Since the status and role of Muslim communities in Europe has not been considered until now, and there has not been a significant study on Eastern Europe, this significant and important study, considering the need seen in this field, in It aims to investigate the fate of these societies in current Europe.
The questions that are important in this context are as follows: What proportion can there be between the situation of Muslims in Western Europe (mainly immigrants) and Eastern Europe (mainly natives)? How is this situation with the new immigrant countries – Scandinavia, Spain and Italy? What are the economic factors? What is the role of international relations in this field? How do these factors or other possible factors affect public opinion?
This book aims to answer these questions, either in the form of an article or by devoting major parts of the book to the study of the situation of Muslims in Western and Eastern European countries separately, by writers from the East and the West. This book is the final product of a project supported by the Council of Europe and organized by the universities of Durham, Exeter, Lancaster, and Skopje.
This book was edited by Dr. Jared Nunman (Lecturer of International Relations at Lancaster University), Professor Tim Niblock (Director of the Middle East and Islamic Studies Center at Durham University), and Dr. Bogdan Sachkowski (Professor of Political Science at the University of Exeter).
The book consists of three parts and sixteen chapters are included in these three parts. In the first part of the book titled “Issues and Questions”, Dr. Jared Nunman’s article titled “Muslim Societies in New Europe: Issues and complications” are given. The second part of the book titled “Eastern Europe” deals with the general situation of Islam and ethnicity in Eastern Europe, the legal situation of this minority in the Republic of Macedonia, the situation of Muslims in Bosnia, Bulgaria, Albania and Greece in the form of seven chapters. In the third part of the book, entitled “Western Europe”, the situation of Muslims in England, Belgium and the Netherlands, France, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, and Italy has been discussed in the form of eight chapters.
The first part of the book, which is dedicated to the topic and is written in the form of an article by Jared Nunman, is divided into five parts; In the first part, it is mentioned to examine the situation of the new Europe and the position of Muslims in it. In the next part, it deals with the situation of Muslims in Western Europe, and after presenting a brief perspective on the challenge of Islam with Western secularism, it deals with the problem of cultural analysis that Muslims face. In the third part, the situation of Muslims in Eastern Europe is discussed in the historical context and the situation that these countries found after the collapse of communism and freedom of religion. At the end, the views of the European society in the past, present and future, towards Muslims have been discussed.
The second chapter of this book, titled “Islam and Ethnicity in Eastern Europe”, written by Bogdan Sachkowski, Tim Niblock and Jared Nunman, discusses the concepts of ethnicity and the religious factor, the problems that arise in the field of providing accurate statistics of Muslim communities in Europe. There is Eastern, the situation of the Muslim minority in Poland is examined as a comparison in this case, and at the end, the results and statistics of the Muslim situation in Eastern Europe are presented.
In the third chapter under the title “Citizenship, Social Status, and Political Participation of Minorities in the Republic of Macedonia as Evidence for this Case” written by Robert Diplomiki examines the situation of Muslims in the former Yugoslavia. In this region, despite the challenges that the people themselves have regarding their political participation and independence, the situation of Muslims has been investigated in the form of this feeling, and among them, the situation of Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Federation, and Albania have been discussed.
The fourth chapter under the title “Muslims, government and society in the Republic of Macedonia, a view from the inside” written by Mirjana Najsuska, Emilija Simuska and Natashagaber deals with the legal, institutional and fundamental structures of the Macedonian society from the point of view of the civil society and among them the situation of Muslims in this regard. It has been mentioned and analyzed the estimation that was made from the public opinion in 1993 regarding the national and religious distance between Muslims and Orthodox.
Alexander Lopasik in an article titled “Bosnian Muslims” is the fifth chapter of this book. Bosnian Muslims have an important place among Eastern European Muslims. Therefore, the author has tried to explain the situation of Bosnian Muslims after the death of Tito and the referendum that was held in 1992 for independence.
“Muslims of Bulgaria” is the title of the sixth chapter of this book, which was written by Ivan Ilshev and Duncan Perry. The authors of this article, while examining the historical context of the arrival of the Turks to Bulgaria, their perception of this region and the movement that was carried out by them to obtain rights and freedom, examine the situation of the Copts in Bulgaria (Roma), examine the situation of the Bulgarian Muslims (Pomaks), and The process of Islamizing Bulgaria aims to explain the past, present and future of Muslims in this country.
The seventh chapter of this book entitled “Albanian Muslims, human rights and relations with the Islamic world” written by Elirasla begins with an introduction about the general situation of Albanian Muslims and examines the legal position of Albanian Muslims, social-religious realities in this society, public resistance that On their part, it was done in the direction of political development, and it deals with their relations with the Islamic world.
Yorgos Christidis in an article entitled. “The Muslim Minority in Greece” by examining the situation of the Muslim minority in Greece, occupies the eighth chapter of this book and tries to explain the situation and position of Muslims in this country. In this chapter, there are materials about the historical context of the arrival of Muslims in this country, their dispute regarding the elimination of discrimination against the minorities of this country in the field of citizenship rights, education, etc., the investigation of the arrest case of Ahmad Sediq and Ibrahim Sharif Muslim Turks in Parliament) due to the spread of rumors and fake signatures and the Greeks’ fear of Turkish intervention.
From the ninth chapter of the book onwards, the situation of Muslims in Western Europe has been investigated. The ninth chapter of the book titled “Muslims, the State, and the Public Sphere in Britain” written by Steven Vertock examines the situation of British Muslims and the British public sphere (programs aimed at publicizing the space of collective discourses and supremacy spread by the news and mass media) results are obtained from the activities of different social movements, debates between political parties, academic studies and debates, and policies carried out by the government or service companies, political structural considerations (such as: Citizenship and the right to vote, the provision of national representatives, the provision of local representatives, public funding), the discrimination practiced and the adaptation that Muslims have found to the environment, provide frameworks for the advancement of British Muslims.
“Islam in Belgium and the Netherlands” is the title of the tenth chapter of the book, written by Felice Dasto and Jared Noonman, and discusses the Muslims in Belgium and the Netherlands. The authors of this article deal with the following issues by examining the Muslim population who are originally Muslim in these two countries: Cycle of Islam: The stages of development of Islam in Belgium and the Netherlands; Who is a Muslim? (A question about determining the lineage of Muslims) and what evidence does the public’s observations, denials of the existence of God and the soul, or indifference to these issues provide us with, determining the lineage of through organized forms of membership in the Muslim population, determination of lineage through missionary or warrior ancestors, determination of root lineages; Investigating the organized presence of Islam in Belgium and the Netherlands in the form of basic Islam, movements and communities that are widespread throughout Islam located in Belgium and the Netherlands, and organizations that seek to place Islam in these two countries in a national-territorial framework.
The eleventh chapter of the book titled “Muslim Communities in France” written by Jim House examines the situation of Muslims in France. At first, he discussed the frameworks of analyzing the situation of Muslims in France, then the discussion of the new racism that has dominated France and the place of Muslims in it, their social rights and how Muslims adapt to French secularism, and finally, the issue of Algerian immigrants in this The country has been paid.
“Muslims in Germany” is the title of the twelfth chapter of this book. This article was written by Yasmin Karakasoglu and Jared Nunman. In this chapter, the categories of demographic and social changes of immigrants and their movement towards permanent residence in Germany, the economic situation of Muslims and their fear of German hatred, Turkey’s policies towards them, the issue of religious education, Islamic organizations and the future prospects of Muslims in this country It has been discussed whether it moves towards dialogue or extremism and fundamentalism.
The 13th chapter under the title “Situation of Muslim communities in Sweden” written by Ak Sander examines the situation of Muslims in Sweden. In this article, it deals with the culture and legislative system of Sweden in terms of history and the assumptions and views of its people. The situation of Muslims is divided into two parts: The period before the 1980s and the period after the 1980s, when the immigration of Muslims to this country increased from this decade, and in this way, the controversy and hostility between Muslims and Swedes increases. At the end of the article, an interpretation of the future situation of Muslims in this country is presented.
In his article titled “Muslims in Denmark”, John Hejarno dedicates the fourteenth chapter of this book. In this article, the category of the cause of Muslim migration to Denmark has been discussed, and in this regard, the situation of Muslims in the 1970s and since then has been discussed in terms of the economic situation, unemployment, and the uncertain future of relations between Muslims and Christians in this country.
“The Muslim Community in Spain” written by Noria del Olmovisen is the title of the article that is given in the 15th chapter of this book. In this article, how Islam entered Spain, both Muslims and early immigrants and those who immigrated to this country in the 1980s for economic reasons, the socio-economic and cultural interactions that have arisen from the presence of Muslim communities in Spanish society, and review The future situation of Muslims in this country is discussed.
The situation of Italian Muslims is discussed in the last chapter of the book, in an article entitled “The Muslim Community in Italy” written by Stefano Alivi. Typology of Islam in Italian society in terms of statistical information, mosques, Sufi groups and religious movements, social actors and results; The institutional relations of Muslims with the Italian and international society are among the topics of this article.
