To browse Academia. The book explores the transnational mobilization of Muslim youth across Europe and North America in response to geopolitical shifts and the War on Terror. It contrasts the integration of American Muslims with the challenges faced by their European counterparts, emphasizing the significance of race and black history in shaping their experiences.
Through a detailed examination of various social movements initiated by Muslims, the author illuminates the contestation of sociopolitical boundaries and the impact of globalization on Muslim identities. To what extent do migrants carry their culture with them, and to what extent do they acquire the culture of their new home?
The answer not only has important political implications; it also helps us understand the extent to which basic cultural values are enduring or malleable; and whether cultural values are traits of individuals or are attributes of a given society. Part I considers theories about the impact of growing social diversity in Western nations. We conclude that Muslim migrants do not move to Western countries with rigidly fixed attitudes; instead, they gradually absorb much of the host culture, as assimilation theories suggest.
These events raise fears that second-generation Muslims living in isolated urban communities are becoming alienated from democratic societies and may be developing closer sympathies with extremist Islamic movements. For some observers, disaffected Muslims in France, the UK or the Netherlands are seeking to create a society entirely separate from the mainstream.
The answer not only has important political implications; it also helps us understand the extent to which basic cultural values are enduring or malleable; and whether cultural values are traits of individuals or attributes of a given society. Islam in Western Europe ceases to be a religion of immigrants and is beginning to emerge as a religion of European born citizens. As a result of the acts of violence committed by Muslim believers on the continent and elsewhere there has been increased focus on Islam in Europe, however, very little attention has been paid to the exploration of various dimensions of citizenship of young European Muslims.
