Forthcoming book: Imams in Western Europe

Mohammed Hashas, Jan Jaap de Ruiter, Niels Valdemar Vinding (editors), Imams in Western Europe (Amsterdam University Press)

This book is coming out in April 2018 - although appears quite expensive at €129. Here's the description:

"As European Muslims and Muslims in the Middle East diverge, imams in Europe have emerged as major agents of religious authority who shape Islam’s presence in Western societies. This volume examines the theoretical and practical questions concerning the evolving role of imams in Europe. To what extent do imams act as intermediaries between European states and Muslim communities? Do states subsidise imam training? How does institutionalisation of Islam differ between European states?"

I understand from Facebook that Claudia Carvalho has a chapter in it on "‘i-Imams studying female Islamic authority online’"

Czech Intelligence: Al-Qaeda using social networking in EU

praguepost.com, Czech Intelligence: Al-Qaeda using social networking in EU "Al-Qaeda tends to focus on spreading its ideology among young Muslims in Europe and the Czech Republic via the Internet, for which it mainly used its website and social networks, the Czech Military Intelligence Service (VZ) says in its annual report for 2013."

Social Networking in Cyber Spaces: European Muslim's Participation in (New) Media

KU Leuven - Call for Papers: Social Networking in Cyber Spaces: European Muslim's Participation in (New) Media, 27-28 November 2014. "The increasing growth of the Internet is reshaping Islamic communities worldwide. Non-conventional media and social networks such as Facebook and Twitter are becoming more popular among the Muslim youth as among all parts of the society. The new channels of information and news attract new Muslim publics in Europe. The profile of the people using these networks range from college students to Islamic intellectual authorities. Such an easy and speedy way of connecting to millions of people across the globe also attracts the attention of social movements, which utilize these networks to spread their message to a wider public. Many Muslim networks and social movements, political leaders, Islamic institutions and authorities use these new media spaces to address wider Muslim and also non-Muslim communities, it is not uncommon that they also address and reach certain so-called radical groups."

Sounds interesting (+familiar territory for several readers of these pages)

'Meet the Somalis'

opensocietyfoundations.org, Meet the Somalis: The illustrated stories of Somalis in seven cities in Europe 

I have yet to read this, but it looks like an innovative way to present a narrative (with shades of Joe Sacco)

 

YouTube video 'Muslim Demographics'

BBC News, Debunking a YouTube hit, 7 Aug 09 "A big YouTube hit makes startling predictions about the Islamification of Europe over the next few decades and has been viewed more than 10 million times. But can you believe what it says?

"This seven-and-a-half minute video "Muslim Demographics" uses slick graphics, punctuated with dramatic music, to make some surprising claims, asserting that much of Europe will be majority Muslim in just a few decades. It says that in the past two decades, 90% of all population growth in Europe has been Muslim immigration."

Europe's Muslim Women

Sara Silvestri, Europe's Muslim women: potential, aspirations and challenges, Qualitative study based on interviews with Muslim women in Brussels, London and Turin (King Baudouin Foundation: 2008) "This report presents the key findings of a qualitative study about Europe’s Muslim women, conducted by Dr Sara Silvestri (London’s City University and Cambridge University, United Kingdom), on behalf of the King Baudouin Foundation.

"It aims to obtain a general sense of the extent to which the religion of Islam plays a role in defining the experiences of Europe’s Muslim women and to charter the main issues of concern, and trends of thinking and of mobilisation among them. The study has the ambition to bring forth the voice, daily life, problems, and aspirations of these women. It was conducted in Belgium, Great Britain and Italy, primarily in three cities with large concentrations of Muslim populations: Brussels, London, and Turin. It involved questionnaires and structured and unstructured interviews with 49 Muslim women."

The link to the free PDF (1MB) is here. Other formats and purchase details via the link above. I haven't read this report yet, but it looks interesting.

Research

LA Times, An inside look at Islamic militants, 25 Nov 08 Interview with Farhad Khosrokhavar (whose research is well worth consulting): "The Iranian French professor at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes de Sciences Sociales here has explored the underworld of Islamic extremism through rare access to impeccable sources: the militants themselves. He has conducted in-depth interviews in French prisons with 15 inmates convicted of terrorism-related offenses such as the assassination by Al Qaeda agents of an anti-Taliban leader in Afghanistan and a plot to bomb the U.S. Embassy in Paris."

Krosrokhavar has a new book out, which I look forward to reading: Inside Jihadism: Understanding Jihadi Movements Worldwide, (The Yale Cultural Sociology Series, Paradigm Publishing)

muslimlife.eu

earthtimes.org, fReligious online matchmaking sites boom in Germany - Feature, 24 Nov 08 "Germany's first Islamic marriage institute was created in 2005 by Munich-based Samer Fahed, who is of German-Palestinian descent. He claims his online site has attracted thousands of clients, including in some cases, recent women converts to Islam.

"The institute specializes in matching people belonging to the country's near 3.5 million-strong Muslim community. But when non- Muslim men eager to marry Muslim women show interest they are politely told Muslim women aren't permitted to marry non-Muslim men unless they convert to Islam, explains Fahed.

"The muslimlife.eu helps "match" those who are genuinely interested in starting a family, he says. Occasionally their profiles reveal whether they read the Koran on a regular basis, or have ever made a pilgrimage to Mecca."

Details: muslimlife.eu

Europe

AFP, European Islamic media network in the works, 15 Nov 08

""We hope to create a better understanding of the Muslim faith and provide information on Islam at a European level," the director of French Muslim news and networking site SaphirNews, Mohammed Colin, told reporters.

"Colin co-hosted the meeting of about 30 representatives of Muslim media and community groups from across Europe to discuss the creation of the network together with the director of Spanish Muslim site Webislamica, Yusuf Fernandez."

Report: "Recruitment and Mobilization for the Islamist Militant Movement in Europe"

UPI/metimes.com, Study on EU Muslim extremism released, 2 Oct 08 "The European Commission Wednesday released the findings of a study conducted by the International Center for the Study of Radicalization and Political Violence and King's College London. According to the study, Islamist militant recruitment efforts have been forced underground and no longer take place in mosques, ICSR reported.

"The report, "Recruitment and Mobilization for the Islamist Militant Movement in Europe," found that prisons and the Internet are now the primary avenues of recruitment."

Also see: Recruitment and Mobilisation for the Islamist Militant Movement in Europe - ICSR / King’s College London study for the European Commission

The PDF version can be downloaded here. I haven't read this yet.

See: Wikipedia, The International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence for some background to the Centre and its participants.

Mosques in Germany

Der Spiegel, Not in My Backyard, Say an Increasing Number of Germans, 16 Jul 08 "The planned construction of over 180 mosques in Germany is mobilizing right-wing xenophobes but also an increasing number of leftist critics. They fear the Muslim places of worship will facilitate the establishment of a completely parallel society."

Hip-hop

qantara.de, The Persian Hip-Hoppers Tapesh 2012: Multicultural Pulsebeat "The musical inspiration behind Tapesh – which means pulse beat – combines an eclectic range of styles – from hip-hop to reggae and ska, all the way to electronic beats with an oriental touch."

Take a look at their MySpace page tapesh-2012.com for more, including videos.

Germany

Earth Times, Kurd used internet to urge terrorists on: three years jail, 19 Jun 08 "In a case with major implications for the internet, a 37-year-old Kurdish father of four who used internet chatrooms to urge fellow Islamists to practice terrorism was jailed Thursday by a German court for three years. The immigrant's arrest in autumn 2006 in the poor German steel town of Georgsmarienhuette triggered worldwide speculation that police had arrested the chief of an incipient cell in al-Qaeda. The media invaded the town to interview his wife and neighbours.

"But the facts presented in court proved less dramatic and showed a man acting like millions of bloggers and chatroom denizens worldwide, typing out messages alone in their rooms while unwitting wives do the housekeeping and children play."

Swiss Convictions Upheld


AP/IHT, Swiss high court upholds conviction of two Muslims for terror Web sites, 21 May 08 "In its decision handed down Wednesday the Federal Tribunal said it had no doubt that the two had made their Internet forums available to various terrorist groups operating in the al-Qaida network and thus supported criminal organizations.

"The two were convicted by a lower court in June 2007 of running Web sites that supported terrorists and gave details of how to make bombs and carry out attacks."

Germany

Deutsche Welle, German Islamist Issues Call for Jihad in Internet Video, 30 Apr 08, "The video, posted on the "Time for Martyrdom" Web site, shows 20-year-old Eric B. from the western state of Saarland wearing an ammunitions belt and holding a machine gun. The mountainous backdrop has led some to believe it was filmed in the border region between Afghanistan and Pakistan."

RFE/RL Attacked

AFP, US radio websites in Eastern Europe hit by cyberattack: bosses, 28 Apr 08 ""Within hours, eight RFE/RL websites (Belarus, Kosovo, Azerbaijan, Tatar-Bashkir, Radio Farda, South Slavic, Russian, and Tajik) were knocked out or otherwise affected," it added."

aQ

IANS/thaindian.com, Terror groups in Pakistan focus on Britain, 28 Apr 08 "The Al Qaeda and pro-Taliban elements in Pakistan and Afghanistan are one of the main drivers of Islamic extremism and terrorism in the European Union, according to a report of European police. The Europol annual report on the terrorism situation and trend said terrorist plots linked to groups in Pakistan were focussed on Britain. It comes after the disclosure last week that 15 plots to attack the UK were foiled in three years since the London bombings."

There's a related report at Europol, EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report TE-SAT 2008 (PDF), although this doesn't seeem to be the Annual Report (the latest one on the website is 2006)

Barcelona

BBC News, Arrests worry Barcelona's Pakistanis, 22 Jan 08 "Grocery shops, restaurants, butchers and internet cafes have mushroomed in El Raval and its surroundings."

Austria/GIMF

AP/Fox News, Couple Linked to Al Qaeda Online Video Threat to Face Trial Soon in Austria, 8 Jan 08 "Investigators say evidence suggests the video — which was posted on a German-language Web site and showed images of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center — was produced by the Global Islamic Media Front, an al-Qaida propaganda group."

The past weekend's New York Times' Sunday Book Review is focused on Islam, with contributions by Ayaan Hirst Ali, Tariq Ramadan, Irshad Manji, William Dalrymple, Fouad Ajami and others. Haven't read it yet, but some interesting topics on offer.