For centuries, Muslim countries and Europe have engaged one another through theological dialogues, diplomatic missions, political rivalries, and power struggles. In the last thirty years, due in large part to globalization and migration from Islamic countries to the West, what was previously an engagement across national and cultural boundaries has increasingly become an internalized encounter within Europe itself. Questions of the Hijab in schools, freedom of expression in the wake of the Danish Cartoon crisis, and the role of Shari'a have come to the forefront of contemporary European discourse.
The Oxford Handbook of European Islam is the first collection to present a comprehensive approach to the multiple and changing ways Islam has been studied across European countries. Parts one to three address the state of knowledge of Islam and Muslims within a selection of European countries, while presenting a critical view of the most up-to-date data specific to each country. These chapters analyse the immigration cycles and policies related to the presence of Muslims, tackling issues such as discrimination, post-colonial identity, adaptation, and assimilation. The thematic chapters, in parts four and five, examine secularism, radicalization, Shari'a, Hijab, and Islamophobia with the goal of synthesizing different national discussion into a more comparative theoretical framework. The Handbook attempts to balance cutting edge assessment with the knowledge that the content itself will eventually be superseded by events. Featuring eighteen newly-commissioned essays by noted scholars in the field, this volume will provide an excellent resource for students and scholars interested in European Studies, immigration, Islamic studies, and the sociology of religion.
Jocelyne Cesari: Introduction Part I: Islam as a Post Colonial, Post WWII Religion in Europe 1: Jennifer Selby: France 2: Sophie Gilliat-Ray: The United Kingdom 3: Riem Spielhaus: Germany 4: Maurizio Berger: The Netherlands 5: Farid El Asri and Nadia Fadil: Belgium Part II: The Arrival of Islam as Post 1974 Migration 6: Chantal Saint-Blancat: Italy 7: Ana I Planet Contreras: Spain 8: Nicholas Prevelakis, Panos Hatziprokopiou, and Venetia Evergeti: Greece 9: Garbi Schmidt and Jonas Otterbeck: Scandinavian Countries Part III: The Old European Land of Islam 10: Ahmet Alibasic: Bosnia and Herzegovina 11: Isa Blumi and Gezim Krasniqi: Albanians' Islam(s) 12: Stephane A Dudoignon: Russia 13: Antonina Zhelyazkova: Bulgaria Part IV: Islam and European Secularism 14: Silvio Ferrari and Rossella Bottoni: Institutionalization of Islam 15: Mathias Rohe: Shari'a in Europe 16: Jennifer Selby: Hijab Part V: Islam and European Politics 17: Ayhan Kaya: Islamophobia 18: Daniela Pisoiu: Radicalization Jocelyne Cesari: Conclusion: Is there a European Islam?
Jocelyne Cesari is a Research associate at the Centre for European Studies and Director of the Islam in the West Program at Harvard University. She is a Senior Research Fellow at the Berkley Center for Peace, Religion and World Affairs at Georgetown University. Her recent publications include, Why the West Fears Islam: An Exploration of Muslims in Liberal Democracies (Palgrave MacMilllan, 2013) and The Awakening of Muslim Democracy: Religion, Modernity, and the State (Cambridge University Press, 2013).
Reviews for The Oxford Handbook of European Islam
.. .[A]n outstanding, comprehensive study of Islam in European countries with essays by leading scholars... Essential. --CHOICE
