Synopses & Reviews
Examines the diversity, identity and influence of Muslim groups in Europe.
Review
"Perhaps no mistake is greater in discussion of the contemporary world than the belief that identity is one-dimensional, and fixed, and that, on its own, religion, as part of such identity, can explain social and political behavior. The essays in this volume challenge such simplistic ideas in general, and the particular variant that is applied to Muslims, in the Middle East and in Europe, and as much by Islamist fundamentalists as by western observers. In disaggregating 'identity' and in demonstrating the many varieties of ethnicity, context, religious practice, class belonging and political affiliation of the Muslims who live in Europe, Aziz Al-Azmeh and Effie Fokas have produced a book of great relevance to public debate and academic research alike." - Professor Fred Halliday, London School of Economics, author 100 Myths About the Middle East (2005)
Review
"Scholars of European politics, religion and politics, and the politics of Islam will certainly profit from a close reading of this volume. It deserves to influence serearch, teaching, and broader public discussion of the future of Europe and its increasingly heterogeneous societies." --Andrew C. Gould, University of Notre Dame: Comparative Politics Book Reviews
Synopsis
Focusing on Europe and the Muslim communities living within it, this volume explores the diversity, identity and influence of Muslim groups. It seeks to combat generalisations by illuminating the diversity within various groups and offers a more realistic picture of differentiated faith groups across Europe.
About the Author
Aziz Al-Azmeh is Professor in the Department of Medieval Studies at the Central European University, Budapest.Effie Fokas is a Research Fellow at the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) and teaches in the Government Department of the London School of Economics. She is also a Research Associate in the Faculty of Theology at the University of Uppsala where she manages an EU-funded project on welfare and religion.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction Effie Fokas; 2. Christians and Muslims: memory, amity and enmities Tarek Mitri; 3. The question of Euro-Islam: restriction or opportunity? Jorgen Nielsen; 4. Muslim identities in Europe: the snare of exceptionalism Jocelyne Cesari; 5. From exile to diaspora: the development of transnational Islam in Europe Werner Schiffauer; 6. Bosnian Islam as European Islam: limits and shifts of a concept Xavier Bougarel; 7. The regulation of religious diversity by the institutions of the European Union: the case of Islam Bérengère Massignon; 8. Development, discrimination and reverse discrimination: effects of EU integration and regional change on the Muslims of Southeast Europe Dia Anagnostou; 9. Breaching the infernal cycle: Turkey and the European Union Valérie Amiraux; 10. Afterword Aziz al-Azmeh.