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working class, salaried employees, private employees and civil servants, the global city
tends to reinforce and preserve ethnic differences (Jaillet 2001; Sassen 1999). The
development of ethnic business, like all forms of self-employment in the service
sector, provides economic opportunities to those who newly enter the great
metropolis. Within this new principle of urban organisation, the forms of socioeconomic
integration can no longer be understood solely in terms of class. More and
more, class tends to be combined with ethnicity. This can be seen in France where
debates over the poor suburbs and the efficacy of urban policy are systematically
linked to the presence of immigrants of North African origin and their social and
economic problems.
Given this situation, how do Muslims articulate the needs of an Islamic way of life
within the culture of their host country at both the local and national levels?
Islam in Europe: The Snare of Exceptionalism
Much of the current research on Islam in Europe focuses on the way Muslims adapt
to their new Western surroundings. The key question in most of this research is
whether the Muslim integration process is similar to that experienced by other
immigrants, or if Muslim immigrants introduce something new and specific (Buijs
and Rath 2003). The responses to this question have not always avoided the snare of
exceptionalism. While sociologists of immigration tend to minimise the role of Islam
in the integration process, scholars of Islam and political scientists of the Arab world
emphasise the role of Islam as a system of norms and values. This second approach,
often criticised for being too culturalist, runs the risk of becoming essentialist and ahistorical,
a fact that has been underscored by researchers working in the tradition of
Edward Saı¨d’s Orientalism (1978). However, given the centrality taken by Muslim
discourses and identities in public debate, and because of the increase in Muslim
action and activity, the specifically religious component of integration has come to
be, over the years, a legitimate subject for research in Europe. The relevance of this
issue has been increased, of course, by the post-September 11th context.
We should note that Europe’s political interest in Islam was strengthened in the
1980s when political movements linked to Islam (i.e. the Algerian FIS, the Turkish
Milli Go¨ru¨s etc.) became more visible and influential within the domestic and
external spheres of many Muslim countries. Another reason for Europe’s interest was
its proximity to certain Muslim states such as Algeria, Morocco and Turkey, whose
colonial and post-colonial histories could not be overlooked. Politics has therefore
shaped and influenced not only how research on Islam is conducted but also the selfidentification
of Muslims. Let us remember that the term ‘islamophobia’ appeared in
1997 in the British public debate to define the specific discrimination towards
Muslims (Runnymede Trust 1997). These debates started in Europe long before 11
September 2001, and clearly contributed to the victimisation felt by all European
Muslims (Said 1997).
In contrast to the aforementioned approach that emphasises the way Muslims
adapt to their new social contexts (Dassetto 1996; Gerholm and Lithman 1988; Lewis
and Schnapper 1994; Nonneman et al . 1996; Rath et al . 2001; Shadid and Van
Koningsveld 1991, 1995, 1996), another approach aims to analyse the ways in which
different Muslim groups interact with various social and political segments of
Western society. This is a more dialectical approach that not only considers the way
European culture impacts on the acclimatisation of Muslim immigrants but also how
Muslim immigrants affect and change their new environment (Cesari 2003; Cesari
2004a, 2004b; Sakai 1989; Sakamoto 1996; Vertovec and Peach 1997; Vertovec and
Rogers 1998).2
This special issue of JEMS illustrates this dialectical approach. Taking the mosque
as a focal point, the special issue aims to: