Muslim Communities in the New Europe

Abstract

Although Muslim Communities in the New Europe is long and complex, it isnot obscure, and each of its sixteen chapters can be read as a separate entity. The contributors are seventeen academics from universities in various countries ofEastern and Western Europe, as well as the three editors who are based at threeEnglish universities. A short preface is followed by the first chapter, which isalso the first part of the book, appropriately titled “Themes and Puzzles.” Theremaining chapters examine selected countries individually in Eastern andWestem Europe in parts I1 and 111, respectively. Each chapter has helpful andclear endnotes, and a useful index is also included. Tables analyzing the Muslimpopulations in East European countries are given in chapter 2 and those ofBelgium and The Netherlands in chapter 10.In the Preface, the book is described as the “final outcome of a three-year project”to “produce a coherent comparative overview of. . . the role and positionof these Muslim communities.” The material was gathered from two internationalconferences on the subject and from researchers throughout Europe.Professor Gerd NoMeman modestly states: “This volume cannot claim to becomprehensive, but. . . it is hoped that it may contribute to a better understandingof the trends and dynamics involved, and provide the basis for further work.”Chapter 1 outlines the events leadiig up to the present general situation in thenew Europe. The continent is divided into (1) Eastern Europe, where, after thecollapse of Communism at the end of the 1980s. strong nationalist and religiousfeelings erupted; and (2) Western Europe, which, during a long economic recession,absorbed a sudden large influx of migrants from African and Asian countriessuffering serious political and economic upheaval.In parts I1 and 111 the contributors seek to answer a wide range of importantquestions concerning the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims inEurope generally and between Muslims and non-Muslim governments in particular.How significant is the influence of history, the current economy, the originsof the Muslims and the level of their adherence to Islam, local and centralgovernment policies, local customs, international relations, public opinion, andso on? How does the reaction of the younger generation of Muslims to their situationcompare with that of their parents? Throughout the studies of the selectedcountries, the fear of the perceived loss of security and identity seems to beat the root of action and reaction by both Muslims and non-Muslims. How farcan the minority and majority societies adapt to each other without either sidelosing its identity and security? Possible solutions to the problems of integratingMuslims into non-Muslim societies are suggested by some of the contributors.Chapter 2 examines the links between religion and ethnicity in EasternEurope, where Islam has been “an indigenous presence for centuries.” AlthoughIslam is independent of race, color, and language, “around the fringes of theIslamic world” it is the basis of the identity of certain groups within nationalities,such as the Bosnian Muslims and Bulgarian Pomaks.The contributors then tackle one of the puzzles, that of how to define ethnicity.They descrike the current theories, which put varying emphasis on theobjective elements of kinship, physical appearance, culture, and language, andthe subjective elements, namely, the “feeling of community” and the “representationswhich the group has of itself” (p. 28) ...