The Muslim Communities Project Muslim Communities In The Netherlands And Germany

This text examines the evolving fate of Europe's Muslims; comparing the status, role and perceptions of these communities across Europe and Western Europe following the demise of communist authoritarianism.

Drawing upon extensive fieldwork and suggesting novel ways of approaching the phenomenon of European Islam and the continent's Muslim communities, Islam in Europe examines how European Muslims construct notions or identity, agency and belonging, how they negotiate and redefine the notions of religion, tradition, authority and cultural authenticity.

This volume describes a clear and overall overview on contemporary European Islam, dealing with both Western and Eastern sides. Based on wide bibliographic research as well as original national contributions from recognised scholars, it is concerned with the process of construction of Islam as well as its co-inclusion in the European societies. Muslims in the Enlarged Europe has been selected by Choice as Outstanding Academic Title (2005).

Through engagement with policymakers and communities, Muslims in Amsterdam examines the political, social, and economic participation of Muslim communities living in Amsterdam, the capital and largest city of the Netherlands and home to one of the widest varieties of nationalities (an estimated 176) in the world. Muslims in Amsterdam offers unique insight into the daily lives and experiences of the city's Muslim, non-Muslim, and minority residents. Focusing on the district of Slotervaart, the report explores the needs and primary concerns of both Muslim and non-Muslim inhabitants and assesses whether local policymakers have understood and met these needs. Who has defined these needs and how are they understood? Does delivery of essential services encompass cultural and religious requirements? What are the measures taken by Amsterdam City Council that acknowledge diversity and discrimination? Do policy practices and efforts include all groups? Areas examined include education, employment, health, housing and social protection, citizenship and political participation, policing and security, media, belonging, identity, and interactions. The report highlights examples of good practice throughout the various public and private sectors of the city of Amsterdam and acknowledges that policies and practices emerging from Slotervaart can serve as an example of how to build positive policies with an understanding of faith identities. Further challenges remain in the area of education and employment especially, and the report offers a series of recommendations for local and national authorities, Muslim communities and other minority groups, NGOs and community organizations, the media, and broader civil society.

In the twentieth century, Muslim minorities emerged in Europe seeking work, a refuge from conflict, and higher life standards. As a result, there are now more than 12 million Muslims in Western Europe. As these immigrants became permanent residents, the Islamic communities they developed had to respond to their European context, reinterpreting Islam in accordance with local conditions. In Localizing Islam in Europe, Yükleyen brings this adaptation to light, demonstrating how Islam and Europe have shaped one another and challenging the idea that Islamic beliefs are inherently antithetical to European secular, democratic, and pluralist values. Yükleyen compares five different religious communities among Muslim immigrants in the Netherlands and Germany that represent a spectrum from moderate to revolutionary Islamic opinions. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, he finds that, despite differences in goals and beliefs, these communities play an intermediary role, negotiating between the social and religious needs of Muslims and the socioeconomic, legal, and political context of Europe. Yükleyen’s rich ethnography shows that there is no single form of assimilated and privatized “European Islam” but rather Islamic communities and their interpretations and practices that localize Islam in Europe.

Through engagement with policymakers and communities, Muslims in Rotterdam examines the political, social, and economic participation of Muslim communities living in Rotterdam--the Netherlands' second largest city and home to almost 600,000 people, just under half of whom have an immigrant background. Focusing on the district of Feijenoord, the report explores the primary concerns of both Muslim and non-Muslim inhabitants and assesses whether local policymakers have understood and met these needs. While recognizing that the Rotterdam City Council has devised a number of initiatives seeking the greater inclusion of its Muslim and other minority groups, further challenges remain, especially in the areas of education and employment. There is also the challenge of growing extremism among segments of the native Dutch population. The report offers a number of good practices across various sectors in Rotterdam and a set of recommendations in the areas of consultation and participation, social protection, and safety and security.

The book focusses on the historical emergence and contemporary challenges of Muslim community organizations and their struggle for recognition as ordinary voices in multiethnic and multi-religious civil societies of Western democracies. It offers a range of different perspectives on how Muslim communities position themselves and navigate the social and political landscape shaped by, on the one hand, normalization of ethno-religious diversity and, on the other, ongoing misrecognition and essentialisation of Muslims in the West. The contributions from internationally acclaimed scholars as well as emerging researchers from Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Switzerland and Australia shine new light on both country-specific similarities and divergences.