Journey into Europe: Islam, Immigration, and Identity - Hardcover

Ahmed, Akbar

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0815727585 ISBN 13: 9780815727583

Publisher: Brookings Institution Press, 2018

Synopsis

“Akbar Ahmed has a well-earned reputation as one of the most balanced, learned and original interpreters of Islam in its engagement with the non-Muslim world. It is hard to exaggerate the importance of this work, like so much else he has done, at a time when myths and fantasies still stir up corporate fear between our communities. A deeply welcome and thoroughly professional study.”
-Dr. Rowan Williams, Former Archbishop of Canterbury and Master of Magdalene College, University of Cambridge

“Akbar Ahmed’s profound and careful inquiries have greatly enriched our understanding of Islam in the modern world. His latest study, based on direct research with a group of young scholars, explores the complex interfaith reality of Europe, both in history and today, from an Eastern perspective, reversing the familiar paradigm. It is sure to be yet another influential contribution, one greatly needed in a world riven by conflicts and misunderstanding.”
-Professor Noam Chomsky, Institute Professor & Professor of Linguistics (Emeritus), Massachusetts Institute of Technology

An unprecedented, richly detailed, and clear-eyed exploration of Islam in Europe and the place of Islam in European history and civilization

Daily headlines tell of escalating tensions surrounding Muslims in Europe: the refugee crisis, repeated episodes of terrorism, and cultural differences over language and female dress have helped shape a growing rift between the communities, while the parallel rise of right-wing, nationalist political parties throughout the continent, often espousing anti-Muslim rhetoric, has shaken the foundation of the European Union to its very core.

Over the past decade, the relationship between European and Islamic societies has been defined by steadily escalating tension. Many Europeans see Islam as an alien, even barbaric force that threatens to overwhelm them and their societies. Muslims, by contrast, are facing conflicting attractions to Europe’s economic opportunities and repulsion to intolerance in the region, with Islamophobia reaching extreme levels in all corners of Europe. Amid this conflict, the Jewish community and other minority groups are finding themselves caught in a similar onslaught of xenophobic rhetoric, with anti-Semitism and other forms of discrimination causing many to feel unwelcome in their European homes.

Akbar Ahmed, widely acknowledged as a leading scholar of contemporary Islam, and a team of researchers have traveled across Europe over the last several years and interviewed Muslims and non-Muslims from all walks of life. They spoke with some of Europe's most prominent figures, including presidents and prime ministers, archbishops, chief rabbis, grand muftis, heads of right-wing parties, and every-day Europeans from a variety of backgrounds. Their findings reveal both of the misunderstandings and the opportunities for Europe and its Muslims to improve their mutual relationship. Along with an analysis of what has gone wrong and why, this urgent, unprecedented study, the fourth in a quartet of studies examining relations between the West and the Muslim world, features recommendations for promoting integration and pluralism in the twenty-first century.

About this title

About the Author:

Akbar Ahmed is the Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University in Washington, D.C., and the former Pakistani high commissioner to the United Kingdom and Ireland. He has been called “the world’s leading authority on contemporary Islam” by the BBC. Among his previous books are Journey into Islam, Journey into America, and The Thistle and the Drone, all published by Brookings. He is also a published poet and playwright.

Review:

Ahmed’s study of European reactions to Islamic immigrants is more anthropological than political, but it offers fascinating insights into how white Europeans struggle to reconcile outsiders, and how Muslim communities end up reinforcing negative stereotypes. The bigger takeaway, though, is evidence of the harmonious relations that existed between Islamic and European civilizations throughout the past―a potent argument against rising nationalism and tribalism.―Mary Kaye Schilling, Newsweek

Journey into Europe is a timeless and valuable contribution to the understanding of the diverse Muslim communities in Europe that helps the reader to overcome stereotypes and fears.―Angeliki Ziaka, Aristotle University, Thessaloniki, Greece

Ambassador Akbar’s exploration and insight into issues affecting European Muslims is needed now more than ever. Extremism fosters in an environment of suspicion and suspicion is born from ignorance, therefore Professor Akbar’s detailed analysis will undoubtedly help governments, policymakers and civic society to better tackle radicalisation in Europe.―Humza Yousaf, Minister for Transport and the Islands, former Minister for Europe and International Development, and member of the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh, Scotland

This highly instructive work deserves careful attention as people across the world wrestle with how to balance community with difference in an age of reinvigorated tribalism.―Publishers Weekly

A dense but rewarding anthropological account of European reactions to Islam and Muslim immigrant communities, and vice versa. . . . Academic but of considerable interest to any student of current affairs and geopolitics.―Kirkus Reviews

Akbar Ahmed’s profound and careful inquiries have greatly enriched our understanding of Islam in the modern world. His latest study, based on direct research with a group of young scholars, explores the complex interfaith reality of Europe, both in history and today, from an Eastern perspective, reversing the familiar paradigm. It is sure to be yet another influential contribution, one greatly needed in a world riven by conflicts and misunderstanding.―Professor Noam Chomsky, Institute Professor & Professor of Linguistics (Emeritus), Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Journey into Europe is crucial in understanding the issues Muslims face in different European countries and offers important advice on building a better relationship between refugees and their host countries. Dunia El-Zobaidi, The Arab Weekly

The final element of his “quartet,” Journey into Europe provides an insightful and moving analysis of Islam and Muslims in Europe, the roles of culture and identity, and how they interact with the frayed modern democratic ideal. Akbar Ahmed delivers his argument with clarity and care, while his plea for more communication and more understanding of our common dignity represents the only true way forward for reconciling the many differences at the root of the crisis of violence, terrorism, and the rise of a nationalistic populism in Europe. Combining theories and insights from anthropology, sociology, political science, history, philosophy and theology, this study challenges many misconceptions about Europe and Islam, while giving us all hope for the future.―Todd Landman, professor of political science and pro vice chancellor of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom

The greatest gift of this work, as I say in my earlier remarks on the book, is that it teaches us the art of bridge-building across differences as it reinvigorates not only the historical ties that have been mutually beneficial to Muslims and the West in the past but also challenges the divide set thus far by the ‘vertical’ approach of Anthropological research―rejecting the hierarchical standards established by Western imperialism, establishing a new lexicon for the discipline, and cultivating a multi-faith, multi-ethnic, international community of bridge-builders.―Shadab Zeest Hashmi, Daily TImes

Dr. Ahmed‘s Journey into Europe is about Europe. It is about how Europe should be more cohesive, more coherent, and more integrative. His captivating and gripping odyssey takes us from Andalusia to Sicily to the Balkans to Britain to France to Germany to Denmark―all places jolted periodically by the tremors of simmering religious discord. He gives us hope.―Masood Khan, President of Azad Jammu and Kashmir

About this edition

• Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
• Publication date: 2018
• ISBN 10: 0815727585
• ISBN 13: 9780815727583
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 591