Muslim Europe or Euro-Islam

Abstract

The chapters comprising this volume arise out of a conference held in 1998: "Islam and the Changing fdentity of Europe." The conference organizers, frustrated with what they regarded as the insular nature of European and Middle Eastern area studies research, wanted to examine Islamic identity and citizenship from a broader interdisciplinary perspective. This volume therefore brings together specialist contributors from the social sciences, political science, Middle Eastern studies, and international relations, to name just some of the disciplines represented. The editors set the scene by exploring changing realities and percep­ tions of identity within Europe. They note that in some places, the fact of religious and ethnic diversity has yet to be fully acknowledged and accommodated as part of a European identity that, historically, was forged largely in opposition to ''the other" - especially the Muslim "other." As a consequence, Muslim populations in Europe find themselves part of, and to some extent a cause of, a complex process of European identity deconstruction and reconstruction from above and below. The presence of Islam within Europe's borders is forcing a reexamination of what it means to be European, and raising profound and challenging questions about issues of citizenship, participation in civil society, political recognition, inclusion, and exclusion. Each contributor approaches the discussion with a common desire to avoid reductionism, essentialism, and a view of Muslims as members of homogeneous monolithic communities. Indeed, the diversity within Muslim communities is seen as part of an important dynamic that will help to forge what Bassam Tibi calls "Euro-f slam," a form of Islam that is acceptable (without compromises) to both Muslim migrants (and converts) and secular European societies. Just as there are forms of Islam - each absolutely "authentic" - that are distinctive in Africa, Malaysia, or the Arabian Peninsula, Tibi calls for developing a form of Islam that is adjusted to European society and the values of individual human rights and liberal democracy ...