Islam And The New Europe

The articles in this volume deal with the role of Christianity in the definition of European identity. Europeans often identify advanced civilizations with secularity. But religion is very much alive in other fast developing countries of the world. In Europe, nevertheless, the organized churches very much wanted to stress the Christian character of European identity, and this engendered a lively protest focusing on the perceived threat to the secular European tradition. Also, Europe is facing its greatest cultural challenge in the demand of Turkey to be admitted as a member, and in the demand of many Muslims in Europe, often citizens of the countries in which they live, to be recognized in their difference and at the same time integrated in the European national and supranational institutions.

An unprecedented, richly, detailed, and clear-eyed exploration of Islam in European history and civilization Tensions over Islam were escalating in Europe even before 9/11. Since then, repeated episodes of terrorism together with the refugee crisis have dramatically increased the divide between the majority population and Muslim communities, pushing the debate well beyond concerns over language and female dress. Meanwhile, the parallel rise of right-wing, nationalist political parties throughout the continent, often espousing anti-Muslim rhetoric, has shaken the foundation of the European Union to its very core. Many Europeans see Islam as an alien, even barbaric force that threatens to overwhelm them and their societies. Muslims, by contrast, struggle to find a place in Europe in the face of increasing intolerance. In tandem, anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination cause many on the continent to feel unwelcome in their European homes. Akbar Ahmed, an internationally renowned Islamic scholar, traveled across Europe over the course of four years with his team of researchers and interviewed Muslims and non-Muslims from all walks of life to investigate questions of Islam, immigration, and identity. They spoke with some of Europe’s most prominent figures, including presidents and prime ministers, archbishops, chief rabbis, grand muftis, heads of right-wing parties, and everyday Europeans from a variety of backgrounds. Their findings reveal a story of the place of Islam in European history and civilization that is more interwoven and complex than the reader might imagine, while exposing both the misunderstandings and the opportunities for Europe and its Muslim communities to improve their relationship. Along with an analysis of what has gone wrong and why, this urgent study, the fourth in a quartet examining relations between the West and the Muslim world, features recommendations for promoting integration and pluralism in the twenty-first century.

In the post-9/11 era the complexity of Muslim and non-Muslim relations within Europe has sharpened: Global events have contributed to the reshaping of religious and cultural, in particular Muslim, representations and arenas. The position of Europe as such is in doubt. Much of its future depends on how to deal with the emerging new ideals and realities with respect to religion and the challenges of Islam in Europe. Muslim participation in contemporary European affair has been long standing. But in the past the minority status of such ethnic and religious communities from the Middle East has never been in question. Now they are, Cities and communities now boast Muslim majorities. Questions emerge of bilingualism, political participation, head dress at public institutions of learning, and protection of other minorities, such as the Jewish community. On the other side, European concerns over immigration, unemployment, health and welfare for the newly arrived, and the admission of predominantly Muslim states into the European Community have begun to test the social welfare systems of many nations within Europe. The idea of cultural exchange based on tolerance has lost its magical aura. Volume 6 of the Yearbook of the Sociology of Islam presents a variety of discussions and case studies from different European countries related to how Muslims are responding to this situation, how they and Muslim representation change, and how cultural and public negotiation is involved in shaping new perceptions of Islam and Europe.

The twelve million Muslims living in western and eastern (non-CIS) Europe are confronted with the combined, localised effects of xenophobia, nationalism, an historical stigma attached to Islam and a contemporary fear of the 'global Islamic threat'. In resistance, a variety of Muslim groups throughout Europe have developed a 'politics of religion and community' calling for equal treatment of Muslim minorities in the public sphere. This volume provides insights into these groups and activities, their histories, ideologies, organizations and modes of representation.

Drawing upon Muslim Europe's own voices, institutions, and experiences, this compelling work reframes the debates on European secularism, the historic role of Shari'a law in diverse European states, Muslims and Nazis, Muslims and Communists, and the contributions of Muslims to Europe today.

Suspicions about the integration of Islam into European cultures have been steadily on the rise, and dramatically so since 9/11. One reason lies in the visibility of anti-Western Islamic discourses of salafi origin, which have monopolized the debate on the "true" Islam, not only among Muslims but also in the eyes of the general population across Europe; these discourses combined with Islamophobic discourses reinforce the so-called incompatibility between the West and Islam. This book breaks away from this clash between Islam and the West, by arguing that European Islam is possible. It analyzes the contribution that European Islam has made to the formation of an innovative Islamic theology that is deeply ethicist and modern, and it clarifies how this constructed European Islamic theology is able to contribute to the various debates that are related to secular-liberal democracies of Western Europe. Part I introduces four major projects that defend the idea of European Islam from different disciplines and perspectives: politics, political theology, jurisprudence and philosophy. Part II uses the frameworks from three major philosophers and scholars to approach the idea of European Islam in the context of secular-liberal societies: British scholar George Hourani, Moroccan philosopher Taha Abderrahmane and the American philosopher John Rawls. The book shows that the ongoing efforts of European Muslim thinkers to revisit the concept of citizenship and political community can be seen as a new kind of political theology, in opposition to radical forms of Islamic thinking in some Muslim-majority countries. Opening a new path for examining Islamic thought "in and of" Europe, this book will appeal to students and scholars of Islamic Studies, Islam in the West and Political Theology.

Five centuries after the expulsion of Muslims and Jews from Spain, Europe is once again becoming a land of Islam. At the beginning of a new millennium, and in an era marked as one of globalization, Europe continues to wrestle with the issue of national identity, especially in the context of its Muslim citizens. Muslim Europe or Euro-Islam brings together distinguished scholars from Europe, the United States, and the Middle East in a dynamic discussion about the Muslim populations living in Europe and about Europe's role in framing Islam today. Working at the knotty intersection of cultural identity, the politics of nations and nationalisms, and religious persuasions, this is an invaluable anthology of scholarship that reveals the multifaceted natures of both Europe and Islam.

Reconsidering the European Union's secular identity