Islam In Europe Research Articles

Conflicting Islamic Governmentality: the Banning of a Moroccan Imam from Belgium

Abstract In October 2021, Imam Mohamed Toujgani, a Moroccan who had resided in Belgium for nearly 40 years, was banned from the Schengen area for a decade. He was accused of espousing anti-Semitic views and having ties to Moroccan intelligence, posing a threat to societal harmony. This article critically examines the ban by putting it within the context of Europe’s securitisation of Islam. It explores Toujgani’s theological and social views, highlighting his promotion of dual belonging – a notion supported by the works of scholars such as Thijl Sunier on Islam in Europe. Employing Michel Pêcheux’s relational discursive approach, this study argues that Toujgani’s deportation risks deepening social divisions, potentially escalating conflicts rather than mitigating them.

Opportunities for the integration of muslim immigrants in European Union countries

The presence of Muslim immigrants in European Union countries has become an undeniable reality, as these immigrants have become an integral part of the demographic composition of EU societies. The strength of these immigrant communities has increased as a result of the intensification of family reunification policies, which have contributed to reshaping and expanding minorities within the European space. Consequently, questions, concerns, and doubts have arisen about the integration of these immigrants into most national communities. These apprehensions are primarily based on the legal mechanisms required to integrate these minorities into the nation-state, which is founded on citizenship rights in Europe, and on the practical measures that guarantee their integration in an appropriate form and content. On this basis, the adopted integration policies that attempt to reposition Muslims in Europe at the economic, social, and, to some extent, cultural levels raise many concerns about their ability to integrate these Muslim immigrants and about the possible opportunities for their proper integration in light of their cultural, religious, and social specificities. Through this paper, researchers attempt to examine the opportunities for these Muslim immigrants to integrate, considering the legal complexities and social problems they face, which hinder their complete integration into these societies.

The European Muslim Crisis and the Post-October 7 Escalation

Israel’s war on Gaza following 7 October 2023 has given birth to several political and social changes in European nations. According to the United Nations Report of the Special Rapporteur, Israel has used this moment to “distort” international humanitarian law principles “in an attempt to legitimize genocidal violence against the Palestinian people.” In the European context, this has led to European Muslims and non-Muslims, including organizations, institutions, as well as individual academics, politicians, and activists mobilizing and voicing their condemnation and demand their governments to do more towards peaceful and equitable solutions. However, this has been met with a strong reaction from European governing bodies. This paper situates this reaction within wider discourses on the European Muslim crisis. It begins with a systematic literature review on the so-called European Muslim crisis, followed by case studies on the United Kingdom and Germany on their respective changes to policies impacting Muslims in the post-October 7 contexa Regarding the literature review, this paper illustrates how this concept has three distinct, yet intersecting meanings: the crisis of European identity; the crisis of foundational ideologies of Europe; and an internal Muslim crisis that often leads to radicalization. Through the British and German case studies, this paper illustrates that October 7 has reinforced and strengthened the shift towards values-based citizenship and integration. This paper argues that through branding pro-Palestine protesters and organizations as extremists in the British context, and adding questions related to antisemitism and Israel in the citizenship tests in the German context, the Israel/Palestine issue has now become yet another yardstick to demarcate the European, civilized “us” vs. the Muslim “other.” In doing so, October 7 has escalated elements already present within the wider discourses of the European Muslim crisis.

Everyday Lived Islam among Hazara Migrants in Scotland: Intersectionality, Agency, and Individualisation

The mainstream literature on the religiosity of Muslims in Europe often homogenises this diverse minority. This article diverges by focusing on a less visible ethno-religious minority within the Muslim population, specifically examining how Hazara Shia Muslim migrants from Afghanistan, resettled in the UK, live and organise Islam in everyday contexts. Addressing this gap, the research highlights the intersectionality of religion, ethnicity, and migration in reconfiguring religious practice. Grounded in the intersectional and lived religion approaches, this study contends that the religiosity of this Muslim minority undergoes a dynamic shift entwined with agency and adaptation in the new secular and plural context, becoming more individualised, privatised, and elective. Employing an ethnographic design, data are collected through semi-structured and key informant interviews, as well as participant observation, over 18 months of fieldwork across various council areas in Scotland. The findings illustrate reconfiguration, adaptation, and innovation in everyday Islam among this intersectional Muslim minority, identifying three main themes: the adaptation and reconfiguration of religious practices and rituals, the renegotiation of authoritative sources, and the navigation of intersectional identities and belonging since resettlement in the UK.

Islamophobia in Europe and its Global Impact

Europe is the region with the highest incidence of anti-Muslim discrimination worldwide, primarily driven by policy issues, according to the 14th report on Islamophobia by the OIC, which documents Islamophobic attacks and anti-Muslim hatred between December 2020 and January 2022. The influence of European Islamophobia extends globally, contributing to what is known as the globalization of Islamophobia. This trend is significant as it illustrates the spread of anti-Muslim sentiment across the political spectrum on a global scale. This study aims to explore the development and manifestation of Islamophobia in Europe and analyze its impact on the rise of global Islamophobia. Utilizing a qualitative approach, the research was conducted from August 2023 to August 2024, with data gathered through a literature review. The paper argues that Islamophobia in Europe is expanding and manifests through six key indicators: discrimination, hate speech and online hatred, Islamophobic policies, right-wing political movements, verbal and physical attacks, and insults directed at the niqab, hijab, and burqa. Key factors influencing the global spread of Islamophobia include the Great Replacement conspiracy theory, white supremacist manifestos, right-wing parties promoting Islamophobic discourse, and the adoption of Islamophobic policies by other countries.

Reimagining Ummah: The Role of Third-Generation Immigrant Women in the Transformation of Turkish Islam in Europe

For decades, the traditional precepts of “Turkish Islam” have defined the community structure for Turkish immigrants in The Netherlands. Today, spiritualism rather than Islamic morality is emerging as the more compelling religious practice among young people, especially among women who are looking to break out of their culturally enclosed communities. This study uses the terms “enclosure” and “opening up” as metaphors for immigrant participation in Dutch society and suggests that religious Muslim women immigrants are both the founders and dismantlers of the two metaphors. Through their own narratives, women are shown to challenge and resolve social compartmentalization, and the role of cultural transmission through “Ummahtism” (the global Islamic community) is detailed as it is reinterpreted in Europe by Dutch–Turkish women. The findings of this paper are based on field research conducted in The Netherlands between September 2020 and April 2022.

The Protestant Reformation as an Islamisation of Christianity in the Thought of Ziya Gökalp and Ali Shariati

Following Ziya Gökalp and Ali Shariati’s assertion that Protestantism arose due to the influence of Islam in Europe in the Middle Ages, this study discusses the different discourses elaborated by the Turkish and Iranian authors based on this idea. The controversies surrounding modernity, westernization, colonialism, and Islam were a constant in their writings, despite the different geographical and historical circumstances. This paper discusses the logic of Gökalp and Shariati’s claim that Protestantism was Islamized Christianity. The aim is to provide a detailed perspective on how this claim illuminates their broader thinking about civilization, culture, and religion.

Multiplex and messy, not essentialist and patriarchal: How Muslims connect religiosity differently to transgender people’s rights than women’s or homosexual people’s rights

ABSTRACT Previous quantitative studies argue that European Muslims oppose gender egalitarianism due to patriarchal religious interpretations. However, this overlooks the diversity in the gendered meanings Muslim people attach to their religion, and that these might be impacted by exclusionary narratives that ‘Islam opposes core Western values’. This study uniquely compares how religiosity and exclusions shape support for women’s equality and tolerance of homosexual people (‘core Western values’) versus tolerance of transgender people (not central in exclusionary narratives on ‘Western values’). Regression analyses on MI-ID data covering 518 Dutch Muslims show, first, that women decouple their religiosity from gender values, while men connect their religiosity differently to varying gender values. For instance, among men, Quran reading decreases support for women’s equality, is unrelated to tolerance of homosexual people, and increases tolerance of transgender people. Additionally, Muslim people who perceive greater group discrimination were found to attach more patriarchal interpretations to their religion concerning women’s rights, not connect their religiosity differently to homosexuality, but hold more egalitarian interpretations concerning transgender people. Altogether, rather than a patriarchal monolith, Islamic religiosity also engenders empathy of other marginalized groups and egalitarian values – especially when those values are not portrayed as ‘core Western values unbefitting of Islam’.

A cross-perspective on categorizing Muslims in Europe

A cross-perspective on categorizing Muslims in Europe

Origin of Islamophobia in Europe: A Case Study of Hungary

The attack on the World Trade Center (WTC) in 2001 proved to be a turning point in the relationship between Islam and the West. Subsequently, the United States (US) invaded Iraq to avenge the tragedy. The US called its militaristic venture into the Middle East as an "act against terror." This invasion triggered a political crisis in the Middle Eastern countries. This situation was further aggravated by the Arab Spring, which occurred in the Middle East in 2011. The Arab Spring created problems in Syria, Iraq, Egypt, and Tunisia. Political instability in the Middle East has forced Arab people to immigrate to European countries. The increase in Arab immigrants in the early 21st century fueled Islamophobia in Europe. Hungary is one of the European countries that has accepted many Arab immigrants. This studydiscusses the relationship between the rise of Arab migration and the increase of Islamophobia in Europe, particularly in Hungary. A qualitative research approach was used to analyse various government and non-government reports and literature. This study argues that the increasing population of Arab immigrants in Europe has led to the emergence of right-wing political movements. These movemnets play a major role in carrying out Islamophobic propaganda in European social and cultural life.

The protection of the Islamic minority beyond religious freedom: legal pluralism and reasonable accommodation in Europe

ABSTRACT: In Europe's diverse societal landscape, the Islamic minority, or a significant portion thereof, seeks to navigate life under Sharia law, especially concerning family matters. Despite the fact that the application of Sharia law, where permitted, has demonstrated its ability to adapt to the legal context, as in the case of Islamic arbitration, in the case of family law, the perception of an irreducible contrast with the values of Western countries appears particularly strong producing an inevitable paradox in relation with freedom of religion that may be restricted by the legal system. The core paradox lies in the potential infringement on religious freedom if Muslims were asked to forsake religious tenets or practices that align with the foundational principles of the legal system. Modern legal frameworks are thus challenged to find methods to harmonize the identity assertions of Islamic communities with the safeguarding of individual rights within these communities. With no specific safeguards for religious minorities, this study scrutinizes jurisprudence on family law from selected European courts. The objective is to unearth effective legal tools that respect the Islamic community's minority religious identity while upholding the essential tenets of the legal system, fostering a balance between collective religious identity and individual rights protection in a multicultural Europe. SUMMARY: 1 - Religious minorities between cultural identity and religious freedom: preliminary remarks - 2. Legal Pluralism and Religious Pluralism: Protection tools for religious minorities - 3. Muslims of Europe - 4.- The Interaction Between Sharia and the Legal System of the State: Techniques of Reasonable Accommodation and Islamic Family Law - 5. The protection of the Islamic minority beyond religious freedom: concluding remarks.

Geliat Gaya Hidup Halal Global: Peluang dan Tantangan

The halal lifestyle is currently under scrutiny and experiencing massive growth not only in Indonesia but worldwide. It has evolved beyond being just a trend among contemporary societies to become a business and investment opportunity. The research is conducted through a qualitative approach, specifically a systematic literature review consisting of three stages: planning, conducting, and reporting. The research findings indicate that the halal lifestyle is not merely a modern way of living aligned with Islamic values but also has a futuristic dimension concerning the afterlife. It is expanding not only in Islamic countries or those with a Muslim majority but also in countries with Muslim minorities. The consumer base for the halal lifestyle is continuously growing, making it a promising investment and business opportunity. This growth is supported by seven key industries: halal food and beverage, Islamic fashion, Islamic media and recreation, Muslim-friendly tourism, halal pharmaceuticals, halal cosmetics, and the Islamic financial sector. However, the development of the halal lifestyle faces challenges, including: 1) Limited Islamic economic experts advising companies, 2) Not all products have halal labels, 3) Limited prevalence of halal certification, 4) Increasing Islamophobia in Europe and America, 5) Limited availability of halal raw materials, and 6) Narrow interpretation of halal, mainly focusing on food and beverages.

Defining the Calling to Islam in Europe

This paper provides a point of view on Islamic daʿwa (inviting to Islam) as interpreted in the European context by the European Council for Fatwa and Research (ECFR), the centre established in 1997 to deliver religious and legal guidance to Muslims in Europe. By using the approach of global Islam studies (Green 2020), the paper’s goal is to look at the modern development of daʿwa as a multipurpose tool that shapes the role of Muslims in Europe, as well as the relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims and the way the Islamic message is conveyed. As the paper’s conclusion illustrates, daʿwa is a complex concept, especially in countries where Islam is a minority religion. If it is taken as a matter of proselytizing, then the ECFR does not prioritize conversion of non-Muslims over other goals. Instead, the act of spreading Islam among Muslims and non-Muslims in Europe is the way to keep the community together, to read the Islamic tradition in a novel way, to change the perception of European Muslims, to fight Islamophobia, and to find a place as a minority religious community. The study is based on the analysis of European Council for Fatwa and Research publications between 1997 and 2020. The first section of the paper provides the theoretical framework used to frame the topic in scholarship. Therefore, it presents a short introduction to the concept of daʿwa as shaped by classical sources to the present day. The article then provides an analysis of the ECFR’s interpretation of the concept by drawing from the texts and context. Before the conclusion, the last part discusses how the Council’s interpretation of daʿwa is shaping contemporary Islam in Europe. Key words: Islamic daʿwa, Calling to Islam in Europe, Global Islam in Europe, Islamic law, Muslim minorities

Muslims in Europe and Covid-19

Covid-19 obliged the authorities of all countries to adopt a series of measures aimed at limiting the spread of the virus (e.g. social distancing and restrictions on internal and international movement), some of which prevent Muslims from performing, or only partially perform, some of their acts of worship, in particular those which, by requiring and/or prescribing the formation of an assembly, physical proximity or direct contact between those performing them (collective prayers, pilgrimage, religious festivals, funeral rites), are more conducive to the spread of the virus. This situation is at the root of the many questions that some European Muslims have asked jurists to provide them with guidance, based on Islamic law, on how to reconcile the anti-Covid rules with the obligation to perform acts of worship. This article analyses the fatāwā issued by the European Council for Fatwas and Research in response to these questions. In particular, this article has three aims: 1. to identify and describe the solutions adopted by the Maǧlis to adapt religious practice to the restrictions imposed by the Covid; 2. to verify whether the solutions adopted by the ECFR to combat the pandemic are compatible with the provisions adopted by European governments in this regard; 3. to verify whether and in what terms the Islamic jurisprudence produced at the national level (the Italian one) transposes the transnational jurisprudence of the ECFR. The focus will be on fatāwā concerning collective prayers and funeral rites. Key words: Covid-19, European Council for Fatwas and Research, Fatwas, Italian Islamic Association of Imams and Religious Guides, Muslims in Europe.

Political empowerment: The role of party politics in the future of European Muslims

This paper critically examines the socio-political dynamics affecting Muslims in Europe, focusing on the significant barriers that hinder their active participation in party politics. A central argument is that the internalized secular worldview has led to widespread political disengagement. This issue is further compounded by the first generation of Muslims in Europe, who developed and entrenched a minority mindset, along with certain ulema who promote socio-political passivity and quietism, severely limiting more complex and effective political engagement. To counter this situation, the paper emphasizes the urgent need for Muslims to move beyond status quo or reactionary approaches, such as supporting mainstream parties or resorting to political abstention, both of which only superficially address their concerns. Instead, it advocates establishing independent political entities rooted in Islamic principles that strive for more profound systemic change. Such an approach would empower Muslims to form strategic alliances, challenge the status quo, and tackle broader societal issues, ultimately advancing the interests of both their communities and European society as a whole.

Research on Conservative Islam in Europe: Navigating Ethical Considerations

This contribution discusses the ethical dilemmas inherent in researching marginalized communities, particularly in contexts where security approaches predominate. Focusing on a project involving white male converts to Islam who express critiques of liberal norms and institutions, this paper explores why such research is necessary despite the risk of amplifying illiberal voices. It also addresses the methodological challenges of conducting such research, considering the safety and well-being of different actors: the researcher, their respondents, and those who may be adversely affected by the exclusivist rhetoric of an illiberal community.

Cultural Exchange vs. Marginality: A Project for an Islamic Culture House in Genoa, Italy

Social marginalization at the urban scale can stem from an ingrained fear within opposing societal blocs that their identity is inevitably destined to be undermined, or even lost, due to cultural conflicts. This article argues that the design of projects that juxtapose different cultural traditions and practices and encourage an openness to the exchange of knowledge and learning can both promote the reinforcement of identity, and set the stage for the willing and mutual acceptance of difference. With this perspective as a starting point, this article explores an unrealized project for an Islamic Culture House in Genoa, Italy, intended to be a place in which Islamic culture can be shared with the Christian and non-Christian residents of the city. This unrealized project, which received the European Muslim League’s support in 2012, proposes the transformation of an old building located in the Darsena area, the dockyards of Genoa, into a centre of Islamic culture.

İran’ın Avrupa ile İlişkilerinde Şiilik Boyutu: Almanya-Fransa-İngiltere Örneği

The phenomenon of religion appears as a multidimensional element in terms of individual, society and state. It has effects on people individually as well as in the context of social and international relations. In terms of states, religion appears as a phenomenon that affects and determines the domestic and foreign policies of states. Especially in the 21st century, we see that religion has begun to affect international relations in various areas. Another area where International Relations has begun to establish relations in recent years has been religion. Especially when foreign policy decision-making processes are examined, it is seen that religious beliefs, religion-based organizations and non-governmental organizations are effective in the decision-making processes of state administrators. The issue of Islamic Sects, and Shi’ism in particular, has been a much-discussed phenomenon in recent years due to its global and regional effects. Along with the Persian perspective inherited from the Persian Empire, Shi'ism has significantly influenced and continues to influence the geopolitical and geocultural education of today's Iran. With its politicization, Shiism has become one of the factors that play an important role in the creation and preservation of Iran's national identity, perhaps the most important. In this context, Iranian Shiism, which creates a socio-cultural system different from other civilizations around it, has become the main determinant on the security and foreign policy of today's Iran by intertwining with Persian nationalism since the reign of Shah Ismail. Iran has influenced Shiite communities in various regions - the Middle East, Africa - Central Asia - through its Shiite proxies, or has worked to Shiite the promising masses in the political field. Iran also has an influence on Shiite Muslims in Europe. Its relationship with the Shiite communities here appears as an important element in Iran's relations with European countries in the context of foreign policy. Shiite activities in Germany are carried out through an association in Hamburg, where Iranian business people have been living for many years. The Islamic Center of Hamburg describes itself as the "case representative" of the Shiites in Europe, especially in Germany. The concentration of Shiites and organizations in Germany in a single center is entirely in line with Iran's aim of "uniting the Shiites of the world under its rule and spreading Shiism (the belief in velayat-e faqih) from a single center". Approximately 200,000 Shiites live in France. Ten associations and cultural centers, which have been identified as carrying out religious activities on the basis of Shiism, are active in the country on behalf of Iran. Shiites currently constitute 10% of the total number of Muslims in the UK. Persian community centers have been established in the UK since the 1980s. Iranian individuals have established associations in the UK in many fields such as trade, health, culture and religion. It is estimated that these associations aim to spread Shiism among Muslim communities in the UK. Iran is trying to be active in Europe through these groups and Shiism is an important element in its relations with Europe.

The Muslim Women’s Question and the Emancipatory Potential of Nafija Sarajlić’s Literary Work in South Slavic and European Context

The birth of modern identity in the field of literature can be found in the topics elaborated by the first Bosnian Muslim woman writer, Nafija Sarajlić (1893-1970). Set at the onset of World War I, in a cultural milieu in which the values of the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian Empires intermingled and confronted each other, these topics represented the growth and functioning of the concept of a woman. A comprehensive and emancipatory discourse and the writer’s awareness have been defined in light of the impact of Europeanization and also as essentially deductive content, reflecting the fluidity between self-preservation and destruction as well as rejection by (traditional) society. The author’s work is read through the prism of its correlation to writers from Serbian and Croatian cultural circles, with whom she shared not only a social experience, but also her vocation (teacher), as well as literary descriptions of the resistance to the emancipatory practices that they promoted. Sarajlić established herself as a writer who, in her biography and prose work, bore witness to the processes that accompanied the rise of the Muslim women’s question. This paper’s focus is on the issue of Muslim women’s education at that time, which was not only a crucial question inside the Muslim community, but also a problem that official Austro-Hungarian policies were supposed to address in Bosnia. To that end, an interpretation of the writer’s intimate experiences, as one of the first formally educated teachers, and her exclusion from her profession, her writing and narrative style, as well as her approach to specific motifs, will be examined with regard to how they underscored the modes and avenues for the emancipation of Muslim woman. Despite traditionalisation and patriarchal and clerical processes, which reasserted themselves in the Muslim community, particularly after World War II, it is crucial to emphasize the tremendous importance of Sarajlić’s work. The latter, for all the reasons noted above, with its text and context, functions as a starting point in the real path towards shaping a model of a modern South-Slavic and European Muslim woman.

Features of hybrid identity of the second/third generation of european muslims

The article deals with the problem of the hybrid identity of the representatives of the second/third generation of European Muslims, which has become a consequence of the failure of various strategies for the integration of migrants into European society. Hybridity arises in situations of cultural intersection when somewhat contradictory meanings and logics emanating from separate spheres of action combine to form new patterns. The article shows that a significant part of the representatives of the second/third generation of European Muslims, to one degree or another, accepts the collective European socio-cultural context (primarily, the values of secondary socialization), but at the same time expresses time preferences determined by religion, which are little compatible with European values. This reveals important characteristics of the hybrid identity of European Muslims - ambivalence, multilayeredness and incompleteness. The study emphasises that the majority of representatives of the second/third generation of migrants do not identify themselves either through the nationality of their parents or through European identity, but recognise themselves through religious identity. Thus, religious affiliation is stronger than both identities. The main source of formation of the hybrid identity of second/third migrants is the conflict between religious self-identification and secular European identity. It is religion that is one of the restraining barriers to the integration of migrants into the secular European society. Similarly, the mobilization of religious identity underlies the formation of a hybrid identity of European Muslims of the second/third generations.