to the study of Islam and Muslim societies, have been met with considerable criticism from rising generations of scholars who have turned to the social sciences, most notably anthropology and social history, for guidance. This change has been accompanied by the rise of new fields, studying, for example, Islam in Europe and Africa, and new topics, such as the role of gender. This collection surveys these transformations and others, taking stock of the field and showing new paths forward.

The Research Handbook on Islamic Law and Society provides an examination of the role of Islamic law as it applies in Muslim and non-Muslim societies through legislation, fatwa, court cases, sermons, media, or scholarly debate. It illuminates the intersection of social, political, economic and cultural factors that inform Islamic Law across a number of jurisdictions. Chapters evaluate when and how actors and institutions have turned to Islamic law to address problems faced by societies in Muslim and, in some cases, Western states.

This vigorously argued book reveals the central role that Islam has played in European history. Following the movement of people, culture and religion from East to West, Goody breaks down the perceived opposition between Islam and Europe, showing Islam to be a part of Europe's past and present. In an historical analysis of religious warfare and forced migration, Goody examines our understanding of legitimate violence, ethnic cleansing and terrorism. His comparative perspective offers important and illuminating insights into current political problems and conflicts. Goody traces three routes of Islam into Europe, following the Arab through North Africa, Spain and Mediterranean Europe; the Turk through Greece and the Balkans; and the Mongol through Southern Russia to Poland and Lithuania. Each thrust made its mark on Europe in terms of population and culture. Yet this was not merely a military impact: especially in Spain, but elsewhere too, Europe was substantially modified by this contact. Today it takes the form of some eleven million immigrants, not to speak of the possible incorporation of further millions through Bosnia, Albania and Turkey.

This book offers a comparative and cross-cultural history of Islamic reform and European colonialism as both dependent and independent factors in shaping the multiple ways of becoming modern in Indonesia and Malaya during the first half of the twentieth century.

Examines the powers and effects of the Prevention of Terrorism (Temporary Provisions) Act (PTA) which was introduced in 1974, following the Birmingham pub bombings. Includes factual information about the operation of the Act, plus accounts of personal experiences of the trauma of examination, arrest and detention under this legislation.

This book provides insights into some of the social topics related to the homogenization and stereotyping of Muslims. It explores the experiences of Muslims in Western societies, with a particular focus not only on gender, home and belonging, multiculturalism, and ethnicity.

This book generally discusses three main topics connected to the situation of Muslims in Dutch society. First of all, attention is given to the subject of faith and rituals such as the existing mystical orders, mosque sermons and the institutionalization of ritual slaughter. The second subject deals with Islam and the second-generation Muslims in the Netherlands. In this context, the situation of the so-called runaway girls and education in general are discussed. Special attention is given to the development and functioning of Islamic schools and to the education in one's own language and culture. The last topic deals with Muslim organizations, their development and role in the emancipation of these religious groups in Dutch society. Furthermore, obstacles hindering the establishment of a Muslim council on a national level are thoroughly discussed. This book can be of interest to various categories of people, such as scholars (theologians, social scientists, lawyers), policy makers, and those who, through their profession, are in regular contact with members of the Muslim community in the Netherlands.