Visions & visualizations: negotiating space for European Muslims

Abstract

Whether one chooses to view it as a negative or a positive development, history refers us to a difficult fact to ignore; the development of European civilization and consequently European identity, is impossible to imagine without Islam and Muslims. How deep the input has been is open to discussion and debate by historians, but it is clear that it was significant and considerable, and as twenty-first century Europe moves towards creating more cohesive societies in the EU, the impact of Muslims on European society, historically and presently, has become a topic of concern. With such a background, and the effect of Islamophobia on Muslim communities, how can Muslim communities negotiate their space in European societies?