Islamic political radicalism in Europe has seen dramatic growth in recent times. This book offers a sociological, anthropological, psychological and political science analysis of the causes and consequences of this phenomenon.Authors explore the motivations behind such radicalism, focusing on an array of different factors. These include economic and social alienation, political and cultural marginalisation, gender and masculinity, and psychological issues, both at an individual and community level.Other issues discussed are the state responses, national and international, to the 'War on Terror' which came about after the attacks on America in September 2001; and the role of Islamic political organisations and their impact on changing ethno-religious identities. This is considered particularly in relation to concept of the Ummah and its influence on the position of Islam and Muslims in places such as Iraq, Afghanistan, and Palestine, as well as Bosnia, Chechnya, and Kashmir.The authors provide an analysis of events and experiences in different European nation states, with a detailed focus on Britain. This book is particularly relevant in the current climate as an attempt to understand the factors that shape Islamic political radicalism in Europe.Key Features:*Written for academics as well as activists and practitioners*Explores major new and emerging issues, particularly in the aftermath of the July 2005 London bombings
Industry Reviews
This topical collection of articles by leading scholars confronts us with a complex and diverse post-modern phenomenon in the European context ! it helps make sense of both the debates around the role of the media, Islamophobia, social and economic exclusion, crises of Muslim masculinity, gender and intergenerational conflicts, the impact of global political developments, and questions of identity in fuelling radical 'Islamism', and of the more urgent reflections on terrorism and violence post-7/7. Readers will be left in little doubt about the challenge that Islamic political radicalism poses in twenty-first century Europe to both Muslims and non-Muslims. -- Humayun Ansari, author of 'The Infidel Within': Muslims in Britain Since 1800 Tahir Abbas has put together a comprehensive examination of the roots -- political, social, cultural, and international -- of Islamic radicalism in Europe today. After the bombings in Madrid and London, there is an urgent need for an informed and probing account of why extremism has taken hold in certain quarters and how the vast majority of law-abiding Muslims are caught up in efforts to contain it. This work speaks directly to the concerns of scholars, journalists and policymakers and provides instructive and timely answers. -- James Piscatori, Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies This topical collection of articles by leading scholars confronts us with a complex and diverse post-modern phenomenon in the European context ! it helps make sense of both the debates around the role of the media, Islamophobia, social and economic exclusion, crises of Muslim masculinity, gender and intergenerational conflicts, the impact of global political developments, and questions of identity in fuelling radical 'Islamism', and of the more urgent reflections on terrorism and violence post-7/7. Readers will be left in little doubt about the challenge that Islamic political radicalism poses in twenty-first century Europe to both Muslims and non-Muslims. Tahir Abbas has put together a comprehensive examination of the roots -- political, social, cultural, and international -- of Islamic radicalism in Europe today. After the bombings in Madrid and London, there is an urgent need for an informed and probing account of why extremism has taken hold in certain quarters and how the vast majority of law-abiding Muslims are caught up in efforts to contain it. This work speaks directly to the concerns of scholars, journalists and policymakers and provides instructive and timely answers.
