European Muslims And the Secular State

by McLoughlin,Sean; Cesari,Jocelyn

• ISBN13: 9780754644750
• ISBN10: 0754644758
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-12-28
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

The institutionalization of Islam in the West continues to raise many questions for a range of different constituencies. Secularization represents much more than the legal separation of politics and religion in Europe; for important segments of European societies, it has become the cultural norm. Therefore, Muslims' settlement and their claims for the public recognition of Islam have often been perceived as a threat. This volume explores current interactions between Muslims and the more or less secularized public spaces of several European states, assessing the challenges such interactions imply for both Muslims and the societies in which they now live. Divided into three parts, it examines the impact of State-Church relations, 'Islamophobia' and 'the war on terrorism', evaluates the engagement of Muslim leaders with the State and civil society, and reflects on both individual and collective transformations of Muslim religiosity.

Table of Contents

List of Contributors	vii
Preface by Seán McLoughlin	ix
Acknowledgements	xi
Introduction	1	(10)
Jocelyne Cesari
Section I Secularity in Europe and the Institutionalization of Islam: Legal Regulation and Political Recognition
1 The Secularity of the State and the Shaping of Muslim Representative Organizations in Western Europe	11	(14)
Silvio Ferrari
2 Discrimination and Claims for Equal Rights Amongst Muslims in Europe	25	(14)
Valérie Amiraux
3 Islam, Secularism and Multiculturalism After 9/11: A Transatlantic Comparison	39	(16)
Jocelyne Cesari
Section II The State, Civil Society and Muslim Leaderships: Contested Representations of Islam in Europe
4 The State, New Muslim Leaderships and Islam as a Resource for Public Engagement in Britain	55	(16)
Seán McLoughlin
5 Religious Authorities or Political Actors? The Muslim Leaders of the French Representative Body of Islam	71	(14)
Alexandre Caeiro
6 Interests, Identities, and the Public Sphere: Representing Islam in the Netherlands since the 1980's	85	(14)
Thijl Sunier
7 New Modes of Social Interaction in Italy: Muslim Leaders and Local Society in Tuscany and Venetia	99	(14)
Chantal Saint-Blancat and Fabio Perocco
8 From 'Foreign Workers' to 'Sleepers': The Churches, the State and Germany's 'Discovery' of its Muslim Population	113	(16)
Gerdien Jonker
Section III Practising Islam in Secular Contexts: Authority, Religiosity and Identity
9 Migration and the Religiosity of Muslim Women in Spain	129	(14)
Gema Martin-Muñoz and Ana López-Sala
10 Individualizing Faith, Individualizing Identity: Islam and Young Muslim Women in Belgium	143	(12)
Nadia Fadil
11 The Quest for Authenticity: Islamization Amongst Muslim Youth in Norway	155	(14)
Christine Jacobsen
12 The Transformation of a Sufi Order into a Lay Community: The Süleymanci Movement in Germany and Beyond	169	(14)
Gerdien Jonker
13 Locating the British Imam: The Deobandi 'Ulama between Contested Authority and Public Policy Post-9/11	183	(14)
Jonathan Birt
Index	197