Islam in Europe

Islam in Europe
Author: Aziz Al-Azmeh
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 236
Release: 2007-11-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9780521860116

Events over recent years have increased the global interest in Islam. This volume seeks to combat generalisations about the Muslim presence in Europe by illuminating its diversity across Europe and offering a more realistic, highly differentiated picture. It contends with the monist concept of identity that suggests Islam is the shared and main definition of Muslims living in Europe. The contributors also explore the influence of the European Union on the Muslim communities within its borders, and examine how the EU is in turn affected by the Muslim presence in Europe. This book comes at a critical moment in the evolution of the place of Islam within Europe and will appeal to scholars, students and practitioners in the fields of European studies, politics and policies of the European Union, sociology, sociology of religion, and international relations. It also addresses the wider framework of uncertainties and unease about religion in Europe.

Islam in Europe

Islam in Europe
Author: Ceri Peach
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 300
Release: 2016-07-27
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1349256978

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.

Secular Power Europe and Islam

Secular Power Europe and Islam
Author: Sarah Wolff
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
Total Pages: 199
Release: 2021-06-08
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 0472132539

Reconsidering the European Union's secular identity

Perceptions of Islam in Europe

Perceptions of Islam in Europe
Author: Hakan Yilmaz
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
Total Pages: 233
Release: 2012-04-24
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1786733692

For centuries, the Islamic world has been represented as the 'other' within European identity constructions - an 'other' perceived to be increasingly at odds with European forms of modernity and culture. With the perceived gap between Islam and Europe widening, leading scholars in this work come together to provide genuine and realistic analyses about perceptions of Islam in the West. The book bridges these analyses with in-depth case studies from Britain, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Turkey and other parts of the European Union. This study goes beyond the usual dichotomies of 'clashes of civilizations' and 'cultural conflict' to try to understand the numerous, diverse and multifaceted ways - some conflictual, some peaceful - in which cultural exchanges have taken place historically, and which continue to take place, between the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds.

The Idea of Europe

The Idea of Europe
Author: Anthony Pagden
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Total Pages: 396
Release: 2002-04-04
Genre: History
ISBN: 9780521795524

Discusses how a distinctive 'European' identity has grown over the centuries, especially with the EU.

Political Islam and European Foreign Policy

Political Islam and European Foreign Policy
Author: Michael Emerson
Publisher: CEPS
Total Pages: 199
Release: 2007
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 9290797118

The time is ripe for the European Union, its institutions and member states to undertake an explicit review of its current policy of 'benign neglect' towards the broad collection of 'Muslim democrat' parties in the Mediterranean Arab states. The group of experts assembled to produce this new book adduces mounting evidence that this policy may lead to unintended consequences, such as the reinforcement of anti-democratic regimes and radical Islamism. Their arguments favour a broad inclusion of Muslim democrats in EU initiatives aiming at the reform of governance and the development of civil society, without extending to them any singular, exclusive or unsolicited privileges.

Religion and the Public Order of the European Union

Religion and the Public Order of the European Union
Author: Ronan McCrea
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 315
Release: 2010-10-07
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0199595356

Ronan McCrea offers the first comprehensive account of the role of religion within the public order of the European Union. He examines the facilitation and protection of individual and institutional religious freedom in EU law and the means through which the Union facilitates religious input and influence over law. In addition, the book draws attention to the limitations on religious influence over law and politics that are required by the Union. It shows the extent to which suchlimitations are identified as fundamental elements of the EU's public order and as prerequisites for membership.The Union seeks to balance its predominantly Christian religious heritage with an equally strong secular and humanist tradition by facilitating religion as a form of cultural identity while simultaneously limiting its political influence. Such balancing takes place in the context of the Union's limited legitimacy and its commitment to respect for Member State cultural autonomy. Deference towards the cultural role of religion at Member State level enables culturally-entrenched religions toexercise a greater degree of influence within the Union's public order than "outsider" faiths that lack a comparable cultural role. Placing the Union's approach to religion in the context of broader historical and sociological trends around religion in Europe and of contemporary debates aroundsecularism, equal treatment, and the role of Islam in Europe, McCrea sheds light on the interaction between religion and EU law in the face of a shifting religious demographic.

The Securitisation of Islam in Europe

The Securitisation of Islam in Europe
Author: Jocelyne Cesari
Publisher: CEPS
Total Pages: 17
Release: 2009
Genre: European Union countries
ISBN: 9290798742

This paper summarises the main hypotheses and results of the research on the securitization of Islam. It posits that the securitisation of Islam is not only a speech act but also a policymaking process that affects the making of immigration laws, multicultural policies, antidiscrimination measures and security policies. The paper deconstructs and analyses the premises of such policies as well as their consequences on the civic and political participation of Muslims. The behaviour of Muslims was studied through 50 focus groups conducted in Paris, London, Berlin and Amsterdam over the year 2007-08. The results show a great discrepancy between the assumptions of policy-makers and the political and social reality of Muslims across Europe. The paper presents recommendations to facilitate the greater inclusion of Muslims within European public spheres.

European Islam

European Islam
Author: Samir Amghar
Publisher: CEPS
Total Pages: 232
Release: 2007
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 929079710X

This book analyzes the place of the new Muslim minorities in society within the European Union. The authors explore the root causes of rising tensions and conflict between the new immigrant population and native Europeans over issues of Muslim identity, Islamist doctrines, and Islamophobia. They also provide integration models for the various EU countries and discuss the short- and long-range problems caused by socioeconomic discrimination against Muslims. Contributors include Imane Karich (International Crisis Group, Brussels), Isabelle Rigoni (Paris VIII University), Sara Silvestri (Cambridge University and City University, London), Valeria Amiraux (European University Institute, Florence), Chris Allen (University of Birmingham, UK), Tufyal Choudhury (Durham University, UK), and Bernard Godard (Ministry of Interior, Paris).

Islam in Liberal Europe

Islam in Liberal Europe
Author: Kai Hafez
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
Total Pages: 417
Release: 2014-02-07
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1442229527

Islam in "Liberal" Europe provides the first comprehensive overview of the political and social status of Islam and of Muslim migrants in Europe. Kai Hafez shows that although legal and political systems have made progress toward recognizing Muslims on equal terms and eliminating discriminatory practices that are in contradiction to neutral secularism, “liberal societies” often lag behind. The author argues that Islamophobic murders in Norway and Germany are only the tip of the iceberg of a deep-seated inability of many Europeans to accept cultural globalization when it hits close to home. Although there have always been anti-racist elites and networks in Europe, Hafez contends that the dominant tradition even among seemingly liberal intellectual milieus and their media is Islamophobic. This fact finds expression not only in the growing anti-Islam sentiment among right-wing populists but sometimes also in so-called enlightened forms of contemporary media, public opinion, school curricula, and Christian interfaith dialogues. In addition to offering a critical assessment of positive and negative trends in Islamic-Western relations, Hafez also engages in a theoretical debate revolving around integration, tolerance, multicultural liberalism, and modern liberal democracy. He combines political philosophy and political and social theory with current analysis on communication and the role of both religious and secular institutions in community-building in modern societies. In essence, the author debates the question of whether liberal society in Europe, in order to avoid a growing gap between integrative politics and discriminatory societies, needs a complete renewal not only of political ideologies but also of cultures and institutions.