Muslims In Western Europe

A useful introduction to the social, political, cultural and religious position of Muslims living in contemporary Europe. It describes the history of early European Muslims and outlines the causes and courses of twentieth-century Muslim immigration. Explaining how Muslim communities have developed in individual countries, the book examines their origins, their present day ethnic composition, distribution and organisational patterns, and the political, legal and cultural contexts in which they exist. It also provides a comparative consideration of issues common to Muslims in all Western European countries, namely the role of the family, and the questions of worship, education and religious thought.In the third edition all country-related chapters have been substantially updated. A new chapter has also been added on Southern Europe, where the maturity of a new generation has seen moves towards political integration. This new chapter will reflect the extensive research of the past decade in this area.Selling Points*Third edition of a best-selling text*The only comprehensive survey of Muslims in Western Europe*New edition completely updated in light of research of past decade. Note from the APF: In this fourth edition, all chapters have been substantially updated not least all country related chapters. The last ten years have seen some remarkable changes in the attitudes of politicians and of Muslim organizations, as well as experienced transformative events and crises.

Nielsen describes the history of early European Muslims and outlines the causes and courses of twentieth-century Muslim immigration. Explaining how Muslim communities have developed in individual countries, the book examines their origins, their present-day ethnic composition, organizational patterns, and the political, legal and cultural contexts in which they exist. The book also provides a comparative consideration of issues common to Muslims in all Western European countries, namely the role of the family, and questions of worship, education, and religious thought.In the third edition, all country-related chapters have been substantially updated. A new chapter has also been added on southern Europe, where the maturity of a new generation has seen moves toward political integration.

A useful introduction to the social, political, cultural and religious position of Muslims living in contemporary Europe. It describes the history of early European Muslims and outlines the causes and courses of twentieth-century Muslim immigration.

The voices in this book belong to parliamentarians, city councillors, doctors and engineers, a few professors, lawyers and social workers, owners of small businesses, translators, and community activists. They are also all Muslims, who have decided to become engaged in political and civic organizations. And for that reason, they constantly have to explain themselves, mostly in order to say who they are not. They are not fundamentalists, not terrorists, and most do not support the introduction of Islamic religious law in Europe - especially not its application to Christians. This book is about who these people are, and what they want. This book is based on three hundred interviews with European Muslim leaders from six European countries: Sweden, Denmark, the Netherlands, Great Britain, France, and Germany. The question of Islam in Europe is not a matter of global war and peace but raises difficult questions about the positions of Christianity and Islam in public life, and about European identities. Europe's Muslim political leaders are not aiming to overthrow liberal democracy and to replace secular law with Islamic religious law. Those are the positions of a minority. There is not one Muslim position on how Islam should develop in Europe but many views, and most Muslims are rather looking for ways to build institutions that will allow European Muslims to practice their religion in a way that is compatible with social integration.

This book, based on interdisciplinary research, examines the establishment of Muslim institutions in Western Europe, and particularly focuses on the role played by agents from the host society and the political and ideological positions adopted by them in reaction to claims from Muslims.

Making European Muslims provides an in-depth examination of what it means to be a young Muslim in Europe today, where the assumptions, values and behavior of the family and those of the majority society do not always coincide. Focusing on the religious socialization of Muslim children at home, in semi-private Islamic spaces such as mosques and Quran schools, and in public schools, the original contributions to this volume focus largely on countries in northern Europe, with a special emphasis on the Nordic region, primarily Denmark. Case studies demonstrate the ways that family life, public education, and government policy intersect in the lives of young Muslims and inform their developing religious beliefs and practices. Mark Sedgwick’s introduction provides a framework for theorizing Muslimness in the European context, arguing that Muslim children must navigate different and sometimes contradictory expectations and demands on their way to negotiating a European Muslim identity.

From sending imams abroad to financing mosques and Islamic associations, home states play a key role in governing Islam in Western Europe. Drawing on over one hundred interviews and years of fieldwork, this book employs a comparative perspective that analyzes the foreign religious activities of the two home states with the largest diaspora populations in Europe: Turkey and Morocco. The research shows how these states use religion to promote ties with their citizens and their descendants abroad while also seeking to maintain control over the forms of Islam that develop within the diaspora. The author identifies and explains the internal and foreign political interests that have motivated state actors on both sides of the Mediterranean, ultimately arguing that interstate cooperation in religious affairs has and will continue to have a structural influence on the evolution of Islam in Western Europe.