European Muslims and the Secular State

The institutionalization of Islam in the West continues to raise many questions for a range of different constituencies. Secularization represents much more than the legal separation of politics and religion in Europe; for important segments of European societies, it has become the cultural norm. Therefore, Muslims' settlement and their claims for the public recognition of Islam have often been perceived as a threat. This volume explores current interactions between Muslims and the more or less secularized public spaces of several European states, assessing the challenges such interactions imply for both Muslims and the societies in which they now live. Divided into three parts, it examines the impact of State-Church relations, 'Islamophobia' and 'the war on terrorism', evaluates the engagement of Muslim leaders with the State and civil society, and reflects on both individual and collective transformations of Muslim religiosity.

Jocelyne Cesari is based at the CNRS-Paris, France and Harvard University, USA. Sean McLoughlin is based at the University of Leeds, UK. Cesari was co-ordinator, and McLoughlin a member, of The Network of Comparative Research on Islam and Muslims in Europe, based at GSRL, Le Groupe de Sociologie des Religions et de la Cité, a CNRS (http://www.cnrs.fr/) Research Institute on issues of religions and secularism.