Transnational Political Islam

Abstract

Amid the escalating conflicts and polarizations separating “Muslim” from“Westerner,” the book under review is a helpful contribution to the academicand policy literature. Prominent anti-immigrant right-wing movements,such as those led by Pim Fortyn (the Netherlands) and Jean-Marie Le Pen(France), have seen their perspectives enter and influence mainstream politics.Recently, Dutch movie director Theo van Gogh was murdered by aMuslim on the grounds that he had demeaned Islam. Demonstrations againstthe brutal murder and attacks on Muslim institutions followed. The alreadyoverheatedclimate of antagonism has risen by several degrees. These developmentsare echoed in other clashes in Europe revolving around identitypolitics, such as the hijab issue in France.Western states are coping with the dual demands posed by integrationand police work: seeking to integrate Muslims into European and Americansocieties while simultaneously pursuing terrorist cells and networks. AzzaKaram’s edited volume considers such questions as the relationshipbetween political Islam and violence, distinguishing extremism from moderateIslam (often presumed to be “mainstream” Islam), and how Muslimsin the West relate to these. Karam’s volume includes articles coveringFrance, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands (all described as non-Englishspeaking countries with less English scholarly literature on these topics) ...