Islam In Europe Research Articles

Исламистский терроризм, политика Запада и исламский фактор в Европе (на примере Франции)

The article covers the phenomenon of Islamist terrorism in the countries of Western Europe. The key research method is interdisciplinary approach. The multidimensional nature of the phenomenon under consideration, which is related to the spread of radical trends of political Islam among a certain part of the European Muslim community, particularly among young people, and also to double standards in the politics of Western countries towards radical Islamism in the Arab Muslim region, is analyzed in details. On the one hand, Western countries fought against Islamist movements, whose actions were in conflict with the interests of the West in Afghanistan and the African Sahel, but, on the other hand, they supported Islamist «rebels» and tried to use them for their own purposes in order to remove «unwanted» regimes in Libya and Syria. The results of such politics, that has given rise to radical Islamism and ISIS and their expansion in Iraq and Syria are revealed. The main aspects of «jihadist» ideology, the influence of which has led to the intensification of Islamist terrorist activity, are examined. The particular attention is paid to the internal situation in the European Arab Muslim society on the example of its largest community in France. The difficult social and economic problems aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic and affecting primarily the Muslim-migrant community (especially its youth segment), are exposed. They became most important factors in the radicalization of the part of Muslim community. The activities of numerous Muslim organizations reflecting the interests of various ethnic groups and trends in Islam are examined thoroughly. The role of Islamic factor which became the integral element of the social and cultural landscape of French society is analyzed. Also, it is exposed that a part of French society does not accept this reality. The author concludes that the problem of combating the Islamist threat is complex and diverse. Western society cannot adequately respond to this challenge.

Исламская научная традиция и европейская мысль

The article is devoted to the consideration of the Islamic intellectual tradition from the point of view of the possibility of correlating it with the social and hu­manitarian aspects of science, formed in the traditions of European culture. The reason for this study was postmodernist interpretations of the processes of the Islamization of knowledge as ways to overcome the dichotomy of science and religion. These interpretations are based on the social, in fact, idea of the civilizational identity of Muslims living and working today in European countries (including those working in the field of science) and Muslims of the traditional Islamic East. The authors, however, associate the prospects of a re­newed interpretation of the Islamic scientific tradition with the possibility of its rethinking in the context of the post-nonclassical concept of scientific rationality. This concept makes it possible to overcome the interpretation of “western” and “eastern” knowledge, which reaches the point of opposition. Such a rethinking is unfolding today, in particular, in the course of the reinterpretation of historically established Islamized intellectual trends. The authors come to the conclusion: the Islamization of education in the East, begun by 9th century intellectuals (primar­ily from among the Muslim Ummah) on the didactic foundations laid down in the Qur’an and Sunnah, implied a rethinking of the cultural status of various fields of knowledge from the standpoint of the corresponding value orientations, which, in principle does not contradict the modern understanding of science as an axiologically oriented system. The very possibility of this kind of correlation of the value aspects of knowledge opposes the “scientific marginalization” of Is­lam and presupposes the delineation of the semantic content of Islam as a cul­tural regulator that also orientates science and Islam as a system of rigid reli­gious ideas.

Tariq Ramadan’s «European Islam» as a project of rethinking the logic of cultural identity

The present article examines the theoretical foundations of the «European Islam» project, that can be understood as a set of the following factors: a new understanding of the «universal» and «individual» correlation in Islam, differentiation of sharia and fiqh, deconstruction of traditional (in terms of «Islamic sacred geography») opposition between «the world of Islam» and «the world of infidelity». This project deserves serious attention as an attempt to re-conceptualize the very essence of cultural identity. The author demonstrates that the existential motive for developing Tariq Ramadan’s theory is the urge to overcome the «inferiority complex» of Islamic youth inEurope. The path of integration of Muslims into the European environment presented by Ramadan’s project leads to their energy being redirected to more constructive endeavors, so that they can actively participate in building a common future society and politics. The author proves, that the notion of «European Muslim» transforms the concept of «European citizenship», even for Christian and secular people inEurope.

Western Political Rhetoric and Radicalization

AbstractDoes anti-Muslim rhetoric by Western politicians breed radical attitudes among European Muslims? This article explores this question by conducting an experimental study in Bosnia – a European democracy, where, unlike the rest of Europe, Muslims are neither immigrants nor socio-economically disadvantaged. This helps clearly identify the radicalization potential of Western rhetoric alone, absent contextual factors such as social inferiority. Experimental evidence with Bosnian Muslims from five surveys (with a total of 2,608 participants) suggests that rhetorical attacks on Islam by Western politicians do not strengthen individuals' Muslim identity, cause higher levels of animosity toward the West or lead to condoning the use of violence. The study also finds that pro-Muslim rhetoric, while increasing positive views of the West, does not affect individuals' strength of Muslim identity or their radical sympathies. These results have important implications for the sources of radicalization and efforts to curb radical tendencies.

The translation Studies in Medieval Spain

Orta çağda İspanya; coğrafi ve kültürel konumu bakımından Avrupa, Kuzey Afrika ve Orta Doğu ile doğrudan ilişki içinde bulunması, Müslümanlığın siyasi ve kültürel gücü açısından ulaşılamayacak bir yere sahip olması, Batı Aydınlanmasının kaynağı ve aracısı olması, Avrupa’da Müslümanlığı temsil etmesi, içerisinde yedi civarında ırk ve üç semavi din temsilcisinin bulunduğu bir hoşgörü uygarlığına sahip olması nedenleriyle büyük önem arz etmektedir. Dolayısıyla o dönemde Batı’da görülebilecek her önemli yeniliğin kaynağı İspanya’ya dayanmaktadır. Orta çağ İspanya’sı, Batı’yı Yunan felsefe ve bilim geleneği ile ilk defa tanıştırmış, bu çevirmenler ve yaptıkları çeviriler Avrupalıların fikirlerini bütünüyle değiştirmiştir. Bağdat’ta kurulan Beyt’ül Hikme’den Endülüs’e aktarılan bilgiler, Toledo’da kurulan Çeviri Okulunun temellerini oluşturmuştur. XII. yüzyılda Avrupa’da gerçekleşen çeviri faaliyetleri arasında en etkin rolü olan Toledo Çeviri Okulu, çevrilen eserlerin sayısı, orada çalışan çevirmenler ve etkileri açısından İspanya çeviri hareketinin merkezi olmuştur. Müslüman yazarların Batılı ilahiyatçılar üzerinde yaptığı felsefî etkinin oluşturduğu değişim, büyük ölçüde bu çevirmen grubunun çalışmaları sonucunda oluşmuş ve bu çeviriler Orta çağ Avrupası’nın İslam’la ilgili bilgilerinin temelini oluşturmuştur. Ayrıca Toledo’da açılan çeviri okulunun ve burada yapılan çeviri faaliyetlerinin uygarlık tarihi ve insanlığın kültür mirasına katkıları son derece büyüktür. Bu çalışmanın amacı orta çağ İspanya’sında gerçekleşen çeviri faaliyetleri ve çevrilen eserler hakkında bilgi vermek, çeviri faaliyetlerinin günümüze kadar geliş aşamasını tekrardan hatırlatmaktır.

Sharía y ciudadanía en España: una propuesta para investigar los marcos normativos y la dimensión transnacional

Este artículo es una propuesta de aproximación teórica a los marcos normativos sobre los que se construyen las nociones de ciudadanía, identidad musulmana y pertenencia en España. A partir de la revisión de algunas de las referencias principales de la literatura académica sobre el islam en Europa, se hace una propuesta para investigar en el plano local el activismo asociativo inspirado por el islamismo árabe que reivindica la sharía como fuente de autoridad.

The Transformation of Radical Islam in a Post-Industrial Society

In a post-industrial society, radical Islam has undergone significant evolutionary changes, that contributed to its transformation from a religious ideology to a political one. The key element of the updated doctrine was the idea of creating a world Islamic state - caliphate - through global jihad. This article explores a new stage in the history of the phenomenon of Islamic radicalism, which has developed outside the Muslim world, where it has acquired features of a specific subculture. Global jihad is gaining popularity among young Muslims in Europe, the US, and Southeast Asia. A variety of cultural manifestations of Islamism, united by the term jihadi-cool, form an attractive image of a Salafist-jihadists through a special manner of clothing, new types of music (jihad rap and jihad rock), etc. Members of this subculture tend to join terrorist organizations, spread radical ideas among young people and attract new supporters. One of the most important causes of the radicalization of Muslims in Europe and the Americas is considered to be the complex socio-economic and cultural preconditions created by Western policies towards the States of the Middle East and the local Muslim diaspora. As part of the research, a historical-genetic analysis of the evolutionary transformations of Islamic radicalism has been conducted. The statistical method has been used to track the number of terrorist acts in the EU and the USA. Content analysis has been applied in the article in order to examine lyrics of jihad-rap musical compositions. The interdependence of jihad-rap popularity and the general interest in the ideology of jihad has been assessed based on the analysis of statistics of search queries. Biographical methods have been used to study the relationship between belonging to a jihadist subculture and joining radical Islamic organizations. The results of the study demonstrate, first of all, the high adaptability of Islamic radicalism to the changing conditions of the global world. Secondly, they indicate the specific evolution of a phenomenon that gradually overcomes sectarian differences. And third, they note increasing prevalence of this destructive doctrine in Europe, USA, South and Southeast Asia. All the results confirm that Islamic radicalism is not a local phenomenon, but a real threat to global political stability.

Islamic Theology in Europe: A Germany-focused Review

Bu makale, Almanya odaklı olarak, Avrupa’da Yükseköğretimde İslam İlahiyatı konusunda yaşanan gelişmeleri konu edinmektedir. Amaç, son yıllarda Avrupa üniversitelerinde İslam İlahiyatı ile ilgili yaşanmakta olan gelişmeleri tespit ederek imkânlar ve sorunlar bağlamında değerlendirmektir. Yahudi-Hıristiyan-Batı değerlerine sahip olan Avrupa devletleri ve milletleri, birlikte yaşamak durumunda oldukları ve sayıları giderek artan Müslümanların kendileriyle uyum içinde yaşayabilmelerinin yollarını aramaktadır. Konu Avrupa’da İslam’ın ve Müslümanların geleceği açısından önem arz etmektedir. Bu arayışların bir boyutu da Avrupa üniversitelerinde İslam ilahiyatı programı oluşturma çalışmalarıdır. Acaba Avrupa değerleriyle uyumlu yaşayacak bir İslam yorumu üretmek mümkün müdür? sorusu, başta Almanya olmak üzere Avrupa genelinde üzerinde durulan önemli bir meseledir. İki binli yıllarda başlayan ve son on yıldır hız kazanan İslam ilahiyatı akademik arayışı ve çalışmaları bu soruya cevap üretmek amacındadır. Batı Avrupa değerleri ile barışık yaşayabilecek bir İslam anlayışını üretmek ve bu İslam anlayışıyla İslam din eğitimi ve din hizmetleri verecek insanları yetiştirmek Avrupa’daki İslam İlahiyatı girişimlerinin temel amacını oluşturmaktadır. Konu, ilgili literatüre dayalı olarak metin analizi ve uzun yıllara dayalı tecrübeler ışığında otobiyografik yöntemlerle ele alınmaktadır.

Spatial performances of gender, Islam and the “secular”: Muslim girls’ playing football in Dutch public playgrounds

ABSTRACT There is a large focus on the dominant discourses that frame Muslim women as “other” in European public spaces, but less research on the spatial practices of Muslim women themselves. Through an ethnographic case-study of urban girls’ football, this article provides new insights in research on gender and Islam in Europe, as it shows that Muslim girls, through playing football, contest the normative constructions of Dutch public space as masculine, white and secular. The article approaches playing football as spatial performance, and takes into account those public spaces that are not explicitly religious, indeed a domain much less studied in research on Islam and gender in Europe. I argue that it is important in research on Islam, gender and public space to not only focus on explicit religious public practices, but also on practices that are not explicitly religious or Islamic, as they emphasize the potential for resistance.

‘Spiritualized Islam’: Reconfigurations of Islamic Dogma Among Young Non-Organized Muslims in Norway

ABSTRACT This article provides examples of how some young Muslims in Norway reconfigure Islamic norms and doctrines in the direction of contemporary spirituality. These young Muslims’ beliefs include elements of ‘objective’ Islamic dogma, while simultaneously sacralizing the significance and authority of subjective life to the degree that it challenges established orthodoxy. Their interpretations of Islam may be described as a synthesis of two fundamentally different approaches to the sacred, namely ‘life-as-religion’ and ‘subjective-life spirituality’, as described in the work of Linda Woodhead and Paul Heelas. An emphasis on the symbolic, abstract and ambiguous character of religious dogma allows for not only a high degree of subjective interpretation, but also a pluralist attitude towards other religions and worldviews. Aspects of the interviewees’ life-stories suggest that spiritualization of Islam is linked to concerns with inclusion in liberal-secular and pluralistic social settings. It is argued that the tendency towards spiritualization represents a trajectory among young European Muslims that is distinct from the already well-defined tendencies of secularization and Islamic revitalization.

The Muslim Brotherhood in Europe: organisational and ideological transformation

Political Islam has become an important factor of the international politics nowadays. By the beginning of the 21st century Islamist political groups have turned to be a matter of concern not only of the Middle East main stakeholders, but also the European and American ones. This circumstance has been aggravated even more, considering the fact, that, being a former metropolis, Europe had come to be a kind of cradle for the spread of Islam. The proportion of the Islamic population has been growing here year by year. Moreover, the migration waves following the 2011 Arab spring provoked even more tough migration crisis and posed a complicated challenge to the European society expressed in conciliation of freedom of religion within its Muslim community along with the preserving European values of secular democracy. The Society of the Muslim Brotherhood has always been considered to be a leading Islamist force not only in Arabic world but in the West as well. Indeed, if in the Middle East they position themselves rather as a political force, even though with wide representation, in Europe the Society of the Muslim Brotherhood claims to be a representative of the Muslim population of the region as a whole. Taking into account the growing Islamic presence in the continent, a certain anxiety in the European society cannot but exist, concerning the risk of conscious Islamic expansion. In this circumstances the question, whether this process is really taking place as well as which role the Society of the Muslim Brotherhood plays in it, came to the fore. This article tries to answer this question, analysing the different stages of the group’s ideological transformation and its influence on the group’s activity in Europe. The author comes to the conclusion, that being a movement, that has undergone substantial ideological transformation, the Society of the Muslim Brotherhood has followed a similar scenario in Europe. Since the organisation itself has made a long way from a militant organisation with anti-Western discourse to a moderate movement, claiming to be democratically oriented and tolerant to the West, their European branch has transformed from a small Islamist group in temporary exile in the enemy camp, to the organisation, considering itself a representative of the European Muslim community, as well as accepting Europe as a motherland.

Ottoman Empire Effects on 21st Century European Muslim Immigration

This research looked at how four historical wars during the Ottoman empire had effects on European attitudes and views on 21st century Muslim immigration. These wars included the War of Granada, the Polish Ottoman War, and the Balkan Wars including the Armenian Genocide. One prominent leader, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, and the leader of the War of Turkish Independence was also researched. The research provides an overview of European challenges regarding the integration of Muslim immigrants, and how the rise in social and political animosities towards Muslims has caused major concerns for European state governments. This includes Muslim lack of cultural assimilation into host nation communities and a rise in Islamic extremism and Islamophobia. A mixed methodology approach was used to research historical literature on the four main wars and on modern-day immigration issues and security concerns, and statistical data from EUROstats on the number of immigrants coming into EU countries, and how these countries rank in terrorist threats. Two theories; Intergroup Threat Theory and Social Identity Theory were researched to recognize how fear, resulting from stereotypes can result in hostility towards certain groups. The research shows that European attitudes towards Muslim immigrants, and the atrocities on civilians during the four main wars during the Ottoman empire, have revived a deeply rooted negative view of Muslims.

Queer Muslims in Europe: Sexuality, Religion and Migration in Belgium, by Wim Peumans

Queer Muslims in Europe: Sexuality, Religion and Migration in Belgium, by Wim Peumans

ANÁLISE DO CASO OSMANOGLU E KOCABAS V. SUÍÇA: QUAIS SÃO OS STANDARDS ADOTADOS PELO TEDH PARA IDENTIFICAR SE HÁ, OU NÃO, A VIOLAÇÃO DO DIREITO FUNDAMENTAL À LIBERDADE DE RELIGIÃO, PRESENTE NO ARTIGO 9º DA CONVENÇÃO EUROPEIA DOS DIREITOS DO HOMEM?

O presente artigo objetiva analisar um acórdão recentemente julgado pelo TEDH (Osmanoglu e Kocabas v. Suíça), que trata, em linhas gerais, da recusa dos pais, praticantes fervorosos da religião muçulmana, em enviar suas duas filhas para as aulas de natação mistas obrigatórias em suas escolas. A seguir, busca-se a partir deste estudo de caso tecer comentários sobre o artigo 9º da CEDH, invocando outros acórdãos, também julgados pelo TEDH. Logo em seguida, estudaremos o acórdão Lautsi v. Itália, que se refere à presença de crucifixos nas salas de aula da escola pública italiana. Por conseguinte, tendo em vista a propagação do islamismo na Europa, e seus possíveis reflexos, examinaremos dois acórdãos que versam sobre o impacto do uso do véu islâmico no ambiente escolar e universitário (Leyla Sahin v. Turquia e Dogru v. França). Ao final, apresentaremos a experiência francesa no que se refere à aplicação do princípio da laicidade nas instituições públicas de ensino, que garante a proteção do não proselitismo em tais instituições.

\u2018Neutrality\u2019, Muslimness and the whiteness of RE professionalism

There has been longstanding criticism of the whiteness of the professional discourses in teaching. Bariso (Race Ethn Educ 4(2):167–184, https://doi.org/10.1080/713693054, 2001) writes that where whiteness is constructed as being professional then blackness is constructed as unprofessional, in turn excluding blackness from the construction of the teacher. Similarly, Bhopal (Br J Educ Stud, 63(2):197–211, https://doi.org/10.1080/00071005.2015.1005045, 2015) argues that this presents a clash between embodying blackness and embodying the teacher. With the turn to research surrounding Muslim teachers, attributes of Muslimness have also been shown to be a source of marginalisation within school contexts (Shah in Education, leadership and Islam: theories, discourses and practices from an Islamic perspective, Routledge, London, 2016). Some scholarship has reflected on issues surrounding embodiment and ‘body-works’ of RE teaching’s professional discourses (Bryan and Revell in Br J Educ Stud 59(4):403–419, https://doi.org/10.1080/00071005.2011.602328, 2011; Everington in Br J Religious Educ 36(2):155–173, https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2013.820169, 2014; Vince in J Beliefs Values, https://doi.org/10.1080/13617672.2019.1686732019, 2019). Such empirical studies have shown that embodying faith is perceived to be at odds with notions of RE teacher professionalism, particularly around notions of ‘neutrality’ (Everington in Br J Relig Educ, 38(2):177–188, https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2016.1139892, 2016). Despite the concept of ‘neutrality’ being increasingly criticised (Franken and Loobuyck in Br J Relig Educ, 39(1):1–6, https://doi.org/10.1080/01416200.2016.1218219, 2017), embodying ‘neutrality’ remains an important commitment. This has clear implications for (hyper)visible religious bodies (Jeldtoft, in: Dessing et al. (eds) Everyday Lived Islam in Europe, Routledge, London, 2016). Accordingly, in this paper I explore how ‘Muslim RE teachers’ manage their identities in relation to ‘being neutral’. For these teachers, ‘becoming neutral’ was the formative part of becoming an RE teacher. However, this was particularly challenging due to the hypervisibility of their Muslimness, particularly for female Muslim teachers. These challenges are then framed as an issue of whiteness, disproportionally affecting those who do not fit the white teacher norm. I end on arguing that there is a pressing need to change how ‘neutrality’ is understood.

Muslim Youth, Education, and Islam in Britain

Abstract This review essay discusses four recently published books that in various ways concern Islam and Muslims in Britain, especially Muslim youth. Particular attention is paid to the two issues of generation and education, which are central in the reviewed books and provide fruitful conceptual frames for analysing Muslims in Europe.

School Bullying, Perpetration, and Cyberhate: Overlapping Issues

In an international context of increasing racism, xenophobia, anti-Semitism, and Islamophobia in Europe and the USA (FRA, 2013; Hawdon et al. 2015), social media provide a privileged tool for propaganda and victimization. Issues of racism and xenophobia have become more prevalent both in “real life” and on the Internet. This study presents the results of a self-reported questionnaire survey on cyberhate among 1900 French students, age 12–20, where we investigated the association between school bullying and cyberhate victimization and perpetration. Findings show that bullying and cyberhate are a common experience for quite a few young people. Structural equation models provide evidence of the association between ordinary offline victimization and involvement in cyberhate. Our findings for cyberhate provide further evidence suggesting an overlap between traditional bullying and cyberbullying. They confirm the need for further research to acquire a better understanding of the processes that underscore individual involvement in online hate in order to inform effective interventions.

유럽 내 이주 무슬림의 사회 영향과 한국 사례 비교

본 연구는 유럽 사회 내 이주 무슬림의 현황에 대해 연구하며 이들과 관련되어 다수의 통계 기관이 제시한 여러 통계자료를 통합, 정리하였다. 유럽사회로 이주한 무슬림의 역사를 5단계로 구분하여 기존 학자가 제시한 1)Invisible Interaction(비가시화 상호작용), 2)Visible Interaction(가시화 상호작용), 3)Questionable Interaction(모호한 상호작용), 4)Necessary Interaction(불가피한 상호작용) 단계에 5)대립적 상호작용 단계를 추가 제시하였다. 이와 함께 유럽 사회 내 무슬림으로 인해 발생 가능한 사회 갈등에 대해 논하였다. 나아가 국내 무슬림 유입 단계를 유럽 사례와 비교하여 제시함으로써, 국내 무슬림 사회가 향후 진행될 방향성에 대해 예측하고자 하였다. 무슬림이 정착한 다양한 해외 국가 사례가 있지만, 유럽의 무슬림 수용과 정착 사례가 국내 무슬림 사회와 가장 일치하는 흐름을 보이고 있기 때문에 유럽 내 무슬림 연구를 통해 국내 무슬림 사회의 발전 방향성에 대해 예측 할 수 있다.

Reformation and Islam

This article investigates the use of Barth’s understanding of the “Just State” to see how contemporary Western society can accommodate religious pluralism, so that communities of different religious beliefs can strive towards a society which does not simply tolerate one another but finds a way to come together to cohabitate and create an egalitarian and just society for all. The article will attempt to bring into discussion Karl Barth, a twentieth century theologian, Tariq Ramadan, a leading European Muslim scholar and Ali Gomaa, the Egyptian former Grand Mufti, with the scope of demonstrating that, despite their different religious backgrounds, it is possible to bring Christianity and Islam into a fruitful conversation that will foster collaboration and understanding of the other.

Institutionalization of Ethnocultural Diversity and the Representation of European Muslims

We seek to explain variation in the descriptive representation of Muslim minorities in national legislatures, relying on an original data set that includes 635 seats filled by Muslim-origin MPs in the lower chambers of national parliaments of twenty-six European polities in three legislative cycles between 2007 and 2018. We argue that the image of a polity as a union of multiple ethnocultural groups, reflected in concrete state policies and institutional arrangements, may be conducive to better descriptive representation of Muslim minorities, who were not originally envisioned as one of the communities constituting the nation. The results of multivariate regression analysis provide support for our hypothesis that the extent to which ethnocultural diversity is recognized and institutionalized helps explain variation in the levels of descriptive representation of European Muslims. We supplement our findings with congruence testing in four brief case studies: Belgium, France, the Netherlands, and Bulgaria.