Liberal Arts Faculty Books

Localizing Islam in Europe: Turkish Islamic Communities in Germany and the Netherlands

Localizing Islam in Europe: Turkish Islamic Communities in Germany and the Netherlands

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Description

In the twentieth century, Muslim minorities emerged in Europe seeking work, a refuge from conflict, and higher life standards. As a result, there are now more than 12 million Muslims in Western Europe. As these immigrants became permanent residents, the Islamic communities they developed had to respond to their European context, reinterpreting Islam in accordance with local conditions. In Localizing Islam in Europe, Yükleyen brings this adaptation to light, demonstrating how Islam and Europe have shaped one another and challenging the idea that Islamic beliefs are inherently antithetical to European secular, democratic, and pluralist values. Yûkleyen compares five different forms of religious communities among Muslim immigrants in the Netherlands and Germany that represent a spectrum from moderate to revolutionary Islamic opinions. Drawing on extensive fieldwork, he finds that, despite differences in goals and beliefs, these communities play an intermediary role, negotiating between the social and religious needs of Muslims and the socioeconomic, legal, and political context of Europe. Yûkleyen’s rich ethnography shows that there is no single form of assimilated and privatized “European Islam” but rather Islamic communities and their interpretations and practices that localize Islam in Europe.

ISBN

9780815632627

Publication Date

2012

Relational Format

book

Department

Sociology and Anthropology

Publisher

Syracuse University Press

Disciplines

Islamic Studies

Localizing Islam in Europe: Turkish Islamic Communities in Germany and the Netherlands

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