The Making of a ‘Euro-Islam’. Emerging Courses of Islamic Theology at European Universities
Research Question
In recent years, academic programs in Islamic theology have been founded at several Western-European universities. What courses of theological thinking emerge at these new programs? How do they get integrated within the academic landscape of secular universities? My research project explores the development of these initiatives in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, United Kingdom and France.
Project Description
I will use the year at NIAS to write a book about the development of Muslim theological thinking in the context of Western-Europe. The project will examine what types of Islamic interpretations are developed by Muslim religious scholars working at state- and private universities in the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, France, and the United Kingdom. This will provide urgently needed empirical data and analytical insights about how a new group of European Muslim scholars envisages the application of Islamic principles in the European context. Whereas certain groups of Muslim extremists attempt to ideologically dominate a process of religious interpretation, it is extremely relevant to get a nuanced understanding of different, academic intellectual constructions and various degrees of adaption to the European context.
Selected Publications
“Embedding Islam in the ‘Moral Covenants’ of European States: The Case of a State-Funded Imam Training in the Netherlands”, Journal of Muslims in Europe, 2013, 2, pp. 227-247
“Polderen in de participatiesamenleving. De kantelende positie van het Contactorgaan Moslims en Overheid”, in: Peter van Dam, James Kennedy, Friso Wielenga (red.), Achter de zuilen. Op zoek naar religie in naoorlogs Nederland, Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2014, pp. 255-277
Imam in Nederland. Opvattingen over zijn religieuze rol in de samenleving, Amsterdam: Uitgeverij Bert Bakker, 2007