Muslim Europe or Euro-Islam

Politics, Culture, and Citizenship in the Age of Globalization

Edited by Nezar AlSayyad, Manuel Castells

Not available to order

Publication date:

03 April 2002

Length of book:

216 pages

Publisher

Lexington Books

ISBN-13: 9780739157954

Five centuries after the expulsion of Muslims and Jews from Spain, Europe is once again becoming a land of Islam. At the beginning of a new millennium, and in an era marked as one of globalization, Europe continues to wrestle with the issue of national identity, especially in the context of its Muslim citizens. Muslim Europe or Euro-Islam brings together distinguished scholars from Europe, the United States, and the Middle East in a dynamic discussion about the Muslim populations living in Europe and about Europe's role in framing Islam today. The book raises several crucial questions: Does Islam offer a special case for citizenship? Is assimilation or multiculturalism the model to be followed in the case of Muslims in Europe? How powerful a force is Islam in determining identity? And why is Islam—after centuries of being a presence in Europe—not considered a European religion? Working at the knotty intersection of cultural identity, the politics of nations and nationalisms, and religious persuasions, this is an invaluable anthology of scholarship that reveals the multifaceted natures of both Europe and Islam.
Historically, Europe formed its identity by its hostility to Islam, yet today millions of Europeans are also Muslims. This transformation challenges us to rethink what it means to be European. The essays collected here are an important contribution to this task....