The European Societies and Jihadism

The introductory chapter gives insight into the major topics of the book. It stresses the fact that the major actors of jihadism were of Muslim immigration origin but also include a minority of middle-class converts from secular Europe. The notion of “total social fact,” coined by Marcel Mauss, a major French anthropologist, is used to give a comprehensive picture of jihadism as a social phenomenon involving urban sociology (many came from the so-called poor districts, but also some came from some middle-class districts), ethnic relations (Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Moroccan, Algerian), national political culture (in France Laïcité, in Great Britain multiculturalism), family (the crisis in family among many jihadis), gender (a significant minority), and generation. From my viewpoint, all these aspects are to be taken into account in order to make sense of jihadism in Europe.

BACKGROUND AND FACTORS OF MUSLIM IMMIGRATION TO THE COUNTRIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

The article analyzes the prerequisites, factors and consequences of immigration to the European Union from countries with a predominantly Muslim population. The main typological characteristics of the recipient countries of migrants from predominantly Muslim countries are highlighted. The problems studied in this article attract the attention of a wide range of specialists due to its relevance and at the same time due to the lack of any adequate answers to the modern challenges faced by the de facto multicultural societies of developed industrial countries. The results of consideration of the rights and freedoms of migrants in various EU countries are also important in scientific and practical terms. Special attention is paid to the analysis of the situation in Germany, as the most attractive country for migrants. In the context of the ongoing changes in the ethnodemographic structure of the population, the forecast of the number and gender and age structure of the Muslim population in Germany by 2050 is given. This forecast suggests that the population of Muslim origin in Germany will increase from 4.3 million in 2014 to at least 5.8 million by 2050. The increase will be achieved mainly due to a higher fertility rate than that of the Germans. According to the theory of E. Lee, the authors distinguish two groups of factors, "pushing factors" and "attraction factors", which contribute to the immigration of Muslims to more economically developed countries. The push factors in the countries of origin of migrants are mainly related to the unstable political situation, economic crises, and high unemployment, especially among the young population. Attracting factors are mainly related to the ability to receive certain economic preferences in the country of reception, to get educated, to have a stable income and medical care. Along with certain benefits, expressed in an increase in the share of the working-age population, Muslim migration also carries certain risks for EU countries: socio-cultural, religious, criminal, economic, political and geopolitical factors that can significantly affect the balance of political forces in the EU countries. The problems that arose with the adaptation and integration of Muslim migrants as a result of the largest migration crisis in the twenty-first century showed that the host country, in this case, the member States of the European Union, found themselves in a paradoxical situation. On the one hand, resolutions were prepared and adopted at the European level, and a set of measures was developed to accept migrants and provide them with financial and social assistance, which was expected to facilitate the process of adaptation and further lay the foundation for the assimilation of young Muslims. It was assumed that these steps will help, to some extent, to spread democratic values and principles for immigrants. On the other hand, in reality, the situation turned out to be much more complex and ambiguous, a number of EU States actually refused to accept migrants on their territories. The countries of the Visegrad group can be cited as an example. The split within the EU on migration issues calls the very existence of the European Union into question. This paper uses data from Eurostat, the International organization for migration, the German statistical office, the European Commission, the European Statistical Office, and a number of other reputable statistical agencies as input data. The material presented in the article does not contain information (information) related to state secrets of the countries of the European Union and the Russian Federation.

From Muslims in America to American Muslims

This chapter analyzes the historical trajectory of Muslim immigration, settlement, and institution building in the United States. It focuses on the structural conditions and collective traumas that have shaped the lives of Muslims in America, particularly in the post-9/11 period. It also shows the broad ethnic, national, denominational, and socioeconomic diversity among Muslims in the United States, including the emergence of organizations aiming to represent the collective interests of the group. The chapter elaborates that the emergence of Muslim American interest groups is the result of a long process of negotiated integration, which is mostly influenced by the American social, political, and legal context. It highlights the preferences of Muslim American advocacy organizations and the policy interests they pursue that resulted from the broader historical experience of Muslims in America.

Islam in the Colonial Policy of France: from the Origins to the Fifth Republic

History of relations between France and the Islamic world goes back to the first centuries of Hijra, when the Franks first faced the Caliphate and its troops in the Eastern and Western Mediterranean. On the eve of the New times Paris had already developed its numerous contacts with Turkey, Iran and the Arab West — the Maghreb area. The conquest of Algeria (from 1830) formed a basis of the French colonial empire in Africa and Asia with the growing role of Islam in political activities and ambitions of Paris. Millions of Muslims in French colonies contributed to growth of political and economic progress of their metropoly with its pretensions to become a great Muslim power. Meanwhile, thousands of them lost their lives during two great world wars of the 20th century. Waves of immigration gave birth to an impressive Islamic community (‘umma), in France, reaching about a million of residents by the middle of the 20th century. With the growth of Muslim immigration from Africa and the Middle East a number of Muslims among the natives of France also augmented. By the end of the last century the Muslims formed as much as about 10 % of the whole population of France. The “French Islam” born at the dawn of the 20th century. after a century of its evolution became an important civilizational reality of Europe, at times more attractive for the local youth than traditional Christian values, or the new ideals, brought with the winds of globalism, multiculturalism and a “non-stop consumerism”.

Muslim Immigration to France in the 20th Century: Causes, Cycles, Problems

The article devoted to the problem of Muslim immigration in France in the 20th century. The focus is on the causes of Muslim immigration, its cycles, specificity and consequences for modern French society. Based on a comparison of various statistical data, it stated that Muslim immigration is an integral part of three large waves of immigration flows that took place from the end of the 19th to the end of the 20th centuries. The article notes the correlation of the number of Muslim immigrants in France with the global numbers of immigrant arrivals to the country. However, if in the first two waves their number depended on the economic needs of the French economy (Muslims came to earn money), then during the third wave other factors came into play — the creation of stable communities, family reunification, going on stage second and third generations of immigrants, social problems of their arrangement and adaptation to French legal norms and customs. The article notes the specificity of the geographical concentration of the Muslim population, which takes place either near large industrial centers and cities (which makes it easier to find work and social protection), or in places of proximity to their native countries (southern France). Special attention paid to the problem of the evolution of state policy in the admission and integration of immigrants, when various methods tired from assimilation, the adoption of quotas to the policy of flexible regulation of immigration and expulsion of illegal immigrants from the country. The article analyzes the position of the Muslim community in France, the role of Muslim associations in its life, the impact on the socio-cultural life of the French. It can stated that Islam has become the second religion in France, which determines its position — a stable presence in socio-economic life (employment, the spread of the social protection system to immigrants), political (the right to vote, the possibility of creating associations, manifestations), religious (the possibility of worship), cultural (the formation of a specific immigrant subculture).

Cologne and the (un)making of transnational approaches to sexual violence

The sexual assaults reported on New Year’s Eve 2015 in Cologne posed major challenges to feminists struggling with the tensions and entanglements of feminism, imperialism, racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, sexism and nationalism. The aim of the present article is to examine these tensions through an analysis of the pressures framing the positionality of discourses. It examines how feminists, framed by the larger Western debates about the ‘failure of multiculturalism’ and the global Islamophobia underpinning the ‘war on terror’ era, engaged with the moral panic which pervaded the mediatization of the assaults. It argues that feminist initiatives like #ausnahmslos’, which situated anti-racism at the core of any engagement for gender equality, were a reaction to the femonationalist approach to the events pervading the media and the political debate, and attempts to counter arguments which associated the sexual assaults with cultural practices imported through (Muslim) immigration and which demanded (or condoned) stricter immigration laws and state surveillance of Muslims. Then, this article addresses the challenges posed by some feminists from Germany and from North African countries and/or with a Muslim background, who argued that the analysis of Cologne should address the religious-cultural background of the suspects. The article argues that the difficulty in engaging with their contributions in Germany derives from internal pressures, namely the risk of having their arguments co-opted by Islamophobic and anti-immigration agendas. By pointing at the role of positionality in defining priorities in a globalized world, this article addresses the constraints and potentials in developing transnational approaches to sexual violence.