Islam and Europe

This chapter starts by critically analysing the most significant literature on the religiosity of Muslims in Europe. It then discusses two overlapping contexts which are key to explaining these forms of religiosity. On one hand, the global competition for Islamic orthodoxy, and on the other, the transformation of Islamic repertoires and institutions by European governments through the cumulative influence of securitization and secularism. The chapter argues that Islam is a topos activated at different moments in European history, from colonization to post-Second World War immigration. Post-9/11, growing pluralization and an emphasis on security have exacerbated an ‘us versus them’ mentality in which Muslims are definitely ‘them’.

Introduction

The introduction establishes key arguments and questions at the heart of Muslims in Modern Europe. Being Muslim in Europe, it shows, was not simply a confessional identity or a matter of belief, but a legal category enshrined in decades of legal codes, institutionalized in the structures of state institutions, and embedded in European frameworks for political and cultural belonging. It demonstrates that Muslims in southeastern Europe were Europeans, and their histories need to be included as part of core European histories. Muslims in Europe were certainly victims of oppressive power structures, disingenuous negotiations, and discrimination. But they fought for the right to define the place of Islam in their states and societies, shaping the European project itself.

Political Islam, European Muslim and Terrorism Issues: A Reflection

In the period 2014-2015, the European Union was shaken by the influx of migrants from the Middle East, North Africa, and the Balkans (Eastern Europe) who increasingly flooded the western region of the white continent. In a March 2015 report, UNHCR said the conflicts in Iraq and Syria brought the number of asylum seekers in Western countries in 2014 to the highest level in 22 years. There were an estimated 866,000 asylum seekers in 2014. That number is a 45 percent increase compared to 2013. And, during the 2014-16 refugee crisis from the Middle East and Africa, millions of refugee flows from the Middle East and Africa were rejected. In this regard, Olivier Roy sees that in Europe itself there is a danger of radical Islamism, a Muslim terrorism movement that undermines European peace and undermines Western trust on Muslim communities and political Islam. This paper explains Roy's perspective and Islamic radicalism in Europe which does not benefit the position and image of Muslims in Europe and the West in general.

Critical thinking and non-formal Islamic education: Perspectives from young Muslims in the Netherlands

Critical thinking is a highly valued skill in the twenty-first century, and its incorporation into formal school curricula as a core skill is nearly ubiquitous globally. It is considered imperative for educational quality, employability, competitiveness, and for promoting democratisation and social integration. While schools are tasked to promote critical thinking, non-formal Islamic education (NFIE) provided by mosques or by private organisations or tutors is often criticized for its emphasis on rote learning and memorisation, and for fostering an uncritical acceptance of authority. Based on interviews with 27 young adult alumni from four different Muslim communities in the Netherlands, this study seeks to explore the pedagogy of NFIE, with a focus on critical thinking. The accounts of young adults revealed that an emphasis on stimulating critical thinking was largely absent, and there were limited opportunities for interactions, questions, debating or challenging the authority of religious educators or Islamic texts. The traditional pedagogical approach, discouraging attitudes of educators and peers, lack of language proficiency, the young age of learners, and a perceived lack of need for critical deliberations were identified as key challenges. Young adults called for reforming the pedagogy of NFIE to allow for more reflexive, inquisitive and dialogical learning. Some argued that lack of critical deliberation would lead to weakness in the belief structures and faith of new generation Muslims in Europe, resulting in a sense of confusion and disorientation, and limited embodiment of Islamic principles.

The Transformation of Radical Islam in a Post-Industrial Society

In a post-industrial society, radical Islam has undergone significant evolutionary changes, that contributed to its transformation from a religious ideology to a political one. The key element of the updated doctrine was the idea of creating a world Islamic state - caliphate - through global jihad. This article explores a new stage in the history of the phenomenon of Islamic radicalism, which has developed outside the Muslim world, where it has acquired features of a specific subculture. Global jihad is gaining popularity among young Muslims in Europe, the US, and Southeast Asia. A variety of cultural manifestations of Islamism, united by the term jihadi-cool, form an attractive image of a Salafist-jihadists through a special manner of clothing, new types of music (jihad rap and jihad rock), etc. Members of this subculture tend to join terrorist organizations, spread radical ideas among young people and attract new supporters. One of the most important causes of the radicalization of Muslims in Europe and the Americas is considered to be the complex socio-economic and cultural preconditions created by Western policies towards the States of the Middle East and the local Muslim diaspora. As part of the research, a historical-genetic analysis of the evolutionary transformations of Islamic radicalism has been conducted. The statistical method has been used to track the number of terrorist acts in the EU and the USA. Content analysis has been applied in the article in order to examine lyrics of jihad-rap musical compositions. The interdependence of jihad-rap popularity and the general interest in the ideology of jihad has been assessed based on the analysis of statistics of search queries. Biographical methods have been used to study the relationship between belonging to a jihadist subculture and joining radical Islamic organizations. The results of the study demonstrate, first of all, the high adaptability of Islamic radicalism to the changing conditions of the global world. Secondly, they indicate the specific evolution of a phenomenon that gradually overcomes sectarian differences. And third, they note increasing prevalence of this destructive doctrine in Europe, USA, South and Southeast Asia. All the results confirm that Islamic radicalism is not a local phenomenon, but a real threat to global political stability.