Perceptions of Islam in Europe: Culture, Identity and the Muslim 'Other'

(Hardback)

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For centuries, the Islamic world has been represented as the 'other' within European identity constructions - an 'other' perceived to be increasingly at odds with European forms of modernity and culture. With the perceived gap between Islam and Europe widening, leading scholars in this work come together to provide genuine and realistic analyses about perceptions of Islam in the West. The book bridges these analyses with in-depth case studies from Britain, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Turkey and other parts of the European Union. This study goes beyond the usual dichotomies of 'clashes of civilizations' and 'cultural conflict' to try to understand the numerous, diverse and multifaceted ways - some conflictual, some peaceful - in which cultural exchanges have taken place historically, and which continue to take place, between the Muslim and non-Muslim worlds.

Reviews

'The issue of Islam (or Islams) and the Muslims in Europe as perceived by elites, publics, press, governments and bureaucracies is one of the main themes preoccupying Europe today, with obvious practical consequences and with a direct bearing on Europe's chosen collective identity. Can one be European but also be Muslim or is a "European Muslim" or "Muslim European" a contradiction in terms These and many other related questions are tackled by this fine book, convincingly arguing that there is a need for new thinking on the matter and coming up with several intriguing ideas and concepts. The main obstacle is the entrenched feeling in most European publics that the Muslims in their midst will dilute European values and play havoc with European culture (assuming that such a culture exists in the first place). This perception may be exaggerated and patently conservative, but it exists and one has to deal with it realistically. This book deals with various facets of this delicate problem in a compelling manner.' Alexis Heraclides, Professor of International Relations, Panteion University 'Joining theoretical approaches with case studies, this book covers a wide spectrum of countries including the most important and the less studied. It deals with the change in European perceptions of the Muslim communities during recent years, how European Muslims are now defined by their religion rather than any other aspect of their condition, how this way of life is perceived by many of the citizens of several European countries as a threat to 'European' values. Instead of promoting a single scheme or policy in dealing with the problem, the authors prefer to rely on the diversity of schemes emerging from the concrete experience of the examined countries.' Ahmad Beydoun, Lebanese sociologist, and Former Professor at the Institute of Social Sciences, Lebanese University

Author Bio

Hakan Yilmaz is Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations, Bogazici University, Istanbul. Educated at Bogazici University, he holds a PhD from the Department of Political Science, Columbia University. He is the author of Placing Turkey on the Map of Europe (2005), as well as various chapters and articles in journals such as the Middle East Journal. Cagla E. Aykac is Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Fatih University, Istanbul. She holds a PhD in Sociology from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS), Paris. Educated at Brown University and Bogazici University, she has worked as a researcher for private and public institutions such as the Open Society Institute (OSI), the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) and the European Research Council (ERC).