Are We Becoming More Religious or Just More Religiously Aware?

摘要

The growing presence and obsession with religion-related issues in Europe continue to dominate conferences, public debates and, of course, numerous publications. As one of the authors whose work is examined in this essay rightly puts it, Islam in Europe, Muslims in Europe, Western European Islam, Euro-Islam, Islamic Europe, Muslim Europe: this flourishing of formulations is a key sign of the interest and increasing politicization which surround the presence of people of Islamic faith in European nation-states. (Mavelli, 62) With all these concepts in mind, we question to what extent unity and peaceful coexistence of the two are possible, if at all. This review article outlines a variety of conundrums and possible ideas as how both the elites and the public should approach the presence of a different religion, namely Islam, in Europe.