Publisher's Synopsis
The contributions to this volume come from five European countries: Denmark, France, Germany, The Netherlands and the United Kingdom. They combine national overviews of the position of Muslim youths with detailed and local case studies. Together with the Introduction, the chapters draw upon a range of anthropological and sociological theory, but are united in their rejection of essentialist ideas and approaches. Many draw upon ethnographic research with young Muslims and the institutions within which they are often found, including local government, political and religious associations, hostels and schools as well as community and family. The contributions point to some of the wide variety of responses to the European contexts within which they have grown up as Muslims, such responses may be grounded in anti-racism and overtly political responses, may involve a rejection or a reinterpretation of the views and practices of their parents, may represent the maintenance of a largely symbolic allegiance to the wider Islamic world, or may demonstrate forms of increased piety and religious observance. In any case, the material in this volume demonstrates how Muslim European youth are not embodying some sort of 'clash of civilizations' but rather how they are often constructing and living creatively hybrid and complex identities and establishing new modes of religious and cultural expression.
