Islamic Movements of Europe Public Religion and Islamophobia in the Modern World Udited by Frank Peter and Rafael Ortega LB TAURES eePREFACE « variously named ‘extremist Islam’ sm ~ and about the radicaisation ily unavoidable element ofthe political debate. le groups and actors in Europe and representative bodies, prisons, scularly prominent. The studies ast and Pakistan. These groups day Hrope, which aze the focus ofthe we ends with & study of Islamophobia in 1s geared towards current debates on ing to radical Islam are of partc~ ic groups in Europe, one y world, Descriptions and 1 to astumme that the Second, the debate e broader societalby these groups as a condi tes, broadly speaking, the Buropean must never idea that there exists a clear boundary ne hand and countries in the Is ie world are not mutually exclusive and there is ss in the nation states of Europe and migrants or global fied, The qualifier European is not based on 1 between European countries on the other. The categories Europe and Is ho necessary contradiction between embeddednes various kinds of relations to the homeland of ‘lations ate characteristic of many Mu by some European govern: mnership with various countries in Nort ig to see how seemingly unavoidable Its to build rela ing the practice of Islam. Concerning that what is described es. This is pot merely an mm which fully conforms to the part attempt 0 dec to wiiich degece Islamic groups in Fusope ace of Islam are related to ways in which current fe general developments and struct redress one important flaw in public argue sive focus on Muslims and Islamic inst tegration is a two-way process, the assumptior lam is the result of problematic practices by Muslims coat is this assumption whic liefs and aims, their practices and religi Part 3 ofthis volume broaden and opments which have led to pul how specific views of these issues becom ‘of campaigns against certain Islamic groups and the fa gence of powerful Earope, namely, the exclu miding regular reminders that 3 this perspective, They exe interest in specific groups sing the political func for resurgence is being rise of these move lysis become durably reduced to such ved, we should exer ng thems is necessa yceses in the Middle Bast and North. volume were fins! y minor importance. Today it ‘country. A similar statement can be hood, whose candi ty which these concepts ascribe «ling ofthese Muslim groups bound to disappear at somethe fact dard interpretation of J ‘world experienced leads phenomena, Such a perception is indeed cuite popular and widespread today. Iteomforts, kes It possible Europe have a universel value and define the basic route to follow for world. Put differently it obscures the fundamental question which radical Is s whether the ways in which these groups conjoin religion and po more than an abnormality. Today there seems to be more reason than ever for discussing this question. Groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood have been exiting for more than 80 years now. It has regularly been pron constitutes the political leadership of Egypt and is ‘Whether this new si ‘will lead to changes i Western PART 1 ISLAMIC MOVEMENTSINTRODUCTION Frank Peter fm 1702 oF 1703 in what is known today as ini originsted in 1926 and 1941 respec- Palestine, ng the end of World War 1, these groups are highly diverse with respect lent in which they are embedded, Nevertheless, g religious 1s do no coincide in their objectives, state junction of reliHaarakat themselves as pol the Society of the Muslim Brothers repeatedly ran in lect ‘other Egyptian parties, In 2011, it created the Freedom and Justice Party and won the liamentary elections. The Movernent of Society for Peace in Algerta has participated clections since 1990 ane! in sevecal governments. Refusing to see the relationship between God’ sovereignty and that of the people as one of simple oppos ‘groups endeavoured to participate in the democratic process, accepting all the restric wsaccompanying it. In the course ofthe last decades, tbis option has often been denied them by authoritarian regimes. Inthe case of the Tunisian al-Nahd, this led to the radi Algeria, the creation of the Islamic Sal sary and secular ) and its suceess led the and dissolve the group, which then took up armed struggle. ‘The engagement of these movements in the democratic process is reg ely subvert the system. The i leading to internal division ~ abor ficult to give credence to the thesis of an insteumer is. Rather, the debates inside these groups demonstrate when t \d of party pe acess which exerts considerable 1e cases presented here p 1. Relraining from any social, fo the activism of the Muslim patty. Howeves, the con i ss ane such that it has, by and large, rejects as un movernent smeworks. While the practice and id other Islamic movements), personal piety and p is fundamentally insepa table - there can be no Islamic state unless Muslims truly live as Muslims. Nevertheless, ‘between these two elements is a constituent feature of the movement’ Secondly, these movements can be seen as social movements; that is, as movements with an institutio sntary associations, enterprises, or patties ~ which aim for social movement perspective on these groups raises the question of how to explain their success. W festion has been addressed In many debates, one notes that little attention is paid ins and needs of have attempted ments as however, Islamic very with roference to general e. To an important degree these practices these groups, nor can they be fully te the opposition of Western coun lise the ernergence and the Iso possible to show of democracy. If these groups nevert in the West, this has to do with the Western model, The idea that for aa toa cms thet ae Lie Ser be THE MUSLIM BROTHERHOOD: CREATION, EVOLUTION, AND GOALS +o make progress in the current debate on It is thus far from obvious that we can employ a ready-to-use concept of pol FOR THE FUTURE ich is universally valid and allows for an abjective study of religions. Indeed, ye dominant understanding of the co Rafael Ortega Rodrigo «universally valid. It will offer a starting point for thinking about how p gion can be differentiated in ways other 1g in Europe today, and it ‘ask how such a rethinking of Islamic movements affects the widespread belief that tly dangerous to Europe.PART 2 ISLAMIC MOVEMENTS IN EUROPEINTRODUCTION Frank Peter applies to fais not imme- ier words, these debates are largely are about what Muslims nent 10 European societies iy believe. Debates are ti ised, 1 whose symp- set out to establish how Wish to go beyond ‘mere appearances’ and to identify who M ropes Muslim communities, to co ous practice and to clas 5, to measure their rel jing groups inside Europes Muslimng what they are rea to. How these references are used by weeds to be investigated, rather than taken as @ sign of identical views between European Muslims and Islamic n ments elsewhere The ng studies are inscribed into a different perspective. Instew ‘whether a given Furopean Mi start out b a contexts Islam Y ‘conceptualise these national contextsin Europe and what distinguishes them from Muslim ies. These questions are answered in different ways below: Some authors examine of asking 3s of Iamism, they n specific European ing the authentic mis isa central factor under is their claim to follow the three Muslim generations. nal change has also initiated processes neteenth century by Musim reformist thinkers in East, and by later writers associated with Islamic movements. In the current European -t, these icess partly serve a new purpose. Whereas in earlier times adaptability related to efforts to ensure the relevance of Is lions in the present-day world by returning to the authentic revelation, the adaptation European Muslims have in mind is framed primarily in geographical that is, by a distinct European space. The partial reconfiguration of thought thus triggered should encourage Us t0 ly about citational practices by Furopean Muslims and the conclusions we can raw from the respective, which emphasises the relevance of doctrinal orienta tions and divisions between Muslim groups to understanding why they are mote ot less successful in assernbling believers, other nstrate what a huge impact the legal frameworks of European actors. The work of reli ros legal provisions which determine the form Muslim. us actors (and those from ect public funding they can 3, In particular, the studies on imams, chaplains and Islamic cant effects produced by multiple imerrelatio ne hand, and the legal frameworks and pol ons studied here consider im needs and perfectly ed, together with other to Islam, Especially since the new counter-tertor 2 has been accompanied by an increased wi adopt 1 which groupsdiscussed ie for recognition of,