Strangers and Sojourners: Religious Communities in the Diaspora

Abstract

The modern world is full of diasporas. African Americans, and Muslims and Hindus in Europe, are some of the best known among them. The concept of 'diaspora' has spread rapidly in academic writing and the popular press. But what is a diaspora ? Derived from Jewish tradition, the word is now often applied to any minority which has migrated from its place of origin. Increasingly, the criterion used by journalists and academics for identifying such minorities is ethnic identity rather than religious allegiance. The present volume explores the ways in which the term 'diaspora' has been applied in past and present to various religious communities in different contexts. It considers under what circumstances people may be classified as living in a diaspora, and the consequences this has for their position in society. Specific chapters study Africans in modern Europe, Jews in ancient Egypt, Syrians throughout the Roman empire, Hindus in Britain and Muslims in the Netherlands today, and other so-called diaspora communities.