Towards a European Islam: (Migration, Minorities & Citizenship)

The year 1989 was the year of the 'affairs': Rushdie in Britain and headscarves in France. The public and politicians suddenly noticed that Islam had established a visible presence in the cities of western Europe. This book follows the develop-ment of Islam in the region through this watershed. Tracing the Muslim presence from the eighteenth century, the author pays particular attention to Britain since the 1950s. The process of settlement and the growth of the second generation provides the context for an assessment of Muslims' relationships with government, changing family structures and responses to the education system. As the gener-ations change, so some common issues begin to emerge among Muslims across western Europe: how to pass the faith on to the next generation, and whether to seek to apply traditional Islamic family law. Another important issue is the growing impatience at European society's unwillingness to adapt, and the consequent rise of radicalism. The last part of the book considers how relations between religion and state and the attitudes of the churches have influenced the context in which European Islam is emerging out of a search for a meaningful place in the wider society.

Table of Contents:
Preface Introduction Muslims in Britain: A Change of Generation? Migration, Settlement and Families Muslims and British Local and Central Government Muslims in English Schools Transmitting the Faith in a Secular Society Muslim Family Law in Europe Muslim Radicalism State, Religion and Pluralism Christian-Muslim Relations in Western Europe Muslims in Europe into the Next Millennium References Index

About the Author :
JORGEN S. NIELSEN is Honorary Professor at the University of Birmingham, and Director of the Centre for the Study of Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations, Selly Oak College, Birmingham.

Review :
'...the book conveys the depth of the author's knowledge and first-hand experience of the debates, both as observer and interlocutor and is extremely valuable for that.' - Mick Dumper, Political Studies '...provides a very good introduction to the role that Islam plays in the experience of most non-European immigrants to Western Europe...with his careful and balanced treatment of a controversial topic the author helps us imagine ways that tensions between Islam and the West might in the future be minimized.' - J. Christopher Soper, International Journal of Middle East Studies