Minority Muslim Communities in Post-Bipolar Europe (Western Europe & the Balkans)
A conference on Minority Muslim Communities in Post-BipolarEurope (Western Europe & the Balkans), convened by the Centre forMiddle Eastern and Islamic Studies at the University of Durham (UK),was held at the Regency Palace Hotel in Amman at the invitation of theRoyal Academy for Islamic Civilisation Research (Al AIBait Foundation).It was funded largely by Jordanian governmental sources on the instructionof HRH Crown Prince Al-Hassan, who has a particular interest in theconference theme, and who extended his royal patronage to the event.Modest contributions towards expenses were also forthcoming from theWorld Assembly of Muslim Youth (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia), and L'lnstitutEuropean des Sciences Huamines (Saint-Leger-de-Pougeret, France).Attended by some thirty-five researchers and activ-ists, this conferencewas the third in a series initiated by British academics. The first twowere held during 1993 in Skopje (FYROM) and Durham (UK), and weresponsored by the British Council and the Council of Europe. This one differedfrom its predecessors in a number of ways. For the first time. anattempt was made to provide a forum for exchange between Europeanresearchers in this field and their colleagues from the various EuropeanMuslim communities examined. An effort was also made to cut acrosssocial scientific, political, and human rights discourses.The conference was inaugurated by Suha Taji-Farouki (Centre forMiddle Eastern and Islamic Studies, University of Durham), the ConferenceConvener; Mani' al-Johani (Secretary-General, World A sembly ofMuslim Youth); Ahmad Maballah (Director of Academic Affairs,L'Institut European des Sciences Humaines); and by HRH Crown PrinceAl-Hassan, delivered on his behalf by HE Professor Nassir EI-Din ElAssad(President, Royal Academy for Islamic Civilisation Research, AlAIBait Foundation). Each speaker highlighted the importance and timelinessof the conference, in light of the USSR's and Yugoslavia's disintegrationand the growing strength of movements inimical to North African,Middle Eastern, and Asian Muslims in western Europe. Speakers alsopointed to the popular notion of a so-called civilizational conflict betweenIslam and the West, positing Europe's relations with its Muslim ...